Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus combining a tracking system and a wireless communication system

US6812824B1 · kind B1 · utility

576Cited by
163References
38Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 2, 2000
Grant dateNov 2, 2004
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 2, 2020

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG07C9/28
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

System for tracking mobile tags. Cell controllers with multiple antenna modules generate a carrier signal which is received by the tags. Tags shift the frequency of the carrier signal, modulate an identification code onto it, and transmit the resulting tag signal at randomized intervals. The antennas receive and process the response, and determine the presence of the tags by proximity and triangulation. The recursive-least squares (RLS) technique is used in filtering received signals. Distance of a tag from an antenna is calculated by measuring the round trip signal time. The cell controllers send data from the antenna to a host computer. The host computer collects the data and resolves them into positional estimates. A combined infrastructure including a wireless communication system and the local positioning system is also disclosed.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.