Method for the network initialization of a network for the radio location of objects within a limited space

• US 10,126,419 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2017
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Balluff Verwaltungsges mbH
• Original Assignee: Balluff Verwaltungsges mbH
• Inventors: Heldmaier, Matthias Michael, Schuerzinger, Andreas, Schweizer, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, John J
• Application Number:
  US15/490,998
• Publication Number:
  US 20170315223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 573 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561, 455 6711, 455 301
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/04 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/08 Systems for determining direction or position line
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/46 Indirect determination of position data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/466 by Trilateration, i.e. two antennas or two sensors determine separately the distance to a target, whereby with the knowledge of the baseline length, i.e. the distance between the antennas or sensors, the position data of the target is determined
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

In a method for initializing at least one network segment of a network for the wireless location of movable locating objects arranged in a limited space using pulsed radio signals, wherein the at least one network segment in the limited space has at least two spaced apart reference nodes which form a chain-shaped communication network and which are autarkic in terms of communication, wherein a locating object arranged in the limited space is able to be located using one of the distance-based trilateration carried out by at least three reference nodes, and wherein general information is communicated by broadcast channels, the reference nodes listen to the broadcast channels in a standby position until initial information about their active participation in the communication network is received.

Claims

1. Method for initializing at least one network segment of a communication network for the wireless locating of moving locating physical objects arranged in a limited space by using pulsed radio signals,

wherein the at least one network segment in the limited space has at least two spaced apart reference nodes which form a chain-shaped communication network and which are autarkic in terms of communication,

wherein a locating physical object arranged in the limited space is located via a distance-based trilateration carried out by the at least three reference nodes,

wherein general information is communicated via broadcast channels for transmitting messages to the reference nodes and/or moving locating physical objects,

wherein the reference nodes listen to the broadcast channels in a listen-before-transmit standby position until initial information about their active participation in which network segment of the communication network is received, and,

wherein information about adjacent reference nodes in the underlying network segment is generated.

2. Method according to claim 1,

wherein the reference nodes generate a neighbor database via communication with all other reachable reference nodes via the broadcast channels.

3. Method according to claim 2, wherein the reference nodes communicate the neighbor database to other reference nodes during the initialization.

4. Method according to claim 2, wherein the neighbor database contains information about received signal amplitudes and/or background noises, and this information is communicated to other reference nodes during the initialization.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the administration node forms a network segment structure from reference nodes, based on the statistical information about the frequency of occurrence of the distance measurements to neighboring reference nodes, in the shape of at least one chain.

6. Method according to claim 5, wherein at least two, substantially equally long chains are formed from reference nodes.

7. Method according to claim 2, wherein the neighbor database contains information on the distance to neighboring reference nodes, and this information is communicated to other reference nodes during the initialization.

8. Method according to claim 2, wherein the neighbor database contains statistical information on the frequency of the occurrence of distance measurements to other reference nodes, and that this information is communicated to other reference nodes during the initialization.

9. Method according to claim 1, wherein at least one administration node communicates set-up information to the reference nodes, which is successively further communicated in a chain to other reference nodes.

10. Method according to claim 9, wherein the at least one administration node is implemented in at least one reference node.

11. Method according to claim 9, wherein the set-up information comprises the chain length as well as corresponding UIDs and LIDs for the reference nodes participating on the chain.

12. Method according to claim 9, wherein, at the end of the initialization, the administration node communicates further information to the reference nodes regarding the properties of the communication network and about desired locating methods, and it does this in the form of an almanac and/or in the form of logical spaces and/or in the form of transformation information for a global coordinate system.

13. Method according to claim 1, wherein a propagating confirmation response starting from a last reference node in a chain takes place to the other reference nodes of the chain and the administration node successively via the reference nodes of the chain.

14. Method according to claim 13, wherein the information propagated in the confirmation response comprises the feedback of a respective LID.

15. Method according to claim 1, wherein an administration node transmits initialization packages to reference nodes which contain at least one localization measurement request.

16. Method according to claim 15, wherein the initialization packages include a command which signalizes the segment initialization and further information that describes the network topology and/or the configuration status of the administration node.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable data storage medium on which a computer program configured to carry out each step of the method according to claim 1 is saved.