Magnetic Object Location Using Selective Magnetometer Filtering

The patent extracts and eliminates specific magnetometer measurements from the processing system. By identifying and removing measurements from magnetometers that are too close to the object (where dipole approximation fails) or too far away (where signal strength is insufficient), the system processes only the optimal subset of measurements. This extraction principle reduces the number of measurements requiring computation while preserving location precision, thereby reducing energy consumption without sacrificing measurement quality.

The patent segments the set of all magnetometer measurements into distinct groups based on their spatial relationship to the magnetic object. Measurements are divided into: (1) those from magnetometers too close to the object where dipole approximation is invalid, (2) those from magnetometers at optimal distances where the signal is strong and approximation is accurate, and (3) those from magnetometers too far away where signal strength is insufficient. By processing only the relevant segment of measurements, the computing power requirement is reduced while maintaining location precision.

The patent applies partial action by processing only the necessary subset of magnetometer measurements rather than all available measurements. By calculating distances from each magnetometer to the magnetic object and selectively processing only those measurements that fall within the optimal range (neither too close nor too far), the system achieves the required location accuracy with reduced processing complexity. This partial processing approach avoids the excessive complexity that would result from processing all measurements from a large magnetometer network.