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Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12558982-B2
Application number	US-202217861707-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2022
Priority date	Jul 9, 2021
Publication date	Feb 24, 2026
Grant date	Feb 24, 2026

Abstract

Technology is disclosed for systems, devices, and methods relating to vehicle positioning. A system for vehicle positioning can comprise a passive resonator configured to be embedded in a roadway, and at least one antenna configured to be attached to a vehicle. The at least one antenna can be configured to transmit a first signal to the passive resonator and receive a second signal from the passive resonator at a harmonic frequency of the first signal. Diodes are used to stimulate a resonant circuit to create the second signal. The passive resonator can be configured to receive the first signal from the at least one antenna and transmit a second signal to the at least one antenna. The system can further comprise a processor configured to: calculate a relative position between the vehicle and the passive resonator based on a phase difference observed between the first signal and a reference signal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system for vehicle positioning, comprising:
a passive resonator configured to be embedded in a roadway, wherein the passive resonator comprises:
a first loop antenna connected in series with a first capacitor to form a first resonant circuit; a second loop antenna connected in series with a second capacitor to form a second resonant circuit;
a pair of diodes coupled in parallel with the first resonant circuit and the second resonant circuit;
at least one antenna configured to be attached to a vehicle and configured to transmit a first signal to the passive resonator, the at least one antenna configured to receive a second signal from the passive resonator, the first loop antenna configured to receive the first signal at a first frequency in a frequency band and the second loop antenna configured to transmit the second signal at a harmonic of the first frequency, and the passive resonator configured to:
receive the first signal from the at least one antenna, and
transmit the second signal to the at least one antenna, wherein the passive resonator does not have a power source other than the first signal; and

a processor configured to:
calculate a relative position between the vehicle and the passive resonator based on a phase difference observed between the second signal and a reference signal, and
calculate an absolute location of the vehicle based on the relative position between the vehicle and the passive resonator and an absolute location of the passive resonator.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one antenna is further configured to:
generate a radio-frequency magnetic field spanning at least:
a width of the vehicle, and
at least a distance from the at least one antenna to a road surface underneath the vehicle.

3 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a wheel encoder configured to measure wheel encoding data comprising at least one of a wheel position, a wheel cycle count, a wheel speed, a wheel direction, and a combination thereof.

4 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a steering sensor configured to detect steering angle data comprising at least one of a steering wheel position angle, a steering wheel rate of turn, and a combination thereof.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive odometry data from an odometry sensor and calculate a relative location of the vehicle based on the odometry data.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the relative position between the vehicle and the passive resonator is calculated without using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS).

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a transmitting coil is configured to align a receiving coil of the vehicle to generate a selected level of in-motion wireless power transfer between the receiving coil and a transmitting coil in the roadway.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a complete state of the vehicle to a controller of the vehicle, wherein the controller is configured to generate at least one of an acceleration signal, a deceleration signal, a braking signal, a braking release signal, a steering signal, and a combination thereof.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the harmonic is a third harmonic of the first signal.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first signal is a near-field magnetic radiation signal.

11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of diodes each comprise an inverse-parallel diode that is a small-signal junction diode.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of diodes are coupled to a logic circuit configured to modulate the harmonic of the first frequency.

13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the harmonic is a third harmonic of the first frequency.

14 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a transmitting coil that is configured to align a receiving coil on a vehicle to generate a selected level of in-motion wireless power transfer from the transmitting coil.

15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the second loop antenna is configured to retransmit the harmonic to a height of from about 20 cm to about 80 cm.

16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to generate on-off keying (OOK) data based on presence or absence of a signal from the passive resonator.

17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to generate pulse position modulation (PPM) data based on spatial modulation of the passive resonator.

18 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to generate encoded data using error correction codes.

19 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to calculate a complete state of the vehicle based on odometry data in a state estimation algorithm, wherein the complete state includes the absolute position, a vehicle velocity magnitude, and a vehicle heading.

20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the state estimation algorithm is at least one of a Kalman filter, an extended Kalman filter, unscented Kalman filter, and Particle filter.

21 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to calculate the relative position between the vehicle and at least one of an exit ramp, an on-ramp, a lane number, an end of lane indicator, and a combination thereof based on passive resonator sequence data comprising on-off keying (OOK) data, frequency-shift keying (FSK) data, or pulse position modulation (PPM) data.

Assignees

• Christensen Randall S
• Hesterman Bryce Leonard
• Moon Todd
• Univ Utah State

Inventors

• Christensen Randall S
• Hesterman Bryce Leonard
• Moon Todd

Classifications

• H02J50/90

  involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment · CPC title

• H02J50/80

  involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices · CPC title

• H04B5/79

  for data transfer in combination with power transfer · CPC title

• H04B5/26

  using coils · CPC title

• B60L53/36 Primary

  by positioning the vehicle · CPC title