System and methods for direction finding using a handheld device

• US 20070197229A1
• Filed: 02/21/2006
• Published: 08/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Doppler, Klaus, Kainulainen, Antti, Jantunen, Joni, Kauppinen, Hannu, Ollikainen, Jani, Lehtiniemi, Tuukka, Kalliola, Kimmo, Juntunen, Juha
• Granted Patent: US 7,667,646 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/46 using antennas spaced apart and measuring phase or time difference between signals therefrom, i.e. path-difference systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/04 Position of source determined by a plurality of spaced direction-finders
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/086 using weights depending on external parameters, e.g. direction of arrival [DOA], predetermined weights or beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A system for indicating the relative direction of a target object or location as determined from the current position of a wireless communication device. The system employs Direction of Arrival determination using an antenna array for indicating the direction of a target device and includes facilities to activate a location-indicating transmission in a target device, the ability to request that a location-indicating transmission be activated in a remote target device, relevant information reception from a target device and the display of all potential target devices within effective transmission range of the wireless communication device.

Claims

1. A method for determining the relative direction towards a target from a searching device, comprising:

receiving transmissions from targets within transmission range of a searching device;

displaying, on the searching device, a list of targets from which transmissions were received;

sending, if a desired target is missing from the list of targets, a wireless request message to activate a transmission or change transmitted signal properties in the desired target from the searching device so that the desired target may appear in the list of targets;

selecting, on the searching device, a target from the list of targets, and;

indicating, on the searching device, the relative direction towards the selected target with respect to the current position of the searching device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmissions from targets are received via wireless communication selected from the group consisting of short-range communication and long-range communication.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the short-range wireless communication is selected from the group consisting of Bluetooth™

, BTLEE/BluLite, ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4, WLAN, UWB, and UHF RFID communication.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmissions contain at least target identification information and information used to determine the Direction of Arrival of the transmission.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmissions include specific information related to a target aside from the location of a target.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the specific information related to the target is displayed when the device is selected on the searching device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the request message is sent via wireless communication to remotely activate a transmission in the desired target or change transmitted signal properties in the desired target.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the request message is sent via wireless communication to request that the owner of the desired target grant permission to locate the target, which if accepted, results in the activation of a transmission for the desired target or a change in the transmitted signal properties of the desired target.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the current location of the searching device with respect to the target.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmissions contain at least information about the target location.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmissions are encrypted to be accessed by authorized devices only.

34. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the current orientation of the searching device.

10. A device for determining the relative direction towards a target, comprising:

an antenna array composed of a plurality of antennas;

a switching device, coupled to the antenna array, for selecting each of the plurality of antennas in the antenna array;

a receiver, coupled to the switching device, for receiving transmission information from the antenna array;

a controller, coupled to at least the receiver, for determining source identification information based on the received transmission information and for displaying, on a device display, a list of targets based on the source identification information;

wherein the controller further determines the relative direction towards a target using a Direction of Arrival calculation, and displays the relative direction towards a target on the device display.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the antenna array is incorporated within the device.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein the antenna array is removably attachable to the device in a determinable orientation.

13. The device of claim 10, wherein the switching device switches between the plurality of antennas in the antenna array in rapid progression.

14. The device of claim 10, wherein the receiver is composed of two or more separate receivers including a first receiver for receiving the target identification information and at least a second receiver for processing the Direction of Arrival calculation.

15. The device of claim 10, wherein the device is a wireless communication device capable of at least one of long-range, short-range and near-field communications.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the device is capable of transmitting and receiving audio and video information.

17. The device of claim 10, further comprising a UHF RFID reader, wherein the UHF RFID reader is employed to trigger the activation of the transmission signal in a target.

19. The device of claim 10, wherein the device is capable of a communication selected from the group consisting of Bluetooth™

, BTLEE/BluLite, ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4, WLAN, UWB, and UHF RFID communication.

35. The device of claim 10, wherein the switching device sequentially feeds signal information from antennas in the antenna array to the receiver, for processing the signal information by the controller to determine a relative direction to a target.

18. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied in said medium for determining the relative direction towards a target from a searching device, comprising:

a computer readable program code for receiving transmissions from targets within transmission range of a searching device;

a computer readable program code for displaying, on the searching device, a list of targets from which transmissions were received;

a computer readable program code for sending, if a desired target is missing from the list of targets, a wireless request message to activate a transmission or change transmitted signal properties in the desired target from the searching device so that the desired target may appear in the list of targets;

a computer readable program code for selecting, on the searching device, a target from the list of targets, and;

a computer readable program code for indicating, on the searching device, the relative direction towards the selected target with respect to the current position of the searching device.

20. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the transmissions contain at least target identification information and information used to determine the Direction of Arrival of the transmission.

21. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the transmissions include specific information related to a target aside from the location of a target.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the specific information related to the target is displayed when the device is selected on the searching device.

23. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the request message is sent via wireless communication to remotely activate a transmission in the desired target or change transmitted signal properties in the desired target.

24. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the request message is sent via wireless communication to request that the owner of the desired target grant permission to locate the target, which if accepted, results in the activation of a transmission for the desired target.

25. The computer program product of claim 18, further comprising displaying the current location of the searching device with respect to the target.

32. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the transmissions contain at least information about the target location.

33. The computer program of claim 18, wherein the transmissions are encrypted to be accessed by authorized devices only.

26. A system for determining the relative direction towards a target device from a searching device, comprising:

targets;

a searching device;

a user;

the searching device receiving transmissions from the targets within transmission range of a searching device;

the searching device displaying, on the searching device, a list of the targets from which transmissions were received;

the searching device sending, if a desired target is missing from the list of targets, a request message to activate a transmission in the missing target or change transmitted signal properties in the desired target so that the missing target may appear in list of active targets;

the user selecting, on the searching device, a target from the list of targets, and;

the searching device indicating the relative direction towards the selected target with respect to the current position of the searching device.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the searching device is wireless communication device capable of communicating via at least one of long-range, short-range or near field communication.

28. A method for determining the relative direction towards a position marker inside a building structure from a searching device, comprising:

receiving transmissions from position markers within reception range of a searching device;

receiving a schematic of a building structure via wireless communication;

displaying, on the searching device, a list of position markers from which transmissions were received;

selecting, on the searching device, a position marker from the list of position markers, and;

indicating, on the searching device and in conjunction with the schematic of the building structure, the relative direction towards the selected position marker with respect to the current position of the searching device.

29. A method for determining the relative direction towards a position marker from a searching device, comprising:

receiving transmissions from position markers within reception range of a searching device;

displaying, on the searching device, a list of position markers from which transmissions were received;

selecting, on the searching device, a position marker from the list of position markers in order to view information related to the selected position marker;

displaying, on the searching device, information related to the selected position marker if available;

further selecting, on the searching device, a position from the list of position markers, and;

indicating, on the searching device, the relative direction towards the selected position marker with respect to the current position of the searching device.