Method and apparatus for location of objects, and application to real time display of the position of players, equipment and officials during a sporting event
First Claim
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1. A system for determining coarse and fine locations of an object, consisting of the following elements:
- (a) Four or more antennas, arranged in two or more closely spaced pairs dispersed in or around an area to be covered;
(b) Downconvertors or receivers attached to each of the antennas, with local oscillators of the downconvertors in all the receivers derived from a single reference;
(c) Phase locked loops to stabilize and reject noise in the downconverted signals;
(d) Phase detectors to determine phase difference between a received signal in each pair of antennas, providing coarse location through intersection of directions of arrival;
(e) Phase detectors to determine phase difference between a received signal in antennas not in the same pair, providing a set of intersections of loci of constant phase difference;
(f) Resolution of the fine location through selection among the intersections of loci of constant phase difference, based on the coarse location obtained in (d);
(g) A transmitter in the object to be tracked.
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Abstract
This application describes a method and apparatus for precisely locating moving or stationary objects, with specific application to the real time display of the position of balls and/or players in sporting events and/or monitoring of airplanes in runways, prisoners in prison, children in childcare, and basically subjects in any area with predetermined boundaries.
20 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A system for determining coarse and fine locations of an object, consisting of the following elements:
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(a) Four or more antennas, arranged in two or more closely spaced pairs dispersed in or around an area to be covered;
(b) Downconvertors or receivers attached to each of the antennas, with local oscillators of the downconvertors in all the receivers derived from a single reference;
(c) Phase locked loops to stabilize and reject noise in the downconverted signals;
(d) Phase detectors to determine phase difference between a received signal in each pair of antennas, providing coarse location through intersection of directions of arrival;
(e) Phase detectors to determine phase difference between a received signal in antennas not in the same pair, providing a set of intersections of loci of constant phase difference;
(f) Resolution of the fine location through selection among the intersections of loci of constant phase difference, based on the coarse location obtained in (d);
(g) A transmitter in the object to be tracked. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification