HK1032132B - Remote energy supply process and system for an electronic information carrier - Google Patents

Description

Structure and method for remote energy supply of electronic information carriers

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method and a structure for realizing remote energy and information transmission by ultrasonic waves.

Background

A number of methods and arrangements are known in which, in an electronic communication device separating electronic communication units, a base unit is used to supply energy to other communication units in order to dispense with electrochemical energy storage, such as accumulators or batteries, in the other communication units. This form of energy supply avoids malfunctions due to exhausted energy storage, does not require replacement of the energy storage, and the corresponding communication unit does not require maintenance, and is more compact, completely closed, thereby allowing a very robust design. Energy and/or information may be transmitted and emitted by contact or non-contact means, such as by conductive connections, ultrasound, optical means, or radio frequency waves. Each of these types of transmission has certain advantages and disadvantages.

A particular advantage of using ultrasound is that it can propagate in any basic medium. EP0536430a1(H04B 10/00) describes a method for energy supply using an ultrasonic remote-controlled hand-held transmitter, for example for car locking systems. The hand-held transmitter includes an energy store in the form of a capacitor and receives its supplemental energy from the vehicle in a non-contact manner through the air. JP 60-85637(H04B11/00) describes an ultrasonic information exchange between an external device and an electronic card counter. Finally, the electronic card counter is inserted into the device in which the ultrasonic transmission is achieved by means of piezoelectric elements arranged closely to each other but not in direct contact. DE 19608 b 515C 1(G06K 19/07) shows a chip card which comprises a piezoelectric membrane. The chip card receives ultrasonic energy when inserted into a reading device and held in place by a spring (but without contact between the diaphragm and the reading device).

The advantage of contactless form transfer is that it is easy to control and convenient and flexible. On the other hand, the method for transmitting the sound wave in the air has high transmission loss. As can be seen from the aforementioned documents, this disadvantage can be overcome by using short transmission distances or by acoustic focusing as mentioned in EP0536430a 1.

The sound waves propagate much better in condensed matter (metal or non-metal) than in gas. Ultrasound has particular advantages over radio frequency transducers, radio or optical methods, particularly in terms of transmission through metal, which cannot be employed here because metal is practically opaque to optical radiation radio waves. On the other hand, the low sound absorption rate of metals allows information to be transmitted over longer distances by ultrasonic waves, for example through heating pipes in buildings (DE9210894(H04B11/00)), moving machine parts (DE4013978a1(H04B11/00)) or metal structures of ships (US5159580(H04B 11/00)). In these cases, the ultrasound transmission and/or reception unit is either fixedly mounted on the respective sound conductor or fixedly clamped thereto (US 5159580).

US5594705(H04B17/00) describes a device for energy and information transmission using ultrasound between two ultrasound transducers which are arranged on both sides of a non-piezoelectric medium and directly opposite one another. Such a device is described with respect to a measuring device for receiving and transmitting pressure measurements through the wall of a vessel into the interior space of the vessel. In the vessel, the measuring device mounted on the outer surface of the vessel is energized by ultrasonic waves through the wall of the vessel.

In all the aforementioned documents relating to the transmission of contact energy and/or information, the communication unit is fixedly mounted, while the functional component serving as a transmission medium is used only as a sound conductor to transmit external data. If in some applications a large measuring device is not required but only data has to be stored in or taken out of a functional component, where the fixed connection is disturbed and the appearance, the function and the flexibility of the functional component cannot be adversely affected, this known structure and method are inadequate or impractical. Such applications are for example identification of components or the storage of codes in keys.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to store identification data and/or codes in functional components and to extract them from them in a simple manner by simple means.

To achieve this object, the invention provides a method for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a base device and an electronic information carrier, wherein the information carrier is arranged in or on a component in an acoustically fixed coupling, the information carrier comprising information which is defined to be stored, the base device and the information carrier comprising an ultrasound transmitting and receiving unit, wherein, when the base device and the component are bonded to each other by a direct short-time contact on the formed contact area, the basic device emits ultrasonic waves into said component, during which short contact time the information carrier acquires energy from the ultrasonic field in said component with which it is associated, and can thus be switched on, and entering an operating state and triggering the transmission of ultrasonic information between the information carrier and the base device via the contact area.

Further, said information stored in said information carrier may be used to identify and/or describe said component and/or to describe its state and/or its logic data and/or its manufacturing data or said information representing code.

The object of the invention is also achieved by a construction comprising a base device and an information carrier, wherein the information carrier is arranged in or on a functional component, and the base device and the information carrier each comprise an ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving unit, and the ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving unit of the base device is arranged in such a way that it can be brought into direct short-time contact with the functional component.

Further, the information carrier may also comprise an energy supply unit and an information transmitting unit and/or an information receiving unit, and the energy supply unit and the information transmitting unit and/or the information receiving unit of the information carrier comprise commonly used components, or are completely combined together to form one unit.

Further, all components of the information carrier may be arranged on a common basis.

Further, the information carrier may also comprise a microsystem engineering size and/or consist of microsystem engineering components.

Further, the information carrier may be a compact body constituting one embedded in all sides.

Further, all the components of the information carrier can be arranged in a box, and so that the box consists of metal and/or organic material, such as any type of polymeric plastic, and/or inorganic material, such as ceramic, glass, cermet, stone, mineral or precious stone, and/or any type of composition.

Further, the outer side of the information carrier may be provided with at least two metal contacts which are connected in an electrically conductive manner to the electronic components of the information carrier and which allow power and information transmission.

Further, the outer side of the functional part may be provided with at least two metal parts which are connected to the metal contacts in an electrically conductive manner and which allow the transmission of electrical energy and information to the information carrier.

Furthermore, a metal part without electrical function for information or energy transmission can be arranged on the outer side of the functional part, and when the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit of the basic device or the basic device is contacted, the metal part bridges two contacts on the metal part and triggers an action.

Further, the function part may have a function of a key or may not be recognized as a key.

Further, the information carrier may be provided in a piece of jewelry, such as a ring, in a card, or in a means of transport.

Further, the functional part may comprise a recess, in which the information carrier is arranged in an acoustically fixed coupling with the functional part.

Further, the recess may comprise a closure of a material and shape adapted to the surrounding area of the recess or the entire functional part.

A method for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a base unit and an electronic information carrier, the proposed solution represents a method for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a base unit and an information carrier, wherein the base unit and the information carrier comprise ultrasound transmitting and receiving units. The ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving unit includes at least one ultrasonic transducer. The basic device is on the one hand the energy source of the information carrier and on the other hand the communication unit which extracts data from the information carrier or sends data to the information carrier. This information carrier differs from a communication unit of the kind described in US5594705, which does not represent an information carrier but receives data in addition to a communication channel to the base device and transmits them to the base device. The information carrier is fastened acoustically in or on a functional part, i.e. by gluing, sealing with mud, soldering, clamping, screwing or the like, in order to avoid major emission losses in the case of an interface with the functional part. According to the invention, the base unit and the functional unit are assembled together for a short period of time in order to enable communication. A short contact time means a short contact time between the two parts, which at any time can be immediately abandoned without, on the contrary, requiring too much effort. In the contact area between the basic device and the functional part there is an energy receiver, by means of which acoustic energy can enter the functional part and flow towards the information carrier. The ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit of the information carrier represents a particularly powerful energy receiver, said information carrier preferably operating in the resonance range of acoustic frequencies or in the second excitation range. The resulting potential gradient allows the subsequent acoustic energy to flow continuously as long as the contact connection between the base device and the functional component is maintained. Due to this inflow of energy, the information carrier is switched on, which reaches an operating state due to the supply of electrical energy, triggering the emission of ultrasonic information via the contact area between the basic device and the functional component.

This approach is not possible with a fixedly mounted structure. In particular, they always require an electrical switching action on the side of the base device in order to bring the energized communication means into an operating state and to initiate the transmission of information. In another aspect, the invention provides a method for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a base unit and an electronic information carrier, which allows to initiate an operating state in the information carrier and to initiate transmission of information mechanically in both directions by mutual contact of the functional part and the base unit when the functional part is in proximity of the base unit or vice versa. When the acoustic energy reaches the interior of the functional component, the information carrier and the transmission path are determined only after the contact area, which further ensures that the information carrier enters its operating state only when the information carrier is actually designated, after the path has been opened as a result of the contact during the short contact. Such a device is particularly advantageous for data protection laws from an energy point of view, since touch is an ambiguous action, for controlling the transmission of information and preventing unauthorized access to the memory.

A sufficient emission of energy from the basic device to the information carrier requires a good acoustic coupling over the entire communication path. Object surface contact, such as touching, needs to be made at the contact area between the base device and the functional part. The reliability and quality of the ultrasonic emission is ensured in US5594705 by a fixed mounting, which means that the surface of the functional component is improved and can be disturbed visually and functionally. In another aspect, the invention provides a method for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a base unit and an electronic information carrier, which method is characterized by a relative degree of freedom with respect to the assembly of functional components and base unit, wherein the spatial proximity of communicating ultrasound transmitting and receiving units is generally advantageous. Here, a reliable and efficient ultrasound emission can be achieved due to the flexibility in choosing a suitable contact area (e.g. choosing a polished metal surface). Furthermore, the inertial forces of the base device and the functional part object and the forces exerted to fit them together ensure in many cases that they have a constant sufficient contact pressure during the contact. Further, other means, such as a liquid as the acoustic coupling liquid, are also permissible.

The method provided by the invention for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a base unit and an electronic information carrier is suitable in most cases for those situations in which simple data are stored and transmitted. A wide range of applications for the method according to the invention for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a base unit and an electronic information carrier comprises in a very advantageous manner that said information which can be stored in said information carrier is used to identify and/or describe said components and/or to describe their state and/or their logic data and/or their manufacturing data or said information represents a code.

When carrying out the method according to the invention for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a basic device and an electronic information carrier, the functional part and the basic device, but not the information carrier, are exposed to mechanical contact stresses. The method provided by the invention is advantageous in reducing the stress and the operation thereof if the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit of the base device for effecting short-time contact is made separately or is specially shaped as a durable contact unit, for example a hand-held device like a pen or as a protruding contact surface.

The ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit of the information carrier must perform the functions of supplying energy, receiving information and transmitting information. These respective units may be manufactured separately or combined on one unit. The separate construction of the information transmission, information reception and energy supply unit allows the optimization of the relevant tasks in terms of energy, size, function, frequency and other parameters to be best performed. This is used for the ultrasonic transducer and the up and down electronics. In other cases, however, it may be preferable to use several elements together, for example where the main purpose is to achieve miniaturisation of the information carrier. Or all the components may be mounted on one unit completely integrally. In this case, the energy and information are received by a common ultrasonic transducer and then separated by downstream electronics. Instead, this ultrasonic transducer serves as an information transmitter.

The energy receivers of the energy supply unit of the information carrier are preferably ultrasonic transducers based on piezoelectric material, although piezoelectric-magnetic, electromechanical or other suitable mechanical-electrical transducers may also be used, provided that they are capable of converting mechanical vibrations initiated by acoustic energy into electrical energy. And so on, this also applies to the information transmitting unit of the information carrier. Suitable information receivers are also transducers, in which e.g. capacitances, resistances and other physical parameters are used for recording sound and vibrations.

In many aspects, for example in terms of handling, assembly or miniaturization, it is preferred to mount all the components of the information carrier on a common basis, for example on a ceramic, plastic or film-type printed circuit board. Since efficient transmission of energy and information can be carried out through the integral-acoustic contact channel, operation can be achieved with a small overall energy and capacity. This means that its main advantage is that all information carrier components (from the transformer to the intermediate energy storage capacitor to other required electronic semiconductor components) can be designed with little required space. Only by this means the aforementioned microsystem engineering dimensions can be achieved, which allows all information carrier elements to be accommodated in a single, only a few mm²Or a smaller area.

For practical purposes and for other reasons mentioned below, it is desirable to obtain the information carrier in a compact form, for example in the manner of an embedded plastic body or in the form of a box as described above.

If necessary, it may be advantageous to use other methods of transmitting information than acoustic, for example, to transfer the information to certain defined memory areas that are not later deleted before being placed in the functional element. This is possible by providing at least two metal contacts on the outside, which are connected in an electrically conductive manner to the electronic components of the information carrier, as described above.

For large-scale applications, the system performance of a method according to the invention for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a base unit and an electronic information carrier in combination with other information and/or energy transmission systems is preferred. In the case of energy-saving direct electrical contacting, it is possible to use a solution in which the information carrier can be contacted by two metal parts mounted on the functional component, as required. This is particularly advantageous in the case of the aforementioned multifunctional component, such as the key, if some locks comprise ultrasonic information transmitting and receiving units, while others comprise only electric information transmitting and receiving units.

Advantageously, for energy saving purposes, a metal element as described above can also be used, since it can be used in a simple manner to trigger an action; for example, the ultrasound transmission and reception unit of the base unit is switched on in a time-defined manner or during the contact point holding time.

Other advantages arise in the locking system portion. In addition to placing the information carrier in a conventional key or key ring hook, the function of the key can be transferred simply and imperceptibly to any other component which does not have its function, which component is identified from the outside as described. Any daily work item, such as writing instruments, watches, buttons, glasses, etc., would be suitable.

Particular advantages result if jewelry, in particular a ring, forms the functional element. These pieces are worn close to the body and therefore have little risk of loss. Similarly, card forms, in particular those having the format of chip cards, can also be suitably used as functional components.

Particular mention should be made of applications in the automotive sector as described above. In this case, not only the vehicle as a general product, but also the various elements of the respective information carrier which can be provided separately can be a general product.

The invention provides a method for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a base device and an electronic information carrier and an apparatus using the method, which provide the widest possible range of movement for placing the information carrier in or on the functional component. The information carrier (of very miniature design) is placed in a recess formed by a cavity, in a bore hole or in a pocket hole. Furthermore, such a recess can be provided with a cover so that the information carrier will be "hidden deep inside the cover product" under thick layers of material, not identifiable from the outside, and well protected from mechanical damage, chemical damage, electrostatic damage, radiation or other damaging influences, while it is also possible to collect, read or re-write information relating to the entire product life, from manufacturing, distribution, sale, service until recycling, for production purposes. In doing so, the security system inside the chip will easily perform the function of a selective read/write protection mechanism. Last but not least, a completely unattended identification that is difficult or unrecognizable from the outside can be advantageously employed in crime prevention and tracking.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to an embodiment of the invention.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram explaining the basic principle;

fig. 2 shows the construction of two locking devices for a ring constituting a functional part;

figure 3 shows a configuration for identifying pieces of jewelry;

figure 4 shows a structure comprising as a functional component a card having a standard chip card format; and

fig. 5 shows a partial structure including a bicycle as a functional part for identification.

Detailed Description

With reference to fig. 1, fig. 1 shows an ultrasound transmission and reception unit 3 connected by a cable 2 to a device designed as a hand-held device. The ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving unit 3 is capable of generating acoustic energy in the form of ultrasonic waves and transmitting and receiving acoustic information. When the functional part 4, which forms a steel module and is provided as starting material for the manufacture of a special gearbox component, is contacted by the ultrasonic transmission and receiving unit 3 of the basic device 1, the sound waves penetrate the functional part 4 to the information carrier 5 on the entire path. The information carrier 5 is glued to the end of a deep hole 6 in the functional part 4, protecting it from any accidental destructive access during subsequent rotation and grinding operations. In fig. 1, the information carrier 5, which is shown once more on an enlarged scale, comprises a cylindrical steel box 7 with a diameter of 4mm, on a silicon chip 8 are mounted the electronic information processing unit 9, i.e. a microcontroller, an energy supply unit 10, an information receiving unit 11 and an information transmitting unit 12, each consisting of a piezoelectric transducer 13, 14, 15 and downstream electronics 16, 17 for processing the electricity generated by the piezoelectric transducer 13, 14 used by the information carrier and upstream electronics 18 for supplying the information transmitted in the form of electrical signals to the piezoelectric transducer 15, due to the high degree of reception of miniaturisation within semiconductor technology, isolation of the individual piezoelectric transducers 13, 14, 15 and the electronics 16, 17, 18 from each other is possible and allows separate reception of energy and information and independent transmission of information. On its rear side, the silicon chip 8 is fixedly secured to the case 7 using an adhesive. With the configuration shown in fig. 1, the operator of the machine tool can obtain basic manufacturing data of the gearbox component from the information carrier 5 in order to provide this data to the machine tool and feed back his or her work result to the information carrier 5.

In fig. 2, a functional part 4 is shown in the form of a ring, an ultrasonic transmitter and receiver unit 3, not shown in detail, of the base device (an electronic lock) in the form of a plate provided for a vehicle door, and an electrical receiver unit in the form of a disk 30 for a mailbox electronic lock. The ring holds the information carrier 5 in the recess 19. All components of the information carrier 5 are mounted on a flexible base device 20. Outside of this, the information carrier comprises two metal contacts 21 which are in turn connected to two metal parts 22, the two metal parts 22 being shown as being constituted by the ring itself and one ring part mounted in isolation from the ring. After gluing the information carrier 5 in place, the recess 19 is closed by a cover 23. The piezoelectric transducer 24 is covered by a top cover 25 to prevent its mechanical vibrating component function from being damaged. Assuming that the combined functions of the energy supply unit 10, the information receiving unit 11 and the information transmitting unit 12 form the entire ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit 39 of the information carrier 5, the piezoelectric transducer 24 together with the electronics 26 form one unit 27.

On the ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving unit 3 of the base device 1 in the form of a flat plate, two contacts 28 are provided which are bridged when connected by a ring. The ring itself makes this bridging possible as a metal piece 31. In this way the ring will activate the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit 3 of the base unit 1 and information is exchanged by the information carrier 5 within the ring via the connecting acoustic path.

The above-described mailbox lock does not constitute a basic device 1, since it does not provide an ultrasonic transmission and reception unit. The letter box lock is operated by two contacts 29, which contacts 29 are used for the electrical transmission of energy and information. When the two metal parts 22 are connected by the contact 29, the letter box lock receives its opening code.

Figure 3 shows the invention used for jewelry identification. As shown, the base unit 1 constitutes a reading and programming device comprising a display screen 32 and is connected to the acoustic emission and receiving unit 3 by means of a cable 2, wherein a piezoelectric transducer 33 is mounted below the supporting steel plate. On the support plate, a functional part 4 in the form of a ring as shown in fig. 3, but also a brooch, a watch, a bracelet or other piece of jewelry, can be placed or pressed. Inside the functional part 4, there is a cavity 34. The information carrier 5 can be inserted through a hole into the cavity 34 and fixed by means of an adhesive 35. In such an assembly operation, the hole can be closed by a closure 36 made of the same material as the functional component 4. In addition to adhesive bonding, soldering and welding, during which the mounting location of the information carrier 5 must be cooled if necessary, are also possible techniques for assembly. After the closure 36 has been welded to the ring constituting the functional part 4, and after its surface has been correspondingly reformed, it will not be possible to identify from the outside that the information carrier 5 has been installed in the ring. To ensure communication, the information carrier 5 does not have to face the piezoelectric transducer 33 directly as shown in fig. 3, although a shortest distance is usually advantageous. Since the information carrier 5 is completely surrounded by metal within the functional part 4, any electrical damage of the information carrier 5 caused by possible external electrostatic regions or charging actions is practically excluded.

The same applies to the case shown in fig. 4, where the functional component 4 has the form of a chip card, which in this case consists entirely of metal. Special alloy steels or titanium alloys are preferably used. Such chip cards can be designed in a more rugged manner than conventional plastic chip cards in terms of mechanical strength, environmental durability and protection against electrostatic hazards. The operation is made extremely easy by placing it on the respective ultrasound transmitting and receiving unit 3 corresponding to the read/write surface or reader of the known chip card.

Figure 5 shows another very practical use. Placing the information carrier in a bicycle constituting the functional part 4, for example in the frame part 37, will be a very simple and unobtrusive way of identifying the bicycle. By means of the socket 38, removal of such an identification element can be prevented or made difficult, so that the identification movement can only be effected by damaging the bicycle constituting the functional part 4, which is also not of interest to a bicycle thief.

In summary, the embodiments shown in fig. 1-5 show that any component can be transformed into a functional component 4 by mounting an information carrier 5 inside it, as shown for example in fig. 1 and 2. For this purpose, miniaturization of the information carrier 5 is an important condition in order to be able to equip an information carrier 5 with very small components, to damage the appearance and the properties and applications of the components as little as possible, and not to restrict its mobility. As a result of the present invention, the components are able to communicate. In the present invention, one-way or two-way communication is generally initiated and maintained during surface connection between the ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving unit 3 and the component 4 of the base device 1. The connection can be established by manual or mechanical movement of the ultrasound transmission and reception unit 3 to the functional component 4, which is generally only made during the transmission of energy and information and vice versa. With the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit 3 of the basic device 1 shown in fig. 1-5, the communication information can be entered from the outside, or the information carrier 5 can be supplied separately and stored therein, for example, by providing the information-based communication independently from the measuring point to the information carrier 5. This may be achieved by sound or other means such as wires.

List of reference numerals

1 basic device

2 electric cable

3 ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit

4 functional parts

5 information carrier

6 notch

7 boxes

8 silicon chip

9 electronic information processing unit

10 energy supply unit

11 information receiving unit

12 information transmitting unit

13 piezoelectric transformer

14 piezoelectric transformer

15 piezoelectric transformer

16 downstream electronic instrument

17 Down electronic instrument

18 uplink electronic instrument

19 recess

20 flexible foundation

21 metal contact

22 Metal part

23 closure element

24 piezoelectric transformer

25 Top cover

26 electronic instrument

27 unit

28 contact

29 contact

30 disks

31 Metal part

32 display screen

33 piezoelectric transformer

34 recess

35 adhesive

36 closure member

37 frame member of functional component

38 socket

Claims (34)

1. A method for transmitting energy and information by means of ultrasound between a base device and an electronic information carrier, which information carrier is arranged in or on a component in an acoustically fixed coupling, which information carrier comprises information which is limited to be stored, wherein the base device and the information carrier comprise ultrasound transmitting and receiving units, characterized in that:

when the base unit and the component are joined to each other by a direct short-time contact on the contact area formed, the base unit emits ultrasonic waves into the component,

during said short contact time the information carrier acquires energy from the ultrasonic field in said member with which it is associated, and can thus be switched on, an

Enters an operating state and triggers the transmission of ultrasonic information between the information carrier and the basic device via the contact area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of applying a voltage to the substrate

Said information stored in said information carrier is used to identify and/or describe said component and/or to describe its state and/or its logic data and/or its manufacturing data or said information representing a code.

3. An arrangement for carrying out the method as claimed in claim 1, comprising a base device (1) and an information carrier (5), characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in or on a functional component (4), and that the base device (1) and the information carrier (5) comprise ultrasonic transmission and receiving units (3, 39), and that the ultrasonic transmission and receiving units (3) of the base device (1) are arranged in such a way that they can be brought into direct, short-time contact with the functional component (4).

4. A structure as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the information carrier (5) comprises a power supply unit (10) and an information transmitting unit (12) and/or an information receiving unit (11), and

the energy supply unit (10) and the information transmission unit (12) and/or the receiving unit (11) of the information carrier (5) comprise commonly used components or are completely combined together to form one unit (27).

5. A structure as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that all components of the information carrier (5) are arranged on a common basis (8, 20).

6. A structure as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the information carrier (5) comprises a microsystem-engineered size and/or consists of microsystem-engineered components.

7. A structure as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the information carrier (5) constitutes a compact body embedded in all sides.

8. A structure as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that all components of the information carrier (5) are arranged in a box (7) and in that the box (7) consists of metal and/or organic material, such as any type of polymeric plastic, and/or inorganic material, such as ceramic, glass, cermet, stone, mineral or precious stone, and/or any type of composition.

9. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that on the outer side of the information carrier (5) at least two metal contacts (21) are provided which are connected in an electrically conductive manner to the electronic components of the information carrier (5) and which allow the transmission of electrical energy and information.

10. A structure as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that on the outside of the functional part (4) at least two metal parts (22) are provided, which are connected to the metal contacts (21) in an electrically conductive manner as claimed in claim 9 and which allow the transmission of electrical energy and information to the information carrier (5).

11. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 8, 10, characterized in that on the outside of the functional part (4) there is arranged a metal part (31) without electrical function for information or energy transmission, which metal part (31) bridges the two contacts (28) on it and thereby triggers an action when contacting the ultrasound transmitting and receiving unit (3) of the basic device (1) or the basic device (1) itself.

12. A structure as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that on the outside of said functional part (4) there is provided a metal part (31) without electrical function for information or energy transmission, which metal part (31) bridges the two contacts (28) on it and thereby triggers an action when contacting said ultrasound transmitting and receiving unit (3) of said base unit (1) or said base unit (1) itself.

13. A structure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 3 to 8, 10 or 12, characterized in that the functional component (4) has the function of a key.

14. Arrangement according to claim 9, characterized in that the functional part (4) has the function of a key.

15. Arrangement according to claim 11, characterized in that the functional part (4) has the function of a key.

16. Arrangement according to claim 13, characterized in that the functional component (4) is not recognized as a key.

17. Arrangement according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the functional component (4) is not recognized as a key.

18. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 8, 10, 12, 14 to 16, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a piece of jewelry, in particular in a ring.

19. A structure as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a piece of jewelry, in particular in a ring.

20. A structure as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a piece of jewelry, in particular in a ring.

21. A structure as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a piece of jewelry, in particular in a ring.

22. A structure as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a piece of jewelry, in particular in a ring.

23. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 8, 10, 12, 14 to 16, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a card.

24. A structure as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a card.

25. A structure as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a card.

26. A structure as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a card.

27. A structure as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a card.

28. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 8, 10, 12, 14 to 16, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a transport means.

29. An arrangement as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a transport means.

30. An arrangement as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a transport means.

31. A structure as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a transport means.

32. An arrangement as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that the information carrier (5) is arranged in a transport means.

33. A structure as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the functional part (4) comprises a recess (6, 19, 34) in which the information carrier (5) is arranged in an acoustically fixed coupling with the functional part (4).

34. A structure as claimed in claim 33, characterized in that said recess (6, 19, 34) comprises a closure (23, 26) of a material and shape adapted to the surrounding area of said recess (6, 19, 34) or the entire functional part (4).