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Method and apparatus for position detection

  • US 5,150,310 A
  • Filed: 08/30/1989
  • Issued: 09/22/1992
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/30/1989
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A system for determining, in real-time, the spatial position of at least one object, the system comprisingtransmitting means including at least one transmitter coupled to said at least one object for transmitting a modulated electromagnetic radiation signal, said transmitted signal being modulated with a data bitstream including transmitter identification data and having a time-variant waveform including a selected feature,receiving means, including a plurality of receivers disposed at selected known locations, for receiving said transmitted signal and for generating an electrical receive signal representative of said transmitted signal,demodulation means, coupled to said receiving means, for demodulating said electrical receive signal to generate a demodulated electrical signal, andprocessing means, coupled to said demodulation means, for identifying said at least one transmitter and calculating, in response to said demodulated electrical signal, the spatial position of said at least one object with respect to said selected known positions of said receivers, said processing means includingarrival-time means for processing said demodulated electrical signal to generate arrival-time signals, said arrival-time signals being representative of respective arrival times at which said electromagnetic radiation is received at respective receivers,said arrival-time means including means for generating arrival time signals in response to the selected feature in said time-variant waveform, andcalculation means, for processing said arrival-time signals associated with said at least one object and corresponding to respective receivers, to calculate the spatial position of said at least one object with respect to said selected positions of said receivers.

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