Bore-box locating system

• US 7,787,329 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2004
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: UCTec Beteiligungsgesellschaft AG
• Original Assignee: UCTec Beteiligungsgesellschaft AG
• Inventors: Eisen, Stephan, Fischer, Hanspeter
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza; Thomas H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ratcliffe; Luke D
• Application Number:
  US10/579,347
• Publication Number:
  US 20070273586A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,132 Days
• Field of Search: 367/127
• US Class Current: 367/127
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/16 using difference in transit time between electrical and acoustic signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/01 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/018 Involving non-radio wave signals or measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02 using radio waves using satellite radio beacon systems for determining position G01S19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/30 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location

Abstract

A locating arrangement has ultrasonic transmitters strung along a straight section. The use of the ultrasonic transmitters for determining a location along the section is possible with a high spatial resolution and for a multiplicity of identification units.

Claims

1. A locating arrangement comprising:

a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters arranged along a path;

at least one electromagnetic radiation receiver;

at least one identification unit comprising an ultrasonic receiver and an electromagnetic radiation transmitter; and

an evaluation unit;

wherein the distance between adjacent ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters is greater than one meter;

wherein the evaluation unit is operable to determine a location with a coarse resolution depending on a reception signal on the at least one electromagnetic radiation receiver, said reception signal having been sent by the electromagnetic radiation transmitter of the at least one identification unit; and

wherein the evaluation unit is further operable to carry out a finer spatial resolution relative to the coarse resolution based on a propagation time measurement determined with the aid of at least two ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and the ultrasonic receiver of the at least one identification unit.

2. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters are arranged at mutually uniform distances between mutually adjacent transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters, the mutually uniform distances being in the range of from one meter to three meters, and wherein the ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters are arranged along a straight section.

3. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 2 wherein the mutually uniform distances are approximately 1.5 meters to two meters.

4. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters are arranged along an aisle.

5. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 4 wherein the ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters are arranged along an aisle in a factory building.

6. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 5 wherein semiconductor wafers or other substrates for integrated electronic circuits are processed in the factory building.

7. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a drive unit operable to drive the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters based on a pulsed operating mode in which ultrasonic pulses are transmitted between transmission pauses.

8. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a drive unit operable to work cyclically and generate for the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters drive signals that instigate a transmission of ultrasonic pulses,

wherein a cycle of the drive unit comprises at least two sections, a different portion of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters being driven in each of the at least two sections,

and wherein the drive unit comprises a plurality of group drive units, said plurality of group drive units generating the drive signals for the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters depending on an input signal.

9. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 8, further comprising at least three further ultrasonic transmitters arranged along a further path.

10. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 9 wherein the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters are arranged along a further straight section and at mutually identical distances between mutually adjacent ultrasonic transmitters of the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters, wherein the path and the further path lie parallel or transversely with respect to one another.

11. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 9, wherein the path and the further path are arranged parallel to one another, and wherein one path of the path and the further path, in the event of a parallel displacement, overlaps the other path of the path and the further path completely or over at least 50 percent of a length of the further path.

12. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 11, wherein at least one ultrasonic transmitter of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters on the path and at least one ultrasonic transmitter of the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters on the further path transmit simultaneously, and wherein more than one ultrasonic transmitter lies between the at least two ultrasonic transmitters transmitting simultaneously after a parallel displacement.

13. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 11 wherein a region into which no ultrasonic signal of the ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and of the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters or only a greatly attenuated ultrasonic signal of the ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and of the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters penetrates between the path and the further path.

14. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 8 further comprising at least three further ultrasonic transmitters arranged along a straight main path at mutually identical distances between mutually adjacent ultrasonic transmitters of the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters, wherein the straight main path lies transversely with respect to at least two secondary paths, in particular at an angle of 90 degrees.

15. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 14 wherein the straight main path lies at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the at least two secondary paths.

16. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 14 further comprising at least two further electromagnetic radiation receivers, wherein the at least two further electromagnetic radiation receivers and the at least one electromagnetic radiation receiver are strung along a reciever straight path at mutually identical receiver distances between mutually adjacent electromagnetic radiation receivers of the at least two further electromagnetic radiation receivers and the at least one electromagnetic radiation receiver, wherein the mutually identical receiver distance between mutually adjacent electromagnetic radiation receivers is at least twice as large as the distance between mutually adjacent ultrasonic transmitters of at least one of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters, and the mutually identical receiver distance between mutually adjacent electromagnetic radiation receivers is less than five times the distance between mutually adjacent ultrasonic transmitters of at least one of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters.

17. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 16, wherein the mutually identical receiver distance comprises at least one of a distance greater than three meters and less than seven meters, a distance greater than four meters and less than 5.5 meters, and a distance of 4.8 meters, or wherein the at least one electromagnetic radiation receiver and the at least two further electromagnetic radiation receivers are arranged on a first section and at least one of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters are arranged on the first section, wherein one electromagnetic radiation receiver of the at least one electromagnetic radiation receiver and the at least two further electromagnetic radiation receivers is arranged between two ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters at the same distance from the two ultrasonic transmitters.

18. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 17 further comprising a plurality of connection units, wherein at each connection unit of the plurality of connection units a plurality of antenna modules are operated, each antenna module of the plurality of antenna modules containing a reception antenna and a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters, and wherein the plurality of connection units are connected via a local data transmission network.

19. The locating arrangement as claimed in claim 17 further comprising at least 500 identification units having mutually different identifications and being arranged in an acoustic irradiation range of the ultrasonic transmitters of at least one of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters, wherein the at least 500 identification units are fixed to a receptacle container for a plurality of substrates for integrated circuits.

24. A batch box localization system comprising a locating arrangement operable to detect transport paths for a plurality of batch boxes between a plurality of manufacturing installations and locates the batch boxes with an accuracy of less than two meters, wherein the locating arrangement as claimed in claim 1 is used.

25. The batch box localization system as claimed in claim 24 further comprising a communication system that outputs at least one of manufacturing data or transport data to output units fixed to the batch boxes.

26. The batch box localization system as claimed in claim 24 further comprising a communication system that outputs manufacturing data and transport data to output units fixed to the batch boxes.

20. A location determining method comprising:

constructing a locating arrangement comprising a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters along at least one path;

constructing at least two electromagnetic radiation receivers, said at least two electromagnetic radiation receivers receiving radiation from at least one region irradiated with sound by an ultrasonic transmitter of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters;

introducing at least one identification unit into a region irradiated with sound by at least two ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters, the at least one identification unit comprising an ultrasonic receiver and an electromagnetic radiation transmitter;

carrying out an ultrasonic propagation time measurement from the at least two ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters to the at least one identification unit and determining at least one propagation time datum;

determining a fine position of the at least one identification unit depending on the propagation time datum;

determining a coarse position of the at least one identification unit using the at least two electromagnetic radiation receivers and the electromagnetic radiation transmitter of the at least one identification unit; and

combining the fine position and the coarse position to form a location datum.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20 further comprising:

carrying out the ultrasonic propagation time measurement in the at least one identification unit;

communicating the propagation time datum from the at least one identification unit via an electromagnetic radiation receiver of the at least two electromagnetic radiation receivers to an evaluation unit, wherein the evaluation unit determines the location datum; and

determining the coarse position based on a reception intensity upon reception of the propagation time datum at the at least two electromagnetic radiation receivers.

22. The method as claimed in claim 20 further comprising using the locating arrangement comprising:

a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters arranged along a path;

at least one electromagnetic radiation receiver;

at elast one identification unit comprising an ultrasonic receiver and an electromagnetic radiation transmitter; and

an evaluation unit;

wherein the distance between adjacent ultrasonic transmitter of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitter is greater than one meter;

wherein the evaluation unit is operable to determine a location with a coarse resolution depending on a reception signal on the at least one electromagnetic radiation receiver, said reception signal having been sent by the electromagnetic radiation transmitter of the at least one identification unit; and

wherein the evaluation unit is further operable to carry out a finer spatial resolution relative to the coarse resolution based on a propagation time measurement determined with the aid of at least two ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and the ultrasonic receiver of the at least one identification unit.

23. The method as claimed in claim 20 further comprising:

determining the fine position by trigonometrical calculations in a plane containing a section, wherein the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters are arranged in the section, and wherein the section contains the at least one identification unit; and

determining a fine position by one spatial coordinate.

27. A locating arrangement comprising:

(a) a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters arranged along a path;

(b) at least three electromagnetic radiation receivers arranged along the path;

(c) a drive unit operable to work cyclically and generate for the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters drive signals that instigate a transmission of ultrasonic pulses, the drive unit comprising a plurality of group drive units that generate the drive signals for the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters depending on an input signal;

(d) at least three further ultrasonic transmitters arranged along a straight main path at mutually identical distances between mutually adjacent ultrasonic transmitters of the at least three further ultrasonic transmitters;

(e) at least one identification unit comprising an ultrasonic receiver and an electromagnetic radiation transmitter; and

(f) an evaluation unit operable to determine a location with a coarse resolution depending on a reception signal at the at least three electromagnetic radiation receivers;

wherein the straight main path lies transversely with respect to at least two secondary paths at an angle of 90 degrees;

wherein a transmitter distance between adjacent ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters is greater than one meter;

wherein a cycle of the drive unit comprises at least two sections, a different portion of at least one of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters and the least three further ultrasonic transmitters being driven in each of the at least two sections;

wherein the at least three electromagnetic radiation receivers are strung along a straight path at mutually identical receiver distances between mutually adjacent electromagnetic radiation receivers, wherein the mutually identical receiver distance is at least twice as large as the transmitter distance, and the mutually identical receiver distance is less than five times the transmitter distance; and

wherein the evaluation unit is further operable to carry out a finer spatial resolution relative to the coarse resolution based on a propagation time measurement determined with the aid of at least two ultrasonic transmitters of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters; and

wherein the at least three electromagnetic radiation receivers are operable to receive data from the at least one identification unit to be located.