CN117156393A - Tracking device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure describes a tracking device for closely tracking a target based on a short-range wireless communication technology, comprising a master controller and at least one short-range beacon; the short-range beacon is attached to or integrated with the target and is configured to transmit a radio signal after receiving the wake-up signal, the radio signal comprising radio strength information and verification information characterizing parameter information of the short-range beacon; the main controller is configured to send a wake-up signal and receive a radio signal, establish a communication connection with the short-range beacon through the radio unit based on the verification information in the radio signal, and send an alert prompt based on the radio strength information in the radio signal. Therefore, the power consumption of the short-range beacon on the tracked or tracked target can be reduced, and the service life of the tracking device can be prolonged.

Description

Tracking device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of short-range wireless communications, and more particularly to a tracking device.

Background

In recent years, with the development of communication technology, emerging communication means that can be used for both industrial production and real life of people, such as communication technologies of a mobile phone network, a telephone network, the internet, etc. in remote communication, or communication technologies of bluetooth, wi-Fi (i.e., mobile hotspot), NFC (Near Field Communication, i.e., near field communication) and the like in short-distance wireless communication, have emerged.

The diversification of life of people at present makes personal articles become more and more complicated and are easy to forget or lose, so in order to facilitate people to trace the forgotten or lost articles among the articles, people want to install a tracing device on the articles. In the prior art, the positioning technology based on the communication principle is easy to know the position of the tracked object, however, the positioning technology needs to perform various distance conversion aiming at the radio intensity, has high requirements on a distance conversion algorithm, has insufficient short-distance positioning precision, and is not easy to obtain accurate position information in the vertical direction. Therefore, when the object at a short distance is positioned and tracked, a tracking technology utilizing a short distance wireless communication principle is thought to be utilized, the defects of the positioning technology can be overcome, and the method has the advantages of being simple in algorithm requirement, accurate in short distance tracking, free from limitation of direction problems and the like.

However, in the conventional tracking technology based on the short-range wireless communication principle, a beacon disposed on a target (i.e., a tracked object) is mostly configured to transmit a radio signal at all times, so that the tracking device can conveniently receive and track the beacon, and such a beacon has large power consumption and short service life, which is unfavorable for tracking the target lost for a long time.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-described conventional art, and an object thereof is to provide a tracking device capable of reducing power consumption of a short-range beacon on a tracked or tracked target, thereby enabling a service life of the tracking device to be prolonged.

To this end, the present disclosure provides a tracking device for closely tracking a target based on a short-range wireless communication technology, comprising a main controller and at least one short-range beacon; the short range beacon is attached to or integrated with at least one of the targets and is configured to transmit a radio signal after receiving a wake-up signal, the radio signal comprising radio strength information and verification information characterizing parameter information of the short range beacon; the master controller is configured to send the wake-up signal and receive the radio signal, establish a communication connection with a short-range beacon to be tracked in the short-range beacons based on the verification information in the radio signal, and send an alarm prompt based on the radio strength information in the radio signal after the communication connection is established, the alarm prompt being used for characterizing the relative positions of the master controller and the short-range beacons to be tracked.

In the tracking device disclosed by the disclosure, the main controller is used for establishing communication connection with the short-range beacon attached to or integrated with the target, and can send out an alarm prompt according to the radio intensity information in the radio signal transmitted by the short-range beacon to judge the relative position of the main controller and the short-range beacon, namely the target can be tracked by the main controller. In addition, the main controller and the short-range beacons are in communication connection based on the verification information, so that the main controller can be matched with the correct short-range beacons, namely the targets to be tracked, and the tracking accuracy can be improved. In addition, the short-range beacon transmits the radio signal after receiving the wake-up signal transmitted by the main controller, so that the short-range beacon is in a state of not transmitting the radio signal before being awakened, thereby reducing the power consumption of the short-range beacon, namely prolonging the service life of the short-range beacon.

In addition, in the tracking apparatus related to the present disclosure, optionally, if the power of the short-range beacon to be tracked to transmit the radio signal does not meet the requirement of the communication connection establishment, the transmission power of the short-range beacon to be tracked is switched from low to high so that the short-range beacon establishes the communication connection with the main controller. In this case, by switching the transmission power of approximately Cheng Xinbiao from low to high, the transmission range of the radio signal of the short-range beacon can be increased, whereby the establishment of a communication connection between the short-range beacon and the main controller can be facilitated.

Further, in the tracking apparatus to which the present disclosure relates, optionally, after the communication connection is established with the main controller, the short-range beacon to be tracked switches the transmission power from high to low to a preset threshold value meeting the requirement of the communication connection establishment based on the radio intensity information and transmits the radio signal at the preset threshold value. In this case, by operating the short-range beacon with a transmission power of a preset threshold, it is possible to satisfy the need to establish a communication connection with the main controller, and also to reduce the power consumption of the short-range beacon as much as possible.

Additionally, in the tracking device to which the present disclosure relates, optionally, the short-range beacon periodically transmits the radio signal with a period of not less than 0.1 seconds. In this case, the short-range beacon transmits the radio signal at a preferable period, and the problem of large power consumption due to too frequent transmission of the radio signal caused by too small a period can be reduced, that is, the power consumption of the short-range beacon can be further reduced.

In addition, in the tracking apparatus according to the present disclosure, optionally, when the number of the short-range beacons to be tracked is plural, the verification information of different short-range beacons to be tracked is different, different wake-up signals correspond to different short-range beacons to be tracked, and the main controller is further configured to select one or more short-range beacons to be tracked from at least one of the short-range beacons and transmit a wake-up signal corresponding to the short-range beacon to be tracked. In this case, different short-range beacons are selected through different wake-up signals, so that the main controller can be utilized to track different short-range beacons, namely different targets, and the wake-up signals correspond to the short-range beacons according to the verification information, so that the problem of inaccurate tracking can be reduced.

Further, in the tracking device to which the present disclosure relates, optionally, the main controller includes a radio unit configured to transmit the wake-up signal and receive the radio signal, and a microcontroller unit configured to establish a communication connection with the short-range beacon to be tracked through the radio unit based on the check information in the radio signal, and to transmit the alert prompt based on the radio intensity information in the radio signal. In this case, the main controller transmits and receives radio signals through the radio unit and analyzes the check information in the radio signals through the micro controller unit to enable the establishment of communication connection to be facilitated, whereby the short range beacon can be started with the wake-up signal and thus can be tracked to the short range beacon based on the radio signals transmitted by the short range beacon, i.e., the tracking to the target can be facilitated and the short range beacon can be brought into a state of not transmitting the radio signals before the tracking to reduce the power consumption of the short range beacon.

In addition, in the tracking device related to the disclosure, optionally, the main controller further includes an indication unit, the alarm prompt is prompted by the indication unit in at least one of sound, light or vibration, and the radio intensity information is an intensity value when the short-range beacon transmits the radio signal, and different radio intensity information corresponds to different alarm prompts. In this case, by presenting the warning by the indication unit in at least one of sound, light, or vibration, for example, in a pattern, a light color, or light intensity, or the like, in a sound, in a music, a notice, or the like, it is possible to easily judge the intensity of the radio in the radio signal, and thus it is possible to track the target based on the radio intensity. In addition, different radio intensity information corresponds to different alarm prompts, namely, the alarm prompts corresponding to different intensities when the radio signal is transmitted are different, so that the discernability of the radio signal can be improved, and the tracking of the target can be facilitated.

In addition, in the tracking device related to the present disclosure, optionally, the main controller further includes an information selection unit configured to select one or more proximity beacons to be tracked from at least one of the proximity beacons, and the microcontroller unit is further configured to transmit a wake-up signal corresponding to the proximity beacon to be tracked in response to the selection of the proximity beacon to be tracked by the information selection unit. In this case, by means of the information selection unit and the microcontroller unit, it is possible to select and track from at least one short-range beacon to be tracked, whereby a plurality of targets can be tracked and managed in a targeted manner.

In addition, in the tracking device related to the disclosure, optionally, an acceleration sensing unit and a direction sensing unit attached to or integrated with the target are further included, the acceleration sensing unit and the direction sensing unit are respectively and electrically connected with the short-range beacon, the acceleration sensing unit is configured to detect acceleration information of the target relative to the main controller, the direction sensing unit is configured to detect direction information of the target relative to the main controller, and the radio signal further includes the acceleration information and the direction information. In this case, the acceleration of the target is obtained through the acceleration sensing unit, and the direction of the target is obtained through the direction sensing unit, so that the main controller can be assisted to more accurately control the state of the target, and the capability of the tracking device for tracking the target can be improved.

In addition, in the tracking device to which the present disclosure relates, optionally, the microcontroller unit is further configured to receive the acceleration information and the direction information through the radio unit, and to instruct in an image manner through the instruction unit. In this case, by way of an image, the process of tracking the target by the tracking device can be visualized, whereby tracking of the target can be facilitated.

Further, in the tracking apparatus to which the present disclosure relates, optionally, the short-range beacon includes a transmitting unit configured to transmit the radio signal based on the wake-up signal, a receiving unit configured to receive the wake-up signal, and a processing unit configured to start the transmitting unit to periodically transmit the radio signal based on the wake-up signal. In this case, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit of the short-range beacon operate independently of each other, and after the receiving unit receives the wake-up signal of the main controller, the transmitting unit periodically transmits a radio signal under the control of the processing unit, so that unnecessary power consumption generated by the transmitting unit when the transmitting unit does not need to be tracked can be reduced, thereby reducing power consumption of the short-range beacon and prolonging the service life of the short-range beacon.

In addition, in the tracking device related to the present disclosure, optionally, the manner of communication connection includes at least one of bluetooth, wi-Fi, NFC, UWB and ZigBee. Under the condition, the target can be tracked by selecting proper types of radio signals in different scenes, so that the diversity of tracking modes of the tracking device can be improved, and the requirements of different scenes can be met.

In addition, in the tracking apparatus related to the present disclosure, optionally, the parameter information includes a sequence of the short-range beacon, an identification code, a transmission power, and a transmission period. In this case, it can be convenient for the main controller to recognize the short-range beacon to be tracked through the sequence, the identification code, the transmission power, and the transmission period, whereby the accuracy of tracking the target can be improved.

According to the present disclosure, a tracking device can be provided that can reduce power consumption of a short-range beacon on a tracked or tracked target, thereby enabling an extended service life of the tracking device.

Drawings

The present disclosure will now be explained in further detail by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an application scenario of a tracking apparatus according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a tracking device to which an example of the present disclosure relates.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication procedure of a master controller and a short-range beacon in a tracking apparatus according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario in which a short-range beacon involved in an example of the present disclosure switches transmit power from low to high.

Fig. 4B is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario in which a short-range beacon is switched from high to low transmit power in accordance with examples of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a short-range beacon to which examples of the present disclosure relate.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication procedure of a master controller and a plurality of short-range beacons in a tracking device according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing a structure of a main controller to which an example of the present disclosure relates.

Fig. 8 is a second block diagram showing a structure of a tracking device according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing a structure of a main controller to which an example of the present disclosure relates.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an alert prompt sent when a host controller and a short-range beacon are closer together in accordance with examples of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an alert prompt sent when a host controller and a short-range beacon are far apart, to which examples of the present disclosure relate.

Reference numerals illustrate:

10 … tracking device, 11 … short range beacon, 12 … main controller, 13 … acceleration sensing unit, 14 … direction sensing unit, 111 … transmitting unit, 112 … receiving unit, 113 … processing unit, 121 … radio unit, 122 … microcontroller unit, 123 … indication unit, 124 … information selecting unit, 20 … target.

Detailed Description

The following description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which are filled by those of ordinary skill in the art without undue burden based on the embodiments in this disclosure, are within the scope of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth," etc. in the description and claims of the present disclosure and in the above figures are used for distinguishing between different objects and not for describing a particular sequential order. Furthermore, the terms "comprise" and "have," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus but may optionally include other steps or elements not listed. In the following description, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping description thereof is omitted. In addition, the drawings are schematic, and the ratio of the sizes of the components to each other, the shapes of the components, and the like may be different from actual ones.

The present disclosure provides a tracking device for closely tracking a target based on a short-range wireless communication technology. In the short-range wireless communication technology, since the signal strength between the transmitter (such as a beacon) and the receiver (such as a main controller) is inversely proportional to the distance, that is, the smaller the distance is, the larger the signal strength of the radio between the transmitter and the receiver is, the relative position between the transmitter and the receiver can be judged by judging the signal strength between the transmitter and the receiver, that is, the receiver can be used as a tracker, and the transmitter can be used as a tracked target, so that a simple tracking device is formed.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of a tracking device 10 according to an example of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of the tracking device 10 according to an example of the present disclosure.

In some examples, the tracking device 10 to which the present disclosure relates is sometimes also referred to as a "tracker," "tracking apparatus," "tracking device," or "tracker," or the like. In the tracking device 10 according to the present disclosure, the power consumption of the short-range beacon 11 on the tracked or tracked target 20 is reduced, whereby the service life of the tracking device 10 can be prolonged. In some examples, as shown in fig. 1, the targets 20 to which the present disclosure refers may include, but are not limited to, personal wear devices, household items, or office items, among others. In other examples, the target 20 to which the present disclosure refers may also include, but is not limited to, an object that may be moved by an infant, a pet, or the like.

As shown in fig. 1 or 2, a tracking device 10 in accordance with the present disclosure may include a master controller 12 and a short-range beacon 11. The radio communication connection is established between the master controller 12 and the short-range beacon 11, so that the relative position between the master controller 12 and the short-range beacon 11 can be determined according to the radio signal, that is, when the master controller 12 is capable of tracking the target 20, for example, approximately Cheng Xinbiao is attached to or integrated with the target 20, the relative position between the short-range beacon 11 and the master controller 12 is obtained, that is, the relative position between the target 20 and the master controller 12 is obtained.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a communication procedure of the main controller 12 and the short-range beacon 11 in the tracking device 10 according to the example of the present disclosure. Fig. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario in which the short-range beacon 11 according to the example of the present disclosure switches transmission power from low to high. Fig. 4B is a schematic diagram showing a scenario in which the short-range beacon 11 according to the example of the present disclosure switches transmission power from high to low. It should be noted that fig. 4A and fig. 4B are virtualized to simplify the appearance, that is, the shape of the actual short-range beacon 11 is not illustrated in the drawing, and the intensity values of the radios illustrated in the drawing are not used to illustrate the actual values of the intensities of the radios, for example, the transmission power of the radios may be positive, but the measured intensities of the radios are usually negative, so the symbol of the illustrated values is not limited in the drawing.

As described above, the tracking device 10 to which the present disclosure relates may include a short range beacon 11. In some examples, as shown in fig. 3, the short-range beacon 11 may be configured to transmit radio signals. In particular, the short-range beacon 11 may be configured to transmit a radio signal after receiving the wake-up signal. In this case, the short-range beacon 11 transmits the radio signal after receiving the wake-up signal transmitted from the main controller 12, enabling the short-range beacon 11 to be in a state of not transmitting the radio before not being woken up, whereby the power consumption of the short-range beacon 11 can be reduced, i.e., the service life of the short-range beacon 11 can be prolonged.

In some examples, the power at which the short-range beacon 11 transmits the radio signal (i.e., the transmit power) may be switched with the strength of the transmitted radio signal. In some examples, the transmit power, typically expressed in terms of power or gain, is in units of W (watts) and dBm (decibel milliwatts), respectively, e.g., may be switched from low to high to increase the transmit range (i.e., the transmission range of the radio signal of the short-range beacon 11) before the short-range beacon 11 establishes a communication connection with the master controller 12, and may be switched from high to low to a fixed power after the short-range beacon 11 establishes a communication connection with the master controller 12 to conserve power consumption and enable the short-range beacon 11 to be tracked by the master controller 12 at the fixed power.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 4A, if the power of the short-range beacon 11 transmitting the radio signal (e.g., at 15dBm in fig. 4A) does not meet the requirement of the communication connection establishment, the transmission power of the short-range beacon 11 may be switched from low to high (e.g., at 30dBm in fig. 4A) so that the short-range beacon 11 and the main controller 12 meet the requirement of the communication connection establishment. In some examples, the transmit power of the short range beacon 11 may be switched from low to high in multiple times, e.g., the transmit power per switch may be at one of 1dBm, 2dBm, 3dBm, 4dBm, or 5dBm until the switch is to meet the requirements of the communication connection establishment.

As shown in fig. 4B, if the power at which the short-range beacon 11 transmits a radio signal (e.g., at 40dBm in fig. 4B) is capable of causing the short-range beacon 11 to satisfy the requirements for establishing a communication connection with the master controller 12, after the communication connection is established, the switch may be made from high to low to a preset threshold (e.g., at 20dBm in fig. 4B) that satisfies the requirements for establishing a communication connection based on the radio strength information, and the radio signal is transmitted at the preset threshold (e.g., at 20 dBm). In some examples, the preset threshold may be a minimum value, i.e., a minimum value that enables the short-range beacon 11 and the master controller 12 to meet the requirements of the short-range beacon 11 to establish a communication connection with the master controller 12. In some examples, the transmit power of the short range beacon 11 may be switched from high to low in multiple times, e.g., the transmit power per switch may be at one of 1dBm, 2dBm, 3dBm, 4dBm, or 5dBm until switching to a preset threshold.

In other examples, referring to fig. 4A and 4B, after determining whether the short-range beacon 11 is capable of establishing a communication connection with the master controller 12, the short-range beacon 11 may switch from low to high transmission power to a preset threshold, for example, if the preset threshold is 20dBm, the short-range beacon 11 may switch directly to a transmission power greater than 20dBm (e.g., 30 dBm) and then to 20dBm when the initial transmission power of the short-range beacon 11 is 15 dBm. In some examples, the short-range beacon 11 may also be switched from high to low transmission power and then from low to high to a preset threshold, for example, if the preset threshold is 20dBm, the short-range beacon 11 may be switched directly to a transmission power less than 20dBm (e.g. 15 dBm) when the initial transmission power is 40dBm, and then switched to 20dBm.

In some examples, the radio signal transmitted by the short-range beacon 11 may include radio strength information and verification information characterizing the parameter information of the short-range beacon 11, e.g., when an identification code is included in the parameter information of the short-range beacon 11, the identification code may be compiled and then embodied in the verification information. In this case, the master controller 12 and the short-range beacon 11 are in communication connection based on the verification information, so that the master controller 12 can be matched with the correct short-range beacon 11, namely, the target 20 to be tracked, and the tracking accuracy can be improved.

In some examples, the radio strength information may refer to the strength value at which the short-range beacon 11 transmits a radio signal, i.e. the radio strength information may represent the strength at which the short-range beacon 11 transmits a radio signal. In some examples, the strength of the transmitted radio signal may be expressed using RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication, i.e., a received signal strength indication) in dBm (decibel milliwatts).

In some examples, the parameter information may include a sequence of short-range beacons 11, an identification code, a transmit power, and a transmit period. In this case, it can be convenient for the main controller 12 to distinguish the short-range beacon 11 by the sequence, the identification code, the transmission power, and the transmission period, whereby the accuracy of tracking can be improved. In some examples, the identification code may be an information element for distinguishing between the short-range beacons 11 of the same sequence with specific information, for example, referring to fig. 6, the sequence of the short-range beacons 11a manufactured in the same lot may be the same as the short-range beacon 11b, where the check information a2 and the check information b2 may be formed by including different identification codes in the parameter information to distinguish between the specific short-range beacons 11.

In other examples, the radio signal may also include acceleration information and direction information, i.e., the radio signal may include radio strength information, verification information, acceleration information, and direction information. In this case, the tracking device 10 can judge the relative positions of the target 20 and the main controller 12 by the radio intensity information, can establish a correct communication connection by the verification information, and can grasp the state of the target 20 by the acceleration information and the direction information to further accurately judge the relative positions of the target 20 and the main controller 12.

In some examples, the manner of communication connection may include at least one of bluetooth, wi-Fi, NFC (Near Field Communication, i.e., near field communication), UWB (Ultra Wide Band, ultra wideband wireless carrier communication technology), and ZigBee (i.e., purple peak, a low speed short range transmission technology). In this case, the target 20 can be tracked by selecting an appropriate radio in different scenes, so that the diversity of the tracking modes of the tracking device 10 can be improved to meet different requirements.

In some examples, the short-range beacon 11 may transmit a radio signal periodically and with a period of no less than 0.1 seconds. In this case, the short-range beacon 11 transmits the radio signal at a preferable period, and the problem of large power consumption due to too frequent transmission of the radio signal caused by too small a period can be reduced, that is, the power consumption of the short-range beacon 11 can be further reduced. In other examples, the short-range beacon 11 may also transmit radio signals aperiodically, with each transmission interval not less than 0.1 seconds.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of a short-range beacon 11 to which the examples of the present disclosure relate.

In some examples, short-range beacon 11 may include a transmitting unit 111, a receiving unit 112, and a processing unit 113.

In some examples, the transmitting unit 111 is configured to transmit a radio signal based on the wake-up signal. In some examples, the receiving unit 112 is configured to receive a wake-up signal. In some examples, the processing unit 113 is configured to initiate the transmitting unit 111 to periodically transmit a radio signal based on the wake-up signal. In this case, the transmitting unit 111 and the receiving unit 112 of the short-range beacon 11 operate independently of each other, and the transmitting unit 111 periodically transmits the radio signal again under the processing and control of the processing unit 113 after the receiving unit 112 receives the wake-up signal of the main controller 12, so that unnecessary power consumption of the transmitting unit 111 when it is not required to be tracked can be reduced, thereby reducing power consumption of the short-range beacon 11 and prolonging the service life of the short-range beacon 11.

In some examples, the processing unit 113 may control the transmitting unit 111 to switch the power at which the radio signal is transmitted. Specifically, if the power of the radio signal transmitted by the transmitting unit 111 does not meet the requirement of establishing a communication connection, the processing unit 113 may control the transmitting power of the transmitting unit 111 to switch from low to high so that the short-range beacon 11 and the main controller 12 meet the requirement of establishing a communication connection; if the power of the radio signal transmitted by the transmitting unit 111 is such that the short-range beacon 11 and the main controller 12 meet the requirement of establishing a communication connection, after the communication connection is established, the processing unit 113 may control the transmitting unit 111 to switch from high to low to a preset threshold value meeting the requirement of establishing the communication connection, and continue transmitting the radio signal at the preset threshold value.

In some examples, the transmitting unit 111 may include an antenna (i.e., a coil) that transmits radio. In some examples, the receiving unit 112 may include an antenna (i.e., coil) that receives the radio. In some examples, the antennas of the transmitting unit 111 and the receiving unit 112 may be integrated, i.e. the transmitting unit 111 and the receiving unit 112 may share a set of antennas.

In some examples, processing unit 113 may include a processor. In some examples, the processor may have a preset program or instructions. In some examples, the processor, when executing a preset program or instruction, may be operative to initiate the transmitting unit 111 to periodically transmit a radio signal or to control the transmitting unit 111 to switch the power at which the radio signal is transmitted based on the wake-up signal.

Referring to fig. 1 above, in some examples, the short-range beacon 11 may be attached to the target 20, e.g., the short-range beacon 11 may be in a tag fashion, and attached to the target 20 by way of adhesive, hanging, or snap-fit, etc. (e.g., notebook computers and pets in fig. 1). In other examples, the short-range beacon 11 may also be integrated with the target 20, e.g., the short-range beacon 11 may be a radio module and may be integrated with other electronic components in an electronic device (e.g., an electronic watch in fig. 1).

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a communication procedure of the main controller 12 and the plurality of short-range beacons 11 in the tracking device 10 according to the example of the present disclosure.

In some examples, the number of short-range beacons 11 may be at least one, i.e., the short-range beacons 11 may be multiple. In this case, tracking of a plurality of targets 20 can be facilitated.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 6, when the number of short-range beacons 11 is a plurality, the verification information of different short-range beacons 11 may be different. Taking the two short-range beacons 11 shown in fig. 6 as an example, the check information corresponding to the short-range beacon 11a may be the check information a2, and the check information corresponding to the short-range beacon 11b may be the check information b2. Thereby, the accuracy of the matching of the main controller 12 and the short-range beacons 11 can be improved, and the tracking of different short-range beacons 11 is facilitated.

In some examples, when the number of short-range beacons 11 is multiple, different wake-up signals may correspond to different short-range beacons 11.

As described above, the tracking device 10 to which the present disclosure relates may include a main controller 12. Referring to fig. 3 above, in some examples, the master controller 12 may be configured to send a wake-up signal. In some examples, the master controller 12 may be configured to receive radio signals. In some examples, master controller 12 may be configured to establish a communication connection with short-range beacon 11. In some examples, the master controller 12 may be configured to send an alert prompt. Specifically, the main controller 12 may be configured to transmit a wake-up signal and receive a radio signal, establish a communication connection with the short-range beacon 11 through the radio unit 121 based on the check information in the radio signal, and transmit an alarm prompt based on the radio intensity information in the radio signal after the communication connection is established.

In some examples, if the power at which the short range beacon 11 transmits the radio signal does not meet the requirements for communication connection establishment, the transmit power of the short range beacon 11 may be switched from low to high to cause the short range beacon 11 to meet the requirements for communication connection establishment with the radio unit 121. In this case, by switching the transmission power of the near Cheng Xinbiao 11 from low to high, the transmission range of the radio signal of the short-range beacon 11 can be increased, whereby the establishment of the communication connection between the short-range beacon 11 and the main controller 12 can be facilitated.

In some examples, the power at which the short-range beacon 11 transmits the radio signal may switch from high to low to a preset threshold that meets the requirements of communication connection establishment based on the radio strength information after the short-range beacon 11 establishes a communication connection with the radio unit 121, and the radio signal is transmitted at the preset threshold. In this case, by operating the short-range beacon 11 at a transmission power of a preset threshold, it is possible to satisfy the need to establish a communication connection with the main controller 12, and also to reduce the power consumption of the short-range beacon 11 as much as possible.

In some examples, referring to fig. 4A or 4B above, the power at which the master controller 12 transmits the wake-up signal (e.g., at 30dBm in fig. 4A or 4B) may be constant and may be no less than a preset threshold of the power at which the short-range beacons 11 transmit radio signals (e.g., 20 dBm), i.e., the power at which the master controller 12 transmits the wake-up signal is set at least in a range where the transmitted wake-up signal can cover all of the short-range beacons 11.

In some examples, the master controller 12 may determine the distance of the master controller 12 from the short-range beacon 11 by the strength of the received radio signal based on the RSSI ranging technique, and then locate according to the corresponding data. In this case, the short-range beacon 11 can be located at a large distance (e.g., a distance range greater than 50 meters). Because the accuracy of the positioning technique lacks assurance in a scenario with a relatively short distance (e.g., a distance range of less than 50 meters), in some examples, if the target 20 is relatively far from the main controller 12, the positioning technique may be used first to obtain the general position of the target 20, and when the target 20 is relatively close to the main controller 12, then the tracking mode of the tracking device 10 related to the present disclosure, that is, tracking the target 20 based on the intensity of the radio signal, is switched.

In some examples, referring to fig. 6 above, the master controller 12 may be further configured to select one or more short-range beacons 11 to be tracked from the at least one short-range beacon 11 and transmit a wake-up signal corresponding to the short-range beacon 11 to be tracked. In this case, different short-range beacons 11 are selected by different wake-up signals, whereby different short-range beacons 11, that is, different targets 20, can be tracked by the main controller 12, and the wake-up signals correspond to the short-range beacons 11 according to the verification information, whereby the problem of inaccurate tracking can be reduced.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the structure of the main controller 12 to which the example of the present disclosure relates. Fig. 8 is a second block diagram showing a structure of the tracking device 10 according to the example of the present disclosure. Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing the structure of the main controller 12 to which the example of the present disclosure relates. Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an alarm prompt sent when the host controller 12 and the short-range beacon 11 are close in distance, to which the disclosed example relates. Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an alarm prompt transmitted when the main controller 12 and the short-range beacon 11 are far from each other, to which the examples of the present disclosure relate.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 7 or 8, the main controller 12 may include a radio unit 121 and a microcontroller unit 122.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 9, the radio unit 121 may be configured to transmit a wake-up signal and receive a radio signal. In some examples, the microcontroller unit 122 may be configured to establish a communication connection with the short-range beacon 11 through the radio unit 121 based on the verification information in the radio signal, and to send an alert prompt based on the radio strength information in the radio signal. In this case, the main controller 12 can perform radio transmission and reception through the radio unit 121 and can analyze the check information in the radio signal through the micro controller unit 122 to enable the establishment of the communication connection, whereby the short range beacon 11 can be started with the wake-up signal and whereby the short range beacon 11 can be tracked based on the radio signal transmitted by the short range beacon 11, i.e., the target 20 can be conveniently tracked and the short range beacon 11 can be brought into a state of not transmitting the radio signal before tracking to reduce the power consumption of the short range beacon 11.

In some examples, the radio unit 121 may be a transceiver including a radio antenna.

In some examples, the power at which the radio unit 121 transmits the wake-up signal may be constant and may be not less than a preset threshold of the power at which the short-range beacon 11 transmits the radio signal, i.e. the power at which the radio unit 121 transmits the wake-up signal may be set at least in a range where the transmitted wake-up signal can cover all short-range beacons 11.

In some examples, the microcontroller unit 122 may include a microcontroller. In some examples, the microcontroller, also referred to as a microprocessor or microcontroller, may be a controller in a micro-control system, also known as a development board or a single chip microcomputer, which may include, but is not limited to, the 51 series, the PIC series, the AVR series, the ARM series, the MIPS series, and the PPC series.

In other examples, the Micro control system may also be a Micro: bit Micro control system. In this case, the program of the tracking device 10 according to the present disclosure can be obtained by a graphically programmed manner, whereby it can be facilitated to develop more functions to promote the accuracy of tracking.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 7 or 8, the main controller 12 may further include an indication unit 123.

In some examples, the alert prompt may be prompted by at least one of an audible, visual, or vibratory manner by the indication unit 123. In this case, by presenting the warning by the indication unit 123 in at least one of sound, light, or vibration, for example, in a pattern, a light color, or light intensity, or the like, in a sound, in a music, a notice, or the like, it is possible to easily judge the intensity of the radio in the radio signal, and thus it is possible to trace the search target 20 based on the intensity of the radio.

In some examples, the indication unit 123 may include, but is not limited to, a speaker, a screen, a light, or a buzzer. In some examples, the indication unit 123 may be integrated into the aforementioned micro-control system, thereby enabling the process of tracking the target 20 by the tracking device 10 to be visualized, audible or perceivable in cooperation with the micro-controller unit 122.

In some examples, different radio strength information may correspond to different alert cues. For example, as shown in fig. 10, at a relatively short distance (e.g., at a distance d1 in fig. 10), the radio strength information indicates that the radio strength is relatively strong, and the alert prompt may be in the form of "relatively strong" information (e.g., "alert prompt (relatively strong)" in fig. 10), including but not limited to numerical values, colors, voices, or the like to indicate the strength; as shown in fig. 11, at a longer distance (e.g., at a distance d2 in fig. 11), the radio strength information indicates that the radio strength is weak, and the alert prompt may be in the form of "weak" information (e.g., "alert prompt (weak)" in fig. 11), including but not limited to numerical values, colors, voices, or the like to indicate the strength. In this case, different radio intensity information corresponds to different warning cues, i.e., different warning cues corresponding to different intensities when transmitting radio signals, can promote the discernability of the radio signals, and thus can facilitate tracking of the target 20.

In some examples, different radio strength information may be ranked and correspond to different alert cues. For example, the alert may be stronger when the radio strength information indicates a radio strength at level 1 and weaker when the radio strength information indicates a radio strength at level 2.

In some examples, the radios of different level ranges may be simultaneously in different alert cues, i.e., a classified range of radios represented by a type of radio strength information may be alerted by at least one of sound, light, or vibration. For example, when the radio is 20dBm to 45dBm, any value during the period is displayed and a voice prompt is issued, when the radio is less than 20dBm, any value less than 20dBm is displayed, no voice is issued, and when the radio is greater than 45dBm, any value greater than 45dBm is displayed and a voice prompt and a vibration prompt are issued.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 7 or 8, the main controller 12 may further include an information selection unit 124.

In some examples, the information selection unit 124 may be configured to select one or more short-range beacons 11 to be tracked from the at least one short-range beacon 11. In some examples, the microcontroller unit 122 is further configured to send a wake-up signal corresponding to the short-range beacon 11 to be tracked in response to the information selection unit 124. In this case, by the information selection unit 124 and the microcontroller unit 122, it is possible to select and track from at least one short-range beacon 11 to be tracked, whereby it is possible to track and manage a plurality of targets 20 in a targeted manner.

In some examples, the information selection unit 124 may be an input component such as a button, a keyboard, or a virtual keyboard. In some examples, the information selection unit 124 may also be an input component of a voice input mode, such as a microphone. In some examples, the information selection unit 124 may also be integrated in the micro control system described above, i.e. the information selection unit 124 may be an input module of the micro control system.

As shown in connection with fig. 6 and 9, the information selection unit 124 may be a button, and when the button is pressed (as "input a" in fig. 9), the main controller 12 may transmit a wake-up signal a1 waking up the short-range beacon 11a, and the short-range beacon 11a may be woken up and transmit a radio signal based on the wake-up signal, wherein the check information may be check information a2, whereby the short-range beacon 11a can be tracked. When the two characters "a" and "b" are input, referring to fig. 6, the main controller 12 may transmit a wake-up signal a1, a wake-up signal b1 of the wake-up short-range beacon 11a and the short-range beacon 11b, and both the short-range beacon 11a and the short-range beacon 11b may be woken up and transmit a radio signal based on the wake-up signal, wherein the check information may include the check information a2 and the check information b2, and at this time, the short-range beacon 11a may be tracked by the main controller 12, and the short-range beacon 11b may also be tracked.

In some examples, the information selection unit 124 may input once to cause the microcontroller unit 122 to transmit a wake-up signal once. For example, if the short-range beacon 11 receives a wake-up signal and satisfies the requirement of establishing a communication connection with the main controller 12, the information selecting unit 124 may not need to continue to input, and if the short-range beacon 11 does not satisfy the requirement of establishing a communication connection with the main controller 12 after receiving a wake-up signal, the information selecting unit 124 may continue to input a wake-up signal for causing the microcontroller unit 122 to transmit a corresponding number of times, thereby enabling the short-range beacon 11 to establish a communication connection with the main controller 12.

In other examples, the information selection unit 124 may input once and cause the microcontroller unit 122 to periodically transmit a plurality of wake-up signals. For example, the short-range beacon 11 may select to receive a wake-up signal multiple times and the information selection unit 124 may periodically transmit a wake-up signal multiple times by the one-time input transmission microcontroller unit 122 while establishing a communication connection with the main controller 12.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 8, the tracking device 10 may further include an acceleration sensing unit 13 and a direction sensing unit 14. In some examples, the acceleration sensing unit 13 and the direction sensing unit 14 may be attached to the target 20 with the short-range beacon 11. In other examples, the acceleration sensing unit 13 and the direction sensing unit 14 may also be integrated with the proximity beacon 11 at the target 20.

In some examples, the acceleration sensing unit 13, the direction sensing unit 14 may be electrically connected with the short-range beacon 11, respectively, i.e. the acceleration sensing unit 13 may be electrically connected with the short-range beacon 11, and the direction sensing unit 14 may also be electrically connected with the short-range beacon 11.

In some examples, the acceleration sensing unit 13 may be configured to detect acceleration information of the target 20 relative to the main controller 12. In some examples, the direction sensing unit 14 may be configured to detect direction information of the target 20 relative to the master controller 12. In this case, the acceleration of the target 20 can be obtained by the acceleration sensing unit 13, and the direction of the target 20 can be obtained by the direction sensing unit 14, so that the main controller 12 can be assisted to more accurately control the state of the target 20, and thus the capability of the tracking device 10 to track the target 20 can be improved.

In some examples, the acceleration sensing unit 13 may comprise an acceleration sensor, which is mainly used to obtain the acceleration of the target 20 relative to the main controller 12, also referred to as accelerometer.

In some examples, the direction sensing unit 14 may include a direction sensor, which is primarily used to obtain the position of the target 20 relative to the earth's center, also known as a magnetic sensor or magnetometer.

In some examples, the microcontroller unit 122 of the main controller 12 may also be configured to receive acceleration information and direction information via the radio unit 121 and to indicate graphically via the indication unit 123. In this case, by way of an image, the process of tracking the target 20 by the tracking device 10 can be visualized, whereby tracking of the target 20 can be facilitated.

According to the present disclosure, a tracking device 10 can be provided that can reduce the power consumption of a short-range beacon 11 on a tracked or tracked target 20, thereby enabling an extended lifetime of the tracking device 10.

While the disclosure has been described in detail in connection with the drawings and examples, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is not intended to limit the disclosure in any way. Modifications and variations of the present disclosure may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure, and such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims (13)

1. A tracking device for closely tracking a target based on a short-range wireless communication technology, comprising a main controller and at least one short-range beacon;

the short range beacon is attached to or integrated with at least one of the targets and is configured to transmit a radio signal after receiving a wake-up signal, the radio signal comprising radio strength information and verification information characterizing parameter information of the short range beacon;

The master controller is configured to send the wake-up signal and receive the radio signal, establish a communication connection with a short-range beacon to be tracked in the short-range beacons based on the verification information in the radio signal, and send an alarm prompt based on the radio strength information in the radio signal after the communication connection is established, the alarm prompt being used for characterizing the relative positions of the master controller and the short-range beacons to be tracked.

2. The tracking device of claim 1, wherein the tracking device comprises a tracking device,

and if the power of the radio signal transmitted by the short-range beacon to be tracked does not meet the requirement of the communication connection establishment, switching the transmission power of the short-range beacon to be tracked from low to high so as to enable the short-range beacon to be tracked to establish the communication connection with the main controller.

3. The tracking device of claim 2, wherein the tracking device comprises a tracking device,

the short-range beacon to be tracked switches the transmission power from high to low to a preset threshold meeting the requirements of the communication connection establishment based on the radio strength information after the communication connection is established with the main controller and transmits the radio signal at the preset threshold.

4. The tracking device of claim 1, wherein the tracking device comprises a tracking device,

the short-range beacon periodically transmits the radio signal and has a period of not less than 0.1 seconds.

5. The tracking device of claim 1, wherein the tracking device comprises a tracking device,

when the number of the short-range beacons to be tracked is a plurality, the verification information of different short-range beacons to be tracked is different, different wake-up signals correspond to different short-range beacons to be tracked, and the main controller is further configured to select one or more short-range beacons to be tracked from at least one short-range beacon and send wake-up signals corresponding to the short-range beacons to be tracked.

6. The tracking device of claim 1, wherein the tracking device comprises a tracking device,

the main controller comprises a radio unit and a microcontroller unit, wherein the radio unit is configured to send the wake-up signal and receive the radio signal, the microcontroller unit is configured to establish communication connection with the short-range beacon to be tracked through the radio unit based on the verification information in the radio signal, and send the alarm prompt based on the radio intensity information in the radio signal.

7. The tracking device of claim 6, wherein the tracking device,

the main controller also comprises an indication unit, the alarm prompt is prompted by at least one mode of sound, light or vibration through the indication unit, the radio intensity information is the intensity value when the short-range beacon transmits the radio signal, and different radio intensity information corresponds to different alarm prompts.

8. The tracking device of claim 6, wherein the tracking device,

the master controller further comprises an information selection unit configured to select one or more of the short-range beacons to be tracked from at least one of the short-range beacons, the microcontroller unit further configured to send a wake-up signal corresponding to the short-range beacon to be tracked in response to the information selection unit selecting the short-range beacon to be tracked.

9. The tracking device of claim 7, wherein the tracking device,

the wireless sensor system further comprises an acceleration sensing unit and a direction sensing unit, wherein the acceleration sensing unit and the direction sensing unit are attached to or integrated with the target and are respectively and electrically connected with the short-range beacon, the acceleration sensing unit is configured to detect acceleration information of the target relative to the main controller, the direction sensing unit is configured to detect direction information of the target relative to the main controller, and the wireless signal further comprises the acceleration information and the direction information.

10. The tracking device of claim 9, wherein the tracking device comprises a tracking device,

the microcontroller unit is further configured to receive the acceleration information and the direction information via the radio unit and to indicate graphically via the indication unit.

11. The tracking device of claim 9, wherein the tracking device comprises a tracking device,

the short-range beacon includes a transmitting unit configured to transmit the radio signal based on the wake-up signal, a receiving unit configured to receive the wake-up signal, and a processing unit configured to activate the transmitting unit to periodically transmit the radio signal based on the wake-up signal.

12. The tracking device of claim 1, wherein the tracking device comprises a tracking device,

the communication connection mode comprises at least one of Bluetooth, wi-Fi, NFC, UWB and ZigBee.

13. The tracking device of claim 1, wherein the tracking device comprises a tracking device,

the parameter information includes a sequence of the short-range beacon, an identification code, a transmission power, and a transmission period.