Ultrasonic locationing using enrollment mode

• US 9,140,777 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2013
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Calvarese, Russell E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hellner, Mark
• Application Number:
  US13/893,509
• Publication Number:
  US 20140340994A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 367/117
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/725 Marker, boundary, call-sign or like beacons transmitting signals not carrying directional information
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/14 using ultrasonic, sonic, or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/16 using difference in transit time between electrical and acoustic signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/18 using ultrasonic, sonic, or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/30 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location

Abstract

An ultrasonic locationing method and system for ultrasonic locationing of a mobile device within an environment includes a plurality of fixed ultrasonic emitters to transmit an instruction to listen for an enrollment tone to at least one communication device, and to sequentially emit an enrollment tone from each emitter at specific times to be received by those communication devices that implemented the instruction. A controller receives a response from each of those communication devices, the respective response including an identity of the communication device, a time the enrollment tone was received, and an indication of a hardware platform of the communication device. The controller can then assign a locationing mode to each communication device in accordance with its hardware platform. The communication device provides locationing information using its assigned locationing mode and locationing tones from active emitters.

Claims

1. A system for ultrasonic locationing of a mobile device within an environment, the system comprising:

a plurality of fixed ultrasonic emitters within the environment, the emitters operable to transmit an instruction to listen for an enrollment tone to at least one communication device located within the environment, and to sequentially emit the enrollment tone from each emitter in the environment at specific times to be received by those communication devices that implement the instruction;

a controller coupled to the emitters, the controller operable to receive a response from each of those communication devices that implemented the instruction and received the enrollment tone, the respective response including an identity of the communication device, a time that the enrollment tone was received, and an indication of a hardware platform of the communication device, the controller also operable to assign a locationing mode to each responding communication device in accordance with the hardware platform of the respective communication device; and

at least one communication device operable to provide locationing information using its assigned locationing mode and locationing tones from active emitters.

2. A method of ultrasonic locationing of a mobile device within an environment, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of fixed ultrasonic emitters within the environment;

transmitting an instruction to listen for an enrollment tone to at least one communication device located within the environment;

sequentially emitting the enrollment tone from each emitter in the environment at specific times to be received by those communication devices that implemented the instruction;

receiving a response from each of those communication devices that implemented the instruction and received the enrollment tone, the respective response including an identity of the communication device, a time that the enrollment tone was received, and an indication of a hardware platform of the communication device;

assigning a locationing mode to each responding communication device in accordance with the hardware platform of the respective communication device; and

locationing of each communication device using its assigned locationing mode and locationing tones from active emitters.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of silencing those emitters that are not identified by any of the received responses.

4. The method of claim 3, where the silencing step also includes idling those communication devices that do not need locationing.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein if multiple communication devices are located within a same emitter region for locationing tones, the assigning step includes an individually-assigned time-slice for each of those multiple communication devices to perform locationing.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein if multiple communication devices are located within a same emitter region for locationing tones with varying mode capabilities, the assigning step includes an individually-assigned time-slice for each of those mode capabilities.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the period of each assigned time slice is dependent on the assigned locationing mode of the respective communication device.

8. The method of claim 2, where in the providing step the emitters are affixed to a ceiling of the environment and oriented towards a floor of the environment to provide a limited region for communication devices to receive the enrollment tone.

9. The method of claim 8, where in the emitting and locationing steps emitters in non-neighboring regions emit their tones at the same time.

10. The method of claim 2, where in the emitting and locationing steps the tones utilized have a frequency between 19 kHz and 22.05 kHz and the mobile device utilizes existing, unmodified audio circuitry for the locationing step.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein in the locationing step the particular locationing tones used are dependent on the locationing mode.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the locationing tones are emitted at a higher sound pressure level than the enrollment tones.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the locationing tones provide time-of-flight information used for locationing.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the locationing tones provide signal strength information used for locationing.

15. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of changing locationing modes dependent upon communication system loading.

16. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of changing locationing modes in response to a desired accuracy versus a position update rate.

17. The method of claim 2, wherein the steps of the method are repeated periodically.