Communication device, information processing method, and storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11632144-B2
Application number	US-202117152889-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 20, 2021
Priority date	Feb 14, 2020
Publication date	Apr 18, 2023
Grant date	Apr 18, 2023

Abstract

A communication device includes: a plurality of wireless communication sections, each of which is configured to wirelessly receive a signal from another communication device; and a control section configured to perform a detection process of detecting specific elements with regard to a plurality of correlation computation results, each of which is obtained by correlating a first signal that is transmitted from the other communication device and each of second signals at the designated interval and includes a correlation value indicating magnitude of correlation between the first signal and the second signal as an element obtained at the designated interval, and control a change process of treating a wireless communication section having earliest time corresponding to the specific element as a first wireless communication section among the plurality of wireless communication sections, treating the other wireless communication section as a second wireless communication section among the plurality of wireless communication sections.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A communication device, comprising:
a plurality of wireless communicators, each of which is configured to wirelessly receive a signal from another communication device; and
a controller configured to
correlate a first signal that is transmitted from the another communication device and that includes change in amplitude with respective second signals obtained when the plurality of wireless communicators receive the first signal, at a designated interval,
perform a detection process of detecting one or more elements whose correlation value indicating magnitude of correlation between the first signal and the second signals exceeds a first threshold as specific elements, with regard to a plurality of correlation computation results, each of which is obtained by correlating the first signal and each of the second signals at the designated interval and includes the correlation value as an element obtained at the designated interval, and
control a change process of treating a wireless communicator having earliest time corresponding to the specific element as a first wireless communicator among the plurality of wireless communicators, treating the another wireless communicator as a second wireless communicator among the plurality of wireless communicators, and changing the specific element of the second wireless communicator on a basis of time corresponding to the specific element of the first wireless communicator.

2. The communication device according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in the detection process, the controller detects the element whose correlation value exceeds the first threshold for first time, as the specific element.

3. The communication device according to claim 2 ,
wherein, in the change process, the controller changes the specific element of the second wireless communicator in a case where a difference between time corresponding to the specific element of the first wireless communicator and time corresponding to the specific element of the second wireless communicator exceeds a second threshold, which is different from the first threshold.

4. The communication device according to claim 3 ,
wherein the second threshold is any value that is half or less of ideal width in time direction of a set of the elements corresponding to transmission signals coming through shortest paths from the another communication device to the plurality of wireless communicators with regard to the correlation computation results.

5. The communication device according to claim 2 ,
wherein, in the change process, the controller changes the specific element to the element whose correlation value exceeds a third threshold for first time with regard to the correlation computation result of the second wireless communicator, the third threshold being less than the first threshold.

6. The communication device according to claim 2 ,
wherein, in the change process, the controller changes the specific element of the second wireless communicator to an element corresponding to time related to the specific element of the first wireless communicator, among the plurality of elements included in the correlation computation result of the second wireless communicator.

7. The communication device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the controller performs an estimation process of estimating an angle from which the first signal comes while using axes extending from reference point, which is set to the plurality of wireless communicators, as reference axes, on a basis of the respective specific elements of the plurality of wireless communicators.

8. The communication device according to claim 7 ,
wherein, in the estimation process, the controller estimates the angle from which the first signal comes on a basis of phase components included in the correlation values of the respective specific elements of the plurality of wireless communicators.

9. The communication device according to claim 8 ,
wherein, in the estimation process, the controller estimates the angle from which the first signal comes on a basis of the specific element whose amplitude component included in the correlation value exceeds a fourth threshold among the respective specific elements of the plurality of wireless communicators, the fourth threshold being less than the first threshold.

10. The communication device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the wireless communicator receives, as the second signals, changes in amplitude that is transmitted as the first signal and that comes from the another communication device through a plurality of paths, and
the specific element corresponds to a change in the amplitude that has been detected at earliest time among the changes in amplitude coming through the plurality of paths.

11. An information processing method that is performed by a communication device including a plurality of wireless communicators, each of which is configured to wirelessly receive a signal from another communication device, the information processing method comprising:
correlating a first signal that is transmitted from the another communication device and that includes change in amplitude with respective second signals obtained when the plurality of wireless communicators receive the first signal, at a designated interval;
performing a detection process of detecting one or more elements whose correlation value indicating magnitude of correlation between the first signal and the second signals exceeds a first threshold as specific elements, with regard to a plurality of correlation computation results, each of which is obtained by correlating the first signal and each of the second signals at the designated interval and includes the correlation value as an element obtained at the designated interval; and
controlling a change process of treating a wireless communicator having earliest time corresponding to the specific element as a first wireless communicator among the plurality of wireless communicators, treating the another wireless communicator as a second wireless communicator among the plurality of wireless communicators, and changing the specific element of the second wireless communicator on a basis of time corresponding to the specific element of the first wireless communicator.

12. A non-transitory storage medium having a program stored therein, the program causing a computer for controlling a communication device including a plurality of wireless communicators, each of which is configured to wirelessly receive a signal from another communication device, to function as
a controller configured to
correlate a first signal that is transmitted from the another communication device and that includes change in amplitude with respective second signals obtained when the plurality of wireless communicators receive the first signal, at a designated interval;
perform a detection process of detecting one or more elements whose correlation value indicating magnitude of correlation between the first signal and the second signals exceeds a first threshold as specific elements, with regard to a plurality of correlation computation results, each of which is obtained by correlating the first signal and each of the second signals at the designated interval and includes the correlation value as an element obtained at the designated interval; and
control a change process of treating a wireless communicator having earliest time corresponding to the specific element as a first wireless communicator among the plurality of wireless communicators, treating the another wireless communicator as a second wireless communicator among the plurality of wireless communicators, and changing the specific element of the second wir

Assignees

• Tokai Rika Co Ltd
• Kk Tokai Rika Deniki Seisakusho

Inventors

• Oishi Yoshiki
• Mori Satoshi
• Koga Kenichi
• Koike Tatsuya

Classifications

• H04W64/00

  Locating users or terminals {or network equipment} for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management · CPC title

• G01S3/10 Primary

  Means for reducing or compensating for quadrantal, site, or like errors · CPC title

• H04B1/71637 Primary

  Receiver aspects (H04B1/7183 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01S3/48

  the waves arriving at the antennas being continuous or intermittent and the phase difference of signals derived therefrom being measured · CPC title

• H04B2201/71634

  Applied to ranging · CPC title