• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
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    • 专利摘要:
    Multiple target observation stations are set up high in one location. A controller energizes one or more first stations for locating, tracking, and determining an expected route for a mobile target, and then powers one or more subsequent stations that are downstream of the expected route prior to the arrival of the mobile target to prepare the next stations for taking over the arrival, locating and tracking of the mobile target. The controller also turns off one or more other stations further away from the expected route to optimize the entire localization and tracking performance.
    公开号:BE1025439B1
    申请号:E2017/5642
    申请日:2017-09-08
    公开日:2019-02-27
    发明作者:Thomas E. Wulff
    申请人:Symbol Technologies Llc；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    System and method with improved performance in a location for locating and tracking a mobile target
    BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
    The present description primarily relates to a system and method for locating and tracking a mobile target in a location in which target observation systems are arranged, and, in particular, to optimize the entire locating and tracking performance of the target observation systems along a expected route of the mobile target.
    It is known to set up a radio frequency identification system (RFID) in a retail, factory or warehouse environment, or such location, for locating, tracking and identifying a product, and for checking inventory. For example, to make an inventory of movable products associated with mobile targets, such as RFID tags, in a warehouse environment or warehouse location, it is known to place a plurality of RFID tag readers at a high position in the location, and then, to operate any such reader, under the control of a network host computer or network host server, to form a polling radius and send over a coverage range to each of those labels to read out their payloads. A specific position of any RFID-labeled product in the location is typically determined by having the server process the payloads and recording the data from a plurality of readers through the use of triangulation / trilateration techniques such as those in the prior art. be famous.
    It is also known to set up an ultrasonic locating system in the location for recording data and determining the position of mobile targets or devices, such as hand RFID tag readers,
    BE2017 / 5642 bar code readers, telephones, radios, watches, tablets, or computers, which are worn by people moving within the location. The mobile devices may also be product movers, such as trucks, forklifts, or shopping carts, moving within the location for moving the products. For example, it is known to place a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters, for example loudspeakers, practically everywhere, preferably at a high position in the location, and to control the loudspeakers, under the control of the network server, to determine the position of each such a mobile device that contains an ultrasonic receiver, for example a microphone. Each ultrasonic speaker emits a sound signal or ultrasonic energy in a short burst which is received by the microphone on the mobile device, thereby determining the presence and specific position of each mobile device within the location, again through the use of triangulation / trilateration techniques such as these in known in the field.
    It is further known to establish a video surveillance system in the location by placing a plurality of video cameras throughout the location. Each video camera is operated by the network server to capture a video stream of images from mobile targets in its field of view. The mobile targets may be the aforementioned RFID-labeled products, and / or it may be the RFID-labeled product relocators for moving the RFID-labeled products, and / or it may be the aforementioned mobile devices, and / or the can even be people in the location, such as employees or customers, under the surveillance of the cameras. People may wear the aforementioned RFID-labeled products, and / or the aforementioned mobile devices, and / or may cause the aforementioned product relocators or mobile devices to work, and / or they may wear RFID-labeled identification badges.
    BE2017 / 5642
    Although the known RFID, ultrasonic localization and video systems have all been generally adequate for their intended purposes, the performance of the RFID system in a location may sometimes suffer from and degenerate through RF interference between the plurality of, in RFID label readers set up at the same location, all competing for the same RF spectrum. Similarly, the performance of the ultrasonic localization system in a location could sometimes suffer and degenerate through sound interference between the plurality of ultrasonic speakers arranged in the same location, all of which transmit substantially simultaneously. Such RF and sound interference was particularly made worse in a location when the location had multiple zones with multiple surfaces, for example walls, on which the RF signal / ultrasonic signal was reflected and / or spread along different paths, and / or absorbed. In addition, the performance of the video system in a location could sometimes suffer and degenerate due to the high bandwidth requirement for processing the video stream of the plurality of cameras set up in the same location, all of which operate substantially simultaneously.
    The simultaneous operation of the plurality of RFID readers, ultrasonic speakers, and cameras in a location, certainly one of large dimensions, has shown to be inefficient, both in terms of their electricity consumption, and their entire locating and tracking performance. In many applications, it may not be necessary or desirable to locate and track mobile targets in specific zones, or to operate any or all of the target observation systems when there is little or no activity. Operating such target observation systems in zones of no or little interest may even be counterproductive, because their operation could cause the aforementioned interference with the operation of the target observation systems in those areas of interest where it is desired to accurately locate the mobile targets and follow.
    BE2017 / 5642
    It would therefore be desirable to improve the overall localization and tracking performance of such target observation systems, to reduce the entire power requirement of such target observation systems, to reduce RF and noise interference caused by such target observation systems, to reduce excessive bandwidth requirements required for such target observation systems, and to optimize the entire efficiency and operation of such target observation systems.
    SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
    According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for tracking a mobile target in a location, comprising a plurality of energizable target observation stations, arranged in the location at fixed, known positions some distance apart, and operative to detect of the mobile target when the stations are energized; and a controller for at least partially energizing at least a first station from the mobile target sighting stations at the location, for determining an expected route for the mobile target, for energizing at least a next station of the stations located downstream of the first station prior to the arrival of the mobile target at the at least one subsequent station of the stations to continue sighting of the mobile target, and to at least partially stake out at least partially another station of the stations that is further away from the expected route.
    Preferably, each station may be provided with at least one of a video system for capturing, when energized, a video stream of images of a person forming the mobile target, a radio frequency identification system (RFID) for, when energized, reading out an RFID tag that forms the mobile target in one
    BE2017 / 5642 reading operation mode with a set of reading parameters, and a locating system for, when energized, ultrasonically locating a device that is the mobile target in a locating operation mode with a set of locating parameters.
    Each station may possibly be further provided with a housing in which the RFID system, the locating system, and the video system are all supported, and in which each housing is fixed high in the location.
    A plurality of the systems in each station may potentially be effective for, when energized, locating and tracking the mobile target.
    The controller can further determine a position, a direction, and a speed of the mobile target relative to the at least first station of the stations, and determine the expected route based on the determined position, the determined direction, and the determined speed of the mobile target.
    The controller may also possibly change at least one of the read parameters when a station is turned off, the read parameters comprising at least one of a dwell time of an RF interrogation signal transmitted by the RIFD system, a transmit power on which the RF signal is transmitted, a broadcasting direction along which the RF signal is transmitted, and a firing sequence of a plurality of RF signals transmitted by the RFID system.
    In addition or as an alternative, the control may possibly change at least one of the locating parameters when a station is turned off, the locating parameters comprising at least one of a transmission time of an ultrasonic signal transmitted by the locating system, a transmitting power on which the ultrasonic signal is transmitted , a transmitting direction along which the ultrasonic signal becomes
    BE2017 / 5642, and a driving sequence of a plurality of ultrasonic signals transmitted by the locating system.
    The control may be effective, for example, for successively energizing the stations along the expected route.
    In addition or alternatively, the control may be effective for simultaneously energizing the stations along the expected route.
    According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for observing a mobile target in a location, the method comprising:
    arranging a plurality of energizable target observation stations in the location at fixed, known positions at some distance from each other;
    at least partially energizing at least a first station of the mobile target sighting stations at the location;
    determining an expected route for the mobile target; energizing at least one subsequent station of the stations located downstream of the first station prior to the arrival of the mobile target at the at least one subsequent station of the stations to continue sighting of the mobile target; and at least partially plotting at least one other station from the stations further away from the expected route.
    The method may possibly also include configuring each station with at least one of a video system for, when energized, capturing a video stream of images of a person forming the mobile target, a radio frequency identification system (RFID) for, when energized, reading an RFID tag that forms the mobile target in a read operation mode with a set of reading parameters, and a localization system for when
    BE2017 / 5642, ultrasonically locating a device that forms the mobile target in a locating operation mode with a set of locating parameters.
    The method may possibly further include supporting the RFID system, the locating system, and the video system in each station in a housing, and securing each housing high in the location.
    The method may possibly further include locating and tracking, when energized, the mobile target with a plurality of systems in each station.
    The determination of the expected route can possibly be determined by determining a position, a direction and a speed of the mobile target relative to the at least first station of the stations.
    The method may possibly also include changing at least one of the read parameters when turning off a station, and configuring the read parameters to include at least one of a dwell time of an RF interrogation signal transmitted by the RIFD system, a transmitting power on which the RF signal is transmitted, a transmitting direction along which the RF signal is transmitted, and a firing sequence of a plurality of RF signals transmitted by the RFID system.
    The method may further include, changing at least one of the locating parameters when the station is turned off, and configuring the locating parameters to include at least one of a transmission time of an ultrasonic signal transmitted by the locating system, a transmitting power on which it ultrasonic signal is transmitted, a transmitting direction along which the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, and a driving sequence of a plurality of ultrasonic signals transmitted by the locating system.
    BE2017 / 5642
    The method may include sequentially energizing the stations along the expected route.
    In addition or alternatively, the method may include simultaneously energizing the stations along the expected route.
    The present invention will be further elucidated with reference to the figures of the embodiments which serve as examples.
    BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
    The accompanying figures, in which the same reference numbers refer to identical or functionally identical elements throughout all separate views, are included in, and form part of the description, together with the detailed description below, and serve to further clarify embodiments of concepts which the claimed claims implementation, and clarify various principles and advantages of these embodiments.
    FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view, viewed from above, of an improved performance system in a location for locating and tracking a mobile target in which target observation stations are positioned high in accordance with the present description.
    FIG. 2 is a block diagram of various target observation systems that could be installed in each target observation station as shown in FIG. 1.
    FIG. 3 is a view showing a person serving a mobile target configured as an RFID reader for reading RFID tags in the location where the mobile target is also located and followed by the high target observation stations of FIG. 1.
    BE2017 / 5642
    FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a location in accordance with FIG. 1, which shows the excitation of the high target observation stations along an expected route, and the disabling of other high target observation stations further away from the expected route.
    FIG. 5A and 5B are partly perspective views, partly top view, which schematically show how the performance of the target observation stations is optimized according to the present description.
    FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an improved performance method for locating and tracking a mobile target according to the present description.
    It will be clear to a person skilled in the art that parts are shown in the figures for simplicity and clarity and are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and positions of some parts in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other parts in order to help increase the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.
    The system and method components, when appropriate, are represented in the figures by conventional symbols, which are only those specific details that relate to the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, so as not to obscure the description with details that be readily apparent to those skilled in the art who have the advantage of the description herein.
    DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
    One aspect of this description relates to a system with improved performance in a location for locating and tracking a mobile target. The mobile target may be alive, that is, a person, such as an employee, a non-employee, a delivery person, a person
    BE2017 / 5642 customer, or, in general, any individual who is authorized or even unauthorized to be at the location. The mobile target may also be lifeless, for example any mobile device, such as a hand RFID tag reader, a barcode reader, a telephone, a radio, a watch, a tablet, a computer, or, generally, any object or thing that may be supported and / or served by people moving within the location. Other examples of lifeless mobile targets include product movers, such as trucks, forklifts, shopping carts, or the like, either operated by the aforementioned people, or powered automatically. Still other examples of lifeless mobile targets include RFID tags associated with products, to locate and track the products as they are moved either by the aforementioned people or by the aforementioned product relocators. Yet another example of a lifeless mobile target includes an RFID tag associated with an identification badge worn by an authorized person to identify this person. Thus, the mobile target is possibly an arbitrary combination of such living and / or lifeless targets traveling in or through the location. The location may be a retail, factory, or warehouse environment, or something similar, both indoors and outdoors.
    The system includes a plurality of energizable target observation stations that are preferably positioned high in a location at fixed, known positions at some distance from each other, and which are operable to locate and track the mobile target when the stations are energized. A controller, for example a host computer or network server, is operable to at least partially energize one or more first stations to locate and track the mobile target during a first movement in the location, and to determine an expected route for mobile target that is located and followed by one or more first stations. Preferably
    BE2017 / 5642 the control a position, a direction, and a speed of the mobile target relative to the one or more first stations, and determines the expected route based on the determined position, the determined direction, and the determined speed of the mobile target. The controller is also operable to energize, either sequentially or simultaneously, one or more subsequent stations that are downstream of the expected target route prior to the arrival of the mobile target, to prepare each of those subsequent stations to, upon subsequent arrival at each such next station, take over locating and tracking the mobile target. The controller is further operable to at least partially turn off one or more other stations that are further away from the expected route, in order to optimize the localization and tracking performance.
    In a preferred embodiment, each station is provided with a video system for, when energized, capturing a video stream of images of a person forming the mobile target, and / or a radio frequency identification system (RFID) for reading, when energized, a RFID tag forming the mobile target in a read operation mode with a set of reading parameters, and / or a locating system for, when energized, ultrasonically locating a device forming the mobile target in a locating operation mode with a set of locating parameters. Any, or every two or more, of such systems, when energized, can become operative to locate and track the mobile target. In the most favorable case, the control changes at least one of the reading parameters when a station is turned off. The reading parameters may include a residence time of an RF interrogation signal transmitted by the RIFD system, and / or a transmitting power on which the RF signal is transmitted, and / or a transmitting direction along which the RF signal is transmitted, and / or a firing sequence of a multiple of RF signals transmitted by the RFID
    BE2017 / 5642 system. Furthermore, the control changes at least one of the localization parameters when a station is turned off. The locating parameters may include a transmit time of an ultrasonic signal transmitted by the locating system, and / or a transmit power on which the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, and / or a transmit direction along which the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, and / or a drive sequence of a plurality of ultrasonic signals transmitted by the locating system.
    A further aspect of this description is directed to a method with improved performance for locating and tracking a mobile target in a location. The method is performed by deploying a plurality of energizable target observation stations in the location at fixed, known positions at some distance from each other, by at least partially energizing at least one or more first stations for locating and tracking the mobile target during a first movement in the location, by determining an expected route for the mobile target that is located and followed by one or more first stations, by energizing one or more stations of the following stations which, prior to the arrival of the mobile target, downstream of the expected route, to prepare the one or more subsequent stations to, upon subsequent arrival at the one or more subsequent stations, take over locating and tracking the mobile target, and by at least partially stake out one or more other stations that are further away from the expected route, in order to optimize the localization and tracking performance.
    In accordance with this description, only the target observation stations along the expected route are energized, while those other stations further away from the expected route are not energized. This improves the overall localization and tracking performance of such target observation systems, decreases overall
    BE2017 / 5642 electricity consumption requirements of such target observation systems, reduces potential RF and noise interference caused by such target observation systems, reduces excessive bandwidth requirements required for such target observation systems, and optimizes the entire efficiency and effectiveness of such target observation systems.
    Focusing on the drawings, the reference number 10 in FIG. 1 generally depicts a warehouse environment or similar location in which movable products 12, shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity as square, cardboard boxes, can be accurately located and tracked in accordance with this description. The location 10 can be any location, indoors or outdoors, and it can be in any layout or configuration. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, the location has a plurality of shelf structures 7 and 8 in the location 10 separated from one another by an aisle 9, and some of the products 12 may be placed on the shelf structure 7, and others of the products 12 may be on the shelf structure 8 are placed. Each product 12 is preferably labeled with a mobile target, such as a radio frequency identification product label, due to cost considerations, preferably a passive RFID label, and, in some applications, each RFID product label may be associated with a pallet 50 (see FIG. 1), or a container , for supporting multiple products 12.
    As also shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of target observation units or stations 30 are arranged in location 10, and each station 30 is fixedly mounted at known high positions, for example, on, or adjacent to, a ceiling 14. In the most favorable case, as shown in the top view of FIG. 4, the target observation stations 30 are installed in a grid pattern approximately every twenty to eighty feet apart. Depending on the size of the location, for example, thirty, sixty, or ninety or more stations 30 may be arranged in the location. A
    BE2017 / 5642 network computer or host server 16, typically located in a back room of the location, includes one or more computers and is through a network switch in a wired, unwired, or direct communication, or network communication with each station 30. The server 16 can also be on remotely housed in a cloud server. The server 16 may include a wireless RF transceiver that communicates with each station 30. For example, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth® are open, wireless standards for the exchange of data between electronic devices. The server or controller 16 controls each station 30.
    The block diagram of FIG. 2 depicts various target observation systems that can be mounted in each high station 30. One of these observation systems is a radio frequency identification system label reader (RFID) operable to read a mobile target that is equipped as an RFID tag when it moves along a plurality of coverage areas or reading zones 92, 94, 96 (see FIG. 4). More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, each high RFID reader includes an RFID tag reader module 32 that has a controller, a memory, and an RF transceiver operatively connected to a plurality of RFID antenna elements 34 that are activated by the RFID module 32 to transmit an RF beam (see FIGS. 5A, 5B) over an antenna field pattern. The RF transceiver is operated, under the control of label reader module 32, to transmit an RF beam 28 to the labels, and to receive an RF response signal from the labels, thereby the payloads of the labels which are in its reading zones 92, 94, 96 are interrogative and processing. The payload or recorded target data identifies the labels and their associated products 12. As shown in FIG. 3, the server 16 controls the high RFID readers in the plurality of target observation stations 30, which are also identified by the numbers 1-5, to, as described below, label the products 12
    BE2017 / 5642 reading in a read operation mode in accordance with a set of reading parameters.
    As further shown in FIG. 1 and 3, a person 24 holds, carries, and operates any of the aforementioned mobile devices, such as a mobile phone, or as clarified by a non-limiting example, a hand-held, portable, mobile RFID tag reader 22 during his / its movement along a route 100 in the location indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 1. As described below, the person 24 himself and / or the label reader 22, either individually or together, can be seen as a mobile target to be located and tracked in the location. The mobile reader 22 has a control, a memory, and an RF transceiver operatively connected to an RFID antenna, which collectively act to read product labels associated with products 12 at the location 10 during travel across reading zones 92, 94 , 96, as described below. The person 24 can be an individual, an employee, a driver or a subordinate who is authorized to operate the handheld, mobile reader 22. To begin reading, the person 24 manually actuates a driver or trigger 26 on the mobile reader 22. More than one mobile reader 22 may be present and movable in the location 10.
    Another target observation system that can be mounted in any high station is as shown in FIG. 2, an ultrasonic locating system operable to locate, for example, a telephone, a mobile device, or by means of a non-limiting example, the mobile reader 22, by transmitting an ultrasonic signal to an ultrasonic receiver, e.g. a microphone, on the mobile reader 22 or telephone. More specifically, the locating system comprises an ultrasonic locator module 36 which is provided with control and processing electronics operatively connected to a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters, such as voice coil speakers or piezo
    BE2017 / 5642 electrical speakers 28, for transmitting ultrasonic energy to the microphone on the mobile reader 22. The reception of the ultrasonic energy on the microphone locates the mobile reader 22. Each ultrasonic speaker periodically emits an ultrasonic signal, preferably in short bursts or ultrasonic pulses, which are received by the microphone on the mobile reader 22. The microphone determines when the ultrasonic signals are received. The locator module 36 controls, under the control of the server 16, all speakers 38 to transmit the ultrasonic signals such that the microphone of the mobile reader 22 will receive a minimal overlap between signals from the different speakers 38. The flight time difference between the broadcast time at which each signal is sent and the reception time at which each signal is received, together with the known speed of each signal, as well as the known fixed positions of the speakers 38 in each observation station 30, are all used to adjust the position of the microphone and or determine the mobile reader 22, using a suitable locating technique, such as triangular measurements, trilateration technique, multilateration technique, etc., as schematically shown in FIG. 1 by dashed lines.
    Yet another observation system that can be used to locate a mobile target, in particular a person 24, is a video system operable to locate the person 24 by capturing an image of the person 24. More in particular in particular, the video system is mounted in each observation station 30 and comprises a video module 40 which is provided with camera control and processing electronics connected to the camera 42 for capturing the image of the person 24. The camera is advantageously a high bandwidth , MPEG compression (moving picture expert group) camera. The capture of the image by the camera 42 is processed by the server 16 to locate the person 24.
    BE2017 / 5642
    Another observation system (not shown) that could be used to locate a mobile target is a WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) system that is effective for locating the mobile target by sending multiple Wi-Fi signals to a Wi-Fi receiver in the mobile target. More specifically, the Wi-Fi system is mounted in each observation station 30 and comprises a Wi-Fi network module that is provided with control and processing electronics operatively connected to a Wi-Fi antenna. Each Wi-Fi signal is broadcast to the Wi-Fi receiver in the mobile target. The reception at the Wi-Fi receiver of multiple Wi-Fi signals from multiple Wi-Fi systems locates the mobile target. Yet another observation system (not shown) that could be used to locate a mobile target is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) system for locating the mobile target by transmitting multiple BLE signals to a BLE receiver in the mobile target. More specifically, the BLE system is mounted in each observation station 30 and includes a BLE network module that is provided with control and processing electronics that is operatively connected to a BLE antenna. Each BLE signal is sent to the BLE receiver in the mobile target. The reception at the BLE receiver of multiple BLE signals from multiple BLE systems locates the mobile target.
    The target observation systems shown in each station 30 can be mounted and operated in a common housing, either individually or together, to observe a variety of mobile targets. For example, each video system 40, 42 can capture a video stream of images of living targets, such as the authorized person or employee 24, but it can also locate and track such other living targets as non-employees, delivery people, customers 64 (see FIG. 5A, 5B), or, in general, any individual who is authorized or even unauthorized to be in the location. The RFID system 32, 34
    BE2017 / 5642 can locate and track lifeless targets, such as RFID tags, associated with the products 12, the pallets 50, product movers such as shopping carts 62 (see FIG. 5A, 5B) or forklifts 66 (see FIG. 1), or even RFID tagged identification badges worn by people 24. The ultrasonic locating system 36, 38 can not only locate and track the aforementioned hand RFID tag reader 22, but also other lifeless targets such as barcode readers, telephones, radios, watches, tablets, computers, or , in general, any device, object or thing that is provided with a receiver and that may be worn and / or operated by people moving within the location.
    In accordance with this description, the host server or controller 16 is operative for at least partially, or fully, energizing one or more first stations 30, for example, stations 1 and 2 in FIG. 3-4, for locating and tracking the mobile target (as clarified, the person 24) during a first movement in the location 10, and for determining an expected route 100 for the mobile target 24. Station 1 is located in zone 92, and station 2 is located in zone 94. In the most favorable case, the controller 16 determines a location, a direction, and a speed of the mobile target 24 relative to the first stations 1 and 2. The fixed positions of, and the distance between, stations 1 and 2 are known, and the time it took for the mobile target 24 to travel between these two stations 1 and 2 is measured by the controller 16 and used for determining the speed.
    The controller 16 is also operable to energize, either sequentially or simultaneously, one or more subsequent stations, e.g., station 3 located in zone 96 in FIG. 4, which are located downstream of the expected route 100 prior to the arrival of the mobile target, in order to prepare each such subsequent station 3 for locating and following the following arrival at each such following station 3 mobile target 24. The
    BE2017 / 5642 controller 16 is further operable to at least partially, or completely, turn off one or more other stations, such as stations 4, 5 and 6 in FIG. 4, which are further removed from the expected route 100, so as to optimize the locating and tracking performance of the system. Stations 4, 5 and 6 are located in zones 102, 104, and 106 and are sometimes referred to herein as inactive or non-busy zones of little or no interest, because the expected route 100 does not cross these zones and there is little or no activity or movement is in. Stations 1, 2 and 3 are located in zones 92, 94 and 96 and are sometimes referred to herein as busy zones of interest, because the expected route 100 crosses these zones and there is activity and movement in them.
    Thus, only the target observation stations 1, 2 and 3 are energized along the expected route, while the remote stations 4, 5 and 6 are not energized. As described above, this improves the entire locating and tracking performance of the target observation systems, reduces the entire electricity consumption requirements of the target observation systems, reduces potential RF and noise interference caused by the target observation systems, reduces excessive bandwidth requirements required for the target observation systems, and optimizes the full efficiency and full effectiveness of the target observation systems.
    FIG. 5A and 5B together depict different, exemplary, mobile targets, for example the person 24 who controls the mobile reader 22, or the customer 64 who pushes the shopping cart 62 in which RFID-labeled products 12 are transported, during movement between the busy zones 94, 96 of interest along the expected route 100. Alternatively, or additionally, the person 24 or the client 64 may be carrying a telephone provided with a microphone whose position is located and monitored by the ultrasonic locating system. In these busy zones 94, 96, the stations 30 are at least partially, and preferably fully, at full capacity
    BE2017 / 5642, to locate and track at least one of these targets. For example, the clarified RFID system 32, 34 in each station reads the RFID tags in a read operation mode with a set of reading parameters or settings. Such a reading parameter is the duration of a residence time of an RF interrogation signal transmitted by the RIFD system. The residence time is the length of time that an RFID tag remains in the field 28 of the RF polling signal. The controller 16 increases the dwell time, or changes another reading parameter to ensure that the mobile target is accurately located and tracked. Other reading parameters that can be changed include, but are not limited to, a transmitting power on which the RF signal is transmitted, and / or a transmitting direction along which the RF signal is transmitted, and / or a firing sequence of a plurality of RF signals which are transmitted by the RF antennas 34. The transmission power can be increased in the busy zones 94, 96. The broadcast direction may point to the expected route 100. The firing sequence may favor those antennas 34 which have a view of the expected route 100. Any or more of such reading parameters may be varied in any combination.
    In contrast, in the inactive zones 104, 106, the stations 30 further away from the expected route 100 are at least partially, and preferably completely, turned off because there is no need to locate and track non-existent mobile targets. Thus, the controller 16 reduces the residence time, or the controller 16 changes any other reading parameter to ensure that the mobile target is not located and tracked. Accordingly, the transmission power can be reduced in the inactive zones 104, 106. The transmission direction need not point to the expected route 100. The firing order does not have to favor the antennas that have a view of the expected route 100.
    Accordingly, the locating system locates the mobile devices in a locating operation mode with a set of
    BE2017 / 5642 localization parameters or settings. Such a parameter is the duration of the transmission time of an ultrasonic signal transmitted by the locating system. The broadcast time is the time that a mobile device is located in the presence of an ultrasonic signal. The controller 16 increases the broadcast time, or changes another reading parameter or setting to ensure that the mobile device is accurately located and tracked. Thus, in the busy zones 94, 96, the controller 16 increases the broadcast time. Other localization parameters that can be changed include, but are not limited to, a transmitting power on which the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, and / or a transmitting direction along which the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, and / or a driving sequence of a plurality of ultrasonic signals transmitted by a plurality from ultrasonic speakers 56. The transmission power can be increased in the busy zones 94, 96. The broadcast direction may point to the expected route 100. The driving sequence may favor those speakers 38 that have a view of the expected route 100. Any or more of such localization parameters may be varied in any combination. In the inactive zones 104, 106, the stations 30 further away from the expected route 100 are at least partially, and preferably completely, turned off because there is no need to locate and track non-existent mobile devices.
    The RFID, localization, and video systems do not need to operate independently of each other, but can interact with each other to accurately locate and track targets. For example, the RFID system can determine the global position or environment of the target with a certain level of accuracy, and the locating system can determine the position of the target with a higher or better level of accuracy.
    The flow chart of FIG. 6 depicts the operation of the method of this description. In step 200, the method is performed by the
    BE2017 / 5642 setting up a plurality of energizable target observation stations 30 in the location 10 at fixed, known positions at some distance from each other. In step 202, one or more first stations are energized for locating and tracking the mobile target during a first movement in the location 10. In step 204, the controller 16 determines an expected route 100 for the mobile target that is located and followed by the one or more first stations. In step 206, one or more subsequent stations are energized which are, prior to the arrival of the mobile target, downstream of the expected route 100, to prepare the one or more subsequent stations for subsequent arrival at the one or more several subsequent stations, to continue locating and tracking the mobile target. In step 208, one or more other stations are plotted that are further away from the expected route, so as to optimize the localization and tracking performance.
    In summary, when a mobile target travels along a path or route 100 within location 10, the relevant high target observation stations 30 along route 100 will turn on automatically to ensure that each station 30 is fully functional prior to the arrival of the mobile target that is moving. At the same time, the other stations 30 further away from the route 100 are turned off.
    In a favorable application with respect to RFID tags, such tags have an A status and a B status. When not fed, the labels are usually in A status. Ratification of an RFID system switches the labels to B status. When a new label (in the Astatus) enters the coverage zone of an energized RFID system, the tag is read. If all labels were in A status, the new label (in A status) that enters the coverage zone of an energized RFID system would not be read. However, according to this description, the high RFID system would be turned on prior to the arrival of the new tag, and, as a result, all tags would already
    BE2017 / 5642 to the B-status, in which case the new label in the Astatus would be easily recognized and read. In another favorable application with respect to the ultrasonic locating system, it is desirable to always have multiple ultrasonic speakers surrounding the route 100 energized, so that the target can be located by trilateration.
    The system described herein is particularly well suited for demand-driven logistics activities, where a driver 24 with a packing list runs along the route 100 through the location 10, and the driver 24 is charged with sorting out the products 12 on the packing list to complete a customer order to make. By only automatically turning on the relevant high target observation stations 30 along the route, and ensuring that each such station 30 along the route 100 is fully functional prior to the arrival of the driver 24, the packing list procedure can be completed efficiently and quickly.
    Specific embodiments have been described in the foregoing description. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that multiple modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the inventions set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures must be viewed in a clarifying, rather than limiting, sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the present teachings. For the purpose of clarity and concise description, features are described herein as part of the same or different embodiments, although it will be understood that the scope of the invention may include embodiments that have combinations of all or some of the features described. It will be clear that the embodiments shown have the same or identical parts, except where they are described as being different.
    BE2017 / 5642
    The benefits, solutions to problems, and any (/ all) element (s) that may cause any benefit, or solution, or become more pronounced, are not to be construed as a crucial, required, or essential feature or component in any or all of the claims. The invention is only defined by the appended claims, including some improvements made during the granting procedure of this application and all equivalents of those claims as issued.
    In addition, in this document, related terms such as first and second, above and below, and the like, may only be used to distinguish an entity or action from another entity or action, without necessarily requiring or implying an actual relationship or order between such entities or promotions. The terms "include," "including," "has," "including," "includes," "includes," "includes," or any other variation thereof, are intended as a non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or device that includes, includes, contains a list of elements, not only contains those elements, but possibly contains other elements that are not explicitly listed or that are not inherent in such a process, method, article, or device. An element preceded by "includes ... a," "has ... a," "includes ... a," "contains ... a," without limitation, does not exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or device that has the element, is provided with, or contains. The term "one" is defined as one or more unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. The terms "substantially," "essential," "approximately," or any other variation thereof, are defined as being close to that understood by a person skilled in the art, and in a certain non-limiting embodiment, the term is defined as being within 10% in another embodiment as being within 5%, in another embodiment as being within 1%, and in another embodiment as
    BE2017 / 5642 being within 0.5%. The term "coupled" as used herein is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly and not necessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is "configured" in a certain way is at least configured that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.
    It will be appreciated that some embodiments may include one or more generic or specialized processors (or "processing devices") such as microprocessors, digital signal processors, custom processors, and FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays), and unique, stored program instructions (including both software and firmware) that control one or more processors to perform, in combination with certain circuitry without processors, some, most, or all functions of the method and / or device described herein. Alternatively, some or all of the functions may be performed by a state machine that has no stored program instructions, or in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), in which each function or some combinations of the functions are implemented as custom logic. A combination of the two approaches can of course be used.
    In addition, an embodiment may be implemented as a computer program product provided with computer readable code stored thereon for programming a computer (e.g., including a processor) to perform a method as described and claimed herein. Examples of such computer program products include, but are not limited to, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, a ROM (read only memory), a PROM (programmable read only memory), an EPROM (erasable programmable) read only memory), an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only
    BE2017 / 5642 memory) and a flash memory. Furthermore, it can be expected that a person skilled in the art, notwithstanding possible significant difficulties and many design choices motivated by, for example, available time, current technology, and economic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principles described herein, will be able to easily with minimal experimentation. generating such software instructions and programs and integrated circuits.
    The extract of the description is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical description. It is submitted with the intention that it will not be used to explain or limit the scope of protection or the meaning of the claims. In addition, it can be seen in the foregoing detailed description that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of simplifying the description. This method of describing should not be interpreted as expressing the intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are explicitly stated in each claim. Rather, as the following claims show, inventive subject matter is contained in less than all the features of a single described embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated in the detailed description, with each claim standing alone as a separately claimed subject matter. The mere fact that certain measures are cited in different claims gives no indication that a combination of these measures cannot be used to achieve an advantage. Many variants will be clear to the skilled person. All variants must be construed as being included in the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
    权利要求:
    Claims (18)
    [1]
    CONCLUSIONS
    A system for tracking a mobile target in a location, comprising:
    a plurality of energizable target observation stations, arranged in the location at fixed, known positions at some distance from each other, and operable to detect the mobile target when the stations are energized; and a controller for at least partially energizing at least a first station from the mobile target sighting stations at the location, for determining an expected route for the mobile target, for energizing at least a next station of the stations located downstream of the first station prior to the arrival of the mobile target at the at least one subsequent station of the stations to continue sighting of the mobile target, and to at least partially stake out at least partially another station of the stations that is further away from the expected route.
    [2]
    The system of claim 1, wherein each station is provided with at least one of a video system for, when energized, capturing a video stream of images of a person forming the mobile target, a radio frequency identification system (RFID) for, when energized, reading an RFID tag that forms the mobile target in a read operation mode with a set of reading parameters, and a locating system for, when energized, ultrasonically locating an apparatus that forms the mobile target in a locating operation mode with a set of localization parameters.
    [3]
    The system of claim 2, wherein each station is provided with a housing in which the RFID system, the locating system, and the
    BE2017 / 5642 video system are all supported, and each housing is fixed high in the location.
    [4]
    The system of claim 2 or 3, wherein a plurality of the systems in each station is operable for, when energized, locating and tracking the mobile target.
    [5]
    The system according to any of the preceding claims 2-4, wherein the control determines a position, a direction, and a speed of the mobile target relative to the at least first station of the stations, and determines the expected route based on of the set position, the set direction, and the set speed of the mobile target.
    [6]
    The system of any one of the preceding claims 2-5, wherein the control changes at least one of the read parameters when a station is turned off, and wherein the read parameters comprise at least one of a dwell time of an RF interrogation signal transmitted by the RIFD system, a transmitting power on which the RF signal is transmitted, a transmitting direction along which the RF signal is transmitted, and a firing sequence of a plurality of RF signals transmitted by the RFID system.
    [7]
    The system according to any one of the preceding claims 2-6, wherein the control changes at least one of the locating parameters when a station is turned off, and wherein the locating parameters comprise at least one of a transmission time of an ultrasonic signal transmitted by the locating system , a transmitting power on which the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, a transmitting direction along which the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, and a driving sequence of a plurality of ultrasonic signals transmitted by the locating system.
    [8]
    The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control is operative to sequentially energize the stations along the expected route.
    BE2017 / 5642
    [9]
    The system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the control is operable to simultaneously energize the stations along the expected route.
    [10]
    A method for observing a mobile target in a location, the method comprising:
    arranging a plurality of energizable target observation stations in the location at fixed, known positions at some distance from each other;
    at least partially energizing at least a first station of the mobile target sighting stations at the location;
    determining an expected route for the mobile target;
    energizing at least one subsequent station of the stations located downstream of the first station prior to the arrival of the mobile target at the at least one subsequent station of the stations to continue sighting of the mobile target; and at least partially plotting at least one other station from the stations further away from the expected route.
    [11]
    The method of claim 10, further comprising configuring each station with at least one of a video system for, when energized, capturing a video stream of images of a person forming the mobile target, a radio frequency identification system (RFID) for, when energized, reading an RFID tag that forms the mobile target in a read operation mode with a set of reading parameters, and a locating system for, when energized, ultrasonically locating an apparatus that forms the mobile target in a locating operation mode with a set of localization parameters.
    BE2017 / 5642
    [12]
    The method of claim 11, further comprising supporting the RFID system, the locating system, and the video system in each station in a housing, and fixing each housing high in the location.
    [13]
    The method of claim 11 or 12, further comprising locating and tracking, when energized, the mobile target with a plurality of systems in each station.
    [14]
    The method according to any of the preceding claims 11-13, wherein the determination of the expected route is determined by determining a position, a direction and a speed of the mobile target relative to the at least first station of the stations .
    [15]
    The method of any one of the preceding claims 11-14, further comprising changing at least one of the read parameters upon stake out, and configuring the read parameters to include at least one of a dwell time of an RF interrogation signal transmitted by the RIFD system, a transmitting power on which the RF signal is transmitted, a transmitting direction along which the RF signal is transmitted, and a firing sequence of a plurality of RF signals transmitted by the RFID system.
    [16]
    The method of any one of the preceding claims 11-15, further comprising changing at least one of the locating parameters upon turning off the station, and configuring the locating parameters to include at least one transmitting time of an ultrasonic signal transmitted by the locating system, a transmitting power on which the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, a transmitting direction along which the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, and a driving sequence of a plurality of ultrasonic signals transmitted by the locating system.
    31 BE2017 / 5642
    [17]
    The method of any one of the preceding claims 10-16, further comprising sequentially energizing the stations along the expected route.
    [18]
    The method of any one of the preceding claims 10-17,
    5 further comprising simultaneously energizing the stations along the expected route.
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    GB201712846D0|2017-09-27|
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    GB2558024A|2018-07-04|
    DE102017118261A1|2018-03-15|
    US20180077532A1|2018-03-15|
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