IP Library Granted Patent US 11,194,976
Granted Patent B2
US 11,194,976 · App. 16/956,127 · Granted Dec 7, 2021

Position locating system, position locating method, and non-transitory computer-readable medium

Inventor: Yoshiyuki Ueda (Yokohama, JP)
Assignee: SATO HOLDINGS KABUSHIKI KAISHA
G06K7/10099G06K7/10376H04W4/029H04W4/33H04W4/80
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,194,976
App. No.
16/956,127
Granted
Dec 7, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

A position locating system includes: a position locating tag provided in an indoor space, the position locating tag being associated with position information in the indoor space in advance; a tag information acquisition unit provided on a mobile body moving in the indoor space, the tag information acquisition unit being configured to read a signal transmitted from the position locating tag; and a mobile-body position locating unit configured to locate a position of the mobile body based on the signal from the position locating tag read by the tag information acquisition unit.

Claims (36)

1. A position locating system comprising:

a plurality of position locating tags provided in an indoor space, the position locating tags being associated with coordinate information corresponding to positions of the position locating tags in the indoor space in advance;

a transceiver provided on a mobile body configured to move in the indoor space, the transceiver being configured to acquire transmission signals transmitted from the position locating tags; and

a processor configured to determine a coordinate position of the mobile body based on:

the transmission signals from the position locating tags acquired by the transceiver and the coordinate information of the position locating tags, and

incident angles of transmission signals transmitted from two of the plurality of position locating tags and the coordinate information of the two of the plurality of position locating tags.

2. The position locating system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the coordinate position of the mobile body based on communication quality between the plurality of the position locating tags and the transceiver provided on the mobile body.

3. The position locating system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine an unloaded position of a target object transported by the mobile body based on the coordinate position of the mobile body.

4. The position locating system according to claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine an unloaded position of a target object transported by the mobile body based on the coordinate position of the mobile body.

5. The position locating system according to claim 3 , further comprising:

a height locating tag provided on a vertically moving portion, the vertically moving portion being provided on the mobile body so as to move the target object up and down,

wherein the processor is further configured to determine the unloaded position of the target object in a height direction based on a signal from the height locating tag acquired by the transceiver.

6. The position locating system according to claim 4 , further comprising:

a height locating tag provided on a vertically moving portion, the vertically moving portion being provided on the mobile body so as to move the target object up and down,

wherein the processor is further configured to determine the unloaded position of the target object in a height direction based on a signal from the height locating tag acquired by the transceiver.

7. The position locating system according to claim 5 , further comprising:

passive tags respectively provided on a plurality of target objects;

a reader provided on the mobile body, the reader being configured to transfer radio waves to the passive tags and to read reflected signals returned from the passive tags; and

a transport target object specifying unit configured to specify a transport target object among the plurality of the target objects based on a difference in a change of a state of the reflected signals from the passive tags read by the reader when the mobile body is moved.

8. The position locating system according to claim 6 , further comprising:

passive tags respectively provided on a plurality of target objects;

a reader provided on the mobile body, the reader being configured to transfer radio waves to the passive tags and to read reflected signals returned from the passive tags; and

a transport target object specifying unit configured to specify a transport target object among the plurality of the target objects based on a difference in a change of a state of the reflected signals from the passive tags read by the reader when the mobile body is moved.

9. The position locating system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the coordinate position of the mobile body based on the transmission signals from the two of the plurality of position locating tags even when communication from a number of the plurality of position locating tags is blocked by an RFID blocking material in the indoor space.

10. The position locating system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to select the two of the plurality of position locating tags used to determine the coordinate position of the mobile body based on communication quality between the plurality of the position locating tags and the transceiver provided on the mobile body.

11. The position locating system according to claim 10 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the coordinate position of the mobile body based on the transmission signals from the two of the plurality of position locating tags even when communication from a number of the plurality of position locating tags is blocked by an RFID blocking material in the indoor space.

12. A position locating method comprising:

a step of acquiring, by a mobile body moving in an indoor space, transmission signals transmitted from a plurality of position locating tags provided in the indoor space, the position locating tags being associated with coordinate information corresponding to positions of the position locating tags in the indoor space in advance; and

a step of determining a coordinate position of the mobile body based on:

the transmission signals transmitted from the position locating tags and the coordinate information of the position locating tags, and

incident angles of transmission signals transmitted from two of the plurality of position locating tags and the coordinate information of the two of the plurality of position locating tags.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute:

a process of acquiring, by a mobile body moving in an indoor space, transmission signals transmitted from a plurality of position locating tags provided in the indoor space, the position locating tags being associated with coordinate information corresponding to positions of the position locating tags in the indoor space in advance; and

a process of determining a coordinate position of the mobile body based on:

the transmission signals transmitted from the position locating tags and the coordinate information of the position locating tags, and

incident angles of transmission signals transmitted from two of the plurality of position locating tags and the coordinate information of the two of the plurality of position locating tags.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jul 1, 2025
From: SATO HOLDINGS KABUSHIKI KAISHA
To: SATO CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 072085/0034 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 19, 2020
From: UEDA, YOSHIYUKI
To: SATO HOLDINGS KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Reel/Frame 052990/0298 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP JP2018-066028 · Mar 29, 2018 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20200320256A1 · Oct 8, 2020