Systems And Methods For Multiantenna Orientation And Direction Detection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021396830-A1
Application number	US-202117464374-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 1, 2021
Priority date	Jul 28, 2017
Publication date	Dec 23, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided to simultaneously determine both angle of arrival (AoA) and angle of departure (AoD) of a signal transmitted between two or more radio frequency (RF)-enabled wireless devices (e.g., such as BLE modules). The disclosed systems and methods may be so implemented in one embodiment to determine AoD even in the case where the transmitting wireless device is at the same time operating in a departure (or AoD) transmitting mode by transmitting a RF signal from multiple antenna elements of at least one switched antenna array using a given switching pattern or sequence implemented by an array switch.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method, comprising:
receiving a first wireless signal transmitted from a transmitter of a second wireless device at each of multiple antenna elements of a first wireless device while switching reception between the multiple antenna elements one at a time so that a receiver of the first wireless device is connected by a switch to only one of the antenna elements of the first wireless device to receive the first wireless signal at the same time at least one switch disconnects the receiver from receiving the wireless signal from the remainder of the antenna elements of the first wireless device at any given time that to the first wireless signal is received at the first wireless device, the second wireless device being separate and different from the first wireless device and being positioned at a separate location from the first wireless device, and the first wireless signal being transmitted directly from the second wireless device to the first wireless device along a linear vector that extends across the entire distance from the second wireless device to the first wireless device; and determining an angle of departure (AoD) of the first wireless signal from the second wireless device based on one or more characteristics of the first wireless signal as it is received by the receiver at only a connected one of the antenna elements of the first wireless device while performing the switching reception between the multiple antenna elements of the first wireless device one at a time.

2 . The method of claim 1 , where the first wireless signal is transmitted from multiple different antenna elements of the second wireless device during multiple different corresponding time slots according to a round-robin sequence that repeatedly cycles through the different multiple antenna elements of the second wireless device in the same order during each cycle of the round-robin sequence to transmit from only one antenna element of the second wireless device at a time during each time slot; and where the method further comprises switching reception of the first wireless signal between multiple different antenna elements of the first wireless device during multiple different corresponding time slots so that the receiver is connected by a switch to only one antenna element of the first wireless device at a time during each given time slot to receive the first wireless signal transmitted from only one of the multiple different antenna elements of the second wireless device during the given time slot at the same time at least one switch disconnects the receiver from receiving the wireless signal from the remainder of the antenna elements during the given time slot.

3 . The method of claim 1 , where the first wireless signal is transmitted from multiple different antenna elements of the second wireless device during multiple different corresponding time slots of the second wireless device according to a round-robin sequence that repeatedly cycles through the different multiple antenna elements of the second wireless device in the same order during each cycle of the round-robin sequence to transmit from only one antenna element of the second wireless device at a time during each time slot of the second wireless device; and where the method further comprises switching reception of the first wireless signal between multiple different antenna elements of the first wireless device so that the receiver is connected by a switch to only one antenna element of the first wireless device to receive the first wireless signal at any given time and such that the receiver is connected by a switch to each of the different antenna elements of the first wireless devices to receive the first wireless signal during a same single time slot of the second wireless device, each of the multiple antenna elements of the first wireless device receiving the first wireless signal from a single one of the multiple antenna elements of the second wireless device during the same single time slot of the second wireless device.

4 . The method of claim 1 , where the first wireless signal is transmitted from multiple different antenna elements of the second wireless device during multiple different corresponding time slots of the second wireless device according to a round-robin sequence that repeatedly cycles through the different multiple antenna elements of the second wireless device in the same order during each cycle of the round-robin sequence to transmit from only one antenna element of the second wireless device at a time during each time slot of the second wireless device; and where the method further comprises switching reception of the first wireless signal between multiple different antenna elements of the first wireless device so that the receiver is connected by a switch to only one antenna element of the first wireless device to receive the first wireless signal at any given time and so that the receiver is connected by at least one switch to each of the antenna elements of the first wireless device to receive the first wireless signal from a common one of the multiple different antenna elements of the second wireless device during a different time slot of the second wireless device that is separate and different from time slots during which the receiver is connected by at least one switch to each of the other antenna elements of the first wireless device to receive the first wireless signal from the common one of the multiple different antenna elements of the second wireless device.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising simultaneously determining the angle of departure (AoD) of the first wireless signal from the second wireless device and an angle of arrival (AoA) of the first wireless signal at the first wireless device to determine the orientation of the second wireless device by:
simultaneously determining the angle of departure (AoD) of the first wireless signal as transmitted from the second wireless device based on one or more characteristics of the received first wireless signal, and determining the angle of arrival (AoA) of the first wireless signal at the first wireless device based on one or more characteristics of the first wireless signal as received at the first wireless device; determining direction of the second wireless device relative to the first wireless device from the determined AoA; and determining an orientation of the second wireless device from the determined AoD.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a second wireless signal from a third wireless device at the multiple antenna elements of the first wireless device while switching reception between the multiple antenna elements one at a time so that the receiver is connected by a switch to only one antenna element of the first wireless device to receive the second wireless signal at any given time and such that the receiver is connected by at least one switch to each of the different antenna elements of the first wireless device to receive the second wireless signal received at the first wireless device; receiving a third wireless signal from a fourth wireless device at the multiple antenna elements of the first wireless device while switching reception between the multiple antenna elements one at a time so that the receiver is connected by a switch to only one antenna element of the first wireless device to receive the third wireless signal at any given time and such that the receiver is connected by a switch to each of the different antenna elements of the first wireless device to receive the third wireless signal received at the first wireless device; determining an angle of departure (AoD) of the second wireless signal from the third wireless device based on one or more characteristics of the second wireless signal r

Assignees

• Silicon Lab Inc

Inventors

• Knaappila Jere M

Classifications

• G01S5/0242

  Determining the position of transmitters to be subsequently used in positioning (G01S5/0289 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01S5/0226

  Transmitters · CPC title

• G01S5/0247

  Determining attitude · CPC title

• G01S3/143 Primary

  by vectorial combination of signals derived from differently oriented antennae · CPC title

• G01S5/06

  Position of source determined by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements (G01S5/12 takes precedence) · CPC title