Object positioning system, object positioning apparatus and object positioning method
First Claim
1. An object positioning system (100), comprising:
- a first base station (120) for determining a location of an object (142, 152) based upon an object-related signal;
an object-attachable tag (140, 150); and
a portable transceiver (160), comprising;
a receiver arrangement (161;
163) for receiving a signal from the tag (140, 150);
a signal processor (164) for converting the signal into the object-related signal; and
a transmitter arrangement (162;
165) for sending the object-related signal to the first base station (120).
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An object positioning system (100) for tracking the location of an object (142) comprises a base station (120) including a computer (124) coupled to at least a first receiver (122). The object (142) is fitted with a tag (140) having a limited signal transmission range, which is typically too weak to be directly received by the first receiver (122). A user (180) wears a portable transceiver (160), which activates the base station (120) by means of an object-related signal when within reception range of the signal transmitted by the tag (140). The computer (124) determines the location of the portable transceiver (160) worn by the user (180), and associates this position with the position of the object (142). As soon as the user (180) moves outside the signal transmission range of the tag (140), the object-related signal is terminated and the last known position of the portable transceiver (160) is used as the new location of the object (142).
75 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An object positioning system (100), comprising:
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a first base station (120) for determining a location of an object (142, 152) based upon an object-related signal;
an object-attachable tag (140, 150); and
a portable transceiver (160), comprising;
a receiver arrangement (161;
163) for receiving a signal from the tag (140, 150);
a signal processor (164) for converting the signal into the object-related signal; and
a transmitter arrangement (162;
165) for sending the object-related signal to the first base station (120). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of positioning a location of an object (300), the method comprising the steps of:
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sending a signal from a tag to a portable transceiver (320);
converting the signal to an object-related signal (340);
sending the object-related signal to a base station (360); and
determining the position of the portable transceiver sending the object-related signal (370); and
associating the position of the object with the determined position of the portable transceiver (380). - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification