TRACKING SYSTEM USING RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY

• US 20090058606A1
• Filed: 08/27/2008
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Beyer, Stefan, Munch, Tobias, Hess, Wolfgang
• Granted Patent: US 8,098,138 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.100
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/758 using a signal generator powered by the interrogation signal
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/874 Combination of several systems for attitude determination in general G01C, control of attitude G05D1/49
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/304 For headphones

Abstract

A tracking system determines the orientation of an object. A transceiver transmits a signal and detects responses from multiple transponders. A processing unit determines an orientation parameter of the object by comparing the responses from the multiple transponders.

Claims

1. A tracking system, comprising:

a first transponder coupled with an object and having a first antenna with a predetermined directivity;

a second transponder coupled with the object and having a second antenna with a predetermined directivity, where an orientation of the second antenna is different from an orientation of the first antenna;

a transceiver configured to transmit a signal and detect a response from the first transponder and a response from the second transponder; and

a processing unit configured to determine an orientation parameter of the object by comparing the response from the first transponder and the response from the second transponder.

2. The tracking system of claim 1, where the transceiver is configured to detect a level of the response from the first transponder and a level of the response from the second transponder;

and

where the processing unit is configured to compare the level of the response from the first transponder with the level of the response from the second transponder to determine the orientation parameter of the object.

3. The tracking system of claim 1, where the first and second transponders comprise RFID transponders, and where the transceiver comprises an RFID reader.

4. The tracking system of claim 1, where the first and second transponders comprise passive RFID transponders.

5. The tracking system of claim 1, where the first and second transponders comprise active RFID transponders.

6. The tracking system of claim 1, where the first transponder comprises a memory for storing a first unique transponder identifier, where the second transponder comprises a memory for storing a second unique transponder identifier;

and

where the response from the first transponder includes the first unique transponder identifier, where the response from the second transponder includes the second unique transponder identifier.

7. The tracking system of claim 1, further comprising a third transponder coupled with the object and having a third antenna with a predetermined directivity, where an orientation of the third antenna is different from the orientation of the first antenna;

and

where the transceiver is configured to detect a response from the third transponder, where the orientation parameter comprises a first orientation parameter, where the processing unit is configured to compare the response from the first transponder and the response from the third transponder to determine a second orientation parameter of the object.

8. The tracking system of claim 1, where the object comprises a first object, the tracking system further comprising:

a third transponder coupled with a second object and having a third antenna with a predetermined directivity; and

a fourth transponder coupled with the second object and having a fourth antenna with a predetermined directivity, where an orientation of the fourth antenna is different from an orientation of the third antenna;

where the transceiver is configured to detect a response from the third transponder and a response from the fourth transponder, where the processing unit is configured to determine an orientation parameter of the second object by comparing the response from the third transponder and the response from the fourth transponder.

9. The tracking system of claim 1, where the first and second transponders are attached to or integrated in the object at a common location.

10. The tracking system of claim 1, where the first antenna is located substantially on a first plane, where the second antenna is located substantially on a second plane, where the first and second transponders are coupled with the object in positions so that the first and second planes form an angle between about 45 degrees and about 90 degrees.

11. The tracking system of claim 10, where the first and second transponders are coupled with the object in positions so that the first and second planes form an angle of about 90 degrees.

12. The tracking system of claim 1, where the orientation parameter of the object comprises a rotation angle of the object around a predetermined axis;

where the first antenna is located substantially on a first plane, where the second antenna is located substantially on a second plane, where the first and second planes are approximately perpendicular to the predetermined axis.

13. The tracking system of claim 1, where the transceiver is located at a fixed location, where the object is moveable relative to the transceiver.

14. The tracking system of claim 1, where the object comprises a headphone unit configured to simulate a surround sound reproduction of audio data.

15. The tracking system of claim 14, where the transceiver is included in a head rest of a vehicle seat.

16. The tracking system of claim 1, where the processing unit is configured to generate data based on the orientation parameter of the object for transmission to the object.

17. The tracking system of claim 1, where the signal transmitted from the transceiver comprises an electromagnetic field, where the transceiver is configured to detect the first transceiver by detecting an influence on the electromagnetic field.

18. The tracking system of claim 1, where the signal transmitted from the transceiver comprises an electromagnetic field, where the response from the first transponder comprises an electromagnetic response field, where the transceiver is configured to detect the first transceiver by detecting the electromagnetic response field.

19. A tracking system, comprising:

an RFID reader configured to transmit a signal and detect a response from a first RFID transponder coupled with an object and a response from a second RFID transponder coupled with the object; and

a processing unit configured to determine an orientation parameter of the object by comparing the response from the first RFID transponder and the response from the second RFID transponder, where the processing unit is configured to generate data based on the orientation parameter of the object for transmission to the object.

20. The tracking system of claim 19, where the object comprises a headphone unit configured to receive audio data and produce a surround sound reproduction of the audio data.

21. The tracking system of claim 20, where the processing unit is configured to set at least one characteristic of the audio data for the headphone unit based on the orientation parameter of the headphone unit.

22. A tracking system, comprising:

a first transponder having a first antenna with a predetermined directivity, where the first transponder is coupled with a headphone unit configured to receive audio data and produce a surround sound reproduction of the audio data; and

a second transponder coupled with the headphone unit and having a second antenna with a predetermined directivity, where an orientation of the second antenna is different from an orientation of the first antenna;

where the first transponder is configured to receive an electromagnetic field and produce a response with a level that varies depending on a relative orientation between the electromagnetic field and the first antenna, where the second transponder is configured to receive the electromagnetic field and produce a response with a level that varies depending on a relative orientation between the electromagnetic field and the second antenna.

23. A tracking system, comprising:

a first transponder having a first antenna with a predetermined directivity, where the first transponder is coupled with a headphone unit configured to receive audio data and produce a surround sound reproduction of the audio data;

a second transponder coupled with the headphone unit and having a second antenna with a predetermined directivity, where an orientation of the second antenna is different from an orientation of the first antenna;

a transceiver configured to transmit a signal and detect a response from the first transponder and a response from the second transponder; and

a processing unit configured to determine an orientation parameter of the headphone unit by comparing the response from the first transponder and the response from the second transponder.

24. The tracking system of claim 23, where the processing unit is configured to set at least one characteristic of the audio data for the headphone unit based on the orientation parameter of the headphone unit.

25. The tracking system of claim 23, where the processing unit is configured to detect a change in the orientation parameter of the headphone unit by comparing the response from the first transponder and the response from the second transponder;

and

where the surround sound reproduction at the headphone unit includes a virtual sound source, where the processing unit is configured to set the at least one characteristic of the audio data so that the surround sound reproduction at the headphone unit reflects a change to a listener'"'"'s spatial orientation relative to the virtual sound source that approximately corresponds to the detected change in the orientation parameter of the headphone unit.

26. A method for determining an orientation of an object, comprising:

transmitting a signal;

detecting a response from a first transponder and a response from a second transponder, where the first and second transponders are coupled with the object so that an antenna of the first transponder has a different orientation than an antenna of the second transponder;

comparing the response from the first transponder and the response from the second transponder to determine an orientation parameter of the object; and

generating data based on the orientation parameter of the object for transmission to the object.

27. The method of claim 26, where the act of detecting comprises detecting a level of the response from the first transponder and a level of the response from the second transponder;

and

where the act of comparing comprises comparing the level of the response from the first transponder with the level of the response from the second transponder to determine the orientation parameter of the object.

28. The method of claim 26, where the first and second transponders comprise RFID transponders, and where the act of emitting comprises emitting the signal from an RFID reader.

29. The method of claim 26, where a first unique transponder identifier is associated with the first transponder, where a second unique transponder identifier is associated with the second transponder;

and

where the act of detecting comprises identifying that the response from the first transponder includes the first unique transponder identifier and that the response from the second transponder includes the second unique transponder identifier.

30. The method of claim 26, where the orientation parameter comprises a first orientation parameter, the method further comprising:

detecting a response from a third transponder coupled with the object in a position so that an antenna of the third transponder has a different orientation than the antenna of the first transponder; and

comparing the response from the first transponder and the response from the third transponder to determine a second orientation parameter of the object.

31. The method of claim 26, where the object comprises a first object, the method further comprising:

detecting a response from a third transponder and a response from a fourth transponder, where the third and fourth transponders are coupled with a second object so that an antenna of the third transponder has a different orientation than an antenna of the fourth transponder; and

comparing the response from the third transponder and the response from the fourth transponder to determine an orientation parameter of the second object.

32. The method of claim 26, where the object comprises a headphone unit configured to receive audio data and produce a surround sound reproduction of the audio data.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising setting at least one characteristic of the audio data for the headphone unit based on the orientation parameter of the headphone unit.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising modifying at least one characteristic of the audio data to approximately correspond to a detected change in the orientation parameter of the headphone unit.

35. The method of claim 32, where the surround sound reproduction at the headphone unit includes a virtual sound source, the method further comprising:

detecting a change in the orientation parameter of the headphone unit by comparing the response from the first transponder and the response from the second transponder; and

setting the at least one characteristic of the audio data so that the surround sound reproduction at the headphone unit reflects a change to a listener'"'"'s spatial orientation relative to the virtual sound source that approximately corresponds to the detected change in the orientation parameter of the headphone unit.