Short range RF monitoring system

• US 8,929,821 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2012
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: APSU USA Limited
• Original Assignee: Bigger Than The Wheel Limited
• Inventors: Elsom-Cook, Mark, Morris, Steve P
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsvey, Gennadiy
• Application Number:
  US13/600,175
• Publication Number:
  US 20130059600A1
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/67.11, 340/539.13, 340/539.21, 340/568.1
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/06 using intensity measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/20 derived by sampling signal received by an antenna system having periodically-varied orientation of directivity characteristic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A wireless short range radio-frequency master device adapted to create and maintain a portable private network of wireless short range radio-frequency slave devices wherein the master device is configured to detect and register suitable slave devices for a network, and is capable of determining the proximity of any registered slave device with respect to the master device in use, the master device further being adapted to enable a user to define two or more groups of registered slave devices selected from the total number of registered slave devices and to enable a user to select a defined group of such registered slave devices as an active group, thereby forming an active portable private network of wireless short range radio frequency devices comprising the master device and selected registered slave devices within the selected group.

Claims

1. A wireless short range radio frequency master device configured to:

receive at a plurality of orientations of the master device a plurality of radio signals from at least one slave device, wherein the plurality of radio signals are transmitted using variable strengths;

assess a strength of radio signals of the plurality of radio signals received in the plurality of orientations of the master device;

determine from differences in the strength of the radio signals received at the plurality of orientations of the master device, a direction of the at least one slave device relative to the master device; and

wherein the direction of the at least one slave device relative to the master device is other than the direction associated with any of the plurality of orientations of the master device used to assess the strength of the radio signals.

2. A method for determining a direction of at least one wireless short range radio-frequency slave device relative to a master device, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of radio signals from at least one slave device, wherein the plurality of radio signals are transmitted using variable strengths;

assessing a strength of radio signals received by the master device positioned at an initial orientation;

rotating the master device to one or more secondary orientations with respect to the initial orientation and assessing the strength of radio signals received by the master device positioned at each of the one or more secondary orientations; and

determining from differences in the strength of the radio signals at the initial orientation and at the one or more secondary orientations a direction of the at least one slave device relative to the master device; and

wherein the direction of the at least one slave device relative to the master device is other than a direction associated with any of the initial and secondary orientations used to assess the strength of the radio signals.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein a number of distinct orientations is four and an angle of rotation between each orientation is approximately 90 degrees.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the strength of the radio signals is determined by a combination of one or more of the following:

a measure of a strength of a signal transmitted by the master device as required by the at least one slave device;

a ratio of the strength of the signal received by the at least one slave device to the strength of the signal transmitted by the master device;

a ratio of a strength of a signal received by the master device to the strength of the signal transmitted by the at least one slave device;

a determination of a threshold of detection of a slave device by a variation of the strength of the master transmitter signal;

a determination of a path loss rate as decibel loss of signal strength between the master and the at least one slave device;

a determination of a bit error rate by measuring a number of packets of data lost between the master device and the at least one slave device;

a calibration of a change in signal strength received by the at least one slave device due to a change in a distance between the master and the at least one slave device, by a measurement of a strength of the signal received by the at least one slave device from the master device at one or more known distances from the master device; and

a calibration of a slave device transmitter and receiver by querying the slave device for manufacturer information and comparing a query response to a list of known previously calibrated devices.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

determining an error associated with the received signal strength;

comparing the determined error with a predefined value;

when the error exceeds the predefined value, measuring additional radio signals from the at least one slave device; and

reassessing a strength of the additional radio signals until the determined error becomes less than the predefined value.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program comprising instructions which, when implemented, enable a determination of the direction on the at least one slave device relative to the master device according to the method of claim 2.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving includes receiving a plurality of signals from at least two slave devices.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

repeating steps of rotating the master device and assessing the strength of radio signals until the direction is determined in a desired accuracy.

9. A system for creation and maintaining a portable private network of wireless short range radio-frequency devices comprising a master device and at least two slave devices that are enabled to form a portable private network when activated by the master device, wherein the master device is configured to:

receive at a plurality of orientations of the master device a plurality of radio signals from the at least two slave devices, wherein the plurality of radio signals are transmitted using variable strengths;

assess a strength of radio signals received by the master device;

determine from differences in the strength of the radio signals received at the plurality of orientations of the master device a direction of each of the at least two slave devices relative to the master device; and

wherein the direction of each of the at least two slave devices relative to the master device is other than a direction associated with any of the plurality of orientations of the master device used to assess the strength of the radio signals.