Patent US6487516B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6487516B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System for three dimensional positioning and tracking with dynamic range extension
Assignee: Mineral Lassen LLC
•
Filing: 2000-02-14
•
Granted: 2002-11-26
•
Expires: 2020-02-14
Abstract
Abstract This invention discloses a tracking and positioning system including a plurality of transmitters distributed within a working space, and at least one sensors attached to at least one moving object and operative to sense transmissions arriving from the plurality of transmitters, a dynamic transmission activator operative to track at least one position parameters of at least one of said sensors and to selectively activate and deactivate individual sets of at least one transmitters from among the plurality of transmitters, at least partly responsively to at leas one position parameters of at least one of the sensors. A tracking method for tracking a moving object whose initial position is substantially unknown is also disclosed.
Inventors
- 👤 Netzer Amorai-Moriya
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 01:16
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T7/00; G06T7/20; G06T7/277; G06V; G06V40/00; G06V40/20; G06V40/23
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
93 words
A tracking and positioning system comprising: a plurality of transmitters distributed within a working space; at least one sensors attached to at least one moving object and operative to sense transmissions arriving from said plurality of transmitters; and a dynamic transmission activator operative to track at least one position parameters of at least one of said sensors and to selectively activate and deactivate individual sets of at least one transmitters from among said plurality of transmitters, at least partly responsively to at least one position parameters of at least one of said sensors.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
93 words
A tracking and positioning system comprising: a plurality of transmitters distributed within a working space; at least one sensors attached to at least one moving object and operative to sense transmissions arriving from said plurality of transmitters; and a dynamic transmission activator operative to track at least one position parameters of at least one of said sensors and to selectively activate and deactivate individual sets of at least one transmitters from among said plurality of transmitters, at least partly responsively to at least one position parameters of at least one of said sensors.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
A system according to claim 1 wherein said dynamic transmission activator is operative to activate at least one individual transmitter from among said plurality of transmitters if and only if at least one sensors are within the operating range of said individual transmitter.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
42 words
A system according to claim 1 wherein said dynamic transmission activator is operative to deactivate at least one individual transmitter from among said plurality of transmitters if and only if all sensors are outside of the operating range of said individual transmitter.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
38 words
A tracking method for tracking a moving object whose initial position is substantially unknown, the method comprising: using a genetic algorithm to initially position the moving object; and tracking the moving object using a Kalman filter tracking method.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
A tracking method for tracking a moving object whose initial position is substantially unknown, the method comprising: using a genetic algorithm to initially position the moving object; and tracking the moving object using a Kalman filter tracking method.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 4 and also comprising at least once repositioning the moving object, during tracking, using the genetic algorithm.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
47 words
A method according to claim 4 wherein the Kalman filter operates, generating first position parameters, in parallel with the genetic algorithm which generates second position parameters and wherein at least one iteration of the Kalman filter receives input at least partly based on said second position parameters.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method according to claim 6 wherein said input comprises a weighted combination of the first and second position parameters in which the second position parameters are given more weight.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
104 words
A tracking and positioning system comprising: a Kalman filter receiving input representing electromagnetic signals characterizing the position of a moving object and operative to track and position a moving object with an accuracy which is affected by abrupt changes in the electromagnetic environment; an environmental monitor operative to monitor for abrupt changes in the electromagnetic environment which are detrimental to the accuracy of the Kalman filter and to generate an output signal representative of occurrence of an abrupt change; and a complementary tracking and positioning unit operative to receive said output signal and selectively activated for a limited period responsive to the output signal.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
104 words
A tracking and positioning system comprising: a Kalman filter receiving input representing electromagnetic signals characterizing the position of a moving object and operative to track and position a moving object with an accuracy which is affected by abrupt changes in the electromagnetic environment; an environmental monitor operative to monitor for abrupt changes in the electromagnetic environment which are detrimental to the accuracy of the Kalman filter and to generate an output signal representative of occurrence of an abrupt change; and a complementary tracking and positioning unit operative to receive said output signal and selectively activated for a limited period responsive to the output signal.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
17 words
A system according to claim 8 wherein said complementary tracking and positioning unit comprises a genetic algorithm.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
18 words
A system according to claim 8 wherein said complementary tracking and positioning unit comprises a simulated annealing algorithm.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
17 words
A system according to claim 8 wherein said complementary tracking and positioning unit comprises a neural network.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
41 words
A system according to claim 8 wherein said limited period is terminated when the Kalman filter's tracking and positioning output is found, by comparison to the tracking and positioning output of said complementary unit, to be accurate within a desired tolerance.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
111 words
A system according to claim 8 and also comprising: a plurality of transmitters distributed within a working space; at least one sensors attached to at least one moving object and operative to sense transmissions arriving from said plurality of transmitters; and a dynamic transmission activator operative to track at least one position parameters of at least one of said sensors and to selectively activate and deactivate individual sets of at least one transmitters from among said plurality of transmitters, at least partly responsively to at least one position parameters of at least one of said sensors, and wherein the environmental monitor is operative to monitor for activation and deactivation of transmitters.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3644825A
Cited
US3868565A
Cited
US4017858A
Cited
US3935572A
Cited
US3952304A
Cited
US3983474A
Cited
US4054881A
Cited
US4298874A
Cited
US4179696A
Cited
US4314251A
Cited
US4328548A
Cited
US4346384A
Cited
US4710708A
Cited
US4613866A
Cited
US4725776A
Cited
US4622644A
Cited
US4737794A
Cited
US4742356A
Cited
US4849692A
Cited
US4945305A
Cited
US5075694A
Cited
US4855932A
Cited
US5095467A
Cited
US5168222A
Cited
US5170172A
Cited
US5307072A
Cited
WO1994004938A1
Cited
US5313212A
Cited
US5453686A
Cited
US5416712A
Cited
US5381095A
Cited
US5833608A
Cited
US5645077A
Cited
US5600330A
Cited
US5640170A
Cited
US5767960A
Cited
US5767669A
Cited
US5742394A
Cited
US5859531A
Cited
US5744953A
Cited
US5831260A
Cited
US5960097A
Cited
US6114995A
Cited
US6230037B1
Cited
US5953683A
Cited
US6141293A
Cited
US6073043A
Cited
US6269172B1
Cited
US6316934B1
Cited
US6269324B1
Cited
US6292758B1
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-11-25 | 2006-05-27 | 2006-11-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-11-25 | 2010-05-27 | 2010-11-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-11-25 | 2014-05-27 | 2014-11-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |