Patent Grant
9166289
Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, apparatuses, and methods for using and operating communications devices, and more specifically to the use and operation of wireless communication devices where one or more of the devices may be moveable. In some embodiments, the invention may be used in situations where the moveable part of a wireless communication link may change location during an active connection. For example, the invention may be utilized in a situation in which a Bluetooth-enabled headset is communicating with a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, and the headset is moving relative to the cell phone during a communication session (which may arise for example, in a situation where a user walks around an office while their cell phone is left on a desk).
In some situations it may be desirable to be able to determine the approximate direction in which a wireless peer device is located relative to a known object. For example, in the case where a cell phone user has misplaced their headset, it would be beneficial to determine in which direction (relative to the cell phone) that the headset was situated, in order to enable the user to retrieve the headset. As another example, where a headset is involved in a pairing operation with another device in a field of multiple devices, it may be more efficient to allow the user to point their headset in the direction of the desired peer device in order to facilitate identification of the device with which the user desires to conduct a pairing operation. As another example, a game or activity where different users challenge each other to perform a task may include the capability to allow users to challenge players in their vicinity that may not be known to them. In this situation, it would be helpful to facilitate a user finding another user by pointing out the direction in which the other user is located. These examples and other use cases represent some of the applications in which the ability to determine the approximate relative direction of a wireless peer device from another device would be beneficial.
A number of conventional methods exist for performing direction-finding operations. For example, each portable device could be equipped with a compass, a GPS receiver, and a connection to a server, and they could share their current position and direction with the server. The relative direction could then be determined from the information on the server. However, this method has a number of serious drawbacks. These drawbacks include the additional cost of a compass and GPS receiver, the reliance on the existence of a GPS system and a dependable network connection, the additional power consumption, and a potentially excessive latency in determining the desired information.
Another conventional method that is at least theoretically feasible involves using a radio-frequency beam-former, or steerable antenna, which enables antenna performance to be optimized for a particular direction. The antenna beam is rotated to determine the direction of the peer by detecting the direction of the strongest received signal. However, this technique also has a number of limitations. It is typically costly, relatively large, and consumes an excessive amount of power for many applications. Further, when not used for direction-finding, the antenna pattern is typically very inefficient unless it can be continually trained on the peer device, which is usually difficult to achieve.
As a result, it would be desirable to have a means of discovering the relative direction of a wireless communication device with respect to another device, where such means overcomes one or more of the disadvantages of conventional approaches. Such a system, device, or method may provide one or more of the advantages of reduced cost, reduced size, reduced power consumption, reduced complexity, improved antenna performance, or reduced latency compared to conventional approaches.
What is desired are a system, apparatus, and method for determining the approximate direction in which a peer device lies relative to another device, where such system, apparatus, or method may have one or more of the benefits of lower cost, smaller size, reduced power consumption, lower computational complexity, reduced number of components, improved antenna performance, or lower latency when compared to conventional approaches. Embodiments of the invention provide these and other benefits either individually or collectively.
The terms “invention,” “the invention,” “this invention” and “the present invention” used in this patent are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this patent and the patent claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the patent claims below. Embodiments of the invention covered by this patent are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the invention and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings and each claim.
Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, apparatuses, and methods for using and operating communications devices, and more specifically to the use and operation of wireless communication devices where one or more of the involved devices may be moveable. In some embodiments, the invention may be used in situations where the moveable part of a wireless communication link may change location during an active connection. For example, the invention may be utilized in a situation in which a Bluetooth-enabled headset is communicating with a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, and the headset is moving relative to the cell phone during a communication session.
In some embodiments, an antenna or antenna system is provided with a capability to selectively introduce nulls or directions of reduced performance (e.g., sensitivity) into a radiation pattern associated with the antenna, and the performance of a communication link (i.e., a connection over a communications network) to a wireless communication device is monitored. By correlating one or more selectively introduced reductions in the performance of the antenna with a corresponding reduction in the communication link quality/performance (e.g., as measured by a suitable parameter), the direction of the wireless communication device may be estimated. This information may be used to infer the relative location or position of a device, to assist in performing a pairing operation in a more efficient manner. Embodiments of the present invention may be used in numerous applications and devices, such as cell phones, PDA's, laptop computers, and other types of computing or communication devices.
In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a system, where the system includes:
an antenna having an associated radiation pattern;
a means for selectively introducing a null or other reduction in sensitivity into the radiation pattern in a desired direction;
a means for monitoring the performance of a wireless communication link between a first device associated with the antenna and a second device, the first device and the second device communicating with each other using the wireless communication link; and
a means for correlating a reduction in the performance of the wireless communication link with the selectively introduced null or reduction in sensitivity, thereby providing an estimate of the direction of the second device relative to the first device.
In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a method of determining a direction of a second device relative to a first device, where the method includes:
operating the first device so as to receive signals using an antenna having a radiation pattern;
selectively introducing a null or other form of reduced sensitivity into the radiation pattern in a desired direction;
monitoring the performance of a wireless communication link between the first device the second device, the first device and the second device communicating with each other using the wireless communication link; and
correlating a reduction in the performance of the wireless communication link with the selectively introduced null or other form of reduced sensitivity, thereby providing an estimate of the direction of the second device relative to the first device.
In yet another embodiment, the invention is directed to a mobile device operable to communicate with a second device using a wireless communications technology, comprising:
an antenna having an associated radiation pattern for receiving signals provided to the mobile device using the wireless communications technology;
a receiver coupled to the antenna for detecting the received signals;
an antenna configuration module for selectively altering an aspect of the associated radiation pattern of the antenna to cause a reduction in the performance of the antenna;
a communications link monitoring module for monitoring a signal characteristic of a signal exchanged between the second device and the mobile device; and
a correlation module for determining a correlation between a change in the signal characteristic and the selectively altered aspect of the radiation pattern of the antenna, thereby providing an estimate of the direction of the second device relative to the mobile device.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the detailed description of the present invention and the included figures.
Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawing figures:
The subject matter of embodiments of the present invention is described here with specificity to meet statutory requirements, but this description is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claims. The claimed subject matter may be embodied in other ways, may include different elements or steps, and may be used in conjunction with other existing or future technologies. This description should not be interpreted as implying any particular order or arrangement among or between various steps or elements except when the order of individual steps or arrangement of elements is explicitly described.
In some embodiments, the invention may include one or more of the following elements: a communications device that includes an antenna system (e.g., an omni-directional antenna system) that is capable of being operated in a manner that permits the selective introduction of a null or direction of reduced performance (e.g., sensitivity) in the antenna pattern; an element operable to monitor the performance of a communication link between the communications device and a wireless communication peer device (as determined by evaluation or measurement of a specified parameter); and an element operable to correlate a reduction in the performance of the communication link with the introduced null or direction of reduced performance in order to provide an estimate of the direction of the communication peer relative to the communications device.
In some embodiments, the invention may include one or more of the following operations or processes: selectively reducing the performance of an antenna system in a particular direction (e.g., by introducing a null or reduction in performance in a region of the antenna pattern); and correlating a reduction in the performance of a communications link with the reduction in the performance of the antenna system in order to provide an estimate of the direction of a communication peer relative to a communications device that includes the antenna system.
One or more example embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the figures.
Note that although in this example use case or usage scenario peer device 104 is a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, other types of peer devices may be used in embodiments of the invention. For example, peer device 104 may be a personal computer (desktop, laptop, or tablet), a wireless phone other than a cell phone, a desk phone, a general device capable of wireless communication, etc. Similarly, although in this example use case or usage scenario personal user device 102 is a Bluetooth-enabled headset, other types of personal user devices may be used in embodiments of the invention. For example, personal user device 102 may be a personal computer (desktop, laptop, or tablet), a wireless phone other than a cell phone, a desk phone, etc.
Wireless communication device 200 may include an antenna system 202, a wireless communication element 204 (which may operate to perform some or all of the functions of a transmitter, receiver, etc.), a reduction selection element 206, a signal quality determination element 208, a direction estimation element 210, and a central processing unit 212. Wireless communication device 200 may also include additional components that are typically standard in a wireless communication device, such as a data storage device, cache memory, etc. which are not shown in the figure.
Antenna system 202 operates to transduce (or otherwise convert) an electrical radio signal 214 provided by wireless communication element 204 into electromagnetic waves 216 for transmission from wireless communication device 200, and to transduce (or otherwise convert) electromagnetic waves 216 communicated to wireless communication device 200 into an electrical radio signal 214 for provision to wireless communication element 204. Antenna system 202 is further operable to receive a direction selection signal 218 from reduction selection element 206, the function and operation of which will be described in greater detail.
Reduction selection element 206 is operable to select or determine certain changes to the operation or configuration of antenna system 202, where such changes have the effect of selectively reducing the efficiency (e.g., the sensitivity or another measure of antenna performance) of the antenna system in one or more directions. Thus, reduction selection element 206 functions to alter the configuration of antenna system 202 and hence it's associated radiation pattern. The result of the operation of reduction selection element 206 is to generate direction selection signal 218, with that signal (in some embodiments) causing a change in the operation of antenna system 202. The change to the operation of antenna system 202 may cause the antenna pattern (which is related to the directionality and sensitivity of an antenna that is part of the system) associated with antenna system 202 to become more or less sensitive in a certain direction or directions. This is typically done by causing one or more “lobes” of the antenna pattern to increase or decrease. Reduction selection element 206 may also operate to provide a direction processing signal 220 to direction estimation element 210 to facilitate one or more operations or processes used to provide an estimate of the direction in which a device is situated. Reduction selection element 206 may receive as an input direction finding enable/disable signal 222 from central processing unit 212, with such a signal (in some embodiments) operating to cause reduction selection element 206 to activate or deactivate.
Wireless communication element 204 operates to enable the reception and transmission of signals and data between wireless communication device 200 and another wireless communication device (e.g., a peer device if the components depicted in
Wireless communication element 204 may also exchange signals and/or data with signal quality determination element 208 (as indicated by the element labeled “Signals/Data 226” in the figure). Signal quality determination element 208 may be internal to or external from wireless communication device 200. Signal quality determination element 208 is operable to estimate the strength of a signal provided to the other wireless communication device (e.g., the peer device), as will be described in greater detail. Signal quality determination element 208 typically has as an input one or more signals and/or data provided by wireless communication element 204, where such signals/data typically include one or more of a radio frequency signal or a demodulated signal, and provides as an output a signal quality signal 228. Signal quality signal 228 is a signal that varies approximately with the strength of signal received from the other wireless communication device (e.g., signal quality signal 228 may correspond to the received signal strength, a signal-to-noise ratio, the bit-error-rate, etc. received from a device external to device 200), as will be described in greater detail.
Direction estimation element 210 is operable to estimate the direction in which the other wireless communication device (e.g., the peer device) is situated. Direction estimation element 210 may have as inputs direction processing signal 220 and signal quality signal 228. Direction estimation element 210 operates to provide direction signal 230 as an output, with that signal being processed by central processing unit 212 to provide an estimate of the direction in which the other wireless communication device is located.
A description of an exemplary operation of an embodiment of the invention will now be described; in the following description, wireless communication element 204 of
The monopole may be driven by a connection to the wireless communication element of
Accordingly, in this embodiment of the invention, the performance of the antenna system may be reduced by approximately 10 dB in one direction by making the appropriate switch connect an additional conductor to the ground plane. In the case that the switch is a transistor this can be accomplished by applying the appropriate voltage to the transistor gate. Thus, in this embodiment of the invention, the antenna system includes a substantially omni-directional antenna that can be selectively desensitized (i.e., reduced in signal detection capability) in a chosen direction or directions.
In one embodiment of the invention, when direction finding enable/disable signal 222 of
The operation of the system when direction finding enable/disable signal 222 is set to enable one or more of the conductor elements 302, 303, 304, or 305 will now be illustrated with reference to
In some embodiments, one or more of sub-signals 706, 708, 710, and 712 are provided to antenna system 202 as direction selection signal 218, and one or more of the sub-signals are provided to direction estimation element 210 as direction processing signal 220. In the antenna system, each sub-signal may be applied to a switch (which may be implemented in the form of a transistor) and function to control the switch so that it operates to connect and de-connect a conductor from the ground plane, thereby altering the antenna pattern. In the direction estimation element, the sub-signals may be used to approximate the direction of the peer wireless communication device with respect to the device containing the antenna system. This may be done by determining the direction that corresponds to the direction which, when the conductor in that direction is connected to the ground plane, causes the greatest reduction in signal strength.
In some embodiments, one or more of sub-signals 706, 708, 710, and 712 are provided to antenna system 202 as direction selection signal 218, and at least one of Master Clock signal 702 and Full Rotation Clock signal 704 are provided to direction estimation element 210 as direction processing signal 220. In the antenna system, each sub-signal may be applied to a switch (which may be implemented in the form of a transistor) and function to control the switch so that it operates to connect and de-connect a conductor from the ground plane, thereby altering the antenna pattern. In the direction estimation element, the Master Clock signal and/or Full Rotation Clock signal may be used to approximate the direction of the wireless communication device in a process based on the principle described above (i.e., by correlating a reduction in signal strength with a direction of a conductor which is grounded at a certain point in the clock signal).
Consider as an example of the use of an embodiment of the invention, two possible positions for wireless communication devices for which an estimated relative direction is desired to be determined (e.g., peer devices A and B): one at a distance along the X axis and a second at a distance along the Y axis, with each device transmitting at an approximately constant (although not necessarily the same) transmission power.
In some embodiments or use cases, the approximate relative direction of a wireless communication device (e.g., a peer device) with respect to a device containing an embodiment of the invention may be determined by identifying a clock cycle (or other form of control signal) that is nearest the center of the reduction of the signal power received from that peer device, and correlating that clock cycle with the direction of an antenna element that is rendered inactive (e.g., grounded) by that clock cycle. In one implementation, the average received signal strength during the time when each of the sub-signals is selectively enabled may be measured. The sub-signal corresponding to the lowest signal strength (or that which displays the greatest amount of reduction from its baseline value) is then indicative of the direction of the wireless communication device relative to the device containing the invention. Thus, the approximate relative direction of the wireless communication device is inferred to be the direction of the conductor/wire which, when activated via the corresponding switch (the operation of which is controlled by the sub-signal), results in the lowest signal power received from the wireless communication device.
While having the benefit of a relatively low degree of computational complexity, this embodiment may produce a sub-optimal approximation to the relative direction. This is because the antenna sensitivity pattern is not perfectly concave and the precision of the direction determination is limited by the number of conductors/wires used. For example, where four additional conductors/wires are used, a maximum precision of 45 degrees is achieved. However, the maximum precision may be increased by increasing the number of additional conductors/wires, thereby providing an increased resolution as to the angular arc in which the direction of the transmitting device lies.
In some embodiments of the invention, the approximate direction of a wireless communication device (e.g., a peer device) may be determined by estimating the phase of the Master Clock (or Full Rotation Clock) corresponding to the lowest received signal power. For example, the received signal strength may be smoothed across a plurality (e.g., two or three or more) of consecutive sub-signals. The lowest signal strength in the smoothed signal may then be determined. The position of the lowest signal strength in the smoothed signal is then indicative of the direction of the wireless communication device. In one embodiment, this position may be expressed as the phase angle of the Master Clock (or Full Rotation Clock). For example, a peer device that is in the approximate direction of conductor 1 will show the greatest loss of signal strength when that conductor is enabled (i.e., connected to ground). However, a peer device that is in a direction approximately between conductor 1 and conductor 2 will show a reduction in signal strength when both of these conductors are enabled. If plotted as in
Note that while having a relatively higher computational complexity than some embodiments, this embodiment produces a more precise and accurate approximation of the direction of a transmitting device since the number of possible directions (or angular regions) is not limited to the number of conductors/wires used.
In some embodiments of the invention, the approximate direction of a wireless communication device (e.g., a peer device) may be determined by determining the phase angle of the Master Clock signal (or Full Rotation Clock signal) that maximizes the correlation between a received signal strength and the direction selection signal. For example, the received signal strength may be smoothed across a plurality (e.g., two or three or more) of consecutive sub-signals. The correlation between the Full Rotation Clock signal and smoothed received signal strength may be determined at a plurality of phase angles of the Full Rotation Clock signal, where each phase angle of the Full Rotation Clock signal corresponds to a unique direction. The phase angle of the Full Rotation Clock signal that results in a maximum correlation between the Full Rotation Clock signal and the smoothed received signal strength may then be determined from the plurality of phase angles. The phase angle of the Full Rotation Clock signal having the maximum correlation indicates the approximate direction of the wireless communication device.
While having a relatively higher computational complexity than some embodiments, this embodiment results in a more precise and accurate approximation of the direction of a transmitting device since the number of approximated directions is not limited to the number of conductors/wires used and since other factors affecting the received signal strength (such as environmental noise, timing jitter, etc.) may be taken into consideration when processing the signals.
In some embodiments of the invention, the relative direction of a wireless communication device may be determined using other indicators of the performance of the communication link with the device (i.e., the direction may be determined using performance indicators other than a received signal strength or variations in that strength). For example, consider the situation where the wireless communication element is capable of communication using a Bluetooth protocol. The Bluetooth standard allows a user of a Bluetooth radio to measure the link-quality at frequent intervals, by means of the HCl command “Read Link Quality” as defined in the specification. While the link quality measurement technique and value is implementation-dependent, the link quality parameter is required to be monotonically increasing with link quality. Also, link quality generally varies approximately monotonically with receiver signal strength (i.e., stronger signals giving better link quality). Thus, the link quality measurement for a given peer device will vary monotonically with changes in receiver sensitivity.
In some embodiments, the approximate direction of the Bluetooth communication device (e.g., a portable Bluetooth headset) may be determined by estimating the clock cycle that is nearest the center of the lowest link quality measurement. In some embodiments, the approximate direction of the Bluetooth communication device may be determined by estimating the phase angle of the Master Clock signal (or Full Rotation Clock signal) corresponding to the lowest link quality measurement. In some embodiments, the approximate direction of the Bluetooth communication device may be determined by determining the phase angle of the Master Clock signal (or Full Rotation Clock signal) that maximizes the correlation between the link quality measurement and the Master Clock signal (or Full Rotation Clock signal).
It should be understood that a large number of antennas or types of antenna systems exist, including monopole, dipole, Yagi, patch, PIFA and the like (with each having one or more antenna elements), and that there are many methods of introducing directionally specific reductions in receiver sensitivity that may be used in implementing an embodiment of the invention. For example, for the case of using a dipole antenna, the directionally specific reductions in sensitivity may be introduced by use of dipole rather than monopole conductors being connected to ground (as in the above embodiment), with the other elements being similar. In the case of a Patch antenna, the corners of the patch may be designed so as to be either connected to the main patch or disconnected to the main patch by means of transistors. In such an embodiment, for normal operation, all corners would be connected to the main patch, giving a “full” normal patch antenna. Disconnecting each corner in turn, by turning off the relevant connecting transistor, would reduce the sensitivity in the disconnected direction.
The systems, apparatus, devices, and methods described herein have a wide range of applications; for example in the case where a cell phone user has misplaced their headset, embodiments of the invention may be used to determine in which direction the headset lies to assist the user in retrieving the headset. As another example, where a user of a headset wishes to pair with another device in a field of multiple devices, embodiments of the invention may be used to permit the user to point their device in the direction of the desired peer device in order to facilitate selection of the peer device. As another example, a game or contest in which different users challenge each other to perform a task may be played where such a game is designed to allow users to challenge other players in their vicinity that may not be known to them. In this instance, embodiments of the invention may be used to assist the users to find each other by pointing out the direction in which another user is located. The present invention may also be used with features of a social network or other form of group identification to enable members of a group to identify other members for purposes of coordinating movements, performing a task, etc.
While certain exemplary embodiments have been described in detail and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not intended to be restrictive of the broad invention, and that this invention is not to be limited to the specific arrangements and constructions shown and described, since various other modifications may occur to those with ordinary skill in the art.
Different arrangements of the components depicted in the drawings or described above, as well as components and steps not shown or described are possible. Similarly, some features and sub-combinations are useful and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Embodiments of the invention have been described for illustrative and not restrictive purposes, and alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers of this patent. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above or depicted in the drawings, and various embodiments and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims below.
As used herein, the use of “a”, “an” or “the” is intended to mean “at least one”, unless specifically indicated to the contrary.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/453,435 entitled “Wireless Peer Source Direction Tracking” filed on Mar. 16, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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