Magnetic Floor-Mat Tracking for Low-Power Indoor Vehicle Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tracking systems for vehicles in closed environments, such as retail stores, face challenges with high power consumption and inefficiency, particularly in environments like steel buildings and when dealing with dirt and wear on barcode systems, and require continuous GPS reception or active circuitry in the floor.
Innovation Solution
A low-power magnetic-based tracking system where a vehicle equipped with a digital processor, magnetic sensor, and wireless communication device detects magnetic stripes on a substrate to determine location, using binary logic values and a rotation sensor to encode location data, which is stored and transmitted when the vehicle passes over an upload-coded substrate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS is used for tracking vehicles in closed environments, then location information can be obtained, but continuous power reception is required and it does not work in steel buildings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces GPS (electromagnetic signal-based system) with a magnetic field-based tracking system using magnetic stripes and magnetic sensors. The magnetic sensor detects magnetic field changes as the vehicle moves over magnetic stripes, providing location information without requiring continuous GPS satellite reception, thus working in closed environments and steel buildings where GPS fails.
2Measurement precision
If bar codes are placed on the floor for tracking, then location data can be captured, but they become unusable due to dirt and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the tracking marker from optical (bar codes that reflect light) to magnetic (magnetic stripes that generate magnetic fields). Magnetic fields penetrate through dirt and wear that obscure optical markers, allowing the magnetic sensor to detect magnetic stripes even when covered with debris, thus maintaining reliability in high-traffic areas.
3Measurement precision
If energized magnetic coils are installed in the floor for tracking, then data can be coupled to vehicles, but power and active circuitry are required in the floor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional active-marker passive-detector configuration. Instead of placing active energized magnetic coils in the floor that emit signals and requiring vehicles to have receivers, the patent places passive magnetic stripes in the floor and equips vehicles with active magnetic sensors. This reversal eliminates the need for power and active circuitry in the floor while achieving the same data coupling function.
4Measurement precision
If magnetic sensors and processors are installed in each vehicle for tracking, then location can be determined, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by having the magnetic sensor continuously scan for magnetic stripes and the processor activate only when a magnetic stripe is detected. The system operates in idle mode most of the time, consuming minimal power, and activates processing only during detection events when location data needs to be recorded. This event-driven periodic operation significantly reduces overall power consumption compared to continuous processing.
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 solution provides a cost-effective, low-power tracking method that is simple to implement, requiring minimal modifications to vehicles and allowing for easy repositioning of location coding mats, with active electronics only needed in one wheel and at the data collection receiver, enabling efficient tracking without continuous power usage.
Implementation Method 1
a magnetic sensor coupled to the digital processor... when the magnetic sensor detects a magnetic stripe the digital processor may be notified
Implementation Method 2
a rotation sensor coupled to the digital processor, the rotation sensor provides a wheel rotation value
Implementation Method 3
the magnetic sensor may comprise a single-axis giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle movement tracking system that employs floor mats for generating location information using magnetic stripes, detectable with a magnetic sensor in a wheel of the vehicle. Two sensors are in a wheel of a vehicle. One sensor senses wheel rotation, and the other sensor senses a magnetic. The vehicle passes over a floor mat comprising magnetic stripes thereon that code the mat and thereby indicate the location at which the mat is at. When the vehicle travels over this mat, the magnetic sensor in the wheel detects the magnetic stripes and the wheel rotation sensor detects the distance between the magnetic stripes. In combination, these two sensors are used to create a location word that denotes the mat over which the vehicle passes over. The location word is stored in non-volatile memory and later uploaded to a location collection station.