USING TIME-DIFFERENCE-OF-ARRIVAL TO DETECT A POSITION OF A TARGET TRANSMITTER
First Claim
1. A system for detecting position of a target transmitter, comprising:
- two or more time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) units, each TDOA unit including two or more receivers that are synchronized together within the TDOA unit to obtain one or more TDOA measurements, but wherein each TDOA unit operates asynchronously with respect to the other TDOA units; and
a centralized data processing unit that receives the TDOA measurements or TDOA information calculated based on the TDOA measurements from the two or more TDOA units in order to estimate a position of the target transmitter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Multiple time-difference-of-arrival units, each having two or more receiver antennas can be used to determine a location of a target transmitter without synchronizing or connecting together the units. Specifically, a clock on each unit can be used to determine a difference of arrival of radio-frequency signals amongst antennas on the units. Each unit'"'"'s clock can be asynchronous with the clocks on the other units. Target estimation can therefore be achieved easily with limited wiring and the problems associated with synchronization can be reduced or eliminated. The multiple time-difference-of-arrival units can be used in indoor, outdoor (or a combination thereof) applications.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for detecting position of a target transmitter, comprising:
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two or more time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) units, each TDOA unit including two or more receivers that are synchronized together within the TDOA unit to obtain one or more TDOA measurements, but wherein each TDOA unit operates asynchronously with respect to the other TDOA units; and a centralized data processing unit that receives the TDOA measurements or TDOA information calculated based on the TDOA measurements from the two or more TDOA units in order to estimate a position of the target transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for detecting position of a target transmitter, comprising:
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receiving radio-frequency signals from the target transmitter in a first set of receivers in a first time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) unit so as to receive a first set of TDOA measurements associated with a first clock; receiving the radio-frequency signals from the target transmitter in a second set of receivers in a second time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) unit so as to receive a second set of TDOA measurements associated with a second clock that is not synchronized with the first clock; and using at least the first and second sets of TDOA measurements, calculating a position of the target transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer-readable storage for detecting position of a target transmitter, comprising:
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receiving radio-frequency signals from the target transmitter in multiple receivers in a first time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) unit so as to receive a first set of TDOA measurements associated with a first clock; calculating first TDOA data using the first set of TDOA measurements; transmitting the first TDOA data to a centralized data processing unit; receiving the radio-frequency signals from the target transmitter in multiple receivers in a second TDOA unit so as to receive a second set of TDOA measurements associated with a second clock that is not synchronized with the first clock; calculating second TDOA data using the second set of TDOA measurements; transmitting the second TDOA data to a centralized data processing unit; and using the first and second TDOA data, estimating a position of the target transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A system for detecting position of a target transmitter, comprising:
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multiple time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) units placed in an indoor or outdoor space, wherein the TDOA units are not synchronized with each other; wherein each TDOA unit includes multiple receivers, synchronized together internally within the unit to generate TDOA measurements; and a central processor for receiving the TDOA measurements from the multiple units in order to calculate a position of the target transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification