Distributed network for multi-lateration with circularly polarized antenna for hemispherical coverage

• US 6,127,976 A
• Filed: 09/02/1999
• Issued: 10/03/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Zebra Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: Wherenet Corporation (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Harrington, Timothy C., Belcher, Donald K., Boyd, Robert W., Wohl, Michael A., Hash, Ronald J., Stryker, David J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Blum, Theodore M.
• Application Number:
  US09/390,030
• Time in Patent Office: 397 Days
• Field of Search: 342/463, 342/464, 342/465, 342/450
• US Class Current: 342/463
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0081 Transmission between base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/06 Position of source determined by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements G01S5/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations

Abstract

A distributed radio geo-location and tracking system has a distributed subsystem architecture that distributes its processing workload over a plurality of information handling and processing subsystems. For maximum detection capability, each of a plurality of tag emission receivers is equipped with a circularly polarized, omnidirectional antenna, to provide hemispherical coverage. The receivers are coupled to a partitioned plurality of detection processors, that are coupled via distributed association processors to multiple location processors. Each detection processor demodulates and time stamps received energy correlated to known spreading codes of the tags, to associate received energy with only one tag. It transmits a message containing this information over a communication framework to an association processor. The computational load is equitably distributed by a flow control mechanism among available association processors, with all receptions of a single tag transmission being directed to the same association processor. An association processor organizes received messages by tag and time-of-arrival (TOA), and transmits association reports over an association communication process of the communication framework to one of plural distributed location processors. A location processor determines the geographical locations of tags using the TOA information in the association reports.

Claims

1. A method for identifying the geographical locations of objects having tags containing transmitters, a respective tag'"'"'s transmitter being operative to transmit signals containing information identifying its associated tag, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving, at a plurality of geographically dispersed receivers having known geographical positions, signals transmitted from one or more of said tags;

(b) processing signals received in step (b) at each of a plurality of detection processors to which receivers receiving signals from a tag in step (a) are coupled, so as to determine the earliest time-of-arrival of signals received thereby from said tag;

(c) assembling, at said each of said detection processors, a respective message containing the identification of said tag and the earliest time-of-arrival of signals received therefrom by a receiver to which said each detection processor is coupled;

(d) transmitting messages assembled in step (c) by said detection processors for multiple tags to a plurality of association processors, and such that messages assembled in step (c) by said detection processors for the same tag are transmitted to the same association processor, each association processor being operative to store contents of messages received from one or more detection processors as a respective association report for a respective tag; and

(e) transmitting association reports stored by said association processors in step (d) to a plurality of location processors, each of which is operative to determine the geographical location of tags identified in association reports received thereby, in accordance with time-of-arrival information for said tags contained in said association reports.

2. A method according to claim 1, further including the step of:

(f) coupling information contained in location reports identifying the geographical locations of tags determined in step (e) with a user interface.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises transmitting messages assembled by said detection processors in step (c) for different tags to different ones of said plurality of association processors, so as to distribute messages for different tags among plural association processors.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein step (d) comprises distributing messages assembled by said detection processors in step (c) for different tags in a generally uniform manner among different association processors.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein step (e) comprises transmitting association reports for different tags to different ones of said plurality of location processors, so as to distribute association reports for different tags among plural location processors.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein step (e) comprises distributing association reports in a generally uniform manner among different location processors.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein a respective tag transmitter is operative to randomly and repetitively transmit a spread spectrum signal encoded with information representative of the identification of its associated object, and wherein step (b) comprises correlating spread spectrum signals received in step (a) with spread spectrum reference signal patterns, and thereby determining which received spread spectrum signals are first-to-arrive spread spectrum signals as transmitted from a tag.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein step (b) further comprises processing signals received in step (a) by means of a matched filter correlator, having a plurality of matched filter parallel correlators which are operative to correlate received signals with successively time offset versions of a reference pseudo random spreading code corresponding to that of spread spectrum signals transmitted by said tag.

9. A system for identifying the geographical locations of objects having tags containing transmitters, a respective tag'"'"'s transmitter being operative to transmit signals containing information identifying its associated tag, comprising:

a plurality of geographically dispersed receivers having known geographical positions, and being operative to receive signals transmitted from one or more of said tags;

a plurality of detection processors coupled to said receivers, and being operative to process signals received thereby to identify earliest time-of-arrival signals received from a tag, a respective detection processor being operative to transmit a respective message, containing the identification of a tag and the earliest time-of-arrival of signals received therefrom by a receiver to which said each detection processor is coupled, over a communication framework to a selected one of a plurality of association processors, such that messages transmitted by detection processors for the same tag are transmitted to the same association processor;

each association processor being operative to store contents of messages received from one or more detection processors as a respective association report for a respective tag, and to transmit association reports over said communication framework to a plurality of location processors; and

wherein

each location processor is operative to determine the geographical location of tags identified in association reports received thereby, in accordance with time-of-arrival information for said tags contained in said association reports.

10. A system according to claim 9, further a digital storage facility which is operative to couple with a user interface information contained in location reports identifying geographical locations of tags.

11. A system according to claim 9, wherein said communication framework is configured to distribute messages transmitted by said detection processors for different tags to different ones of said plurality of association processors.

12. A system according to claim 11, wherein said communication framework is configured to distribute messages transmitted by said detection processors for different tags in a generally uniform manner among different association processors.

13. A system according to claim 9, wherein said communication framework is configured to distribute association reports for different tags to different ones of said plurality of location processors.

14. A system according to claim 13, wherein said communication framework is configured to distribute association reports in a generally uniform manner among different location processors.

15. A system according to claim 9, wherein a respective tag transmitter is operative to randomly and repetitively transmit a spread spectrum signal encoded with information representative of the identification of its associated object, and wherein a detection processor is operative to correlate received spectrum signals with spread spectrum reference signal patterns, and thereby determine which received spread spectrum signals are first-to-arrive spread spectrum signals as transmitted from a tag.

16. A system according to claim 9, wherein a respective receiver includes a circularly polarized, omni-directional antenna providing generally hemispherical coverage of said objects.

17. A distributed data processing system for use with a geo-location system for identifying geographical locations of objects having tags containing transmitters, a respective tag'"'"'s transmitter being operative to transmit signals containing information identifying its associated tag, and including a plurality of geographically dispersed receivers having known geographical positions, and being operative to receive signals transmitted from one or more of said tags, said system comprising

a plurality of detection processors, partitioned among said plurality of geographically dispersed receivers, and being coupled to derive, from signals received by a receiver coupled thereto, times-of-arrival of earliest detectable portions of tag transmissions and tag identification information data contained therein, and wherein a respective detection processor is operative to transmit, over a communication framework to one of a partitioned set of association processors, a tag detection report containing the time-of-arrival of and tag identification information within a received transmission for a single tag;

a respective association processor being operative to store received messages from one or more detection processors and to transmit association reports for respective tags over said communication framework to one of a partitioned set of location processors, such that an association report for a given tag is transmitted to one location processor; and

wherein

a respective location processor is operative to determine the geographical location of a tag using time-of-arrival information derived from information in association reports derived from messages from said detection processors associated with said tag.

18. A distributed data processing system according to claim 17, wherein said communication framework is operative to determine which of said association processors is to receive messages from detection processors associated with a given tag in accordance with an operation that distributes messages among association processors based upon contents of tag transmissions.

19. A distributed data processing system according to claim 18, wherein said communication framework is operative to determine which of said location processors is to receive an association report from an association processor in accordance with an operation that distributes messages among location processors based upon contents of tag transmissions.

20. A distributed data processing system according to claim 18, wherein a respective receiver includes a circularly polarized, omnidirectional antenna providing generally hemispherical coverage of said objects.