Positioning method and apparatus

• US 10,418,965 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2017
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Feng, Weiming, Huang, Kai, Xu, Xingong, Hao, Rui, Fu, Yuhao
• Primary Examiner(s): Doan, Phuoc H
• Application Number:
  US15/491,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20170302248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 881 Days
• Field of Search: 3405731, 340 1041, 340 33, 340540, 34082549, 342146, 4554561
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/74 Systems using reradiation of radio waves, e.g. secondary radar systems; Analogous systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/825 with exchange of information between interrogator and responder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/015 between indoor and outdoor environments
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/18 using ultrasonic, sonic, or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/145 for networks using surface acoustic waves

Abstract

A positioning method includes: emitting an interrogator signal from an electronic device; detecting, by the electronic device, a response signal that is generated and emitted by a sensor among a plurality of sensors, in response to the interrogator signal; and acquire location information about the sensor by identifying the sensor based on the detected response signal. The response signal is generated based on transduction of the interrogator signal.

Claims

1. A positioning method comprising:

emitting an interrogator signal from an electronic device;

obtaining, by at least one processor of the electronic device, a response signal that is generated and emitted by a sensor among a plurality of sensors in response to the interrogator signal;

obtaining, by the at least one processor, location information about the sensor by identifying the sensor based on the response signal; and

identifying, by the at least one processor, a location of the electronic device based on the location information about the sensor,

wherein the response signal is generated based on transduction of the interrogator signal,

wherein the obtaining the response signal comprises;

obtaining a plurality of response signals that are generated and emitted by the plurality of sensors based on the interrogator signal, the response signal being one of the plurality of response signals, and

identifying the response signal of the sensor, among the plurality of response signals, as a signal that has arrived at the electronic device earlier than other response signals among the plurality of response signals of other sensors of the plurality of sensors, or as a signal having a greater signal strength than that of the other response signals of the other sensors.

2. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of response signals have characteristics different from each other.

3. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a plurality of passive sensors having different designs.

4. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a plurality of surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors, each of the plurality of SAW sensors comprising a substrate and an interdigital transducer patterned on the substrate, and

the interdigital transducers of the plurality of SAW sensors have different patterns, respectively, so that the plurality of response signals emitted by the plurality of SAW sensors, respectively, has different characteristics.

5. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a plurality of surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors, each of the plurality of SAW sensors comprising an interdigital transducer and a reflection grating distanced apart from the interdigital transducer, and

a distance between the interdigital transducer and the reflection grating differs among the plurality of SAW sensors so that the plurality of response signals emitted by the plurality of SAW sensors, respectively, has different delays.

6. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the response signal further comprises identifying supplementary response signals, among the other response signals, that are generated and emitted by at least two sensors among the other sensors based on the interrogator signal,

the obtaining the location information comprises obtaining location information about the at least two sensors by identifying the at least two sensors based on the supplementary response signals, and

the obtaining the location of the electronic device comprises triangulating a location of the sensor and locations of the at least two sensors.

7. The positioning method of claim 6, wherein the response signal from the sensor and the supplementary response signals are received, by the electronic device, earlier than response signals from a remainder of sensors of the plurality of sensors.

8. The positioning method of claim 6, wherein the response signal from the sensor and the supplementary response signals have greater signal strengths than that of response signals from a remainder of sensors of the plurality of sensors.

9. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the emitting the interrogator signal comprises:

emitting the interrogator signal based on identifying, by the at least one processor, that the electronic device has moved from an outside of a building to an inside of the building.

10. The positioning method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to the emitting the interrogator signal, receiving, by the electronic device, a global positioning system (GPS) signal,

wherein the emitting the interrogator signal comprises emitting the interrogator signal in response to stopping the receiving the GPS signal.

11. The positioning method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing identification information and location information about the plurality of sensors,

wherein the obtaining the location information comprises obtaining the location information about the sensor by identifying the sensor based on the identification information and the location information about the sensor and the response signal emitted by the sensor.

12. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the location of the electronic device comprises:

identifying the location of the electronic device at the electronic device.

13. An electronic device comprising:

a memory configured to store instructions; and

at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to;

control to emit an interrogator signal from the electronic device,

obtain a response signal that is generated and emitted by a sensor among a plurality of sensors in response to the interrogator signal,

obtain location information about the sensor by identifying the sensor based on the response signal, and

identify a location of the electronic device based on the location information about the sensor,

wherein the response signal is generated based on transduction of the interrogator signal, and

the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to;

obtain a plurality of response signals that are generated and emitted by the plurality of sensors based on the interrogator signal, the response signal being one of the plurality of response signals, and

identify the response signal of the sensor, among the plurality of response signals, as a signal that has arrived at the electronic device earlier than other response signals among the plurality of response signals of other sensors of the plurality of sensors, or as a signal having a greater signal strength than that of the other response signals of the other sensors.

14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the plurality of response signals have characteristics different from each other.

15. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a plurality of passive sensors having different designs.

16. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:

control to obtain supplementary response signals, among the other response signals, that are generated and emitted by at least two sensors among the other sensors based on the interrogator signal,

obtain location information about the at least two sensors by identifying the at least two sensors based on the supplementary response signals, and

identify the location of the electronic device by triangulating a location of the sensor and locations of the at least two sensors.

17. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to control to emit from the electronic device the interrogator signal based on identifying, by the at least one processor, that the electronic device has moved from an outside of a building to an inside of the building.

18. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the memory is further configured to store identification information and location information about the plurality of sensors, and

the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to control to obtain the location information about the sensor by identifying the sensor based on the identification information and the location information about the sensor, and the response signal emitted by the sensor.

19. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to control to identify the location of the electronic device based on the location information about the sensor.

20. A positioning method comprising:

receiving, by at least one processor of an electronic device, an interrogator signal from a reader among a plurality of readers;

generating a response signal based on transduction of the interrogator signal;

emitting the response signal; and

obtaining, by the at least one processor, information about a location of the electronic device, from the reader having received the response signal,

wherein the emitting the response signal comprises emitting, by the electronic device, a plurality of response signals in response to a plurality of interrogator signals received by the at least one processor from the plurality of readers, the interrogator signal being one of the plurality of interrogator signals, and

obtaining the information comprises identifying the location of the electronic device based on the response signal, among the plurality of response signals, that has arrived at the reader, among the plurality of readers, earlier than other response signals, among the plurality of response signals, have arrived at other readers of the plurality of readers, or based on the response signal, among the plurality of response signals, that has a greater signal strength than that of the other response signals.