Method and apparatus for determining the position and orientation of an object using a doppler shift of electromagnetic signals
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for determining and tracking a position of at least one movable object, said apparatus comprising:
- a transmitter having a transmitter antenna for transmitting a periodic electromagnetic signal;
a sensor mountable on the object including a receiver having a receiver antenna for receiving the signal transmitted by the transmitter; and
a controller connected to said transmitter and in communication with said sensor for controlling said periodic electromagnetic signal and for determining the position of the sensor relative to said transmitter thereby determining the position of the object upon which said sensor is mounted relative to said transmitter.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for determining the position and/or the orientation of a movable object using a Doppler shift of electromagnetic signals. The apparatus includes a transmitter for transmitting a periodic electromagnetic signal, a sensor mountable on the object for receiving the signal transmitted by the transmitter and a controller in communication with the transmitter and the sensor for determining the position and/or orientation of the sensor relative the transmitter.
47 Citations
32 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining and tracking a position of at least one movable object, said apparatus comprising:
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a transmitter having a transmitter antenna for transmitting a periodic electromagnetic signal;
a sensor mountable on the object including a receiver having a receiver antenna for receiving the signal transmitted by the transmitter; and
a controller connected to said transmitter and in communication with said sensor for controlling said periodic electromagnetic signal and for determining the position of the sensor relative to said transmitter thereby determining the position of the object upon which said sensor is mounted relative to said transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus for determining and tracking a position of a moving object, said apparatus comprising:
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a transmitter having an antenna array including a plurality of antennae, each of said antennae transmitting an electromagnetic signal having a periodically varying amplitude varying at a predetermined frequency equal to that of the signals transmitted by the other antennae within the array, the signal transmitted by each of said antennae being phase shifted relative to the signal transmitted by the adjacent antennae so the signals transmitted by the antenna array form a traveling composite electromagnetic signal;
a sensor mountable on the object including a receiver having a receiver antenna for receiving the composite signal transmitted by the antenna array; and
a controller in communication with said transmitter and said receiver for determining the position of the sensor relative to said transmitter thereby determining the position of the object upon which said sensor is mounted relative to said transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for determining and tracking a position of a moving object, said apparatus comprising:
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a transmitter having a first transmitter antenna for transmitting a first periodic electromagnetic signal in a first plane, and a second transmitter antenna for transmitting a second periodic electromagnetic signal in a second plane;
a sensor mountable on the object including a receiver having a receiver antenna for receiving said signals transmitted by the transmitter; and
a controller in communication with said transmitter and said sensor for controlling said first and second periodic electromagnetic signals and for determining the position of the sensor relative to said transmitter thereby determining the position of the object upon which said sensor is mounted relative to said transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31)
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29. A method for determining the position of at least one moving object relative a transmitter connected to a controller, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting at least one periodic traveling electromagnetic signal;
detecting said signal with a sensor mountable on the object;
converting the signal into a Doppler shift zero crossing indicator;
determining from said indicator the position of the sensor relative to said transmitter thereby determining the position of the object upon which said sensor is mounted relative to said transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (30, 32)
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Specification