CN-122028168-A - Method for estimating a current geographical area of a device

Abstract

A method for estimating a current geographic region of a device is described herein, the method comprising (i) receiving a first signal at a first radio frequency in a first geographic region, (ii) determining a value of the first radio frequency and a value of a first characteristic parameter of the first signal, (iii) providing a value of a second radio frequency of a second signal and a correlation value of a second characteristic parameter of the second signal, and wherein a combination of the two values is correlated with a second geographic region, (iv) comparing the determined value of the first radio frequency with the value of the second radio frequency and comparing the value of the first characteristic parameter with the value of the second characteristic parameter, (v) estimating whether the device is located in the second geographic region based on the comparison.

Inventors

• ANDREAS GRUBER
• Ma Qin Thomas. Bavorsky

Assignees

• 恩智浦有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20251014

Priority Date

20241112

Claims (10)

1. 1. A method for estimating a current geographical area of an apparatus (200), characterized in that the apparatus (200) comprises a transmitting and receiving unit (210), the transmitting and receiving unit (210) being configured for transmitting and receiving signals at radio frequencies, and an analyzing unit (220), wherein the method comprises: Receiving, by the transmitting and receiving unit (210) of the apparatus (200), a first signal at a first radio frequency in a first geographical area; Determining, by the analysis unit (220), a value of the first radio frequency and a value of a first characteristic parameter of the first signal; Providing from a database a value of a second radio frequency of a second signal and a correlation value of a second characteristic parameter of the second signal, and wherein a combination of the two values is correlated with a second geographical area; comparing, by the analysis unit (220), the determined value of the first radio frequency with the value of the second radio frequency and comparing the value of the first characteristic parameter with the value of the second characteristic parameter; estimating, by the analysis unit (220), whether the device (200) is located in the second geographical area based on the comparison.
2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the estimating is performed only if the value of the first radio frequency is at least substantially the same as the value of the second radio frequency based on the comparing.
3. 3. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the receiving of the first signals is performed repeatedly and continuously at predetermined time intervals, and wherein the estimating is performed for each of the received first signals.
4. 4. The method of any of the preceding claims, further comprising determining a probability that the apparatus (200) is located in the second geographical area based on the estimation.
5. 5. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein determining the value of the first characteristic parameter comprises applying demodulation to the received first signal.
6. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein applying the demodulation comprises applying at least one of the group consisting of phase shift keying PSK, frequency shift keying FSK, gaussian frequency shift keying GFSK, amplitude shift keying ASK, on-off keying OOK, and binary phase shift keying BPSK.
7. 7. An apparatus (200), characterized in that the apparatus (200) is configured to perform the method according to any of the preceding claims.
8. 8. The apparatus (200) of claim 7, comprising: A transmitting and receiving unit (210), the transmitting and receiving unit (210) being configured for receiving a first signal at a value of a first radio frequency in a first geographical area; a data storage device in which a database having a plurality of signal data each including a combination of a value of a radio frequency and a value of a characteristic parameter associated with a geographical area is stored; an analysis unit (220), the analysis unit (220) being configured to: Determining a value of the first radio frequency and a value of a first characteristic parameter of the first signal; Providing from a database a value of a second radio frequency of a second signal and a correlation value of a second characteristic parameter of the second signal, and wherein a combination of the two values is correlated with a second geographical area; comparing the determined value of the first radio frequency with the value of the second radio frequency and comparing the value of the first characteristic parameter with the value of the second characteristic parameter; Estimating whether the device (200) is located in the second geographic region based on the comparison.
9. 9. The apparatus (200) of claim 8, comprising a control unit (230), the control unit (230) being configured to initiate transmission of a radio frequency signal at an allowed frequency based on the estimation.
10. 10. A computer program comprising instructions, characterized in that the instructions have the effect of causing an apparatus (200) according to any one of claims 7 to 9 to perform the method steps according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

Description

Method for estimating a current geographical area of a device Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a method for estimating a current geographical area of a device, a device and a computer program. The present disclosure may thus relate to the field of tracking devices in different geographical areas. Background In modern production supply chains, components or subassemblies are typically transported across different continents, i.e., across different geographic areas. Thus, throughout the logistics chain, so-called "real-time tracking" is intended to be achieved. This means that the transported component can be positioned at any time or repeatedly at preset intervals. It is known to determine a location by using, for example, the Global Positioning System (GPS). However, there are situations where the positioning determination via GPS is not functional, for example if no GPS receiver is arranged at the component. For this reason, the transmitting or sending unit is arranged in the assembly, a tray transporting the assembly or a plastic container. To track less valuable components, a transmitter-only solution may be used, where the zone of a given component may be estimated several times per day, for example, by base stations of a known Sigfox network, which Sigfox network utilizes received signal strength and trilateration for this purpose. This allows the use of a low power tracker with a long-lasting battery. However, at different continents, i.e. at different geographical areas, different rules for using industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio frequencies or radio frequency bands may be applied. For example, different bands may be assigned for unlicensed operation of the ISM band. In other words, it is possible that, on one continent, a certain frequency band is unlicensed for use of ISM operation, while on another continent, the same frequency band is used for another application and is not unlicensed, or the frequency band is not dedicated to ISM operation. One example may be where in the united states, the frequency of 915 MHz is issued for license-exempt operation, while in europe, this frequency is only available to license owners (e.g., mobile phone providers, terrestrial television providers). In contrast, for ISM applications, a band of about 868 MHz is unlicensed in europe, but in the united states, this band is dedicated to licensed mobile telephone communications. Transmitting at a frequency that is not specific to the ISM application will interfere with operation of licensed users and may even be disabled by law. An organization called the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is responsible for defining regions in the world and the frequency bands that are allowed to be used in each of the regions. Such zones may then be named, for example, ITU zones 1 (e.g., europe), 2 (e.g., the united states), or 3. Disclosure of Invention It may be desirable to provide an efficient and reliable method for estimating the current geographical area of a device in situations where positioning signals, e.g. based on GPS signals, cannot be used. A method, an apparatus and a computer program are provided. According to a first aspect of the disclosure, a method, e.g. a computer-implemented method, for estimating a current geographical area of an apparatus is described, wherein the apparatus comprises a transmitting and receiving unit configured for transmitting and receiving signals at radio frequencies, e.g. in the radio frequency range, and an analyzing unit, wherein the method comprises (i) receiving a first signal at a first radio frequency in a first geographical area by the transmitting and receiving unit of the apparatus, (ii) determining a value of the first radio frequency and a value of a first characteristic parameter of the first signal by the analyzing unit, (iii) providing a value of a second radio frequency of a second signal from a database and a correlation value of a second characteristic parameter of the second signal, and wherein a combination of these two values is correlated with a second geographical area, (iv) comparing the determined value of the first radio frequency with the value of the second radio frequency by the analyzing unit and comparing the value of the first characteristic parameter with the value of the second characteristic parameter, and (V) analyzing unit based on whether the comparing is located in the second geographical area of the apparatus. According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus configured to perform the method of the first aspect is described. According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program is described comprising instructions having the effect of causing an apparatus of the second aspect to perform the method steps of the method of the first aspect. In the context of the present disclosure, the term "radio frequency" relates to high frequency electromagnetic waves, the high frequency