RSSI and ultrasonic based hybrid ranging technology

• US 7,710,829 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2006
• Issued: 05/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yu, Xuwen, Wei, Qiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Lobo; Ian J
• Application Number:
  US11/909,028
• Publication Number:
  US 20090231958A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,497 Days
• Field of Search: 367/128, 342/125, 342/145
• US Class Current: 367/128
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/06 using intensity measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/14 using ultrasonic, sonic, or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/18 using ultrasonic, sonic, or infrasonic waves

Abstract

Disclosed is a hybrid ranging method comprising the steps of: transmitting from a first node an ultrasonic signal and a radio signal comprising at least one radio synchronization signal with a predetermined ratio; calculating, at a second node, a ultrasonic transmission time period between the receipt of the radio synchronization signal and the receipt of the ultrasonic signal; calculating, at the second node, an ultrasonic measured result between the first node and the second node by using the ultrasonic transmission time period; calculating, at the second node, the strength of the received radio signal, and obtaining a radio measured result between the first node and the second node from a reference database; calculating, at the second node, the smoothness of the ultrasonic measured result and the radio measured result; and determining at the second node, a final measured result according to the smoothness of the ultrasonic measured result and the radio measured result.

Claims

1. A hybrid ranging method comprising the steps of:

transmitting from a first node an ultrasonic signal and a radio signal comprising at least one radio synchronization signal with a predetermined ratio therebetween;

calculating, at a second node, a ultrasonic transmission time period between the receipt of the radio synchronization signal and the receipt of the ultrasonic signal;

calculating, at the second node, an ultrasonic measured result between the first node and the second node by using the ultrasonic transmission time period;

calculating, at the second node, the strength of the received radio signal, and obtaining a radio measured result between the first node and the second node from a reference database;

calculating, at the second node, the smoothness of the ultrasonic measured result and the radio measured result; and

determining, at the second node, a final measured result according to the smoothness of the ultrasonic measured result and the radio measured result.

2. The hybrid ranging method as claim 1, further comprising the step of:

adjusting, at the second node, the ratio between ultrasonic signals and the radio signals on the basis of the smoothness of the ultrasonic measured result and the radio measured result.

3. The hybrid ranging method as claim 1 or 2, wherein the second node calculates the smoothness of the ultrasonic measured result and the radio measured result by deviating the curve constructed by the ultrasonic measured results and the radio measured results.

4. The hybrid ranging method as claim 3, wherein the step of determining, at the second node, a final measured result according to the smoothness of the ultrasonic measured result and the radio measured result comprising:

comparing the smoothness with a predetermined threshold to judge whether these measured results smoothly change or not;

discarding the radio intensity measured result and using the ultrasonic measured result as the final measured result if the ultrasonic measured result changes smoothly and the radio measured result changes dramatically;

obtaining the final measured result D_iⁿ by correcting the previous ultrasonic measured result D_sound^n-1 with the present radio intensity measured result D_radioⁿ and the previous radio intensity measured result D_radio^n-1 if the radio measured result changes smoothly, and the ultrasonic measured result changes dramatically;

storing both measured results if both measured results change smoothly, and using the ultrasonic measured result as the final result; and

discarding the present results if both measured results change dramatically, and holding the previous result.

5. The hybrid ranging method as claim 4, wherein the correction of D_sound^n-1 is performed by the following to obtain the final measured result:

D_iⁿ=D_sound^n-1+(D_radioⁿ−

D_radio^n-1).

6. The hybrid ranging method as claim 3, wherein the step of adjusting, at the second node, the ratio between ultrasonic signals and the radio signals on the basis of the smoothness of the ultrasonic measured result and the radio measured result comprising:

judging whether the ultrasonic measured result and the radio measured result change smoothly by comparing the smoothness with the predetermined threshold;

storing the present measured result if change is smooth;

discarding the present measured result if change is dramatically;

increasing the number of transmitting the radio signals if the radio measured results change dramatically and correcting the previous ultrasonic measured result D_sound^n-1 with the present radio intensity measured result D_radioⁿ and the previous radio intensity measured result D_radio^n-1.

7. The hybrid ranging method as claim 6, wherein

if the retransmitted radio measured result changes dramatically, the number of transmitting the radio signals is decreased, the ultrasonic measured result is used as the final measured result;

storing the present results if the measured results obtained from the retransmitted radio signals have little steps.

8. The hybrid ranging method as claim 6, wherein the correction of D_sound^n-1 is performed by the following to obtain the final measured result:

D_iⁿ=D_sound^n-1+(D_radioⁿ−

D_radio^n-1).

9. The hybrid ranging method as claim 1, wherein the step of calculating, at a second node, a ultrasonic transmission time period between the receipt of the radio synchronization signal and the receipt of the ultrasonic signal comprising:

starting, at the second node, a clock to get the time when the radio synchronization signal is received as a start time;

stopping, at the second node, the clock to get the time when the ultrasonic signal is received as an end time, and then calculating the ultrasonic transmission time period by subtracting the start time from the end time.

10. The hybrid ranging method as claim 1 or 9, wherein the step of calculating, at the second node, an ultrasonic measured result between the first node and the second node by using the ultrasonic transmission time period comprising:

calculating the ultrasonic measured result by multiply the ultrasonic transmission time period with the speed of the ultrasonic speed.

11. The hybrid ranging method as claim 1, wherein the step of calculating, at the second node, the strength of the received radio signal comprising:

calculating the average of the strength of the received radio signals as a final radio signal strength.

12. The hybrid ranging method as claim 11, wherein,

calculating variance of the signal strength;

using the average of the radio signals whose variance larger than a predetermined variance value as the final strength.