Object orientation system, object orientation method and electronic apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11143733-B2
Application number	US-201916528665-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 1, 2019
Priority date	Jan 3, 2019
Publication date	Oct 12, 2021
Grant date	Oct 12, 2021

Abstract

An object orientation system, an object orientation method and an electronic apparatus are provided. A signal transmitter includes a directional antenna and emits a first wireless signal. A plurality of signal receivers are respectively disposed in a plurality of orientations. The signal receivers receive the first wireless signal and measure a plurality of first received signal strength indicators of the first wireless signal. The electronic apparatus is coupled to the signal receivers, estimates a plurality of strength variation data of the first received signal strength indicators measured by the signal receivers, and obtains orientation information of the signal transmitter according to the strength variation data corresponding to the signal receivers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An object orientation system, comprising:
a signal transmitter, comprising a directional antenna, and emitting a first wireless signal;
a plurality of signal receivers, respectively disposed in a plurality of orientations, receiving the first wireless signal, and measuring a plurality of first received signal strength indicators of the first wireless signal; and
an electronic apparatus, coupled to the signal receivers, estimating a plurality of strength variation data of the first received signal strength indicators measured by the signal receivers, and obtaining orientation information of the signal transmitter according to the strength variation data corresponding to the signal receivers;
wherein in the operation where the electronic apparatus estimates the strength variation data of the first received signal strength indicators measured by the signal receivers,
the electronic apparatus respectively calculates a plurality of standard deviations of the first received signal strength indicators measured by the signal receivers in a preset sampling period;
wherein in the operation where the electronic apparatus obtains the orientation information of the signal transmitter according to the strength variation data corresponding to the signal receivers,
the electronic apparatus determines the orientation information of the signal transmitter according to the orientations in which the signal receivers are located and the standard deviations corresponding to the signal receivers, wherein the orientation information of the signal transmitter comprises an absolute orientation pointed by a reference facing direction of the signal transmitter.

2. The object orientation system according to claim 1 , wherein in the operation where the electronic apparatus determines the orientation information of the Signal transmitter according to the orientations in which the signal receivers are located and the standard deviations corresponding to the signal receivers,
the electronic apparatus compares the standard deviations with an orientation threshold to determine the orientation information of the signal transmitter based on the orientations in which the signal receivers are located.

3. The object orientation system according to claim 1 , wherein the signal transmitter emits the first wireless signal according to a first emissive power, and emits a second wireless signal according to a second emissive power, wherein the first emissive power is different from the second emissive power,
wherein the signal receivers measure a plurality of second received signal strength indicators of the second wireless signal, and the electronic apparatus compares the first received signal strength indicators based on the first emissive power with the second received signal strength indicators based on the second emissive power to determine a relative orientation between the signal transmitter and an object wearing the signal transmitter.

4. The object orientation system according to claim 3 , wherein the electronic apparatus determines a facing direction of the object according to the relative orientation between the signal transmitter and the object and the orientation information of the signal transmitter.

5. The object orientation system according to claim 3 , wherein in the operation where the electronic apparatus compares the first received signal strength indicators based on the first emissive power with the second received signal strength indicators based on the second emissive power,
the electronic apparatus compares strength differences between the first received signal strength indicators and the second received signal strength indicators with a shielding threshold.

6. An object orientation method, comprising:
emitting a first wireless signal by a signal transmitter, wherein the signal transmitter comprises a directional antenna;
receiving the first wireless signal by a plurality of signal receivers, and measuring a plurality of first received signal strength indicators of the first wireless signal by the signal receivers;
estimating a plurality of strength variation data of the first received signal strength indicators measured by the signal receivers, comprising:
respectively calculating a plurality of standard deviations of the first received signal strength indicators measured by the signal receivers in a preset sampling period; and

obtaining orientation information of the signal transmitter according to the strength variation data corresponding to the signal receivers, comprising:
determining the orientation information of the signal transmitter according to a plurality of orientations in which the signal receivers are located and the standard deviations corresponding to the signal receivers, wherein the orientation information of the signal transmitter comprises an absolute orientation pointed by a reference facing direction of the signal transmitter.

7. The object orientation method according to claim 6 , wherein the step of determining the orientation information of the signal transmitter according to the orientations in which the signal receivers are located and the standard deviations corresponding to the signal receivers comprises:
comparing the standard deviations with an orientation threshold to determine the orientation information of the signal transmitter based on the orientations in which the signal receivers are located.

8. The object orientation method according to claim 6 , wherein the signal transmitter emits the first wireless signal according to a first emissive power, and the method further comprises:
emitting a second wireless signal according to a second emissive power by the signal transmitter, wherein the first emissive power is different from the second emissive power;
measuring a plurality of second received signal strength indicators of the second wireless signal by the signal receivers; and
comparing the first received signal strength indicators based on the first emissive power with the second received signal strength indicators based on the second emissive power to determine a relative orientation between the signal transmitter and an object wearing the signal transmitter.

9. The object orientation method according to claim 8 , further comprising:
determining a facing direction of the object according to the relative orientation between the signal transmitter and the object and the orientation information of the signal transmitter.

10. The object orientation method according to claim 8 , wherein the step of comparing the first received signal strength indicators based on the first emissive power with the second received signal strength indicators based on the second emissive power comprises:
comparing strength differences between the first received signal strength indicators and the second received signal strength indicators with a shielding threshold.

11. An electronic apparatus, comprising:
a data communication device, receiving a plurality of first received signal strength indicators of a first wireless signal emitted by a signal transmitter;
a storage device, storing a plurality of commands; and
a processor, coupled to the storage device and the data communication device, and executing the commands for:
estimating a plurality of strength variation data of the first received signal strength indicators measured by a plurality of signal receivers, and obtaining orientation information of the signal transmitter according to orientations in which the signal receivers are located and the strength variation data corresponding to the signal receivers, wherein the strength variation data comprises a plurality of standard deviations of the first re

Assignees

• Tseng I Chun
• Compal Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Tseng I-Chun

Classifications

• G01S3/14 Primary

  Systems for determining direction or deviation from predetermined direction {(aerial arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern H01Q3/00; combinations of different interacting aerial units for giving a desired directional characteristic H01Q21/29; aerials or aerial systems providing at least two radiation patterns H01Q25/00)} · CPC title

• H04B17/318

  Received signal strength · CPC title

• G01S5/0247 Primary

  Determining attitude · CPC title

• G01S3/043

  Receivers · CPC title

• G01S3/12 Primary

  Means for determining sense of direction, e.g. by combining signals from directional antenna or goniometer search coil with those from non-directional antenna (determining direction by amplitude comparison of signals derived by combining directional and non-directional signals G01S3/24, G01S3/34) · CPC title