Methods and apparatus to detect location and orientation in an inductive system
First Claim
1. A method of detecting a position of a first transducer assembly with respect to a second transducer assembly, the method comprising:
- at the first transducer assembly, receiving magnetic field signals from the second transducer assembly, the magnetic field signals including communication data; and
based on magnitudes of the magnetic field signals received on the first transducer assembly, identifying a position in space of the first transducer assembly with respect to the second transducer assembly, the first transducer assembly including M uniquely oriented transducers, where M is an integer equal to one or more, the second transducer assembly including N uniquely oriented transducers, where N is an integer equal to one or more; and
wherein the M uniquely oriented transducers in the first transducer assembly are substantially orthogonal with respect to each other and the N uniquely oriented transducers in the second transducer assembly are substantially orthogonal with respect to each other.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A base station (e.g., a central device including a transducer assembly of one or more orthogonal transducers) transmits a magnetic field at a known power level and direction. The magnetic field signal includes data information transmitted from the base station to a movable remote station. The remote station includes a transducer assembly of one or multiple transducer coils to receive the magnetic field generated by the base station. Location and orientation of the remote station (with respect to the base station) are determined based on the magnitude, amplitude, and/or phase of magnetic field signals received on each of the remote station'"'"'s transducers. The remote station may transmit the location and orientation information (e.g., raw measured data or converted data) to the base station using the same coils as used by the remote station to receive the magnetic field generated by the base station.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A method of detecting a position of a first transducer assembly with respect to a second transducer assembly, the method comprising:
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at the first transducer assembly, receiving magnetic field signals from the second transducer assembly, the magnetic field signals including communication data; and based on magnitudes of the magnetic field signals received on the first transducer assembly, identifying a position in space of the first transducer assembly with respect to the second transducer assembly, the first transducer assembly including M uniquely oriented transducers, where M is an integer equal to one or more, the second transducer assembly including N uniquely oriented transducers, where N is an integer equal to one or more; and wherein the M uniquely oriented transducers in the first transducer assembly are substantially orthogonal with respect to each other and the N uniquely oriented transducers in the second transducer assembly are substantially orthogonal with respect to each other. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. An apparatus for detecting spatial attributes in an inductive coupling, the apparatus comprising:
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a first transducer assembly for receiving magnetic field signals from a second transducer assembly having a known orientation at a fixed location, the magnetic field signals including encoded data, the first transducer assembly affixed to a movable object having a random orientation and location with respect to the second transducer assembly; an electronic circuit that measures magnitudes of the magnetic field signals received on at least two uniquely oriented transducers of the first transducer assembly; a processor device that utilizes the measured magnitudes of the magnetic field signals to identify a relative location and orientation of the first transducer assembly; and a decoding device for extracting encoded data from the magnetic field signals. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A method of detecting a location of a transducer assembly, the method comprising:
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receiving a magnetic field signal on a single transducer of the transducer assembly, the magnetic field signal including communication data from a source generating the magnetic field signal; and based on receipt of the magnetic field signal on the single transducer of the transducer assembly, identifying the location of the transducer assembly; the method further comprising; receiving magnetic field signals from the source; synchronizing the transducer assembly for receiving the magnetic field signals from the source in different timeframes; receiving a first magnetic field signal from the source in a first timeframe, the first magnetic field having a first orientation; and receiving a second magnetic field from the source in a second timeframe, the second magnetic field having a second orientation. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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Specification