Positioning method and apparatus using wireless signal

• US 9,851,430 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2015
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Cho, Jai Hyung
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Dao
• Application Number:
  US14/726,834
• Publication Number:
  US 20160011297A1
• Time in Patent Office: 939 Days
• Field of Search: 342394, 342442, 342457, 342458, 342464, 4554565, 455457
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/06 Position of source determined by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements G01S5/12 takes precedence

Abstract

A terminal that receives carrier signals with start point information indicated thereon from three or more base stations (BSs) including a serving BS, calculates a difference in phase angles between carrier signals of two BSs while changing the two BSs by using the start point information of the carrier signals of the two BSs among the three or more BSs, and calculates coordinates of the terminal by using the calculated differences in distance of arrival is provided.

Claims

1. A positioning method of a terminal using a wireless signal, the method comprising:

receiving carrier signals with start point information indicated thereon from three or more base stations (BSs) including a serving BS;

calculating a difference in phase angles between carrier signals of two BSs, while changing the two BSs, by using the start point information of the carrier signals of the two BSs among the three or more BSs;

calculating differences in distances of arrival from the corresponding two BS to the terminal by using the calculated differences in phase angles; and

calculating coordinates of the terminal by using the calculated differences in distances of arrival.

2. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein at least one among a phase, an amplitude, and a frequency of the carrier signal is changed on the basis of the start point period, and the calculating includes detecting the point at which at least one among the phase, the amplitude, and the frequency is changed, as a start point of the carrier signals.

3. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the receiving includes:

calculating a propagation incident angle range of each of the nearby BSs on the basis of the coordinates of the terminal and coordinates of the nearby BSs; and

filtering only a carrier signal received within the propagation incident angle ranges of each of the BSs.

4. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the calculating includes:

generating diffraction paths from BSs, among the nearby BSs, to the terminal by using 3D map information;

calculating differences in lengths between the diffraction paths from two BSs to the terminal, while changing the two BSs, among the nearby BSs;

calculating an error between the difference in lengths between the diffraction paths calculated with respect to a same BS subject and a difference in distances of arrival; and

calculating coordinates of the terminal by using an error value.

5. The positioning method of claim 4, wherein the generating of diffraction paths includes:

generating a linear vector connecting the coordinates of the terminal and coordinates of any one BS;

generating an edge vector forming a plane from plane information of a building adjacent to the terminal, while intersecting the linear vector, by using the 3D map information;

calculating an orthogonal projection point to which the linear vector between the terminal and any one BS is projected on the edge vector; and

linking the calculated orthogonal projection point, the any one BS, and the terminal to generate a diffraction path from the any one BS to the terminal.

6. The positioning method of claim 5, wherein the calculating of coordinates of the terminal includes calculating the coordinates of the terminal at which an error value is minimized.

7. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the calculating of a difference in distances of arrival includes:

receiving an offset value with respect to a difference in phase angles between the serving BS and a neighbor BS of the serving BS, calculated by the serving BS, from the serving BS; and

compensating for the difference in phase angles between the carrier signals of the two BSs by using the received offset value.

8. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the offset value includes:

receiving, by the serving BS, the carrier signal from a neighbor BS;

calculating, by the serving BS, a phase angle of the carrier signal with respect to a start point of the carrier signal of the neighbor BS;

calculating, by the serving BS, an offset value with respect to a difference in phases between a phase angle calculated with respect to the start point of the carrier signal transmitted by the serving BS and a phase angle calculated with respect to the start point of the carrier signal of the neighbor BS; and

transmitting, by the serving BS, the offset value.

9. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the receiving includes transmitting, by the three or more BSs, carrier signals with frequencies of mutually different bands.

10. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the receiving includes transmitting, by the three or more BSs, carrier signals at mutually different times.

11. A positioning apparatus of a terminal using a wireless signal, the apparatus comprising:

a reception unit configured to receive carrier signals with start point information indicated thereon from three or more nearby base stations (BSs) including a serving BS;

a phase tracking unit configured to detect a start point and a start point period of each of the received carrier signals of the BSs;

a plurality of phase clock units configured to calculate a phase angle of each of the carrier signals of the BSs with respect to a start point of each of the carrier signals of the BSs; and

a control unit configured to calculate a difference in phase angles between carrier signals of two BSs, among the nearby BSs, while changing the two BSs, calculate a difference in distances of arrival from the corresponding two BS to the terminal by using the calculated differences in phase angles, and calculate coordinates of the terminal by using the calculated differences in distances of arrival.

12. The positioning apparatus of claim 11, wherein the control unit generates diffraction paths from the BSs to the terminal by using the calculated coordinates of the terminal and 3D map information, and corrects the coordinates of the terminal by using the diffraction paths from the BSs to the terminal.

13. The positioning apparatus of claim 12, wherein the control unit calculates differences in lengths between the diffraction paths from two BSs to the terminal, while changing the two BSs, calculates an error between the difference in lengths between the diffraction paths calculated with respect to a same BS subject and a difference in distances of arrival, and corrects coordinates of the terminal by using an error value.

14. The positioning apparatus of claim 12, wherein the control unit generates a linear vector connecting the coordinates of the terminal and coordinates of any one BS, generates an edge vector forming a plane from plane information of a building adjacent to the terminal while intersecting the linear vector by using the 3D map information, calculates an orthogonal projection point to which the linear vector between the terminal and any one BS is projected on the edge vector, and links the calculated orthogonal projection point, the any one BS, and the terminal to generate a diffraction path from the any one BS to the terminal.

15. The positioning apparatus of claim 11, wherein the control unit controls the reception unit to filter only a carrier signal received within a propagation incident angle range of the directions of the nearby BSs.

16. The positioning apparatus of claim 15, wherein the control unit calculates a propagation incident angle range of each BS on the basis of the coordinates of the terminal and the coordinates of the nearby BSs received from the serving BS.

17. The positioning apparatus of claim 11, wherein at least one among a phase, an amplitude, and a frequency of the carrier signal is changed on the basis of the start point period, and the phase tracking unit detects the point at which at least one among the phase, the amplitude, and the frequency is changed, as a start point of the carrier signals.

18. The positioning apparatus of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of phase clock units synchronizes a phase clock with respect to the carrier signal of the corresponding BS to a wavelength of the corresponding carrier signal, and when a start point of the carrier signal of the corresponding BS is detected, each of the plurality of phase clock units resets a phase clock with respect to the carrier signal of the corresponding BS.

19. The positioning apparatus of claim 11, wherein the reception unit receives at least one offset value with respect to a difference in phase angles between the serving BS and a neighbor BS of the serving BS, calculated by the serving BS, through the serving BS, and the control unit compensates for each difference in phase angles between the carrier signals by using the at least one offset value.

20. The positioning apparatus of claim 11, wherein when the interval of the start point period is converted into a distance, the distance is longer than a maximum distance between two BSs.