HVAC Duct Waveguide Antenna Location System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional wireless communication systems face challenges in providing adequate coverage in areas where RF signals do not penetrate, and they require a large number of antennas, leading to complex infrastructure needs, especially for location determination services within buildings.
Innovation Solution
A distributed antenna system utilizing the HVAC ducts as waveguides, where antennas are placed within the ducts to distribute RF signals and ventilation openings serve as access points, reducing the number of required antennas and leveraging existing infrastructure, and incorporating multiple probes for location determination using propagation delay measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional wireless communication systems are used to provide coverage in areas where RF signals do not penetrate, then a large number of antennas are required, but this leads to complex infrastructure needs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the HVAC system infrastructure with the wireless antenna system, merging two existing systems into a unified solution. The HVAC ducts serve as mounting structures for antennas, eliminating the need for separate antenna installation infrastructure and reducing overall system complexity while maintaining coverage reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The HVAC system is given dual functionality: it continues to provide thermal conditioning while simultaneously serving as a support structure for wireless communication antennas. This multi-functionality reduces the need for dedicated antenna infrastructure and simplifies the overall system architecture
2Reliability
If multiple antennas are deployed to provide coverage, then wireless access is improved, but the number of required antennas increases infrastructure complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the antenna system into multiple small antennas distributed throughout the building's HVAC ductwork, replacing the need for fewer large antennas. This segmentation allows coverage to be achieved with smaller, more numerous antenna elements that can be strategically positioned to maximize coverage while minimizing total infrastructure requirements
3Measurement precision
If traditional antenna systems are used for location determination, then location services can be provided, but the infrastructure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the three-dimensional space within HVAC ducts to position antennas at multiple elevations and locations, creating a spatially distributed measurement network. This dimensional distribution of antennas enables accurate location determination through triangulation and time-difference-of-arrival measurements while using the existing HVAC infrastructure rather than adding separate location-determination hardware
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach provides effective wireless access coverage with reduced infrastructure complexity and enables accurate location determination of wireless devices within buildings by using the HVAC system as a waveguide network, enhancing both coverage and location services.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing the HVAC ducts as waveguides, where antennas are placed within the ducts to distribute RF signals
Implementation Method 2
determining a first propagation delay of the wireless signal transmitted from the wireless mobile device to the first wireless probe... determining the location of the wireless mobile device using the first, second, and third propagation delays
Data Source
AI summary
A system for determining the location of a wireless mobile device with respect to an interconnected network of wireless transmission waveguides is disclosed. The interconnected network could be interconnected ducts of an HVAC system in a building. Multiple wireless probes are placed at multiple locations within the HVAC duct system (or similar interconnected network of waveguides). Each probe may detect a common signal from a wireless mobile device and independently preserve arrival time information of the detected signal, wherein the signal propagates to probes by way of a free-space path to an opening in one or another duct, and thereafter to the probes via one or another path through the interconnected ducts, which act as wireless transmission waveguides. By correlating timing information of a signal received at three or more probes, a location of the mobile wireless device may be determined by one or another form of triangulation.