Methods and systems for synchronized ultrasonic real time location

• US 8,604,909 B1
• Filed: 01/07/2011
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Centrak Incorporated (Halma PLC)
• Original Assignee: Centrak Incorporated (Halma PLC)
• Inventors: Amir, Israel, Annamalai, Karuppiah
• Primary Examiner(s): BLOUNT, ERIC
• Application Number:
  US12/986,519
• Time in Patent Office: 1,068 Days
• Field of Search: 340/8.1, 340/10.1, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/7.2, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 340/8.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02585 at least one of the measurements being a non-radio measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/22 Position of source determined by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements G01S5/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1149 Arrangements for indoor wireless networking of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Methods and systems for determining a location and an identity of a portable device are provided. The system includes apparatus for transmitting timing synchronization information, a plurality of stationary ultrasonic base stations and a plurality of portable devices. Each ultrasonic base station is configured to receive the timing synchronization information and to transmit a corresponding ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information. Each portable device is configured to: 1) receive the timing synchronization information, 2) detect the ultrasonic location codes from the ultrasonic base stations and 3) transmit an output signal including a portable device ID representative of the portable device and the detected ultrasonic location code. Each portable device is synchronized to detect the ultrasonic location code in the time period based on the received timing synchronization information.

Claims

1. A system for determining a location and an identity of a portable device, the system comprising:

means for transmitting timing synchronization information including a plurality of RF transceivers coupled to a backbone network and a time server generating the timing synchronization information;

wherein each of the plurality of RF transceivers periodically transmits a request to the time server to receive the timing synchronization information;

a plurality of stationary ultrasonic base stations, each ultrasonic base station configured to receive the timing synchronization information and to transmit a corresponding ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, each ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the respective ultrasonic base station; and

a plurality of portable devices, each portable device configured to

     1) receive the timing synchronization information,

     2) detect the ultrasonic location codes from the ultrasonic base stations and

     3) transmit an output signal including a portable device ID representative of the portable device and the detected location code,

wherein each portable device is synchronized to detect the ultrasonic location code in the time period based on the received timing synchronization information.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting includes means for receiving the output signal from each of the portable devices.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein each ultrasonic base station includes:

an ultrasonic transmitter configured to transmit the corresponding ultrasonic location code; and

a radio frequency (RF) receiver configured to receive the timing synchronization information from the means for transmitting.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein each portable device includes:

an ultrasonic detector configured to detect the ultrasonic location codes; and

a radio frequency (RF) transceiver configured to

     1) transmit the output signal including the portable device ID and the detected ultrasonic location code and

     2) receive the timing synchronization information from the means for transmitting.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting include a plurality of RF transceivers that are synchronized in time through a wired connection as at least a portion of the backbone network.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the wired connection is a local area network (LAN).

11. The system according to claim 9, the system further comprising a system server that includes the time server,

wherein the time server provides the time synchronization information to the RF transceivers upon a request by at least one of the plurality of RF transceivers.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein at least the plurality of portable devices or the plurality of ultrasonic base stations are configured to be in a sleep mode when not active.

18. The system according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of portable devices includes an ultrasonic receiver configured to receive ultrasonic signals containing the ultrasonic location codes and is configured to derive the timing synchronization information from the received ultrasonic signals.

3. A system for determining a location and an identity of a portable device, the system comprising:

means for transmitting timing synchronization information;

a plurality of stationary ultrasonic base stations, each ultrasonic base station configured to receive the timing synchronization information and to transmit a corresponding ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, each ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the respective ultrasonic base station; and

a plurality of portable devices, each portable device configured to

     1) receive the timing synchronization information,

     2) detect the ultrasonic location codes from the ultrasonic base stations and

     3) transmit an output signal including a portable device ID representative of the portable device and the detected location code,

wherein each portable device is synchronized to detect the ultrasonic location code in the time period based on the received timing synchronization information, and

wherein the means for transmitting includes at least one RF transceiver configured to periodically transmit beacons in predetermined time slots to the plurality of ultrasonic base stations and the plurality of portable devices, the beacons including the timing synchronization information and respective time delay information relative to a unified time of origin.

19. The system according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of portable devices includes an ultrasonic receiver configured to receive ultrasonic signals containing the ultrasonic location codes and is configured to derive the timing synchronization information from the received ultrasonic signals.

4. A system for determining a location and an identity of a portable device, the system comprising:

means for transmitting timing synchronization information;

a plurality of stationary ultrasonic base stations, each ultrasonic base station configured to receive the timing synchronization information and to transmit a corresponding ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, each ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the respective ultrasonic base station; and

a plurality of portable devices, each portable device configured to

     1) receive the timing synchronization information,

     2) detect the ultrasonic location codes from the ultrasonic base stations and

     3) transmit an output signal including a portable device ID representative of the portable device and the detected location code,

wherein the means for transmitting includes a plurality of RF transceivers, at least one of the RF transceivers configured to periodically transmit a request to an other one of the RF transceivers to receive the timing synchronization information, the other one of the RF transceivers storing the timing synchronization information; and

wherein each portable device is synchronized to detect the ultrasonic location code in the time period based on the received timing synchronization information.

20. The system according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of portable devices includes an ultrasonic receiver configured to receive ultrasonic signals containing the ultrasonic location codes and is configured to derive the timing synchronization information from the received ultrasonic signals.

7. A system for determining a location and an identity of a portable device, the system comprising:

means for transmitting timing synchronization information;

a plurality of stationary ultrasonic base stations, each ultrasonic base station configured to receive the timing synchronization information and to transmit an ultrasonic signal including a corresponding ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, each ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the respective ultrasonic base station; and

a plurality of portable devices, each portable device including a corresponding ultrasonic detector and being configured to

     1) receive the timing synchronization information,

     2) detect the ultrasonic location codes from the ultrasonic signals transmitted by the ultrasonic base stations and

     3) transmit an output signal including a portable device ID representative of the portable device and the detected location code,

wherein each of the portable devices activates the corresponding ultrasonic detector concurrently with a time that each of the plurality of ultrasonic base stations transmits the corresponding ultrasonic location code of the ultrasonic base station, based on the received timing synchronization information.

21. The system according to claim 7, wherein the ultrasonic detector of each of the plurality of portable devices is configured to derive the timing synchronization information from the detected ultrasonic signals.

8. A system for determining a location and an identity of a portable device, the system comprising:

means for transmitting timing synchronization information;

a plurality of stationary ultrasonic base stations, each ultrasonic base station configured to receive the timing synchronization information and to transmit a corresponding ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, each ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the respective ultrasonic base station; and

a plurality of portable devices, each portable device configured to

     1) receive the timing synchronization information,

     2) detect the ultrasonic location codes from the ultrasonic base stations and

     3) transmit an output signal including a portable device ID representative of the portable device and the detected location code,

wherein each portable device is synchronized to detect the ultrasonic location code in the time period based on the received timing synchronization information, and

wherein multiple ultrasonic base stations of the plurality of stationary ultrasonic base stations concurrently transmit the respective ultrasonic location codes of the multiple ultrasonic base stations.

22. The system according to claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of portable devices includes an ultrasonic receiver configured to receive ultrasonic signals containing the ultrasonic location codes and is configured to derive the timing synchronization information from the received ultrasonic signals.

12. A system for determining a location and an identity of a portable device, the system comprising:

means for transmitting timing synchronization information;

a plurality of stationary ultrasonic base stations, each ultrasonic base station configured to receive the timing synchronization information and to transmit a corresponding ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, each ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the respective ultrasonic base station, wherein the plurality of ultrasonic base stations transmit the respective ultrasonic location codes periodically in a predetermined order, and different ultrasonic base stations among the plurality of ultrasonic base stations are activated at times corresponding to respectively different portions of the ordered transmission; and

a plurality of portable devices, each portable device configured to

     1) receive the timing synchronization information,

     2) detect the ultrasonic location codes from the ultrasonic base stations and

     3) transmit an output signal including a portable device ID representative of the portable device and the detected location code,

wherein each portable device is synchronized to detect the ultrasonic location code in the time period based on the received timing synchronization information.

23. The system according to claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of portable devices includes an ultrasonic receiver configured to receive ultrasonic signals containing the ultrasonic location codes and is configured to derive the timing synchronization information from the received ultrasonic signals.

13. A system for determining a location and an identity of a portable device, the system comprising:

means for transmitting timing synchronization information;

a plurality of stationary ultrasonic base stations, each ultrasonic base station configured to receive the timing synchronization information and to transmit a corresponding ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, each ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the respective ultrasonic base station; and

a plurality of portable devices, each portable device configured to

     1) receive the timing synchronization information,

     2) detect the ultrasonic location codes from the ultrasonic base stations and

     3) transmit an output signal including a portable device ID representative of the portable device and the detected location code,

wherein the timing synchronization information is transmitted periodically in a cycle and the plurality of ultrasonic base stations are activated multiple times in each cycle, and

wherein each portable device is synchronized to detect the ultrasonic location code in the time period based on the received timing synchronization information.

24. The system according to claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of portable devices includes an ultrasonic receiver configured to receive ultrasonic signals containing the ultrasonic location codes and is configured to derive the timing synchronization information from the received ultrasonic signals.

15. A system for determining a location and an identity of a portable device, the system comprising:

means for transmitting timing synchronization information;

a plurality of stationary ultrasonic base stations, each ultrasonic base station configured to receive the timing synchronization information and to transmit a corresponding ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, each ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the respective ultrasonic base station; and

a plurality of portable devices, each portable device configured to

     1) receive the timing synchronization information,

     2) detect the ultrasonic location codes from the ultrasonic base stations and

     3) transmit an output signal including a portable device ID representative of the portable device and the detected location code,

wherein each portable device is synchronized to detect the ultrasonic location code in the time period based on the received timing synchronization information, and

wherein the timing synchronization information is respectively transmitted to each of the plurality of portable devices and the plurality of ultrasonic base stations in a same transmission packet as an acknowledgement (ACK) indicator responsive to the corresponding output signal that is transmitted by the plurality of portable devices.

25. The system according to claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of portable devices includes an ultrasonic receiver configured to receive ultrasonic signals containing the ultrasonic location codes and is configured to derive the timing synchronization information from the received ultrasonic signals.

16. An ultrasonic base station, comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) receiver, coupled to a time server via a backbone network and configured to receive timing synchronization information from the time server via the backbone network; and

an ultrasonic transmitter configured to transmit an ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, the ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the ultrasonic base station,

wherein the ultrasonic base station periodically transmits a request to the time server, via the backbone network, to receive the timing synchronization information.

17. The ultrasonic base station according to claim 16, wherein the ultrasonic base station is powered by a battery or an external power supply.

26. An ultrasonic base station, comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) receiver configured to receive timing synchronization information; and

an ultrasonic transmitter configured to transmit an ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, the ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the ultrasonic base station,

wherein the RF receiver is configured to receive beacons in predetermined time slots, the beacons including the timing synchronization information and respective time delay information relative to a unified time of origin.

27. An ultrasonic base station, comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) receiver configured to receive timing synchronization information; and

an ultrasonic transmitter configured to transmit an ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, the ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the ultrasonic base station,

wherein the ultrasonic transmitter of the base station is configured to transmit the ultrasonic location code concurrently with transmission of other ultrasonic location codes by other ultrasonic transmitters of respective other base stations.

28. An ultrasonic base station, comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) receiver configured to receive timing synchronization information; and

an ultrasonic transmitter configured to transmit an ultrasonic location code in a time period based on the received timing synchronization information, the ultrasonic location code representative of a location of the ultrasonic base station,

wherein the RF receiver is configured to receive the timing synchronization information in a same transmission packet as an acknowledgement (ACK) indicator.