A positioning method, apparatus and system

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application discloses a positioning method, device and system, relates to the radio frequency identification technical field, and can reduce the number of receiving channels, reduce complexity and cost. The specific scheme is as follows: the positioning device comprises an antenna selection circuit, a receiving processing circuit, and a processor, the antenna selection circuit is coupled to the processor through the receiving processing circuit, the antenna selection circuit is used for being coupled with an antenna array comprising M*N antenna units, the antenna selection circuit is used for selecting different combinations of antenna units in the antenna array, each combination of antenna units comprises L antenna units; the processor is used for controlling the antenna selection circuit to select a combination of antenna units in the antenna array; the receiving processing circuit is used for receiving a response signal from a tag through the L antenna units selected by the antenna selection circuit, and processing the response signal; and the processor is further used for positioning the position of the tag based on the processed data.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of radio frequency identification technology, and in particular to a positioning method, device and system. BACKGROUND

[0002] Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is a non-contact automatic identification technology that can realize target identity identification and data exchange through wireless two-way communication. RFID tags can be widely used in warehouse, logistics, store and other scenarios for asset inventory, identification and positioning. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, in a logistics warehouse, RFID tags can be used for cargo positioning. Figure 1

[0003] Figure 2 FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of an RFID positioning system. As shown in FIG. 2, an interactive terminal sends product electronic code (EPC) information of a tag to a transceiver integrated reader, the reader sends a command to the RFID tag through multiple antenna units (for example, antennas 1 to N in FIG. 2), the RFID tag with the same EPC information reflects a signal, the reader receives the reflected signal through multiple receiving channels, and the position of the RFID tag is obtained based on the reflected signal. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the transceiver integrated reader realizes the positioning of the RFID tag through multiple transmit (TX) / receive (RX) channels. Figure 2 Figure 2 Figure 2 Figure 2 The number of receiving channels in the reader is equal to the number of antenna units, and the more the number of receiving channels and the number of antenna units, the better the positioning distance and positioning accuracy of the RFID tag.

[0004] However, since the number of receiving channels of the reader in FIG. 2 is the same as the number of antenna units, in the case of a large number of antenna units, the number of receiving channels of the reader will be large, resulting in high complexity and high cost of the reader. Figure 2 SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a positioning method, device and system, which can reduce the number of receiving channels, reduce complexity and have low cost.

[0006] To achieve the above object, embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0007] ​​​​​In a first aspect, the present application provides a positioning device, which comprises an antenna selection circuit, a receiving processing circuit, and a processor, the antenna selection circuit is coupled to the processor through the receiving processing circuit; the antenna selection circuit is used to be coupled with an antenna array, the antenna array comprises M*N antenna units, M and N are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and M and N are not 1 at the same time, the antenna selection circuit is used to select different combinations of antenna units in the antenna array, each combination of antenna units comprises L antenna units, L is a positive integer less than M*N; the processor is used to send a first command to a tag, the first command is used to inventory or query the tag; the processor is also used to control the antenna selection circuit to select a combination of antenna units in the antenna array; the receiving processing circuit is used to receive a response signal from the tag through the L antenna units selected by the antenna selection circuit, and process the response signal; and the processor is also used to locate the position of the tag based on the data processed by the receiving processing circuit.

[0008] Based on the present application, L antenna units are selected in the M*N antenna array through the antenna selection circuit, and the position of the tag can be located based on the response signal received by the selected L antenna units. In this scheme, the number of receiving channels is L, which is less than the number of antenna units included in the antenna array. Compared with the prior art in which the number of receiving channels is the same as the number of antenna units, the number of receiving channels can be significantly reduced, the complexity is reduced, and the cost is lower.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the antenna selection circuit comprises L switching switches, one end of each switching switch is used to be coupled with K antenna units in the antenna array, K is a positive integer less than or equal to M*N / L, and the other end of each switching switch is coupled with the receiving processing circuit; and the processor is specifically used to control the L switching switches to select L antenna units in the antenna array.

[0010] Based on the present application, L antenna units are selected in the antenna array through the L switching switches, which can reduce the number of receiving channels of the positioning device, reduce the complexity and cost. Optionally, each switching switch can realize a K-to-1 function, and the switching switch can be a K-to-1 switch or a switch composed of multiple switches and capable of realizing a K-to-1 function. That is, the logical function of each switching switch is to realize a K-to-1 function, and the physical form of the switching switch can be a switch or multiple switches.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the K antenna units coupled with each switching switch are located in different columns of the antenna array, or the K antenna units coupled with each switching switch are located in different rows of the antenna array, or the K antenna units coupled with each switching switch are located in different rows and different columns of the antenna array.

[0012] Based on the scheme, since the K antenna units coupled by each switching switch are located in different columns, or different rows, or different rows and columns of the antenna array, the data information obtained by the different combinations of antenna units selected by the L switching switches is more, and the accuracy of tag positioning can be improved.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the processor is specifically configured to control the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna units every first time length in a time period in which the tag transmits a response signal. The first time length is related to the time length in which the tag transmits the response signal and the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array.

[0014] Optionally, the time length in which the tag transmits a response signal can be the time length in which the tag transmits an EPC frame. The processor can start timing from sending an ACK command, and when the timing reaches a preset time length, the processor determines that the tag starts to transmit the EPC frame. The processor can determine the time at which the tag transmits the EPC frame completely according to the time at which the tag starts to transmit the EPC frame and the time length in which the tag transmits the EPC frame. The processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna units every first time length from the time at which the tag starts to transmit the EPC frame until the tag transmits the EPC frame completely. Optionally, the time length in which the tag transmits the EPC frame = total number of symbols * number of symbol periods per symbol / symbol rate.

[0015] Based on the scheme, the combination of antenna units can be switched multiple times in a time period in which the tag transmits an EPC frame once, and therefore the switching time of the combination of antenna units is short, the positioning speed is fast, and the scheme is more suitable for a time-consuming sensitive positioning scene.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the processor is further configured to send multiple query commands, and switch the combination of antenna units every time a query command is sent; the query command is used to query the tag.

[0017] Based on the scheme, the processor switches a combination of antenna units every time a query command is sent. Compared with the switching manner in the foregoing implementation manner (switching the combination of antenna units multiple times in a time period in which the tag reports an EPC frame once), the switching time of the combination of antenna units is longer, and the scheme is more suitable for a time-consuming insensitive positioning scene.

[0018] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the processor is further configured to stop switching the combination of the antenna elements when a preset condition is met, wherein the preset condition comprises at least one of the following: the number of the combination of the antenna elements selected when locating one tag reaches a preset number, the preset number being less than or equal to the number of different combinations of the antenna elements included in the antenna array; or the different combinations of the antenna elements switched have traversed a preset plurality of combinations of the antenna elements.

[0019] According to the scheme, the processor can stop switching the combination of the antenna elements when the number of the combination of the antenna elements selected when locating one tag reaches a preset number or the different combinations of the antenna elements switched have traversed a preset plurality of combinations of the antenna elements, so that the position of the tag can be located more accurately according to the response signals received by the selected different combinations of the antenna elements.

[0020] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the receiving processing circuit comprises L sub-receiving processing circuits, and the processor is specifically configured to: combine the data processed by each of the L sub-receiving processing circuits; weight the combined data; obtain a direction angle corresponding to one combination of the antenna elements based on the weighted data; and obtain the position of the tag based on the direction angles corresponding to a plurality of combinations of the antenna elements.

[0021] According to the scheme, when locating the position of the tag, the azimuth filtering can be implemented by weighting the combined signals. Moreover, the weighting processing on the combined signals can replace the phase shifter, so that the phase shifter can be omitted, and the cost can be reduced.

[0022] It should be noted that the weighting on the combined signals in the present application refers to the azimuth filtering processing on the combined signals by using Q sets of multi-beam filtering codebooks. Q beam directions correspond to Q sets of codebook coefficients, and the data weighted by each set of codebook coefficients can be obtained by multiplying each set of codebook coefficients with the combined signals and then combining the results.

[0023] Optionally, for the tag, the device sending the command to the tag and the device receiving the response signal from the tag can be the same device or different devices. For example, if the command is sent to the tag by the repeater and the response signal of the tag is received by the reader, for the tag, the receiving and the sending are implemented in two devices respectively, so the receiving and the sending are not co-oscillated. For another example, if the command is sent to the tag by the reader and the response signal of the tag is also received by the reader, for the tag, the receiving and the sending are implemented in one device, so the receiving and the sending can be co-oscillated. In the case that the sending and the receiving are not co-oscillated, the processor can locate the position of the tag by means of combination weighting. In the case that the sending and the receiving are co-oscillated, taking the time interval of the switching of the antenna units in different combinations as ΔT, knowing the position of each antenna unit in the antenna array, the processor can calculate the direction angle θ based on the frequency w in the time interval ΔT according to the data collected by the antenna units in different combinations. Then, the direction angle θ is obtained according to the data collected by the antenna units in different combinations. The direction angle θ is obtained according to the data collected by the antenna units in different combinations.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the receiving processing circuit includes L sub-receiving processing circuits, each of the sub-receiving processing circuits includes a mixer and an analog-to-digital converter, the mixer in each of the sub-receiving processing circuits is coupled to the processor through the analog-to-digital converter; the mixer is configured to perform down-conversion processing on the response signal received by the antenna unit corresponding to the mixer; the analog-to-digital converter is configured to convert the down-converted response signal into a digital signal; and the processor is specifically configured to locate the position of the tag based on the data processed by the analog-to-digital converter.

[0025] Based on the scheme, the frequency of the response signal can be reduced and converted into a digital signal input to the processor by performing down-conversion and analog-to-digital conversion processing on the response signal received by each receiving channel, and the processor can locate the position of the tag based on the received digital signal.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the receiving processing circuit further includes a local oscillator and a power divider, the local oscillator is coupled to the mixers in the L sub-receiving processing circuits through the power divider; the local oscillator is configured to provide a radio frequency clock for up-conversion or down-conversion; and the mixer is specifically configured to perform down-conversion processing on the response signal received by the antenna unit corresponding to the mixer based on the radio frequency clock signal output by the local oscillator.

[0027] ​Based on the scheme, the local oscillator provides a radio frequency clock, and the frequency of the response signal can be reduced through the frequency reduction of the mixer based on the radio frequency clock signal.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the radio frequency line from the antenna selection circuit to the mixer in each sub-reception processing circuit is equal in length, and the signal wire from the power divider to the mixer in each sub-reception processing circuit is equal in length.

[0029] Based on the scheme, by setting the radio frequency line from the antenna selection circuit to the mixer in each sub-reception processing circuit to be equal in length and setting the signal wire from the power divider to the mixer in each sub-reception processing circuit to be equal in length, it can be ensured that the phases of the signals received by different reception channels are consistent, which not only reduces the calculation amount, but also improves the positioning accuracy of the tag.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the positioning apparatus is further configured to be coupled with a first antenna, the first antenna having a different operating frequency from the antenna units in the antenna array, and the positioning apparatus further includes a first sending circuit; and the processor is further configured to send a first command to the repeater through the first sending circuit and the first antenna, the first command being used for inventorying or querying the tag.

[0031] Optionally, the first sending circuit is configured to send signaling to other devices, and the first sending circuit and the first receiving circuit can operate in different modes. For example, the first sending circuit and the first receiving circuit can have different frequency bands, and the first sending circuit is configured to send a select command, a query command, or an ACK command to the repeater.

[0032] Based on the scheme, the positioning apparatus can send a first command to the repeater through the first antenna, and the repeater forwards the first command to the tag, so that when the tag is a passive RFID tag, the repeater can supply power to the tag instead of the reader, and thus the distance between the reader and the tag is no longer limited to 10 meters, but can reach hundreds of meters, thereby improving the positioning distance of the passive RFID tag.

[0033] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the positioning apparatus further includes a second sending circuit, the reception processing circuit includes L sub-reception processing circuits, each sub-reception processing circuit further includes a circulator, the antenna selection circuit is coupled to the mixer in the sub-reception processing circuit and the second sending circuit through the circulator in each sub-reception processing circuit, and the circulator is configured to implement transceiver combining; and the processor is further configured to send the first command through the second sending circuit, the circulator, and the antenna array; and the mixer is specifically configured to perform frequency reduction on the response signal received by the antenna unit corresponding to the mixer through the circulator.

[0034] Optionally, the second transmitting circuit is used to send signaling to other devices. This second transmitting circuit and the first receiving circuit can operate in different modes. For example, the operating frequency bands of the second transmitting circuit and the first receiving circuit can be different. The second transmitting circuit is used to send select commands, query commands, or ACK commands to the tag.

[0035] Based on this scheme, by setting a circulator in each sub-receiver processing circuit, transmit and receive combining can be achieved. This allows positioning to not only receive signals through the antenna selection circuit but also send commands through it. Compared to existing technologies where the number of transmit and receive channels is the same as the number of antenna elements, this scheme selects L antenna elements from the antenna array through the antenna selection circuit. These L antenna elements correspond to L transmit and receive channels respectively, reducing the number of transmit and receive channels and thus lowering complexity and cost.

[0036] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the RF lines from the antenna selection circuit to the circulator in each sub-receiver processing circuit are of equal length, and the RF lines from the circulator in each sub-receiver processing circuit to the mixer are of equal length.

[0037] Based on this scheme, by setting the RF lines from the antenna selection circuit to the circulator in each sub-receiver processing circuit to be of equal length, and setting the RF lines from the circulator to the mixer in each sub-receiver processing circuit to be of equal length, it is possible to ensure that the phase of the received signals from different receiving channels is consistent. This not only reduces the amount of computation but also improves the positioning accuracy of the tag.

[0038] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the radio frequency lines from each antenna element in the aforementioned antenna array to the antenna selection circuit are of equal length.

[0039] Based on this scheme, by setting the RF lines from each antenna element in the antenna array to the antenna selection circuit to be of equal length, it can be ensured that the phase of the signals received by different receiving channels is consistent, which can not only reduce the amount of calculation, but also improve the positioning accuracy of the tag.

[0040] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the aforementioned M*N antenna elements are arranged in M ​​rows and N columns, with equal spacing between any two adjacent rows and columns in the antenna array. Optionally, the spacing between any two adjacent rows and columns in the antenna array is greater than or equal to 0.5 times the wavelength.

[0041] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a positioning method, which comprises: selecting a combined antenna unit in an antenna array, the antenna array comprising M*N antenna units, M and N are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and M and N are not 1 at the same time, each combined antenna unit comprising L antenna units, L being a positive integer less than M*N; receiving a response signal from a tag based on the selected L antenna units; and positioning the position of the tag based on the response signal.

[0042] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further comprises: switching the combination of antenna units every first time length in a time period in which the tag transmits a response signal.

[0043] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first time length is related to the time length in which the tag transmits the response signal and the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array.

[0044] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further comprises: transmitting a plurality of query commands, and switching the combination of antenna units every time a query command is transmitted; the query command is used to query the tag.

[0045] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further comprises: stopping switching the combination of antenna units when a preset condition is met; wherein the preset condition comprises at least one of the following: the number of selected combinations of antenna units reaches a preset number, the preset number being less than or equal to the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array; or, the different combinations of antenna units that have been switched have traversed a preset plurality of combinations of antenna units.

[0046] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the positioning of the position of the tag based on the response signal comprises: combining the data received by the L antenna units included in the combined antenna unit; weighting the combined data; obtaining a direction angle corresponding to the combined antenna unit based on the weighted data; and obtaining the position of the tag based on the direction angles corresponding to the plurality of combined antenna units.

[0047] The effect descriptions of the second aspect and the various implementations of the second aspect can refer to the effect descriptions of the first aspect, and will not be described here.

[0048] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a reader, which comprises the positioning device as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the antenna array.

[0049] Optionally, the reader can further comprise a first antenna.

[0050] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a positioning system, comprising a repeater, a reader and a tag, the reader comprising the positioning device and the antenna array as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, the reader being configured to send a first command to the repeater, the first command being used for inventorying or querying the tag, the repeater being configured to receive the first command from the reader and forward the first command to the tag, and the tag being configured to send a response signal to the reader.

[0051] Optionally, the first command comprises at least one of a select command, a query command or an ACK command.

[0052] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium having computer program codes stored therein, which, when executed on a processor, cause the processor to perform the method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0053] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising program instructions, which, when executed, implement the method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0054] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a positioning device, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory being configured to store computer programs, and the processor being configured to execute the computer programs, so that the positioning device implements the method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0055] Figure 1 An application scenario of an RFID tag provided by the present application;

[0056] Figure 2 A structure diagram of an RFID positioning system provided by the present application;

[0057] Figure 3 Another structure diagram of an RFID positioning system provided by the present application;

[0058] Figure 4 Still another structure diagram of an RFID positioning system provided by the present application;

[0059] Figure 5 An application scenario of an RFID positioning system provided by the present application;

[0060] Figure 6 A structural schematic diagram of a positioning device provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 7 A structural schematic diagram of another positioning device provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 8 A structural schematic diagram of still another positioning device provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 9 A structural schematic diagram of a position calculation method provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 10 A structural schematic diagram of still another positioning device provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 11 A structural schematic diagram of still another positioning device provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 12 A structural schematic diagram of still another positioning device provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 13 A flowchart of a positioning method provided for an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The association relationship of the associated objects is described by "and / or", which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can represent a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b and c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the same items or similar items with basically the same function and role are distinguished by using "first", "second" and the like. Those skilled in the art can understand that "first", "second" and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order. For example, "first" in the first sending circuit and "second" in the second sending circuit in the embodiments of the present application are only used to distinguish different sending circuits. The first, second and the like in the embodiments of the present application are only used for illustration and distinction of the description objects, and there is no order difference, nor do they represent a special limitation on the number of devices in the embodiments of the present application, and cannot constitute any limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0069] It should be noted that in the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0070] It should be noted that in the present application, "coupling" includes direct connection and indirect connection. For example, a and b are coupled, which means that a and b are directly connected, or a is connected to b through c.

[0071] It should be noted that in the present application, the antenna array includes M*N antenna units, and the antenna units in the antenna array, the first antenna and the second antenna can be different antennas, and the antenna units, the first antenna and the second antenna can be used to realize different antenna functions respectively.

[0072] Currently, RFID tags can be divided into active RFID tags, passive RFID tags and semi-active RFID tags. Among them, the passive RFID tag does not contain a battery, and is powered by collecting wireless energy (ultra high frequency (UHF) frequency band is generally about 860MHz-960MHz). For example, the antenna unit of the passive RFID tag can convert the received electromagnetic wave energy into electrical energy, activate the chip in the passive RFID tag, and send out the data in the passive RFID tag chip. The reader performs wireless communication with the passive RFID tag through the antenna unit, and can realize the readout or write operation of the tag identification code and memory data of the passive RFID tag. Due to its small size, low cost, long life and other characteristics, the passive RFID tag is widely used in warehouse, logistics, store and other scenes, and is used for asset inventory, identification and positioning.

[0073] The reader is generally divided into two types of fixed readers and mobile readers. Among them, the fixed reader has a fixed position and can be usually installed on the wall. The mobile reader can be, for example, a handheld RFID code scanning gun.

[0074] As shown in a positioning system in Figure 2 , since the number of receiving channels of the reader is the same as the number of antenna units, in the case that the number of antenna units is large, the number of receiving channels of the reader will be large, causing the problem of high complexity and high cost of the reader. Moreover Figure 2 , the antennas 1 to N in are duplex antennas, and the reader sends commands to the passive RFID tag through the N antennas and receives reflected signals from the passive RFID tag through the N antennas. In Figure 2 , in the case that the RFID tag in is a passive RFID tag, since the transmission power of the reader is limited, when the passive RFID tag charges by collecting wireless energy transmitted by the reader, the distance between the passive RFID tag and the reader can only reach 10 meters, and cannot reach 100 meters, resulting in limited positioning distance.

[0075] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of another positioning system, Figure 3 , the power divider and the power combiner in can be realized by a phase shifter, and the phase shifter and the antenna array together realize the function of a phased array antenna. By using the adjustable characteristics of the beam angle of the phased array antenna, the search plane can be scanned in turn, and the position of the passive RFID tag can be calculated by counting the number of times the passive RFID tag appears in different antenna regions.

[0076] Since Figure 3The antenna array in the image is a full-duplex antenna. The reader sends commands to the passive RFID tag through this antenna array and receives reflected signals from the passive RFID tag through the same antenna array. Figure 3 When the RFID tags used are passive RFID tags, the distance between them and the reader is limited to about 10 meters, not hundreds of meters, because the reader's transmission power is limited. Furthermore, when the passive RFID tag collects the wireless energy emitted by the reader to recharge, the distance is also limited. Figure 3 The power divider and power combiner in the system are implemented by phase shifters. Since phase shifters are physical devices, they are expensive. Therefore, using phase shifters in the positioning system will result in a higher cost for the positioning system.

[0077] To address the issues of increased reader complexity due to a large number of antenna elements, limited positioning distance of passive RFID tags (limited to around 10 meters, not exceeding 100 meters), and high cost associated with phase shifters, this application provides a positioning device. This device utilizes an antenna selection circuit to select different combinations of antenna elements from the antenna array, reducing the number of receiving channels, lowering complexity, and reducing cost. Furthermore, by powering the tag via a repeater instead of the reader, the distance between the reader and the tag is no longer limited to the 10-meter range, but can reach the 100-meter range. Additionally, when locating the tag, weighting the tag's response signal can replace a phase shifter, eliminating the need for a phase shifter and further reducing costs.

[0078] The positioning device provided in this application can locate the position of a tag, which can be either a passive RFID tag or an active RFID tag. This application does not limit the specific type of tag. Since the operating frequencies of active RFID tags and passive RFID tags are different, the circuit structure of the positioning device will differ when locating different types of tags.

[0079] The positioning device provided in this application embodiment can be applied to... Figure 4 The positioning system shown in (a) is as follows. Figure 4 As shown in (a), the positioning system includes a reader, a repeater, and a tag. Optionally, the positioning system may also include a server.

[0080] Figure 4 In the positioning system shown in (a), the downlink (reader -> repeater) can communicate via wired or wireless means. The working process of the downlink in the positioning system using different communication methods is described below.

[0081] like Figure 4 As shown in (a), the reader includes a positioning device, an antenna array, and a first antenna, both coupled to the positioning device. The antenna array may include M*N antenna elements, where M and N are integers greater than or equal to 1, and M and N are not both 1. The first antenna and the antenna elements in the antenna array operate at different frequencies. For example, the first antenna may be a single rod antenna operating at a different frequency than the antenna elements in the antenna array.

[0082] When the downlink from the reader to the repeater uses wireless communication, the reader uses a wireless frequency band to send a select command to the repeater via the first antenna to select a tag for inventory. This select command carries the tag's EPC information, and the tag's identity (ID) can be obtained from the server. Then, the reader uses the wireless frequency band to send a query command or an ACK command to the repeater via the first antenna, prompting the tag to report a response signal. Optionally, as follows... Figure 4 Taking the passive RFID tag shown in (a) as an example, the downlink from the reader to the repeater can use the UHF 840MHz~845MHz frequency band.

[0083] When wired communication is used for the downlink from the reader to the repeater, the reader includes a positioning device, as well as an antenna array and cables coupled to the positioning device, including but not limited to physical cables such as network cables, serial cables, and optical fibers.

[0084] When wired communication is used for the downlink from the reader to the repeater, the reader sends a select command to the repeater via network cable, serial cable, fiber optic cable, or other cables to select a tag for inventory purposes. This select command carries the tag's EPC information. The reader then sends a query command or an ACK command to the repeater via the same network cable, serial cable, fiber optic cable, or other cables to prompt the tag to report a response signal.

[0085] Figure 4The uplink (repeater -> tag -> reader) of the positioning system shown in (a) in the figure can communicate in a wireless manner. When the uplink from the repeater to the tag to the reader adopts wireless communication, if the tag is a passive RFID tag, the independently deployed repeater is responsible for wireless charging of the passive RFID tag, and forwarding the select command, the query command and the ACK command conforming to the protocol standard to the passive RFID tag. The passive RFID tag is responsible for receiving air interface signaling, and modulating and transmitting the EPC and other information of the passive RFID tag to the air interface in a back reflection manner. The positioning device in the reader receives the wireless signal of the air interface through an M*N antenna array, and demodulates the received signal to obtain the position of the passive RFID tag, and sends the positioning result to the server. Optionally, as shown in (a) in the figure, Figure 4 The wireless frequency band adopted by the uplink from the repeater to the tag to the reader can be the ultra-high frequency (UHF) 920.5-924.5 MHz frequency band, for example, when the tag in (a) in the figure is a passive RFID tag.

[0086] Optionally, when the repeater forwards the query command from the reader, the tag reports an RN16 frame in response to the query command. When the repeater forwards the ACK command from the reader, the tag reports an EPC frame in response to the ACK command.

[0087] From the working processes of the uplink and the downlink of the positioning system, it can be known that, Figure 4 In the positioning system shown in (a) in the figure, the reader sends a command to the repeater through a first antenna or a cable, the repeater forwards the command to the tag, the tag sends a response signal in response to the command forwarded by the repeater, and the reader receives the signal reflected by the tag through an antenna array. When the tag is a passive RFID tag, Figure 4 In the positioning system shown in (a) in the figure, the repeater can charge the passive RFID tag (a single repeater can cover a passive RFID tag within a range of about 10 meters), and the passive RFID tag is no longer charged by the reader. Therefore, the distance between the passive RFID tag and the reader is no longer limited to 10 meters, but can reach hundreds of meters. As shown in (a) in the figure, Figure 4 As shown in (a) in the figure, the communication distance of the downlink in which the reader sends a command to the repeater can reach hundreds of meters. The communication distance of the uplink in which the reader receives the reflected signal of the passive RFID tag can also reach hundreds of meters. The distance between the repeater and the passive RFID tag is about 10 meters.

[0088] Optionally, Figure 4In the positioning system shown in (a), the repeater can be deployed in a mobile or fixed manner. When the repeater is deployed in a mobile manner, it can be powered by a battery. In the above positioning system, a reader can network with one repeater or with multiple repeaters, and this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0089] For example, such as Figure 5 As shown, the example is a network consisting of one reader and two repeaters. Figure 5 The reader can select the passive RFID tag 1 by sending a select command to the repeater 1. Then, the reader sends a query command or an ACK command to the repeater. The repeater forwards the command sent by the reader. In response to the command sent by the repeater, the passive RFID tag 1 reports an acknowledgment signal. Based on the acknowledgment signal reported by the passive RFID tag 1, the reader obtains the location of the passive RFID tag 1. Figure 5 The reader can also select the passive RFID tag 2 by sending a select command to the repeater 2. Then, the reader sends a query command or an ACK command to the repeater. The repeater forwards the command sent by the reader. In response to the command sent by the repeater, the passive RFID tag 2 reports an answer signal. The reader obtains the location of the passive RFID tag 2 based on the answer signal reported by the passive RFID tag 2.

[0090] The positioning device provided in this application embodiment can also be applied to... Figure 4 In the positioning system shown in (b) above. For example... Figure 4 As shown in (b) above, the positioning system includes a reader and a tag. Optionally, the positioning system may also include a server.

[0091] exist Figure 4 When the tag shown in (b) is an active RFID tag, since the active RFID tag does not need to collect the wireless energy emitted by the reader for charging, the distance between the reader and the active RFID tag is no longer limited to the 10-meter level.

[0092] exist Figure 4 When the tag shown in (b) is a passive RFID tag, the reader supplies power to the passive RFID tag. Because the reader's transmission power is limited, the distance between the passive RFID tag and the reader is limited when the passive RFID tag collects the wireless energy emitted by the reader for charging. Therefore, to improve the positioning distance of the passive RFID tag, the following methods can be used when locating its position: Figure 4 The positioning system shown in (a) is shown in the image.

[0093] Optional, such as Figure 4As shown in (b), the positioning system may further include a second antenna, the operating frequency of which may differ from the operating frequency of the antenna elements in the antenna array. The reader can send commands to the tag via the second antenna and receive response signals from the tag via the antenna elements in the antenna array, thereby separating the reader's receive and transmit channels.

[0094] Understandably, the above Figure 4 The system architecture shown in (a) is similar to Figure 4 The system architecture shown in (b) is different. Figure 4 In the system architecture shown in (a), the reader sends a command to the repeater via the first antenna, the repeater forwards the command to the tag, and the reader receives the response signal from the tag via the antenna array. Therefore, for the tag, the repeater sends the command to the tag, and the reader receives the tag's response signal. Thus, receiving and sending are implemented in two separate devices. Figure 4 In the system shown in (a), the receiver and transmitter do not share the same local oscillator. Figure 4 In the system architecture shown in (b), the reader sends commands to the tag via an antenna array or a second antenna, and receives response signals from the tag via the antenna array. For the tag, the reader sends commands to the tag and also receives response signals from the tag; therefore, receiving and sending are implemented in a single device. Figure 4 In the system shown in (b), reception and transmission can share a local oscillator. This application does not limit the specific systems and scenarios in which the positioning device is applied. Figure 6 This is merely an illustrative example.

[0095] This application provides a positioning device, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the positioning device includes an antenna selection circuit, a receiving and processing circuit, and a processor. The antenna selection circuit is coupled to the processor through the receiving and processing circuit. The antenna selection circuit is used to couple with an antenna array, which includes M*N antenna elements. The antenna selection circuit is used to select different combinations of antenna elements in the antenna array. Each combination of antenna elements includes L antenna elements, where L is a positive integer less than M*N.

[0096] The antenna array comprises M*N antenna elements arranged in M ​​rows and N columns. The spacing between any two adjacent rows and columns in the antenna array is equal. This spacing is greater than or equal to 0.5 times the wavelength. It should be noted that since the operating frequency of the positioning device when positioning active RFID tags differs from that when positioning passive RFID tags, the wavelength is also different. Therefore, the aforementioned spacing can vary when positioning different types of RFID tags. The following embodiment uses a spacing of 0.5 times the wavelength (16.2 cm) between any two adjacent rows and columns in the antenna array as an example. 16.2 cm is half the wavelength corresponding to the operating frequency of the passive RFID tag.

[0097] Optionally, the multiple antenna elements in the antenna array can be the same antenna elements (for example, M*N antenna elements are all circularly polarized antennas), any two adjacent antenna elements are arranged at equal intervals, and the center-to-center distance between two adjacent antenna elements is not less than half of its wavelength.

[0098] The number of antenna elements in an antenna array is related to the positioning and identification distance. The more antenna elements an antenna array includes, the farther the positioning distance. The fewer antenna elements an antenna array includes, the shorter the positioning distance. For example, a 2x2 antenna array can be used for short-range positioning (e.g., within 10 meters), while a 4x4 antenna array can be used for long-range positioning (e.g., within 100 meters). This application does not limit the number of antenna elements in the antenna array; in practical applications, the number of antenna elements can be set according to different positioning distances.

[0099] For example, such as Figure 7 As shown, the antenna array includes 16 antenna elements, which are arranged in 4 rows and 4 columns. These 16 antenna elements can be the same antenna elements, all of which are circularly polarized antennas. Figure 8 The antenna array shown has an area of ​​approximately 65cm x 65cm, and the distance between any two adjacent antenna elements is approximately 16.2cm.

[0100] For example, such as Figure 8 As shown, the antenna array includes 8 antenna elements, which are arranged in 2 rows and 4 columns. These 8 antenna elements can be the same antenna elements and all adopt circular polarization antennas. Figure 6 The antenna array shown has an area of ​​approximately 65cm × 32.5cm, and the distance between any two adjacent antenna elements is approximately 16.2cm.

[0101] It should be noted that the values ​​of M and N can be the same or different. When the values ​​of M and N are different, M can be less than N or greater than N, and this application does not limit this.

[0102] like Figure 7 As shown, the antenna selection circuit includes L switching switches, each of which is a K-to-one switch. One end of each switch is used to couple with K antenna elements in the antenna array, where K is a positive integer less than or equal to M*N / L. The other end of each switch is coupled to the receiving processing circuit, and each switch is used to select one antenna element from the K antenna elements coupled to that switch.

[0103] Optionally, the K antenna elements coupled to each switch are located in different columns of the antenna array, or the K antenna elements coupled to each switch are located in different rows of the antenna array, or the K antenna elements coupled to each switch are located in different rows and different columns of the antenna array.

[0104] For example, such as Figure 7 As shown, taking an example where L, K, M, and N are all 4, and the 4 antenna elements coupled by each switch are located in different rows and columns of the antenna array. The positioning device is used to couple with a 4*4 antenna array, which includes 16 antenna elements in 4 rows and 4 columns. The positioning device includes 4 switches, namely switches A to D. Switch A is used to couple with 4 antenna elements A in the antenna array. These 4 antenna elements A can be located in different rows and columns of the antenna array. Switch A is used to select one antenna element A from the 4 antenna elements A. Switch B is used to couple with 4 antenna elements B in the antenna array. These 4 antenna elements B can be located in different rows and columns of the antenna array. Switch B is used to select one antenna element B from the 4 antenna elements B. Switch C is used to couple with 4 antenna elements C in the antenna array. These 4 antenna elements C can be located in different rows and columns of the antenna array. Switch C is used to select one antenna element C from the 4 antenna elements C. The switching switch D is used to couple with four antenna elements D in the antenna array. These four antenna elements D can be located in different rows and columns of the antenna array. The switching switch D is used to select one antenna element D from the four antenna elements D. It can be understood that by coupling multiple antenna elements located in different rows and columns through a single switching switch, more data information can be obtained from different combinations of selected antenna elements, thereby improving the accuracy of tag positioning.

[0105] Optionally, each of the above-mentioned switches can implement a K-to-1 selection function. This switch can be a single K-to-1 switch or a combination of multiple switches capable of this function. For example, taking K as four, each switch can implement a four-to-one selection function. This switch can be a single four-to-one switch or a combination of two two-to-one switches capable of this function. In other words, the logical function of each switch is to implement a K-to-1 selection, and its physical form can be a single switch or multiple switches.

[0106] The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific values ​​of L and K; L and K can be the same or different. When L and K are different, L can be greater than K or less than K; the embodiments of this application do not limit this. Figure 7 The following is an example illustrating the concept of L, K, M, and N all being 4.

[0107] Optionally, the RF lines from each antenna element in the antenna array to the antenna selection circuit are of equal length. Taking an antenna selection circuit comprising L switching switches as an example, the lengths of the RF lines from each antenna element in the antenna array to the switching switches coupled to it are all equal.

[0108] For example, such as Figure 7 As shown, the distance from the RF line of each of the four antenna elements A in the antenna array to the switch A is a, the distance from the RF line of each of the four antenna elements B in the antenna array to the switch B is also a, the distance from the RF line of each of the four antenna elements C in the antenna array to the switch C is also a, and the distance from the RF line of each of the four antenna elements D in the antenna array to the switch D is also a.

[0109] Understandably, if the RF lines from each antenna element to the antenna selection circuit in the antenna array are of unequal length, the phase of the signals received by different antenna elements will change. Therefore, when locating the tag, the phases of the signals received by different antenna elements need to be adjusted to be consistent. If the phases of different antenna elements are inconsistent, the location of the tag may be inaccurate. Therefore, this embodiment of the application sets the RF lines from each antenna element to the antenna selection circuit to be of equal length, which not only reduces the amount of computation but also improves the accuracy of tag positioning.

[0110] The processor is used to send a first command to the tag, which is used to inventory or query the tag.

[0111] The processor is also used to control the antenna selection circuit to select a combination of antenna elements in the antenna array.

[0112] The receiving and processing circuit is used to receive the response signal from the tag through L antenna elements selected by the antenna selection circuit, and to process the response signal.

[0113] The processor is also used to locate the tag's position based on the data processed by the receiving processing circuitry.

[0114] When the antenna selection circuit includes L switching switches, the processor is specifically used to control the L switching switches to select a combination of antenna elements in the antenna array, wherein the combination of antenna elements includes L antenna elements. Each switching switch is used to select one antenna element from the K antenna elements coupled to it.

[0115] For example, such as Figure 7 As shown, taking an example where L, K, M, and N are all 4. At the same time, the antenna selection circuit can control switches A through D to select a combination of antenna elements. This combination includes one antenna element A, one antenna element B, one antenna element C, and one antenna element D. That is, at the same time, switch A selects one antenna element from the four antenna elements A in the antenna array, switch B selects one antenna element from the four antenna elements B in the antenna array, switch C selects one antenna element C from the four antenna elements C in the antenna array, and switch D selects one antenna element D from the four antenna elements D in the antenna array. The four antenna elements selected by switches A through D can form an antenna element combination.

[0116] Since the receiving and processing circuit receives the response signal from the tag through L antenna elements, the number of receiving channels of the positioning device in this embodiment is equal to the number of switching switches in the antenna selection circuit. When the antenna selection circuit includes L switching switches, the receiving and processing circuit can receive the response signal from the tag through the L antenna elements selected by these L switching switches. That is, in this embodiment, the receiving and processing circuit has L receiving channels, which is less than the number of antenna elements included in the antenna array.

[0117] For example, such as Figure 6 to Figure 8 As shown, taking an antenna array with 16 antenna elements and an antenna selection circuit with 4 switching switches as an example, the positioning device includes 4 receiving channels, namely RX1 to RX4. Clearly, the number of receiving channels (4) in the positioning device is less than the number of antenna elements (16) in the antenna array. Compared with the prior art where the number of receiving channels is the same as the number of antenna elements, the positioning device provided in this application selects L antenna elements from an M*N antenna array to receive data through the antenna selection circuit, which can significantly reduce the number of receiving channels, reduce complexity, and lower cost.

[0118] Optional, such as Figure 7As shown, the receiving processing circuit may include a local oscillator (LO), a power divider, and L sub-receiving processing circuits. Each sub-receiving processing circuit includes a mixer and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The local oscillator is coupled to the mixers in the L sub-receiving processing circuits via the power divider, and the mixers in each sub-receiving processing circuit are coupled to the processor via the ADCs.

[0119] The local oscillator is used to provide the radio frequency clock for up-conversion or down-conversion.

[0120] A mixer is used to down-convert the response signal received by the antenna unit corresponding to the mixer based on the radio frequency clock signal output by the local oscillator.

[0121] An analog-to-digital converter is used to convert the down-converted response signal into a digital signal.

[0122] The processor, specifically based on the data processed by the analog-to-digital converter, locates the position of the tag.

[0123] For example, such as Figure 7 As shown, each sub-receiver processing circuit corresponds to a receiving channel. This receiving channel receives the response signal from the tag by selecting an antenna unit through a corresponding switch. Taking a 921MHz response signal frequency as an example, the mixer in each sub-receiver processing circuit performs down-conversion mixing between the RF clock signal output from the local oscillator and the response signal received by the receiving channel. The frequency of the mixer's output signal is lower than the frequency of the response signal received by the receiving channel (for example, the frequency of the mixer's output signal can be tens of MHz). The down-converted signal is then converted from analog to digital by the ADC in the receiving processing circuit. The processor locates the tag's position based on the ADC-converted data from each sub-receiver processing circuit.

[0124] Optionally, the RF lines from each switch in the antenna selection circuit to the mixer in the corresponding sub-receiver processing circuit are of equal length. For example, as... Figure 4As shown, the length of the RF line of the switch A to the mixer coupled therewith is b, the length of the RF line of the switch B to the mixer coupled therewith is also b, the length of the RF line of the switch C to the mixer coupled therewith is also b, and the length of the RF line of the switch D to the mixer coupled therewith is also b. It can be understood that if the length of the RF line of each switch to the mixer coupled therewith is not equal, the phases of the response signals received by different mixers can be different, and thus the phases of the response signals received by different mixers need to be adjusted to be consistent when positioning the position of the tag, and if the phases of the response signals received by different mixers are not consistent, the position of the tag positioned can be inaccurate. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the length of the RF line of each switch in the antenna selection circuit to the mixer in the sub-receiving processing circuit corresponding to the switch is set to be equal, which not only can reduce the calculation amount, but also can improve the positioning accuracy of the tag.

[0125] Optionally, the signal lines of the above-mentioned power divider to the mixers in each sub-receiving processing circuit are equal in length.

[0126] For the tag, the device sending the command to the tag and the device receiving the response signal from the tag can be the same device or different devices. When the system architecture shown in (a) of Figure 4 is adopted, for the tag, the command is sent to the tag by the repeater, and the response signal of the tag is received by the reader, and thus the receiving and the sending are implemented in two devices respectively, and thus the receiving and the sending are not co-oscillated. When the system architecture shown in (b) of Figure 7 is adopted, for the tag, the command is sent to the tag by the reader, and the response signal of the tag is also received by the reader, and thus the receiving and the sending are implemented in one device, and thus the receiving and the sending can be co-oscillated. According to whether the receiving and the sending are co-oscillated, the position of the tag can be positioned in the following two cases.

[0127] The first case is that the sending and the receiving are not co-oscillated, and the above-mentioned processor can position the position of the tag through the following four steps:

[0128] Step a, combining the data processed by each sub-receiving processing circuit in the L sub-receiving processing circuits.

[0129] Exemplarily, as shown in Figure 9 , after the L receiving channels receive the response signals, the response signals received by each receiving channel can be processed by the mixer and the analog-to-digital converter in each sub-receiving processing circuit, and then the processor combines the data processed by the L sub-receiving processing circuits.

[0130] For example, the data of L receiving channels received by the processor can be combined into an L*1 vector, which can be expressed as wherein, respectively represent the data of the L antenna units included in each combination of antenna units receiving the response signal at time t, A represents the amplitude of the signal received by the antenna units, respectively represent the phase of the L antenna units included in each combination of antenna units, and w represents the intermediate frequency signal rate.

[0131] Step b, weighting the combined data.

[0132] For example, when the combined data is weighted, Q multi-beam filter codebooks can be used to obtain the corresponding direction angle of each combination of antenna units. For a certain fixed beam direction angle θ of the current combination of antenna units i , the corresponding codebook is an L*1 vector, which can be expressed as , wherein the coefficients are a set of fixed constants, and the Q beam directions correspond to Q sets of codebook coefficients. The combined signal filtered using the codebook is: C 1*1 (t) is the data weighted using a set of codebook coefficients.

[0133] Step c, obtaining the direction angle corresponding to each combination of antenna units based on the weighted data.

[0134] For example, after the signals received by the L receiving channels are combined and weighted, the signal quality parameter can be calculated according to the combined and weighted data, and the codebook corresponding to the maximum value of the signal quality parameter is determined as the direction angle θ corresponding to the combination of antenna units.

[0135] For example, taking the signal quality parameter as the received signal strength indication (RSSI) as an example, the RSSI is calculated according to the combined and weighted signal, RSSI(C 1*1 (t))=max(abs(C max (t))), and the codebook corresponding to the maximum value of the RSSI C 1*1 =max(RSSI(C))=max(max(abs(C i (t))) represents the corresponding direction angle θ. A to-be-positioned spatial rectangular coordinate system Z is set, with the antenna array plane as the xoy plane, and the spatial beam direction D i emitted by each combination of antenna units is measured and estimated. The specific type of signal quality parameter is not limited in the embodiments of the present application, and the signal quality parameter is taken as RSSI for illustration.

[0136] Understandably, when the transmitting and receiving signals do not share a local oscillator, the azimuth angle corresponding to each combination of antenna elements can be obtained through steps a to c above.

[0137] Step d: Based on the azimuth angles corresponding to various combinations of antenna elements, the position of the tag is obtained.

[0138] For example, taking R as the number of antenna elements in various combinations, the processor can obtain the azimuth angle corresponding to each combination of antenna elements according to steps a to c. These R combinations of antenna elements correspond to R spatial beam directions. Since the origins of the antenna elements in different combinations are different, the rays of the beam angles of these R combinations intersect, and the positions where their lobes intersect are determined. The label's position (D) can be obtained in three-dimensional coordinates. The label's position can be represented by its coordinates in a relative coordinate system.

[0139] The following is combined Figure 9 The methods for calculating the orientation in steps a to d above are described below. Figure 9 As shown, for the tag, if the device sending the command to the tag and the device receiving the response signal from the tag are the same device (i.e., when the transmission and reception share the same local oscillator), the processor combines and weights the data received from the L sampled receiving channels, calculates the RSSI with different weights, and obtains the azimuth angle corresponding to each combination of antenna elements. Based on the azimuth angles corresponding to the various combinations of antenna elements, the intersection point of these combinations of antenna elements is calculated, and the intersection point position is determined as the tag's position, outputting the tag's three-dimensional coordinate position. It can be understood that, in locating the tag, this embodiment achieves azimuth filtering by weighting the combined signal. Moreover, the weighting processing of the combined signal can replace the phase shifter, thus eliminating the need for this physical device and reducing costs.

[0140] In the second scenario, where transmission and reception share the same local oscillator, taking the time interval ΔT for switching between different combinations of antenna elements as an example, given the position of each antenna element in the antenna array, the processor described above can locate the tag's position through the following four steps:

[0141] Step e: Within the time interval ΔT, calculate based on the frequency w.

[0142] Step f: Calculate based on the data collected from different combinations of antenna elements.

[0143] For example, it can be done through calculate in respectively represent the positions of different combinations of antenna elements.

[0144] Step g, obtaining the direction angle θ according to the formula obtaining the direction angle θ according to the formula

[0145] Step h, obtaining the position of the tag based on the direction angles corresponding to the combinations of antenna elements.

[0146] It can be understood that the specific implementation of step h can refer to step d, which will not be described here.

[0147] As shown in Figure 7 In the embodiment of the present application, the processor can not only be used to locate the position of the tag, but also output an antenna switching control signal for controlling the antenna selection circuit to select different combinations of antenna elements, realizing the switching control of different combinations of antenna elements. When the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to select different combinations of antenna elements, according to the different sensitivity of the positioning time consumption, the following two switching modes can be included.

[0148] The first switching mode: the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna elements once every first time interval within the time period when the tag sends a response signal once.

[0149] The time period when the tag sends a response signal once is the time period when the tag sends an EPC frame once. The processor can control the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna elements once every first time interval within the time period when the tag sends an EPC frame.

[0150] Optionally, the processor can start timing from sending the ACK command, and when the timing reaches a preset time period, the processor determines that the tag starts to send an EPC frame. The processor can determine the time when the tag finishes sending the EPC frame according to the time when the tag starts to send the EPC frame and the time period when the tag sends the EPC frame. From the time when the tag starts to send the EPC frame, the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna elements once every first time interval until the tag finishes sending the EPC frame. The preset time period can be an empirical value, and the preset time period will be different according to the application environment of the positioning device. That is, the processor in the embodiment of the present application can estimate the time when the tag starts to send the EPC frame according to the empirical value, and control the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna elements once every first time interval within the time period when the tag sends the EPC frame.

[0151] The switching mode is suitable for a positioning time-sensitive scenario. In the switching mode, the positioning device can send a select command, a query command and an ACK command in sequence. When the reader sends the query command, the tag reports an RN16 frame in response to the query command. When the reader sends the ACK command, the tag reports an EPC frame in response to the ACK command. The EPC frame is a long frame, and the RN16 frame is a short frame. For example, the data amount of the EPC frame can be 128 bits, and the data amount of the RN16 frame can be 16 bits. In the switching mode, in response to the ACK command sent by the reader, the processor can control the antenna selection circuit to switch the antenna element combination every first time interval within a time period in which the tag sends the EPC frame once.

[0152] Optionally, the first time interval is related to a time period in which the tag sends a response signal and a number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array.

[0153] For example, the time period in which the tag sends the response signal is the time period in which the tag sends the EPC frame. The time period in which the tag sends the EPC frame = total number of symbols * number of symbol periods per symbol rate. According to the protocol definition, the total number of symbols = 12 * Trext + 4 + preamble + 16 + epclen + crc. Wherein, Trext is a value in the query signaling defined by the protocol, which can be 1 or 0. Preamble is a preamble, which is generally 6 fixed symbol lengths. Crc is a check code, which is generally 16 fixed symbol lengths. The number of symbol periods per symbol can be 1, 2, 4 or 8.

[0154] For example, when the number of symbol periods per symbol is 8, and the symbol rate is 40 kHz, the time period in which the tag sends the EPC frame is the longest. Taking the EPC length of 96 symbols as an example, the total number of symbols can be 12 + 4 + 6 + 16 + 96 + 16 = 150, and thus the time period in which the tag sends the EPC frame is 150 * 8 / 40 = 30 milliseconds. For another example, when the number of symbol periods per symbol is 1, and the symbol rate is 640 kHz, the time period in which the tag sends the EPC frame is the shortest. Taking the EPC length of 96 symbols as an example, the time period in which the tag sends the EPC frame is 150 * 1 / 640 = 0.234375 milliseconds.

[0155] For example, the number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array is related to the number of antenna elements included in the antenna array. The number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array is the number of different antenna element combinations that can be formed in total from all the antenna elements included in the antenna array.

[0156] For example, Figure 8As shown in FIG. 6, the antenna array includes 4*4, i.e. 16 antenna units. For example, L=4, any 4 antenna units in the antenna array can form an antenna unit combination, and the 16 antenna units can form a total of 256 combinations. Therefore, the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array is 256. For another example, as shown in FIG. 7, the antenna array includes 2*4, i.e. 8 antenna units. For example, L=4, any 4 antenna units in the antenna array can form an antenna unit combination, and the 8 antenna units can form a total of Figure 7 16 combinations. Therefore, the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array is 16.

[0157] For example, the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array is 16, and the time length of the EPC frame sent by the tag is 0.234375 milliseconds. The first time length can be represented by ΔT, ΔT=the time length of the EPC frame sent by the tag / the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array=0.234375 / 16=0.0146484375 milliseconds. That is, the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the antenna unit combination once every 0.0146484375 milliseconds within the time period of the EPC frame sent by the tag once.

[0158] Optionally, when the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the different combinations of antenna units, the processor can control the antenna selection circuit to switch the different combinations of antenna units according to a preset rule. The preset rule can include but is not limited to: the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to sequentially traverse all the combinations of antenna units in the antenna array. The processor controls the antenna selection circuit to traverse each combination of antenna units in a plurality of preset combinations of antenna units, and the number of the plurality of preset combinations of antenna units is less than or equal to the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array.

[0159] For example, the preset rule is that the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to sequentially traverse all the combinations of antenna units in the antenna array. As shown in FIG. 8, the processor can control the antenna selection circuit to sequentially select the combinations of antenna units in the first row, the second row, the third row, the fourth row, the first column, the second column, the third column, the fourth column, the upper left corner, the upper right corner, the lower left corner, the lower right corner, the center, and so on, i.e. a total of 256 combinations of antenna units. Figure 4 For example, the preset rule is that the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to sequentially traverse all the combinations of antenna units in the antenna array. As shown in FIG. 8, the processor can control the antenna selection circuit to sequentially select the combinations of antenna units in the first row, the second row, the third row, the fourth row, the first column, the second column, the third column, the fourth column, the upper left corner, the upper right corner, the lower left corner, the lower right corner, the center, and so on, i.e. a total of 256 combinations of antenna units.

[0160] Optionally, since the time length for the tag to send the EPC frame is limited, in the case that the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array is large, the tag can only switch a part of the different combinations of antenna units within the time period for the tag to send the EPC frame once. Then, the reader can send an ACK command again, in response to which the tag reports the EPC frame again, and the processor can control the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna units in another part of the combinations of antenna units every first time length within the time period for the tag to report the EPC frame again.

[0161] In this switching mode, the above-mentioned response signal is carried in the EPC frame.

[0162] It can be understood that, in the above-mentioned first switching mode, in response to the ACK command sent by the reader, the tag reports the EPC frame, and within the time period for the tag to report the EPC frame once, the processor can control the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna units every ΔT. If there are still some combinations of antenna units that have not been switched when the tag finishes sending the EPC frame, the reader will send an ACK command again, in response to which the tag reports the EPC frame again, and within the time period for the tag to report the EPC frame again, the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna units in the combinations of antenna units that have not been switched every ΔT. That is, in this switching mode, the combination of antenna units can be switched multiple times within the time period for the tag to report the EPC frame once, so the switching time of the different combinations of antenna units is short, the positioning speed is fast, and this switching mode is more suitable for scenarios in which the positioning time is sensitive.

[0163] The second switching mode: the processor is further configured to send a plurality of query commands, and switch the combination of antenna units every time a query command is sent.

[0164] The above-mentioned query command is a query command. The processor can control the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna units every time a query command is sent.

[0165] This switching mode is suitable for scenarios in which the positioning time is not sensitive. In this switching mode, the reader sends the select command and the query command in turn. When the reader sends the query command, the tag reports the RN16 frame in response to the query command. In this switching mode, the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna units every time a query command is sent by the reader. The tag reports the RN16 frame in response to the query command sent by the reader.

[0166] Optionally, the reader sends a select command to select the tag. Then the reader sends a query command each time, and the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna elements each time. The processor can control the antenna selection circuit to switch different combinations of antenna elements according to a preset rule. The preset rule can include but is not limited to: the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to sequentially traverse all combinations of antenna elements in the antenna array. Alternatively, the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to traverse each combination of antenna elements in a plurality of preset combinations of antenna elements, and the number of the plurality of preset combinations of antenna elements is less than or equal to the number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array.

[0167] For example, in an antenna array including 16 different combinations of antenna elements in total, the reader sends a select command to select the tag. Then the reader sends a query command each time, and the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to select a combination of antenna elements each time. The reader sends a query command 16 times in sequence, and the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to select a combination of antenna elements each time, so that the antenna selection circuit can select 16 different combinations of antenna elements in total. It can be understood that the 16 query commands sent by the reader are used to query the same tag.

[0168] For another example, in a plurality of preset combinations of antenna elements including 10 combinations of antenna elements, the reader sends a select command to select the tag. Then the reader sends a query command each time, and the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to select a combination of antenna elements each time, and the selected combination of antenna elements is any one of the 10 combinations of antenna elements. The reader sends a query command 10 times in sequence, and the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to select a combination of antenna elements each time, so that the antenna selection circuit can select 10 different combinations of antenna elements in total.

[0169] In this switching mode, the above-mentioned response signal is carried in the RN16 frame.

[0170] It can be understood that in the second switching mode described above, a combination of antenna elements is switched each time a query command is sent, and compared with the first switching mode in which different combinations of antenna elements are switched multiple times within the time period for reporting an EPC frame by the tag, the switching time of the combination of antenna elements is longer, and is more suitable for a positioning scenario which is not sensitive to time consumption. The first switching mode described above can be referred to as a small cycle switching mode due to the short switching time, and the second switching mode described above can be referred to as a large cycle switching mode due to the long switching time. The two different switching modes can be applied to different scenarios due to the different switching interval times.

[0171] It should be noted that, when the direction angles corresponding to the plurality of combinations of antenna elements are used to obtain the position of the tag in the steps d and h, the plurality of combinations of antenna elements can be selected by the first switching mode or the second switching mode according to the sensitivity of the positioning time.

[0172] Optionally, the processor is further configured to stop switching the combinations of antenna elements when a preset condition is met. The preset condition includes at least one of the following: the number of selected combinations of antenna elements reaches a preset number, the preset number being less than or equal to the number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array; or the different combinations of antenna elements that have been switched have traversed a preset plurality of combinations of antenna elements.

[0173] It can be understood that, by controlling the antenna selection circuit to switch the different combinations of antenna elements in the antenna array by the processor, the number of receiving channels of the positioning device can be reduced, and the complexity and cost can be reduced. In addition, the direction angles corresponding to each combination of antenna elements can be obtained according to the signals received by the different combinations of antenna elements, and the position of the tag can be more accurately obtained based on the direction angles corresponding to the plurality of combinations of antenna elements.

[0174] The positioning device provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the system shown in (a) of Figure 4 , and can also be applied to the system shown in (b) of Figure 6 to Figure 8 . The structure and functions of the positioning device in different systems will be introduced below.

[0175] As shown in (a) of Figure 4 , when the orientation perception device is applied to the system shown in (a) of Figure 4 , the positioning device is further configured to be coupled with a first antenna, the first antenna having a different operating frequency from the antenna elements in the antenna array, and the positioning device further includes a first sending circuit.

[0176] The processor is specifically configured to send a first command to the repeater through the first sending circuit and the first antenna, and the repeater is configured to forward the first command. The first command is used to inventory or query the tag.

[0177] Optionally, the first sending circuit is configured to send signaling to other devices, and the first sending circuit and the first receiving circuit can work in different modes. For example, the operating frequency bands of the first sending circuit and the first receiving circuit can be different, and the first sending circuit is configured to send the first command to the repeater.

[0178] According to different manners of switching different combinations of antenna elements by the processor, the signaling included in the first command is different. When the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna elements once every first time length during the time period in which the tag sends the EPC frame, the first command includes the select command, the query command and the ACK command. When the processor sends multiple query commands, and controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna elements once every time a query command is sent, the first command includes the select command and the query command.

[0179] For example, in the case that the processor switches the combination of antenna elements according to the first switching manner described above, it can be known from (a) in FIG. 1 that the positioning device can send the select command, the query command and the ACK command to the repeater in sequence through the first antenna, the repeater forwards the select command, the query command and the ACK command sent by the reader to the tag, and the tag reports the response signal (EPC frame or RN16 frame) in response to the command forwarded by the repeater. Optionally, the first antenna described above can be a single rod-shaped antenna. Figure 4

[0180] It should be noted that in the system shown in (a) in FIG. 1, the commands are sent to the tag by the repeater, and the response signal of the tag is received by the reader, so the receiving and sending are realized in two devices, and therefore the receiving and sending are not co-oscillated in the system shown in (a) in FIG. 1. The processor can obtain the corresponding direction angle of each combination of antenna elements by using the steps a to d described above. Figure 4 Figure 10 As shown in (b) in FIG. 1, when the azimuth sensing device is applied to the system shown in (b) in FIG. 1, each sub-receiving processing circuit can further include a circulator, and the positioning device further includes a second sending circuit, and the antenna selection circuit is coupled to the mixer in each sub-receiving processing circuit and the second sending circuit through the circulator in each sub-receiving processing circuit. The circulator is used to realize the transceiver combination.

[0181] As shown in (b) in FIG. 1, when the azimuth sensing device is applied to the system shown in (b) in FIG. 1, each sub-receiving processing circuit can further include a circulator, and the positioning device further includes a second sending circuit, and the antenna selection circuit is coupled to the mixer in each sub-receiving processing circuit and the second sending circuit through the circulator in each sub-receiving processing circuit. The circulator is used to realize the transceiver combination. Figure 4 Figure 10 The processor is further configured to send the first command through the second sending circuit, the circulator and the antenna array.

[0182] The mixer is specifically configured to perform down-conversion processing on the response signal received by the antenna element corresponding to the mixer through the circulator.

[0183] The radio frequency line of the antenna selection circuit to the circulator in each sub-receiving processing circuit is equal in length. The radio frequency line of the circulator to the mixer in each sub-receiving processing circuit is equal in length.

[0184] The radio frequency line of the antenna selection circuit to the circulator in each sub-receiving processing circuit is equal in length. The radio frequency line of the circulator to the mixer in each sub-receiving processing circuit is equal in length.

[0185] ​​​Optionally, the second transmitting circuit is used to send signaling to other devices. This second transmitting circuit and the first receiving circuit can operate in different modes. For example, the operating frequency bands of the second transmitting circuit and the first receiving circuit can be different. The second transmitting circuit is used to send a first command to the tag.

[0186] Optional, such as Figure 4 As shown, the second transmitting circuit includes L sub-transmitting circuits, each of which includes a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and a mixer. The LO in the receiving processing circuit is coupled to the mixer in each sub-transmitting circuit through a power divider.

[0187] For example, taking the processor switching the antenna element combination according to the aforementioned first switching method as an example, combined with Figure 10 (b) and Figure 4 It can be seen that the positioning device can send select, query, and ACK commands to the tag via a circulator and antenna array, and receive response signals from the tag via the antenna array and circulator. That is, in Figure 10 In the system shown in (b), for the tag, the reader sends commands to the tag and also receives the tag's response signal; therefore, receiving and sending are implemented in a single device. Furthermore, combined with... Figure 10 It can be seen that the positioning device in the reader receives the channel (for example, Figure 10 (RX1 to RX4 in the middle) and the transmit channel (e.g., Figure 4 TX1 to TX4 in the above are mixed based on the same LO, so the transmission and reception share the same local oscillator. Therefore, the processor can use the aforementioned steps e to h to obtain the azimuth angle corresponding to each combination of antenna elements.

[0188] Combination Figure 4 As shown in (b), the positioning device in the reader can directly send the first command to the tag, therefore in Figure 4 In the system shown in (b), if the tag is a passive RFID tag, it can be charged by the reader transmitting a wireless signal to the tag. Figure 10 In the case where the tag shown in (b) is a passive RFID tag, if Figure 10 The positioning device shown has multiple receiving channels. By fixing one channel to continuously transmit signals, the passive RFID tag will not lose power and the reception will not be interrupted when the processor switches between different combinations of antenna units. However, if... Figure 10 The positioning device shown has only one receiving channel. When switching between different combinations of antenna units, the passive RFID tag will not receive the wireless signal, and therefore the passive RFID tag will not be able to send a signal, causing the reader to fail to receive the signal.

[0189] To solve Figure 11 the problem that if there is only one receiving channel, the positioning device shown in the figure will cause receiving failure when positioning the location of a passive RFID tag, the embodiments of the present application further provide a positioning device, as shown in the figure, which is further used for coupling with a second antenna. The second antenna has a different operating frequency from the antenna units in the antenna array. Figure 11

[0190] The processor is further used for sending the first command through the second sending circuit and the second antenna.

[0191] As shown in the figure, the antenna selection circuit includes a switch, which is an M*N switch. One end of the M*N switch is used for coupling with each antenna unit in the antenna array, and the other end of the M*N switch is coupled to the processor through the receiving processing circuit. In Figure 11 the positioning device shown in the figure, since there is only one switch, there is only one receiving channel. Figure 11

[0192] Figure 10 Compared with the positioning device shown in the figure Figure 11 , since Figure 11 the positioning device shown in the figure sends the first command to the tag through the second antenna and switches the antenna units in different combinations through the M*N switch to receive the response signal of the tag, therefore Figure 11 the positioning device shown in the figure uses different antenna units for sending and receiving, and the receiving and sending channels are different. Therefore Figure 4 the positioning device shown in the figure is applied in the system shown in (b) in Figure 11 , if the tag is a passive RFID tag, the passive RFID tag can be charged by collecting the wireless energy emitted by the second antenna, therefore Figure 11 when the positioning device shown in the figure switches different antenna units, it will not affect sending and will not cause receiving interruption.

[0193] It should be noted that Figure 4 the positioning device shown in the figure is applied in the system shown in (b) in Figure 11 . The reader sends a command to the tag, and the reader receives the command from the tag, therefore, the receiving and sending are implemented in one device. Moreover, it can be known from Figure 11 that the receiving channel (such as the single RX in Figure 11 ) and the sending channel (such as the single TX in Figure 12 ) in the positioning device in the reader are mixed based on the same LO, therefore the sending and receiving are co-oscillated. Therefore, the processor can obtain the corresponding direction angle of each combination of antenna units by using the foregoing steps e to h. ​​

[0194] The embodiment of the present application also provides a positioning device, as shown in the drawings, the number of receiving channels of the positioning device is equal to the number of antenna elements in the antenna array, and the positioning device comprises receiving processing circuitry and a processor. Figure 12

[0195] For example, the receiving processing circuitry comprises four sub-receiving processing circuitries, and the antenna array comprises 2*2 antenna elements, as shown in the drawings, each sub-receiving processing circuitry is used for coupling with one antenna element in the antenna array. In the embodiment, since the number of antenna elements is equal to the number of receiving channels, the embodiment omits the antenna selection circuitry, and directly receives the response signal from the tag by the four sub-receiving processing circuitries through the corresponding antenna elements in the antenna array, compared with the positioning device shown in the drawings. Figure 6 to Figure 8 Figure 12

[0196] As shown in the drawings, the receiving processing circuitry further comprises a local oscillator and a power divider, each sub-receiving processing circuitry comprises a mixer and an analog-to-digital converter, and the mixer in each sub-receiving processing circuitry is coupled with the processor through the analog-to-digital converter. The local oscillator is coupled with the mixers in the four sub-receiving processing circuitries through the power divider. Figure 12

[0197] The mixer is used for performing down-conversion processing on the response signal received by the antenna element corresponding to the mixer based on the radio frequency clock signal output by the local oscillator.

[0198] The analog-to-digital converter is used for performing analog-to-digital conversion on the down-converted data.

[0199] The processor is used for obtaining a direction angle corresponding to a combined antenna element based on the analog-to-digital converted data, and positioning the position of the tag based on the direction angles corresponding to a plurality of combined antenna elements.

[0200] The specific functions of the mixer, the analog-to-digital converter and the processor can refer to the related descriptions in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be described here again. Different from the foregoing embodiments, in the embodiment, the processor no longer sends a switching control signal to switch different combined antenna elements, the receiving processing circuitry directly receives the signal through the antenna elements in the antenna array, and the processor positions the position of the tag according to the analog-to-digital converted data.

[0201] It should be noted that, different from the foregoing embodiments, since Figure 12 ​​​​In the illustrated embodiment, the number of receiving channels is the same as the number of antenna elements in the antenna array. Therefore, it is not necessary to switch between different combinations of antenna elements using a switching switch. Instead, the processor combines the response signals received from different receiving channels to obtain different combinations of antenna elements, calculates the azimuth angle corresponding to each combination, and obtains the tag's position based on the azimuth angles corresponding to multiple combinations of antenna elements. In other words, this embodiment can use software algorithms to combine different antenna elements to obtain multiple combinations of antenna elements to locate the tag's position.

[0202] Optional, Figure 12 The positioning device shown may also include a first transmitting circuit, through which the processor sends a first command to the repeater via the first transmitting circuit and the first antenna.

[0203] For example, Figure 4 The positioning device shown is applied to Figure 4 When in the system shown in (a), combined with Figure 12 As shown in (a) in the figure, Figure 4 The positioning device shown can send select, query, or ACK commands to a repeater via a single rod antenna, and the repeater sends commands to the tag ( Figure 6 In (a) of the passive RFID tag, the tag forwards the command sent by the reader and, in response to the command sent by the repeater, reports an acknowledgment signal (EPC frame or RN16 frame).

[0204] This application also provides a reader, such as... Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Figure 10 , Figure 11 , Figure 12 or Figure 6 As shown, the reader includes the aforementioned positioning device and antenna array. Optionally, the reader may also include the aforementioned first antenna or second antenna.

[0205] This application embodiment also provides a positioning system, which includes a repeater and a reader, such as... Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Figure 10 , Figure 11 , Figure 12 or Figure 6 As shown, the reader includes the aforementioned positioning device and an antenna array. The reader is used to send a first command to a repeater, the first command including at least one of a select command, a query command, or an ACK command. The repeater is used to receive the first command from the reader and forward the first command to the tag. The tag is used to send an acknowledgment signal to the reader. Optionally, the positioning system also includes a tag.

[0206] Optionally, the first command includes different signaling according to different manners of the processor switching the different combinations of the antenna elements. When the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of the antenna elements once every first time length during a time period in which the tag transmits the EPC frame, the first command includes a select command, a query command and an ACK command. When the processor transmits a plurality of query commands, the processor controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of the antenna elements once every time a query command is transmitted, the first command includes a select command and a query command.

[0207] The embodiments of the present application further provide a positioning method, which can be executed by the processor shown in the above Figure 7 、 Figure 8 、 Figure 10 、 Figure 11 、 Figure 12 or Figure 13 . As shown in Figure 6 , the method comprises the following steps:

[0208] S1301, selecting a combination of antenna elements in an antenna array.

[0209] The antenna array includes M*N antenna elements, M and N are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and M and N are not equal to 1 at the same time, each combination of antenna elements includes L antenna elements, L is a positive integer less than M*N.

[0210] Optionally, the M*N antenna elements in the antenna array are arranged in M rows and N columns, and the distance between any two adjacent rows and any two adjacent columns in the antenna array is equal. The distance can be greater than or equal to 0.5 times the wavelength.

[0211] Exemplarily, the processor selecting a combination of antenna elements in the antenna array can include: the processor outputting an antenna switching control signal, the antenna switching control signal being used for selecting a combination of antenna elements in the antenna array. The antenna selection circuit can select a combination of antenna elements in the antenna array according to the antenna switching control signal output by the processor.

[0212] S1302, receiving a response signal from a tag based on the L antenna elements.

[0213] The tag can be any one of a plurality of tags. For example, the reader transmits a select command, the select command carrying EPC information of the tag, and the select command can select the tag from a plurality of tags.

[0214] S1303, positioning the position of the tag based on the response signals received based on the plurality of combinations of antenna elements.

[0215] Optionally, when the processor locates the position of the tag based on the response signal, the response signal can be data processed by the receiving processing circuit shown in Figure 7 、 Figure 8 、 Figure 10 、 Figure 11 、 Figure 12 or Figure 6 .

[0216] Optionally, for the tag, the device sending the command to the tag and the device receiving the response signal from the tag can be the same device or different devices. When the device sending the command to the tag and the device receiving the response signal from the tag are the same device, the receiving and sending can be co-resonant. When the device sending the command to the tag and the device receiving the response signal from the tag are different devices, the receiving and sending are not co-resonant. Therefore, according to whether the receiving and sending are co-resonant, the position of the tag can be located in the following two cases.

[0217] In the first case, in the case that the sending and receiving are not co-resonant, the step S1303 of locating the position of the tag can be achieved by the aforementioned steps a to d.

[0218] It should be noted that when the positioning device shown in Figure 7 、 Figure 8 、 Figure 12 、 Figure 4 is applied to the system architecture shown in (a) in Figure 10 , the sending and receiving are not co-resonant, and the position of the tag can be obtained by the aforementioned steps a to d.

[0219] In the second case, in the case that the sending and receiving are co-resonant, taking an example that the combination of the antenna elements is switched every ΔT, and the position of each antenna element in the antenna array is known, the step S1303 of locating the position of the tag can be achieved by the aforementioned steps e to h.

[0220] It should be noted that when the positioning device shown in Figure 11 、 Figure 4 is applied to the system architecture shown in (b) in Figure 13 , the sending and receiving are co-resonant, and the position of the tag can be obtained by the aforementioned steps e to h.

[0221] It can be understood that how the position of the tag is obtained in the step S1303 can be referred to the related description of the foregoing embodiments, which will not be described here again.

[0222] Optionally, the various combinations of the antenna elements in the step S1303 can be obtained by the way of S1304 or S1305.

[0223] S1304, switch the antenna element combination every first time length in a time period in which the tag sends a response signal once.

[0224] The first time length is related to the time length in which the tag sends the response signal and the number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array. For specific calculation methods of the first time length and related descriptions of the number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array, refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be described again.

[0225] The time length in which the tag sends the response signal is the time length in which the tag sends the EPC frame.

[0226] Optionally, since the time length in which the tag sends the EPC frame is limited, in the case where the number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array is large, the tag may only be able to switch a part of the different combinations of antenna elements in the time period in which the tag sends the EPC frame once. Then, the reader can send an ACK command again, and in response to the ACK command, the tag reports the EPC frame again, and the processor switches the antenna element combination every first time length in another part of the antenna element combinations in the time period in which the tag reports the EPC frame again.

[0227] In the implementation of step S1304, the different combinations of antenna elements can be switched multiple times in the time period in which the tag reports the EPC frame once, so that the switching time of the different combinations of antenna elements is short, the positioning speed is fast, and the method is more suitable for scenarios sensitive to time consumption.

[0228] The present embodiment is not limited to the execution order of steps S1303 and S1304. For example, the processor can calculate the position of the tag once every time the antenna element combination is switched, or the position of the tag can be calculated once every time multiple antenna element combinations are switched. Figure 13 Taking the case of calculating the position of the tag once every time multiple antenna element combinations are switched as an example.

[0229] S1305, send multiple query commands, and switch the antenna element combination every time a query command is sent.

[0230] For example, the reader sends a select command to select the tag. Then, the reader sends a query command every time, and the processor switches the antenna element combination. The processor can switch the different combinations of antenna elements according to a preset rule. The preset rule can include but is not limited to that the processor sequentially traverses each antenna element combination in the antenna array. Alternatively, the processor traverses each antenna element combination in a plurality of preset different combinations of antenna elements, and the number of the plurality of preset different combinations of antenna elements is less than or equal to the number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array.

[0231] In an implementation of step S1305, the antenna element combination is switched every time the query command is sent. Compared with the implementation of step S1304 in which the different combinations of antenna elements are switched multiple times in the time period in which the tag reports one EPC frame, the switching time of the antenna element combination is longer, and is more suitable for a positioning scenario that is not sensitive to time consumption.

[0232] The embodiment of the present application is not limited to the execution order of steps S1303 and S1305 described above. For example, the processor can calculate the position of the tag once every time the antenna element combination is switched, or can calculate the position of the tag once after multiple antenna element combinations are switched. Figure 13 An example is taken in which multiple antenna element combinations are switched to calculate the position of the tag once.

[0233] Optionally, after step S1304 or S1305, step S1306 can be further included.

[0234] S1306, when a preset condition is met, stop switching the antenna element combination.

[0235] For example, the preset condition includes at least one of the following: the number of selected antenna element combinations reaches a preset number, the preset number is less than or equal to the number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array; or, the different combinations of switched antenna elements have traversed a preset plurality of antenna element combinations. The embodiment of the present application is not limited to the preset condition for stopping switching the antenna element combination, which is only illustratively described herein.

[0236] The positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application can reduce the number of receiving channels, reduce complexity, and reduce cost by selecting different combinations of antenna elements in the antenna array. Moreover, when calculating the position of the tag, the tag response signal is weighted, which can replace the phase shifter, so that the phase shifter is omitted when positioning the tag, and the cost is reduced.

[0237] The embodiment of the present application further provides a positioning device, which includes a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to execute the computer program, so that the positioning device implements the method as shown in Figure 13 .

[0238] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which has computer program code therein. When the computer program code is executed on the processor, the processor executes the method as shown in Figure 13 .

[0239] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes program instructions. When the program instructions are executed, the method as shown in​ The method shown.

[0240] The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the present disclosure can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module can reside in RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium can be located in a core network interface device. The processor and the storage medium can comprise any combination of a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, a controller, a microcomputer, a logic circuit, a register, a semiconductor device, a processor, a processing circuit, a processing device, or the like, which is capable of performing calculations and / or other manipulations of information.

[0241] Those skilled in the art should clearly understand that the functions described in the one or more examples described above can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes a computer storage medium and a communication medium, and the communication medium includes any medium that facilitates the transfer of computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0242] The above detailed description has further explained the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A positioning device, characterized in that The positioning device comprises an antenna selection circuit, a receiving processing circuit, and a processor, the antenna selection circuit is coupled to the processor through the receiving processing circuit; the antenna selection circuit is used for being coupled with an antenna array, the antenna array comprises M*N antenna units, M and N are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and M and N are not 1 at the same time, the antenna selection circuit is used for selecting different combinations of antenna units in the antenna array, each combination of antenna units comprises L antenna units, L is a positive integer less than or equal to M*N; The processor is used for controlling the antenna selection circuit to select a combination of antenna units in the antenna array; The receiving processing circuit is used for receiving a response signal from a tag through the L antenna units selected by the antenna selection circuit and processing the response signal; The receiving processing circuit comprises L sub-receiving processing circuits; the processor is specifically used for: Combining the data processed by each of the L sub-receiving processing circuits; Weighting the combined data; Based on the weighted data, obtaining a direction angle corresponding to a combination of antenna units; Based on the direction angles corresponding to multiple combinations of antenna units, positioning the position of the tag.

2. The positioning device of claim 1, wherein, The antenna selection circuit comprises L switches, one end of each switch is used for being coupled with K antenna units in the antenna array, K is a positive integer less than or equal to M*N / L, and the other end of each switch is coupled with the receiving processing circuit; The processor is specifically used for controlling the L switches to select L antenna units in the antenna array.

3. The positioning device of claim 2, wherein, The K antenna units coupled with each switch are located in different columns of the antenna array, or the K antenna units coupled with each switch are located in different rows of the antenna array, or the K antenna units coupled with each switch are located in different rows and different columns of the antenna array.

4. The positioning device according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The processor is specifically used for controlling the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna units every first time length in a time period in which the tag sends a response signal.

5. The positioning device of claim 4, wherein, The first time length is related to the time length in which the tag sends the response signal and the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array.

6. The positioning device according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The processor is further used for sending multiple query commands, controls the antenna selection circuit to switch the combination of antenna units every time the query command is sent; the query command is used for querying the tag.

7. The positioning device of claim 4, wherein, The processor is further used for stopping switching the combination of antenna units when a preset condition is met; The preset condition comprises at least one of the following: The number of selected combinations of antenna units reaches a preset number, and the preset number is less than or equal to the number of different combinations of antenna units included in the antenna array; or, The switched different combinations of antenna units have traversed a preset plurality of combinations of antenna units.

8. The positioning device of any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The receiving processing circuit comprises L sub-receiving processing circuits, each of which comprises a mixer and an analog-to-digital converter, and the mixer in each of the sub-receiving processing circuits is coupled to the processor through the analog-to-digital converter; The mixer is configured to perform down-conversion processing on the response signal received by the antenna unit corresponding to the mixer; The analog-to-digital converter is configured to convert the down-converted response signal into a digital signal; The processor is specifically configured to obtain the position of the tag based on the data processed by the analog-to-digital converter.

9. The positioning device of claim 8, wherein, The receiving processing circuit further comprises a local oscillator and a power divider, and the local oscillator is coupled to the mixers in the L sub-receiving processing circuits through the power divider; The local oscillator is configured to provide a radio frequency clock for up-conversion or down-conversion; The mixer is specifically configured to perform down-conversion processing on the response signal received by the antenna unit corresponding to the mixer based on the radio frequency clock signal output by the local oscillator.

10. The positioning device of claim 9, wherein, The radio frequency lines of the antenna selection circuit to the mixers in each of the sub-receiving processing circuits are equal in length, and the signal lines of the power divider to the mixers in each of the sub-receiving processing circuits are equal in length.

11. The positioning device of any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The positioning device is further configured to be coupled to a first antenna, the first antenna has a different operating frequency from the antenna units, and the positioning device further comprises a first sending circuit; The processor is further configured to send a first command to the repeater through the first sending circuit and the first antenna, the first command being used for inventorying or querying the tag.

12. The positioning device of any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The positioning device further comprises a second sending circuit, and the receiving processing circuit comprises L sub-receiving processing circuits, each of which further comprises a circulator, and the antenna selection circuit is coupled to the mixer in each of the sub-receiving processing circuits and the second sending circuit through the circulator in each of the sub-receiving processing circuits, and the circulator is configured to realize transceiver combination; The processor is further configured to send a first command through the second sending circuit, the circulator and the antenna array; The mixer is specifically configured to perform down-conversion processing on the response signal received by the antenna unit corresponding to the mixer through the circulator.

13. The positioning device of claim 12, wherein, The radio frequency lines of the antenna selection circuit to the circulators in each of the sub-receiving processing circuits are equal in length, and the radio frequency lines of the circulators in each of the sub-receiving processing circuits to the mixers are equal in length.

14. The positioning device of any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The radio frequency lines of each of the antenna units in the antenna array to the antenna selection circuit are equal in length.

15. The positioning device of any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The M*N antenna units are arranged in M rows and N columns, and the spacing between any two adjacent rows and any two adjacent columns in the antenna array is equal.

16. The positioning device of claim 15, wherein, The spacing is greater than or equal to 0.5 times the wavelength.

17. A positioning method characterized by, The method comprises: selecting a combined antenna unit in an antenna array, the antenna array comprising M*N antenna units, the M and the N being integers greater than or equal to 1, and the M and the N not being 1 at the same time, each combined antenna unit comprising L antenna units, the L being a positive integer less than M*N; receive a response signal from the tag based on the selected L antenna elements; combine data received by the L antenna elements included in the combined antenna element; weight the combined data; obtain a direction angle corresponding to the combined antenna element based on the weighted data; obtain a position of the tag based on the direction angles corresponding to the multiple combined antenna elements.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein, The method further comprises: switch the combination of antenna elements every first time duration within a time period during which the tag transmits a response signal.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, The first time duration is related to a time duration during which the tag transmits the response signal and a number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein, The method further comprises: transmit a plurality of query commands, and switch the combination of antenna elements every time a query command is transmitted; the query command is used to query the tag.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17-20, characterized by, The method further comprises: stop switching the combination of antenna elements when a preset condition is met; The preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a number of selected combinations of antenna elements reaches a preset number, the preset number is less than or equal to a number of different combinations of antenna elements included in the antenna array; or switched different combinations of antenna elements have traversed a preset plurality of combinations of antenna elements.

22. A reader, characterized by The reader comprises the positioning device according to any one of claims 1-16, and the antenna array.

23. A positioning system, characterized by The positioning system comprises a repeater, a reader and a tag, the reader comprises the positioning device according to any one of claims 1-16, and the antenna array; The reader is configured to transmit a first command to the repeater, the first command is used to inventory or query the tag; The repeater is configured to receive the first command from the reader and forward the first command to the tag; The tag is configured to transmit the response signal to the reader.

24. The positioning system of claim 23, wherein, The first command comprises at least one of a select command, a query command or an acknowledgement ACK command.

25. A positioning device, characterized by The positioning device comprises a processor and a memory, the memory is configured to store a computer program; the processor is configured to execute the computer program, so that the positioning device implements the method according to any one of claims 17-21.

26. A computer readable storage medium having computer program code stored therein, the computer program code comprising program instructions configured to: The computer program code, when executed on the processor, causes the processor to execute the method according to any one of claims 17-21.

27. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises program instructions, which are executed to implement the method according to any one of claims 17-21.

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