Portable Device Positioning With Angle and Signal-Strength Fallback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional remote communication systems face challenges in accurately estimating the position of a portable device when it is outside the communication areas of multiple receiving antennas, leading to incomplete or inaccurate positioning.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a plurality of main communication modules with directional antennas and a sub-communication module with an omnidirectional antenna to estimate the position of the portable device based on incident angle and received radio wave intensity, using phase, signal intensity, and time information, even when the device is outside the direct communication range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple directional receiving antennas are used for position estimation, then measurement precision is improved within communication areas, but reliability deteriorates when the portable device is outside these areas (in dead angles)
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the communication coverage into multiple directional sectors using separate receiving antennas, each responsible for a specific angular range. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high measurement precision within each sector while providing comprehensive coverage through the combination of all sectors, thereby resolving the contradiction between precision and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
An omnidirectional receiving antenna is introduced as an intermediary component to detect signals from directions where directional antennas have dead angles. This intermediary antenna ensures continuous position estimation reliability by providing fallback detection capability, complementing the high-precision directional antennas without compromising their specialized function.
2Device complexity
If only directional receiving antennas are used, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates in certain directions (dead angles)
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by using directional antennas with optimized radiation patterns for specific angular ranges, providing high measurement precision locally in each sector. The omnidirectional antenna supplements this by providing uniform coverage across all directions, ensuring that no local area (dead angle) suffers from poor measurement precision while maintaining overall system simplicity.
3Measurement precision
If incident angle information is used for position estimation, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional signal processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the inherent phase differences of signals received by multiple antennas to automatically calculate incident angles without requiring external辅助设备. The signal processing unit leverages the spatial arrangement of antennas itself to extract position information, making the system self-sufficient in generating precise position estimates while minimizing additional processing complexity.
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 allows continuous remote operation of in-vehicle systems by accurately determining the position of the portable device, enabling reliable control of devices like door locks and automatic parking systems, even when the device is in dead angles or outside the main communication areas.
Implementation Method 1
a signal transmitted from the portable device simultaneously delivers a signal for delivering necessary information to surroundings of the portable device and a signal for communicating with one or more communication modules
Implementation Method 2
the information measured by the two or more antennas includes phase information, signal intensity information, and time information
Data Source
AI summary
A remote communication system includes a portable device; and a fixed system. The fixed system includes main communication modules; and a position estimating unit configured to estimate a position of the portable device, based on an incident angle of a signal from the portable device, upon detecting the signal by antennas provided in the main communication modules. When there are two main communication modules for which the incident angle is known, the position of the portable device is estimated based on the incident angle. When there is one main communication module for which the incident angle is known, the position of the portable device is estimated based on the incident angle and a received radio wave intensity of the signal. When there is no main communication module for which the incident angle is known, the position of the portable device is estimated based on the received radio wave intensity.