Location finding system, using reflected radio frequency or acoustic signals in a crowded reflector environment
US7130243B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 13, 2006 |
| Grant date | Oct 31, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 13, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01V1/001
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method of locating one or more reflectors in an environment crowded with reflectors. A transmitter and multiple receivers are used to obtain reflected signals. Each path of a reflected signal is defined by an ellipse having the transmitter at one focus and a receiver at the other. A reflector is assumed to lie on the ellipse, and an intersection of ellipses is assumed to be a reflector location. The region is iteratively divided into smaller and smaller cells, and a search algorithm is performed to determine whether a given point in each cell lies on an ellipse. A “solution” is a point that lies on the same number of ellipses as the number of receivers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.