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EP-4742703-A1 - A TRACKING DEVICE

EP4742703A1EP 4742703 A1EP4742703 A1EP 4742703A1EP-4742703-A1

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a tracking device (100) for transmitting electronic messages (O), wherein the tracking device (100) comprises a logic unit (10) and a sender unit (20), wherein the logic unit (10) is configured for generating a bitstream (B) by decoding a device information of the tracking device (100) and providing the bitstream (B) to the sender unit (20), wherein the sender unit (20) is configured for receiving the bitstream (B), generating an electronic message (O) by modulating the bitstream (B) and transmitting the electronic message (O), wherein all of the units of the tracking device (100) consist of discrete elements.

Inventors

  • GRONOSTAY, Heiko

Assignees

  • Alps Alpine Europe GmbH

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241111

Claims (15)

  1. A tracking device (100) for transmitting electronic messages (O), wherein the tracking device (100) comprises a logic unit (10) and a sender unit (20); wherein the logic unit (10) is configured for generating a bitstream (B) by decoding a device information of the tracking device (100) and providing the bitstream (B) to the sender unit (20); wherein the sender unit (20) is configured for receiving the bitstream (B), generating an electronic message (O) by modulating the bitstream (B) and transmitting the electronic message (O); wherein all of the units of the tracking device (100) consist of discrete elements.
  2. The tracking device (100) of claim 1, wherein the discrete elements comprise transistors and passive electronic elements.
  3. The tracking device (100) according to claim 1 and 2, wherein the discrete elements of the tracking device (100) are printed elements.
  4. The tracking device (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the logic unit (10) is configured for generating the bitstream (B) periodically and/or by an external trigger.
  5. The tracking device (100) of claim 4, wherein the external trigger comprises actuating a button (30) of the tracking device (100) and/or triggering a tracking device (100) related event.
  6. The tracking device (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the logic unit (10) comprises a memory (14), a counter (13) and a decoder (11), wherein the memory (14) is configured for storing memory data comprising the device information, wherein the counter (13) is configured for providing a program counter and wherein the decoder (11) is configured for generating the bitstream (B) using the memory data the memory (14) and the program counter of the counter (13).
  7. The tracking device (100) of claim 6, wherein the decoder (11) comprises a plurality of logic sub-unit (S1-S12) and an OR element (3); wherein the plurality of logic sub-unit (S1-S12) is configured for providing at least one bit input to the OR element (3) based on the program counter and the memory data; wherein the plurality of logic sub-unit (S1-S12) comprises at least one AND element (1) and at least one inverter element (2); wherein the OR element (3) is configured for outputting the bitstream (B) based on the bit input.
  8. The tracking device (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sender unit (20) comprises a carrier oscillator (22) and a modulator (21), wherein the carrier oscillator (22) is configured for providing a carrier signal to the modulator (21) and the modulator (21) is configured for modulating the bitstream (B) using the carrier signal of the carrier oscillator (22).
  9. The tracking device (100) of claim 8, wherein the carrier oscillator (22) is a discrete ring oscillator comprising an odd number of inverter elements (2).
  10. The tracking device (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the modulator (21) is configured for performing a binary modulation using two states of the bitstreams (B), wherein the binary modulation is a binary phase modulation or a binary amplitude modulation.
  11. The tracking device (100) of claim 10, wherein the binary phase modulation is a Binary Phase Shift Keying, BPSK modulation and the binary amplitude modulation is an On-Off Keying, OOK modulation.
  12. The tracking device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tracking device (100) is configured for providing a unidirectional communication.
  13. The tracking device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sender unit (20) is configured for using Sigfox protocol.
  14. The tracking device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tracking device (100) comprises less than 5,000 transistors.
  15. A method for transmitting electronic messages (O) by a tracking device (100), wherein the tracking device (100) comprises a logic unit (10) and a sender unit (20), wherein the method comprises: generating, by the logic unit (10), a bitstream (B) by decoding a device information of the tracking device (100) and providing the bitstream (B) to the sender unit (20); generating and transmitting, by the sender unit (20), an electronic message (O).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a tracking device for asset tracking. BACKGROUND ART With growing demand for efficient asset tracking, existing devices often require complex and costly infrastructure. Many current devices are not only expensive, but also complicated, making them less accessible for wider use. Tracking devices using affordable technologies such as Bluetooth and Near Field Communication, NFC, are limited by their short-range radio capabilities and still rely on dedicated, costly infrastructure. Meanwhile, tracking devices with long-range radio capabilities do not meet the price points required for low-cost asset tracking. This highlights the need for a tracking device that offers long range, radio capabilities without the complexity and cost of traditional systems yet remains affordable. SUMMARY The problem is at least partially solved or alleviated by the subject matter of the independent claims of the present disclosure, wherein further examples being included in the dependent claims. According to a first aspect, there is provided a tracking device for transmitting electronic messages, wherein the tracking device comprises a logic unit and sender unit, wherein the logic unit is configured for generating a bitstream by decoding a device information of the tracking device and providing the bitstream to the sender unit, wherein the sender unit is configured for receiving the bitstream, generating an electronic message by modulating the bitstream and transmitting the electronic message, wherein all of the units of the tracking device consist of discrete elements. Instead of using relatively expensive and complex microcontroller in the tracking device, all the units of the tracking device are made of discrete elements. Particularly, the logic unit of the tracking device instead of using microcontroller IC and software, are implemented using discrete elements. Thus, this configuration provides a tracking device with low complexity and significant low productions cost. The electronic message may comprise data or information generated, processed or transmitted by a tracking device. The electronic message may specifically include information through variations in amplitude, frequency, or phase. In particular, the electronic message may be a signal. The signal may be either a continuous analogue signal that varies over time or a sequence of discrete values, typically in the form of binary data. The continuous analogue signal may correspond to at least one physical quantity that it represents, wherein it may be continuous in time and amplitude and may take any value within a given range at any point in time. The sequence of discrete values may particularly correspond to voltage levels in the tracking device. Transmitting the electronic message may involve wirelessly transmitting the message through an antenna of the tracking device to receivers within a transmission range, wherein wirelessly may specifically include using radio waves and/or electromagnetic waves. Additionally, the transmitting the electronic message may involve transmitting the electronic message using light waves through optical fibers. The bitstream may comprise a continuous sequence of bits or binary digits generated, processed or transmitted. Each individual bit of the bitstream may represent the smallest unit of digital information, where the bits may represent a binary value of 0 or 1. The bits of the bitstream may include digital data, such as text, images, audio, video, or control information. The bitstream may be transmitted serially, where serial transmission may involve sending the bits one after another over a single channel. The logic unit may be the unit of the tracking device where the bitstream is generated. The Sender unit may be the unit of the tracking device where the bitstream is received, modulated, and transmitted by the sender unit, wherein the sender unit may be a radio front-end. The device information used by the logic unit for generating the bitstream may specifically comprise a device information assigned to the tracking device or a component information assigned to at least one component within the tracking device, wherein the device information and/or the component information may be stored in a memory. In general, a discrete element may refer to an individual electronic component or device that performs a basic logic function, typically at the level of binary logic (0 or 1). Discrete element may be separate entities that can be combined in various ways to form complex digital circuits. Discrete elements may include logic gates, flip-flops, counters, registers, decoders, encoders, multiplexers, and demultiplexers. Discrete element may include basic building blocks such as AND, OR, and NOT elements, etc. The flip-flop elements may be used to store binary information or to activate another element. The counters may be used to count pulses or events and run a program. The registers may tem