Personal navigation assistant system and apparatus

• US 7,263,375 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2004
• Issued: 08/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Maifeld, Mitchell J., Zavada, Joseph J., Garrison, Oliver A.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DANH C
• Application Number:
  US11/018,607
• Publication Number:
  US 20060135183A1
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.5, 455/456.6, 455/456.1, 701/200, 701/201, 342/357, 342/357.08, 340/995.23
• US Class Current: 455/456.6
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A personal location system including signal-transmitting RFID tags associated with various landmarks, such as hallways of buildings. The system'"'"'s personal receiver is preloaded with information about the building, equivalent to a map, and receives the RFID signals. These signals, in conjunction with the stored map, allow the environment to be displayed, and the location of the user to be identified. The receiver may be loaded with the map information by means of a device(s) located at the entrance(s) of the building.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a transmitter unit at a known, fixed location within a building, transmitting a wireless signal unique to that location;

a portable receiver or receiver/reader/memory located with said building, for receiving said wireless signal transmissions from said transmitter unit,

a processor co-located with said portable receiver, for storing information relating to the physical environment around at least said known location and information identifying said signal unique to said location, and for processing said signal unique to said location in conjunction with said information relating to the physical environment, for producing a human-sensible map of said environment around at least said known location

in which communications between said receiver and processor contain not only received signal identities, but also received signal strengths in a normalized, relative measurement; and

wherein said signal strengths are processed to determine which signal of numerous signals is strongest and presumed to be within closest proximity, which is second, and so on until all sufficiently-received signals are ranked.

2. A system, comprising:

a transmitter unit at a known, fixed location within a building, transmitting a wireless signal unique to that location;

a portable receiver or receiver/reader/memory located with said building, for receiving said wireless signal transmissions from said transmitter unit;

a processor associated with said portable receiver, for storing information relating to the physical environment around at least said known location and information identifying said signal unique to said location, and for processing said signal unique to said location in conjunction with said information relating to the physical environment, for producing a human-sensible indication of said known location relative to said environment, wherein said transmitter unit comprises;

a memory for storing at least one of a static or selectable code representative of a particular fixed location of said transmitter unit;

an electromagnetic signal generator operating at a frequency in an Industrial, Scientific, and Medical band, for generating signals to be transmitted, modulated by said code;

a directive antenna arrangement coupled to said electromagnetic signal generator, for directing electromagnetic radiation in a manner to prevent overlapping of the radiated energy patterns with other corresponding transmitter units of said system; and

timing means coupled to at least one of said memory, said electromagnetic signal generator, and said antenna arrangement, for recurrently enabling transmission of said electromagnetic signals.

3. A system, comprising:

a transmitter unit at a known, fixed location within a building, transmitting a wireless signal unique to that location;

a portable receiver or receiver/reader/memory located with said building, for receiving said wireless signal transmissions from said transmitter unit;

a processor associated with said portable receiver, for storing information relating to the physical environment around at least said known location and information identifying said signal unique to said location, and for processing said signal unique to said location in conjunction with said information relating to the physical environment, for producing a human-sensible indication of said known location relative to said environment, wherein said transmitter unit comprises;

a memory for storing at least one of a static or selectable code representative of a particular fixed location of said transmitter unit;

an electromagnetic signal generator operating at a frequency in an Industrial, Scientific, and Medical band, for generating signals to be transmitted, modulated by said code;

a directive antenna arrangement coupled to said electromagnetic signal generator, for directing electromagnetic radiation in a manner such as to overlap with the electromagnetic radiation of adjacent ones of said transmitter units; and

timing means coupled to at least one of said memory, said electromagnetic signal generator, and said antenna arrangement, for recurrently enabling transmission of said electromagnetic signals.

4. A system, comprising:

a transmitter unit at a known, fixed location within a building, transmitting a wireless signal unique to that location;

a portable receiver or receiver/reader/memory located with said building, for receiving said wireless signal transmissions from said transmitter unit;

a processor associated with said portable receiver, for storing information relating to the physical environment around at least said known location and information identifying said signal unique to said location, and for processing said signal unique to said location in conjunction with said information relating to the physical environment, for producing a human-sensible indication of said known location relative to said environment, wherein said transmitter unit comprises;

a memory for storing at least one of a static or selectable code representative of a particular fixed location of said transmitter unit;

an electromagnetic signal generator operating at a frequency in an Industrial, Scientific, and Medical band, for generating signals to be transmitted, modulated by said code;

a directive antenna arrangement coupled to said electromagnetic signal generator, for directing electromagnetic radiation; and

timing means coupled to at least one of said memory, said electromagnetic signal generator, and said antenna arrangement, for recurrently enabling transmission of said electromagnetic signals;

wherein said transmitter produces said wireless signal with a particular Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP).