Wireless communication terminals and methods using acoustic ranging synchronized to RF communication signals
First Claim
1. A communication terminal comprising:
- a radio frequency (RF) transceiver that comprises a Bluetooth transceiver that operates to establish a Bluetooth communication network with another communication terminal across a wireless communication network that uses RF communication signals with known timing characteristics;
a microphone that generates a microphone signal that is indicative of incident acoustic signals;
a controller that is configured to synchronize a clock in response to frame timing of the Bluetooth communication network, to transmit through the Bluetooth transceiver to the other communication terminal a message that identifies a Bluetooth signaling frame number that will serve as a known timing event that is to trigger the other communication terminal to begin generation of an acoustic signal, and is configured to determine a propagation time of the acoustic signal from the other communication terminal to the microphone based on a difference between timing of occurrence of the identified Bluetooth signaling frame number and the acoustic signal receipt time, and to determine an acoustic range to the other communication terminal in response to the propagation time of the acoustic signal.
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Abstract
Wireless communication terminals and methods are disclosed that determine acoustic ranging synchronized to RF communication signals. A communication terminal can include a RF transceiver, a microphone, and a controller. The controller synchronizes a clock in response to known timing characteristics of received RF communication signals. The controller determines an acoustic signal generation time relative to the RF communication signal synchronized clock at which the other communication terminal will generate an acoustic signal. The controller determines an acoustic signal receipt time relative to the RF signal synchronized clock when the acoustic signal from the other communication terminal is detected in the microphone signal. The controller further determines a propagation time of the acoustic signal from the other communication terminal to the microphone based on a difference between the acoustic signal generation time and the acoustic signal receipt time, and determines a range to the other communication terminal in response to the propagation time of the acoustic signal.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A communication terminal comprising:
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a radio frequency (RF) transceiver that comprises a Bluetooth transceiver that operates to establish a Bluetooth communication network with another communication terminal across a wireless communication network that uses RF communication signals with known timing characteristics; a microphone that generates a microphone signal that is indicative of incident acoustic signals; a controller that is configured to synchronize a clock in response to frame timing of the Bluetooth communication network, to transmit through the Bluetooth transceiver to the other communication terminal a message that identifies a Bluetooth signaling frame number that will serve as a known timing event that is to trigger the other communication terminal to begin generation of an acoustic signal, and is configured to determine a propagation time of the acoustic signal from the other communication terminal to the microphone based on a difference between timing of occurrence of the identified Bluetooth signaling frame number and the acoustic signal receipt time, and to determine an acoustic range to the other communication terminal in response to the propagation time of the acoustic signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A communication terminal comprising:
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a radio frequency (RF) transceiver comprises a cellular transceiver that is configured to communicate with another communication terminal through a cellular base station across a wireless communication network that uses RF communication signals with known timing characteristics; a microphone that generates a microphone signal that is indicative of incident acoustic signals; a controller that is configured to synchronize a clock in response to RF communication signals received from the cellular base station, to transmit through the cellular base station to the other communication terminal a message that identifies a signaling frame number that is to trigger the other communication terminal to begin generation of the acoustic signal, to determine the propagation time of the acoustic signal from the other communication terminal to the microphone based on a difference between timing of occurrence of the signaling frame number and the acoustic signal receipt time, and to determine an acoustic range to the other communication terminal in response to the propagation time of the acoustic signal. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A communication terminal comprising:
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a radio frequency (RF) transceiver that is configured to communicate with another communication terminal across a wireless communication network that uses RF communication signals with known timing characteristics; a sound generation device; and a controller that is configured to synchronize a clock in response to the known timing characteristics of received RF communication signals, to enable an acoustic ranging mode in response to identifying an acoustic ranging command received from the other communication terminal via the RF transceiver that indicates that the other communication terminal is ready to assist with acoustic ranging, to determine an acoustic signal generation time relative to the RF communication signal synchronized clock, and to cause the sound generation device to generate an acoustic signal in response to occurrence of the identified acoustic signal generation time and the acoustic ranging mode being enabled, wherein the controller is further configured to determine the acoustic signal generation time from information within the received acoustic ranging command, and wherein the controller is further configured to receive an acoustic signal receipt time signal from the other communication terminal via the RF transceiver that indicates when the acoustic signal was received by the other communication terminal relative to the synchronized clock, to determine a propagation time of the acoustic signal to the other communication terminal based on the acoustic signal receipt time signal, and to determine an acoustic range to the other communication terminal in response to the propagation time of the acoustic signal.
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8. A communication terminal comprising:
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a Bluetooth transceiver that is configured to communicate with another communication terminal across a Bluetooth communication network that uses RF communication signals with known timing characteristics; a sound generation device; and a controller that is configured to synchronize a clock in response to frame timing of the Bluetooth communication network, to enable an acoustic ranging mode in response to receiving a message from the other communication terminal via the RF transceiver that indicates that the other communication terminal is ready to assist with acoustic ranging and identifies a Bluetooth signaling frame number that will trigger the communication terminal to begin generation of an acoustic signal, and to cause the sound generation device to generate the acoustic signal in response to occurrence of the Bluetooth signaling frame number and the acoustic ranging mode being enabled. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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Specification