초록 ▼

A distributed radio geo-location and tracking system has a distributed subsystem architecture that distributes its processing workload over a plurality of information handling and processing subsystems. For maximum detection capability, each of a plurality of tag emission receivers is equipped with

A distributed radio geo-location and tracking system has a distributed subsystem architecture that distributes its processing workload over a plurality of information handling and processing subsystems. For maximum detection capability, each of a plurality of tag emission receivers is equipped with a circularly polarized, omnidirectional antenna, to provide hemispherical coverage. The receivers are coupled to a partitioned plurality of detection processors, that are coupled via distributed association processors to multiple location processors. Each detection processor demodulates and time stamps received energy correlated to known spreading codes of the tags, to associate received energy with only one tag. It transmits a message containing this information over a communication framework to an association processor. The computational load is equitably distributed by a flow control mechanism among available association processors, with all receptions of a single tag transmission being directed to the same association processor. An association processor organizes received messages by tag and time-of-arrival (TOA), and transmits association reports over an association communication process of the communication framework to one of plural distributed location processors. A location processor determines the geographical locations of tags using the TOA information in the association reports.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method for identifying the geographical locations of objects having tags containing transmitters, a respective tag's transmitter being operative to transmit signals containing information identifying its associated tag, said method comprising the steps of:(a) receiving,

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method for identifying the geographical locations of objects having tags containing transmitters, a respective tag's transmitter being operative to transmit signals containing information identifying its associated tag, said method comprising the steps of:(a) receiving, at a plurality of geographically dispersed receivers having known geographical positions, signals transmitted from one or more of said tags;(b) processing signals received in step (b) at each of a plurality of detection processors to which receivers receiving signals from a tag in step (a) are coupled, so as to determine the earliest time-of-arrival of signals received thereby from said tag;(c) assembling, at said each of said detection processors, a respective message containing the identification of said tag and the earliest time-of-arrival of signals received therefrom by a receiver to which said each detection processor is coupled;(d) transmitting messages assembled in step (c) by said detection processors for multiple tags to a plurality of association processors, and such that messages assembled in step (c) by said detection processors for the same tag are transmitted to the same association processor, each association processor being operative to store contents of messages received from one or more detection processors as a respective association report for a respective tag; and(e) transmitting association reports stored by said association processors in step (d) to a plurality of location processors, each of which is operative to determine the geographical location of tags identified in association reports received thereby, in accordance with time-of-arrival information for said tags contained in said association reports.