Ultrasonic Echo Signal Grouping for Trilateration Ambiguity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ultrasonic trilateration systems face ambiguities and false positives due to multiple echoes from multiple objects or multiple reflections from a single object, leading to incorrect object position determination.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that group echo signals based on their runtime and significance, using criteria such as runtime differences and significance comparisons, to assign related echoes and reduce false positives by processing echo signal groups rather than individual signals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple echo signals are processed individually for trilateration, then all theoretically possible echo pairings can be evaluated, but false positives increase and measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple echo signals into echo signal groups based on temporal and significance criteria. Echo signals with similar run times and significance values are combined into groups, and only one representative echo per group is used for trilateration. This combining approach reduces false positives while maintaining measurement accuracy, directly resolving the contradiction between reliability and measurement precision.
2Reliability
If only the first echo is used for pairing, then false positives are reduced, but measurement precision and reliability worsen due to loss of information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by grouping echo signals and selecting representatives before the actual trilateration process. This preliminary classification based on run time and significance preserves the most relevant echo information while excluding redundant or false echoes, thus maintaining measurement precision without losing critical information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by treating different echo signals differently based on their individual characteristics. Instead of uniformly processing all echoes or uniformly excluding them, the system evaluates each echo's run time and significance locally, selecting representative echoes from each group based on their specific properties, thereby optimizing both reliability and information retention.
3Loss of information
If all echo signals are processed individually, then no information is lost, but device complexity and processing expenditure increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces device complexity by merging echo signals into groups and processing only representative echoes from each group. This combining strategy maintains the essential information content while dramatically reducing the computational burden and system complexity required for processing, directly addressing the contradiction between information completeness and device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for providing ultrasonic signal information includes receiving a plurality of echo signals, ascertaining a relatedness of individual echo signals from the plurality of echo signals based on a run time and/or a significance of the echo signals, grouping the echo signals for which a relatedness was ascertained in an echo signal group, and providing a property that is characteristic for the echo signal group. The present invention furthermore relates to a device associated with the method.