Position management system and position management program

• US 7,557,703 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2006
• Issued: 07/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yamada, Kentaro, Nakamura, Takahiro, Hasegawa, Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilson; Brian
• Application Number:
  US11/482,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20070013510A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,093 Days
• Field of Search: 3405721-5729, 340 101- 106, 340/539.1, 367118-130
• US Class Current: 340/539.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/46 Indirect determination of position data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/74 Systems using reradiation of radio waves, e.g. secondary radar systems; Analogous systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/46 Indirect determination of position data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/74 Systems using reradiation of acoustic waves, e.g. IFF, i.e. identification of friend or foe
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/466 by Trilateration, i.e. two antennas or two sensors determine separately the distance to a target, whereby with the knowledge of the baseline length, i.e. the distance between the antennas or sensors, the position data of the target is determined
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2015/465 by Trilateration, i.e. two transducers determine separately the distance to a target, whereby with the knowledge of the baseline length, i.e. the distance between the transducers, the position data of the target is determined

Abstract

A position management system including two or more types of detection tags provided to objects whose positions are to be detected, detectors provided corresponding to the detection tags, and a position data processor, in which the detection tags complement detection abilities with each other, in which when a detector receives a signal from a detection tag provided to an object, the detector generates detection result data including a unique tag ID which is assigned to the detection tag and a device ID which is assigned to the detector, and in which the position data processor processes the detection result data acquired from the detector and arrangement data of the detector in order to specify a position of the object.

Claims

1. A position management system comprising:

two or more types of detection tags provided to objects whose positions are to be detected, the type of detection tag is selectively provided in accordance with particular characteristics of each of the objects;

detectors provided corresponding to the detection tags;

wherein two or more types of the detectors are alternately arranged in grids with predetermined spaces in a ceiling of a detection space; and

a position data processor, wherein the detection tags complement detection abilities with each other, wherein when a detector receives a signal from a detection tag provided to an object, the detector generates detection result data including a unique tag ID which is assigned to the detection tag and a device ID which is assigned to the detector, and wherein the position data processor processes the detection result data acquired from the detector and arrangement data of the detector in order to specify a position of the object.

2. A position management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the detection tags are ultrasonic tags and RFID tags.

3. A position management system as claimed in claim 2, wherein

the objects include at least an autonomous mobile object, and wherein

the position data processor creates a path of the autonomous mobile object based on information about a movement start point and a movement end point of the autonomous mobile object and the specified position of the object and informs the created path to the autonomous mobile object.

4. A position management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the objects includes at least an autonomous mobile object, and wherein

the position data processor creates a path of the autonomous mobile object based on information about a movement start point and a movement end point of the autonomous mobile object and the specified position of the object and informs the created path to the autonomous mobile object.

5. A position management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the objects include at least an autonomous mobile object, and wherein the position data processor creates a path of the autonomous mobile object based on information about a movement start point and a movement end point of the autonomous mobile object and the specified position of the object and informs the created path to the autonomous mobile object.

6. A position management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the two or more types of detection tags is provided to objects that are placed behind other objects and are difficult to supply power to, and the other one of the two or more types of detection tags is provided to objects that have no occlusion problem and are easy to supply power to.

7. A position management system as claimed in claim 1,wherein the position data processor processes includes an I/O unit, a position data processor storage, and a main controller having a map generator and a path planner.

8. A position management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detection result data generated by the detectors further includes characteristics features of objects including a shape and a size of the object.

9. A computer readable storage medium storing a position management program for a position management system, the position management system comprising:

two or more types of detection tags provided to objects whose positions are to be detected, the type of detection tag being selectively provided in accordance with particular characteristics of each of the objects; and

detectors provided corresponding to the detection tags;

wherein two or more types of the detectors are alternately arranged in grids with predetermined spaces in a ceiling of a detection space;

wherein the detection tags complement detection abilities with each other, and wherein when a detector receives a signal from a detection tag provided to an object, the detector generates detection result data including a unique tag ID which is assigned to the detection tag and a device ID which is assigned to the detector, the computer readable storage medium storing the position management program for causing a computer to implement a method comprising;

processing the detection result data acquired from the detector and arrangement data of the detector;

specifying a position of the object; and

managing positions of the objects in a detection space.

10. A computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 9, wherein

the objects includes at least an autonomous mobile object, the computer readable storage medium storing the position management program to cause the computer to implement the method further comprising:

creating a path of the autonomous mobile object based on information about a movement start point and a movement end point of the autonomous mobile object and the specified position of the object; and

informing the created path to the autonomous mobile object.