Intelligent piece positioning and identification system

Abstract

The present invention provides a piece positioning and identification system, comprising: an MCU, an RFID module, a multi-channel analog switch, a magnetic signal switching unit, an electromagnetic driving unit, antennas, silicon steel blocks, and pieces. The MCU is used for communicating with the RFID module, selecting a channel of the multi-channel analog switch, and selecting magnetic signal switching. The RFID module is used for reading piece information. The multi-channel analog switch is used for group gating and intra-group channel gating of radio frequency channels. The magnetic signal switching unit is used for switching between the electromagnetic driving unit and the radio frequency channels. The electromagnetic driving unit is used for driving electromagnets. The antennas are used for sending and receiving signals of the pieces and also used in coils of the electromagnets. The silicon steel blocks are used in magnetic cores of the electromagnets, and generate attraction force on the pieces after magnetization. According to the present invention, positions of the pieces can be effectively positioned and identified, and the pieces can be fixed, so that the pieces cannot drift on a board due to vibration or inclination.

Description

An intelligent chess piece positioning and recognition system Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to chess pieces, and more particularly to a chess piece positioning and recognition system. Background Art

[0002] With the advancement of technology in the internet age, the prevalence of artificial intelligence, and the emergence of more and more smart devices, smart chess pieces are increasingly appearing on the market. As we all know, when people play chess, the pieces are placed on a chessboard. To achieve piece location recognition, a system is needed that can determine the position of the pieces on the board.

[0003] Radio frequency identification (RFID) antennas are a crucial component of RFID card recognition circuits. They can be found in many intelligent identification devices and are widely used in various smart terminals. As a standalone identification application, they are very common and the technology is mature. However, for applications requiring multiple identification objects, a single RFID antenna circuit cannot meet the requirements, especially for locating and identifying a large number of chess pieces on a chessboard.

[0004] Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved chess piece positioning and recognition system.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] This Summary is provided to introduce some concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0007] In view of the defects in the prior art described above, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a chess piece positioning and identification system for the problem of positioning and identifying chess pieces on a chessboard, which can effectively locate and identify the positions of chess pieces and can fix the chess pieces so that the chess pieces cannot drift on the chessboard due to vibration or tilt.

[0008] According to the present invention, a chess piece positioning and identification system is provided, comprising: a microcontroller unit; a radio frequency identification module connected to the microcontroller unit and having at least a first port and a second port; a multi-channel analog switch connected to the microcontroller unit and the radio frequency identification module; a magnetic signal switching unit connected to the multi-channel analog switch; an electromagnetic drive unit connected to the magnetic signal switching unit; an antenna connected to the magnetic signal switching unit; a silicon steel block; and a chess piece, wherein the microcontroller unit is configured to select a channel of the multi-channel analog switch and control the magnetic signal switching unit to select a corresponding radio frequency antenna path; wherein the radio frequency identification module is configured to read The invention relates to a method for obtaining chess piece information received from an antenna and transmitted via a radio frequency antenna path; wherein the multi-channel analog switch is configured to be used for group selection and intra-group channel selection to select a channel corresponding to the radio frequency antenna path; wherein the magnetic signal switching unit is configured to be used for switching between the electromagnetic driving unit and the radio frequency antenna path; wherein the electromagnetic driving unit is configured to drive an electromagnet; wherein the antenna is configured to be used for sending and receiving chess piece signals and for the coil of the electromagnet; wherein the silicon steel block is configured as the magnetic core of the electromagnet, which generates an attractive force on the chess piece after magnetization; wherein the chess piece includes a chess piece structure, an embedded permanent magnet, a coil of an identification tag, and a chip.

[0009] In one embodiment, the radio frequency identification module may include a radio frequency identification chip, and a radio frequency antenna path formed by the radio frequency identification chip reads chess piece information in a time-division multiplexing manner.

[0010] In one embodiment, the RFID module may include an RFID chip matrix composed of a plurality of RFID chips, and the RFID chip matrix can synchronously read information of a plurality of chess pieces via different RFID antenna paths.

[0011] In one embodiment, the multi-channel analog switch may include a multi-channel output analog switch connected to a first port of the radio frequency identification module and a multi-channel input analog switch connected to a second port of the radio frequency identification module. The multi-channel input analog switch is connected to the antenna in a group loop form, and the antennas in each group in the group loop are connected to the multi-channel input analog switch in a single bus loop form.

[0012] In one embodiment, the multi-channel analog switch may include a multi-channel output analog switch connected to the first port of the radio frequency identification module, and the second port of the radio frequency identification module is connected to the antenna in an ungrouped bus loop form, and the bus loop form directly connects all antennas to the second port of the radio frequency identification module at a common point.

[0013] In one embodiment, the antenna may be made of enameled wire or conductive wire and mounted on an object or directly fabricated on a printed circuit board.

[0014] In one embodiment, the silicon steel sheet may be fixed at the center of the coil antenna and made of a metal (eg, iron, steel, etc.) with controllable magnetic properties, low remanence, and high magnetic permeability.

[0015] In one embodiment, channels of the multi-channel analog switch can be selected using a decoder, which can be a 3-8 decoder or a 4-16 decoder.

[0016] In one embodiment, the RF antenna path can be a path starting from the first port of the RF identification module, passing through the selected channel of the multi-channel analog switch, the corresponding magnetic signal switching unit, and the corresponding antenna and returning to the second port of the RF identification module, and the impedance of the RF antenna path is not greater than 10 ohms.

[0017] In one embodiment, the group loop form is selected when the total capacitance of the RF antenna path is greater than 1000 pF, and the bus loop form is selected when the total capacitance of the RF antenna path is not greater than 1000 pF.

[0018] In one embodiment, the magnetic signal switching unit may be in an electromagnetic conduction state by default, and the electromagnetic driving unit is disconnected only when the signal is connected.

[0019] The system according to the present invention is simple, effective, and low-cost. It can quickly identify each identified object among multiple objects. It has diverse application possibilities. Depending on the application scenario, chess pieces can be arranged in a flat, stacked, or polyhedral configuration, or even in a combination of flat, stacked, and polyhedral configurations. This makes intelligent chess piece positioning and recognition applications on a three-dimensional, multi-faceted chessboard more flexible.

[0020] These and other features and advantages will become apparent from reading the following detailed description and referring to the associated drawings.It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are illustrative only and are not restrictive of the aspects claimed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order that the manner in which the above-mentioned features of the present invention are understood in detail, a more particular description of the contents briefly summarized above may be given with reference to various embodiments, some aspects of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the invention and are not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

[0022] FIG1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a chess piece positioning and recognition system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] FIG2 illustrates a structural diagram of a radio frequency identification module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIG3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a multi-channel analog switch connected to an antenna group loop according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of connecting a multi-channel analog switch to an antenna single bus loop according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 5 illustrates a grouped analog switch gating diagram according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 6 illustrates a grouped analog switch bank loop gating diagram according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the features of the present invention will be further apparent in the following specific description.

[0029] As mentioned above, a single RFID antenna circuit cannot meet the application requirements for multiple objects to be identified, especially for locating and identifying a large number of chess pieces on a chessboard. Therefore, the present invention provides an improved chess piece location and identification system. This system employs an innovative design and application solution, using a simple circuit to solve the multi-target identification problem and reduce costs. This also enables a wider range of application scenarios and greater flexibility.

[0030] FIG1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a chess piece location and recognition system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG1 , chess piece location and recognition system 100 may include the following components: a microcontroller unit (MCU) 110, a radio frequency identification (RFID) module 120, a multi-channel analog switch (e.g., a multi-channel output analog switch 130 and a multi-channel input analog switch 140 in the embodiment shown in FIG1 ), a magnetic signal switching unit 150, an electromagnetic drive unit 160, a silicon steel block 170, an antenna 180, and a chess piece 190. In one embodiment, MCU 110, RFID module 120, multi-channel analog switch, magnetic signal switching unit 150, electromagnetic drive unit 160, silicon steel block 170, and antenna 180 may be housed within a chessboard. The letter "N" in FIG1 may represent the number of squares within the chessboard (e.g., for a chessboard having 64 squares, N may be equal to 64).

[0031] MCU 110 can be implemented by a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a field programmable gate array, an application-specific integrated circuit, or any other suitable control circuit. In one embodiment, MCU 110 can communicate with RFID module 120 to send and / or receive signals to and from RFID module 120. For example, MCU 110 can send a request signal to RFID module 120 requesting that RFID module 120 transmit a radio frequency signal having a specific frequency. In addition, MCU 110 can also receive a signal from RFID module 120 containing chess piece information for use in identifying and locating chess pieces. In one embodiment, MCU 110 can send a selection signal to a multi-channel analog switch (e.g., multi-channel output analog switch 130 and multi-channel input analog switch 140) to select a corresponding channel for forming a specific radio frequency antenna path. In this application, a radio frequency antenna path may refer to a path starting from a first port of the RFID module, passing through a selected channel of the multi-channel analog switch, a corresponding magnetic signal switching unit, and a corresponding antenna, returning to a second port of the RFID module. For example, in a chess game, there may be 64 radio frequency antenna paths, with each chess square associated with a radio frequency antenna path. Channel selection of the multi-channel analog switch will be described in further detail below with reference to FIG. 3-6 .

[0032] The RFID module 120 can be configured to transmit radio frequency signals to the chess pieces on the corresponding chess squares via a selected radio frequency antenna path, and read chess piece information received from the corresponding antenna and transmitted via the selected radio frequency antenna path. In one embodiment, the RFID module 120 can include at least a first port and a second port (e.g., radio frequency port P and radio frequency port N in FIG1 ). In one embodiment, the RFID module 120 can include an RFID chip matrix composed of multiple RFID chips, which can synchronously read information about multiple chess pieces via different radio frequency antenna paths. Referring to FIG2 , FIG2 illustrates a structural diagram of an RFID module 200 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The RFID module 200 can include multiple (e.g., n) RFID IC chips, which can be combined into an RFID IC chip matrix. In particular, when multiple radio frequency antenna paths are required to synchronously read and identify targets (e.g., multiple chess pieces), several RFID IC chips can be combined to form multiple antenna outputs if multiple antenna paths require synchronous reading. In another embodiment, the RFID module 120 can include only one RFID IC chip, and the radio frequency antenna path formed by the single RFID IC chip can asynchronously read chess piece information using time-division multiplexing.

[0033] The magnetic signal switching unit 150 can be configured to switch between the electromagnetic drive unit 160 and the radio frequency antenna path. In one embodiment, the magnetic signal switching unit 150 can be implemented by a 2-to-1 switching switch (for example, a single-pole double-throw switch). In the chess example, the number of magnetic signal switching units 150 can be 64, and each magnetic signal switching unit corresponds to an radio frequency antenna path. In one embodiment, the magnetic signal switching unit 150 can be in an electromagnetic conduction state (that is, a state in which the electromagnetic drive unit 160 is connected to the antenna 180) by default. Only when the corresponding channel of the multi-channel analog switch connected to the magnetic signal switching unit 150 is selected (for example, when a signal from the MCU or RFID module is received), the magnetic signal switching unit 150 disconnects from the electromagnetic drive unit 160 and connects the selected channel of the multi-channel analog switch to the corresponding antenna 180.

[0034] The electromagnetic driving unit 160 may be configured to drive the electromagnet to generate a suction force on the chess piece, thereby fixing the chess piece so that the chess piece cannot drift on the chessboard due to vibration or tilt.

[0035] Silicon steel block 170 can be configured as a magnetic core for an electromagnet, which generates an attractive force on the chess piece after magnetization. In one embodiment, silicon steel block 170 can be fixed at the center of the antenna and is made of a metal with controllable magnetic properties, low remanence, and high magnetic permeability (e.g., iron, steel, etc.).

[0036] Antennas 180 can be made from enameled wire or wire wound around a wire to form individual antennas that can be mounted and fixed to an object. They can also be fabricated directly on a PCB to form a planar or three-dimensional antenna. Both independent antennas and PCB antennas can be mounted on polyhedrons, stacked structures, or hybrid structures to form a planar or three-dimensional identification antenna cluster. In the chess example, there can be 64 antennas 180, each corresponding to a chess square or an RF antenna path. That is, the antenna's radiation range can be designed to correspond to the range of a chess square, so that only chess pieces located on that square can receive the RF signal corresponding to that square. In one embodiment, when the magnetic signal switching unit 150 is configured to connect the electromagnetic drive unit 160 to the antenna 180, the antenna 180 can be configured as a coil for an electromagnet. When the magnetic signal switching unit 150 is configured to connect a selected channel of a multi-channel analog switch to the antenna 180, the antenna 180 can be configured to transmit and receive RF signals specific to the chess pieces.

[0037] The chess piece 190 may include a chess piece structure, an embedded permanent magnet, a coil of an identification tag, and a chip. Due to the presence of the permanent magnet, when the chess piece 190 is subjected to the suction force generated by the electromagnet, the chess piece 190 can be adsorbed on the corresponding chess square without drifting. In addition, the chip of the identification tag may contain information about the chess piece 190 (for example, the ID of the chess piece, the type of the chess piece (such as emperor, queen, horse, soldier, etc.), the weight of the chess piece, etc.). When receiving a radio frequency signal from the RFID module 120, the coil of the identification tag can respond to the radio frequency signal and send the information about the chess piece 190 contained in the chip to the RFID module 120. With this information, the MCU 110 can quickly identify the type of the chess piece and locate the position of the chess piece on the chessboard.

[0038] The multi-channel analog switch can be configured for group gating (e.g., via the multi-channel input analog switch 140) and intra-group channel gating (e.g., via the multi-channel output analog switch 130) to select the channel corresponding to the RF antenna path. In other words, the multi-channel analog switch is primarily used to select which antenna 180 to connect the RFID module 120 to to form a specific RF antenna path (i.e., to which chess square to attempt to transmit the RF signal in order to obtain information about the chess piece located on that square, thereby identifying and locating the chess piece). In one embodiment, the gating of the multi-channel analog switch can be implemented by combining group gating with intra-group channel gating. For example, all RF antenna paths can first be divided into N groups, each group containing the same number of RF antenna paths. For the chess example, all 64 RF antenna paths can first be divided into 8 groups, each group containing 8 RF antenna paths. The gating for the group (ie, which group is selected) and the gating for the channel within the group (ie, which channel within the group is selected) can be implemented using a decoder (eg, a 3-8 decoder or a 4-16 decoder) and an enable signal.

[0039] Figure 5 illustrates a grouped analog switch gating diagram 500 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 illustrates a grouped analog switch group loop gating diagram 600 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 6, a 3-8 decoder and an enable signal are used to select a specific group. For example, when the enable signal is "yes" and the strobe signal is "000," group 1 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the strobe signal is "001," group 2 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the strobe signal is "010," group 3 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the strobe signal is "011," group 4 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the strobe signal is "100," group 5 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the strobe signal is "101," group 6 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the strobe signal is "110," group 7 is selected; and when the enable signal is "yes" and the strobe signal is "111," group 8 is selected. Thus, a specific group can be selected. Furthermore, as shown in FIG5 , a 3-8 decoder and an enable signal are used to select a specific channel within a group. For example, when the enable signal is "yes" and the selection signal is "000", channel 1 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the selection signal is "001", channel 2 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the selection signal is "010", channel 3 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the selection signal is "011", channel 4 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the selection signal is "100", channel 5 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the selection signal is "101", channel 6 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the selection signal is "110", channel 7 is selected; when the enable signal is "yes" and the selection signal is "111", channel 8 is selected. In this way, a specific channel within the group can be selected. Combining the group selection shown in Figure 6 and the intra-group channel selection shown in Figure 5, a specific RF antenna path among all RF antenna paths can be selected.

[0040] According to the present invention, the connection mode between the multi-channel analog switch and the antenna can be a group loop form or a non-group bus loop form.

[0041] FIG3 illustrates a schematic diagram 300 of a multi-channel analog switch connected to an antenna group loop according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG3 , the multi-channel analog switch may include a multi-channel output analog switch connected to a first port of the RFID module (e.g., the RF port P) and a multi-channel input analog switch connected to a second port of the RFID module (e.g., the RF port N). The multi-channel input analog switch is connected to the antenna in a group loop format, with each antenna within a group connected to the multi-channel input analog switch using a single bus loop. Each group loop is connected to the RF port N via a channel loop of the multi-channel input analog switch. Since the RF port P and N are differential signals, the P and N terminals are interchangeable.

[0042] Figure 4 illustrates a schematic diagram 400 of a multi-channel analog switch connected to a single bus loop of an antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 4 , the multi-channel analog switch can include a multi-channel output analog switch connected to a first port of the RFID module (e.g., RF port P). The second port of the RFID module (e.g., RF port N) is connected to the antenna in an ungrouped bus loop format, directly connecting all antennas to a common point on the second port of the RFID module (e.g., RF port N). Consequently, the multi-channel input analog switch shown in Figure 3 is unnecessary.

[0043] According to the present invention, the impedance of the RF signal through the multi-channel output analog switch, magnetic signal switching unit, multi-channel input analog switch, or single bus must not exceed 10 ohms, and the total capacitance of the input and output loops must not exceed 1000pF. This ensures correct transmission and reception of the RF signal. If the total input and output capacitance of the path is greater than 1000pF, a group loop configuration is selected; if it is less than 1000pF, a bus loop configuration is selected, thereby reducing the total capacitance of the input and output loops.

[0044] The above describes in detail the various components of the chess piece positioning and recognition system of the present invention. The following uses chess as an example to further illustrate the workings of the chess piece positioning and recognition system of the present invention. It should be noted that this example is illustrative only and not restrictive. The present invention is not limited to chess but can be applied to various other chess games.

[0045] As we all know, chess has 64 squares and 32 pieces. Each piece can be placed on a square. Therefore, to identify the position of each piece on the board, the chess piece positioning and identification system can have a total of 64 RF antenna paths, each associated with a chess square. The MCU can send a selection signal to a multi-channel analog switch according to a specific sequence to select the connection between the RFID module and a specific antenna, thereby selecting a specific RF antenna path. This selection process can be implemented using a decoder, as illustrated with reference to Figures 5 and 6. After selection is completed, the MCU communicates with the RFID module via a data transceiver communication line. The RFID module transmits an RF signal to the corresponding chess square via the selected RF antenna path. When the chess piece on the chess square receives this RF signal, the chess piece information (e.g., the chess piece's ID, type, weight, etc.) stored in the chess piece's RFID tag chip can be read by the RFID module via the RF antenna path. The RFID module converts the signal transmitted via the antenna into a digital signal and interacts with the MCU. Based on this digital signal, the MCU quickly identifies and locates the chess piece's position. By repeating the above process, the position of each chess piece can be quickly identified and located.

[0046] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms “first”, “second” and “third” are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0047] Although various aspects of the present invention have been described so far with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above-described systems and components are merely examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these aspects, but is limited only by the appended claims and their equivalents. Various components may be omitted or replaced by equivalent components. In addition, the steps may be implemented in an order different from the order described in the present invention. In addition, the various components may be combined in various ways. It is also important to note that as technology develops, many of the components described may be replaced by equivalent components that appear later. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A chess piece positioning and recognition system, comprising: Microcontroller unit; a radio frequency identification module connected to the microcontroller unit and having at least a first port and a second port; a multi-channel analog switch connected to the microcontroller unit and the radio frequency identification module; A magnetic signal switching unit connected to the multi-channel analog switch; An electromagnetic driving unit connected to the magnetic signal switching unit; An antenna connected to the magnetic signal switching unit; Silicon steel blocks; as well as piece, wherein the microcontroller unit is configured to select a channel of the multi-channel analog switch and control the magnetic signal switching unit to select a corresponding radio frequency antenna path; wherein the RFID module is configured to read chess piece information received from the antenna and transmitted via the RF antenna path; wherein the multi-channel analog switch is configured for group gating and intra-group channel gating to select a channel corresponding to the RF antenna path; The magnetic signal switching unit is configured to switch between the electromagnetic driving unit and the radio frequency antenna path; wherein the electromagnetic driving unit is configured to drive an electromagnet; wherein the antenna is configured to send and receive signals from the chess piece and for the coil of the electromagnet; The silicon steel block is configured as a magnetic core for an electromagnet, and generates a suction force on the chess piece after magnetization; The chess piece comprises a chess piece structure, an embedded permanent magnet, a coil of an identification tag and a chip.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radio frequency identification module comprises a radio frequency identification chip, and a radio frequency antenna path formed by the radio frequency identification chip reads the chess piece information through time division multiplexing.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the RFID module comprises an RFID chip matrix composed of a plurality of RFID chips, and the RFID chip matrix is ​​capable of synchronously reading information of a plurality of chess pieces via different RFID antenna paths.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the multi-channel analog switch comprises a multi-channel output analog switch connected to the first port of the radio frequency identification module and a multi-channel input analog switch connected to the second port of the radio frequency identification module, and the connection method between the multi-channel input analog switch and the antenna is a group loop form, and the antennas in each group in the group loop are connected to the multi-channel input analog switch in the form of a single bus loop.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the multi-channel analog switch comprises a multi-channel output analog switch connected to the first port of the radio frequency identification module, and the second port of the radio frequency identification module is connected to the antenna in an ungrouped bus loop form, and the bus loop form directly connects a common point of all antennas to the second port of the radio frequency identification module.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the antenna is made of enameled wire or conductive wire and is mounted and fixed to an object or is directly manufactured on a printed circuit board.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the silicon steel sheet is fixed at the center of the coil antenna and is made of a metal with controllable magnetic properties, low residual magnetism, and high magnetic permeability.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein channels of the multi-channel analog switch are selected using a decoder.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the decoder is a 3-8 decoder or a 4-16 decoder.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the RF antenna path is a path starting from the first port of the RFID module, passing through the selected channel of the multi-channel analog switch, the corresponding magnetic signal switching unit, and the corresponding antenna and returning to the second port of the RFID module, and the impedance of the RF antenna path is not greater than 10 ohms.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein a group loop form is selected when the total capacitance of the RF antenna path is greater than 1000 pF, and a bus loop form is selected when the total capacitance of the RF antenna path is not greater than 1000 pF.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the magnetic signal switching unit is in an electromagnetic conduction state by default.

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