MOBILE ELECTRONIC DEVICE EQUIPPED WITH A RADAR

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of mobile electronic devices The present invention is more particularly directed towards a method and computer program product for obtaining additional information in relation to a target in the vicinity of a mobile electronic device as well as such a mobile electronic device

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

In the field of mobile electronic devices, such as cellular phones and other portable communication devices there has been suggested the use of UWB (Ultra Wide Band) frequencies for short range communication between devices

This means that these devices will be provided with antennas and transmission and receiving circuits for operation in this frequency range

However, in relation to this frequency range, there exists another very interesting functionality that can be used, and that is the use of a radar

The present invention is therefore directed towards providing a radar in mobile electronic device

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is therefore directed towards providing a radar in a mobile electronic device

One object of the present invention is to provide a method of obtaining additional information in relation to a target in the vicinity of a mobile electronic device

According to a first aspect of the present invention, this object is achieved by a method for obtaining additional information in relation to a target in the vicinity of a mobile electronic device comprising the following steps being performed in the mobile electronic device

generating at least one pulse, transmitting said pulse, providing an echo detection window in which to detect an echo of said pulse, receiving an echo of said pulse in said window, and processing said received echo pulse for providing processed data

A second aspect of the present invention includes the features of the first aspect and further comprising the step of obtaining data from another source than the echo pulse, combining the data from the other source with data obtained through the processing of said echo pulse and presenting this combined data

A third aspect of the present invention includes the features of the second aspect, wherein said data from another source comprises data associated with the location of the mobile electronic device

A fourth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the third aspect, wherein the processing comprises processing the received echo pulse in order to determine a distance to the target and the presenting comprises presenting the distance to the target

A fifth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the fourth aspect, wherein the step of obtaining data associated with the location of the mobile electronic device comprises providing a view-finder image from the device, the step of processing said received echo pulse comprises determining a position associated with the target and the step of combining comprises combining the position associated with the target with the view-finder image

A sixth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the fifth aspect, wherein the determination of a position associated with the target is based on the location of the antenna and its dispersion

A seventh aspect of the present invention includes the features of the fourth aspect, wherein the step of obtaining data associated with the location of the mobile electronic device comprises providing a position determined for the mobile electronic device and the step of combining comprises determining the location and speed of the target based on

positions of the device obtained via the position determining unit and distances to the target obtained via processed echo pulses

An eighth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the seventh aspect, wherein the determination of the location and speed of the target is based on Doppler analysis

A ninth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the third aspect, wherein the echo pulse provides information embedded in the target and the step of processing the echo pulse comprises processing this echo pulse in order to obtain said information

A tenth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the ninth aspect, wherein the step of providing data associated with the location of the mobile electronic device comprises capturing an image by this device and the step of combining comprises combining a captured image covering the target having said information embedded in the target

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile electronic device that includes a radar

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, this object is achieved by a mobile electronic device comprising a radar unit for operation in a certain frequency range including a pulse generating unit, a transmitting and receiving antenna, an echo detecting unit, a timing unit for timing the generation and transmission of pulses and providing an echo detection window for the echo detecting unit to detect echoes of said pulses when being reflected by a target, and a signal processing unit configured to process received echo pulses

A twelfth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the eleventh aspect, further comprising at least one other unit providing data, a data combining unit configured to combine data from the signal processing unit and said other unit as well as an information presenting unit configured to present the combined data

A thirteenth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the twelfth aspect, wherein said other unit includes at least one location data providing unit configured to provide data associated with the location of the mobile electronic device

A fourteenth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the thirteenth aspect, wherein the signal processing unit is configured to process the received echo pulses in order to determine a distance to the target and the information presenting unit is further configured to present the distance to the target

A fifteenth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the fourteenth aspect, wherein the information presenting unit is a display and one location data providing unit is an image capturing unit providing data associated with the location of the mobile electronic device in the form of digital images, the signal processing unit is configured to determine a position associated with the target and the combining unit is configured to combine the position associated with the target with a view-finder image from the image capturing unit to be presented by the information presenting unit

A sixteenth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the fifteenth aspect, wherein the signal processing unit is configured to determine the dispersion of the antenna and determine a position associated with the target to be to be displayed on the display based on the location of the antenna and its dispersion

A seventeenth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the thirteenth aspect, wherein one location data providing unit is a position determining unit for determining the position of the mobile electronic device and the data combining unit is configured to determine the location and speed of the target based on positions of the device obtained via the position determining unit and distances to the target obtained via the signal processing unit

An eighteenth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the seventeenth aspect, wherein the data combining unit is configured to determine the location and speed of the target based on Doppler analysis

A nineteenth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the twelfth aspect, wherein the echo pulses provide information embedded in the target and the signal processing unit is configured to process the echo pulses in order to obtain said information

A twentieth aspect of the present invention includes the features of the nineteenth aspect, wherein the information presenting unit is a display and one location data providing unit is an image capturing unit providing data associated with the location of the mobile electronic device in the form of digital images and the data combining unit combines an image captured by the image capturing unit covering the target having said information embedded in the target

A twenty-first aspect of the present invention includes the features of the eleventh aspect, wherein it is a portable electronic device

A twenty-second aspect of the present invention includes the features of the twenty-first aspect, wherein it is a portable communication device

A twenty-third aspect of the present invention includes the features of the twenty-second aspect, wherein it is a mobile phone

A twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention is directed towards providing a mobile electronic device for obtaining additional information in relation to a target in the vicinity of this device comprising means for generating at least one pulse, means for transmitting said pulse, means for providing an echo detection window in which to detect an echo of said pulse, receiving an echo of said pulse in said window, and means for processing said received echo pulse for providing processed data

Another object of the present invention is to provide a computer program product that enables the provision of a radar in a mobile electronic device

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, this object is achieved by a computer program product for obtaining additional information in relation to a target in the

vicinity of a mobile electronic device and comprising computer program code to make a mobile electronic device to, when said code is loaded into the mobile electronic device order the generation of at least one pulse, order the transmission of said pulse, order the provision of an echo detection window in which to detect an echo of said pulse, for receiving an echo of said pulse in said window, and process said received echo pulse for providing processed data

The present invention has many advantages By providing a radar in a mobile electronic device, a number of interesting new functions that can be provided in a mobile electronic device can be obtained Since mobile electronic devices nowadays include a number of different applications, there are several interesting combinations that can be made A radar may for instance be combined with a camera, a microphone or a positioning application Since the present invention intends to use components provided for UWB communication and other optional units, like camera and GPS, are already provided in many mobile electronic devices, the additional costs associated with providing the present invention is in essence only the costs associated with providing some additional software and a good clock for timing purposes

It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which

fig 1 schematically shows a front view of a mobile electronic device according to the present invention in the form of a mobile phone, fig 2 shows a block schematic of different units provided in the phone for implementing the present invention in relation to a target, fig 3 shows a flow chart of a number of method steps for processing an echo signal according to the present invention carried out in the phone,

fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a method of combining the processed echo signal with location dependent data according to a first embodiment of the present invention, fig. 5 shows a flow chart of a method of combining the processed echo signal with location dependent data according to a second embodiment of the present invention, fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a method of combining the processed echo signal with location dependent data according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 7 schematically shows a computer program product in the form of a CD Rom disc comprising computer program code for carrying out the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a mobile electronic device that is provided with an UWB (Ultra Wide Band) radar. The radar uses the Ultra Wide Band frequency range, which range may be between 3.1 GHz and 10.6 GHz.

In fig. 1 there is shown a view of a mobile electronic device in the form of a portable communication device 10, which in fig. 1 is exemplified as a mobile phone. In order to allow a user to control various functions of the phone 10, like a camera, a GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation unit, web browser, messaging applications etc. (not shown), the phone 10 includes an information presenting unit in the form of a display 14 and a set of user input units in the form of a number of keys on a keypad 12. The phone 10 may furthermore be provided with a speaker and a microphone (not shown). A mobile phone is just one example of a mobile electronic device. The invention is in no way limited to this type of device, but can be applied on other types of devices, for instance a smartphone and a communicator or other portable electronic devices like a lap top computer, a palm top computer an electronic organizer, digital camera, camcorder or and electronic gaming machine. The mobile communication device may also be provided as an integral part of a vehicle, like a car or a truck.

Fig. 2 shows a block schematic of the device 10. The phone 10 includes a radar unit 19 configured to operate in a certain frequency range, which may be the UWB frequency range. The radar unit 19 is preferably stationary, i.e. it is fixedly attached in the phone 10. It may be turned in different directions through orienting the device 10 in different directions when a user holds it. The radar unit 19, which is indicated by a dashed box, comprises a pulse generating unit 20, which is selectably connected to a transmitting and

receiving antenna 26 via a switch 32 An echo detecting unit 22 is also selectably connected to the antenna 26 via the switch 32 A timing unit 24 is connected to both the pulse generating unit 20, the echo receiving unit 22 and to a signal processing unit 28 The timing unit 24 furthermore controls the switch 32 so that it either connects the pulse generating unit 20 or the echo detecting unit 22 with the antenna 26 In operation the pulse generating unit 20 of the radar unit 19 emits radar pulses P that are transmitted by antenna 26, which pulses are reflected by a target 34 as echo pulses E and detected by echo detecting unit 22 in an echo detection window provided by the timing unit 24 The signal processing unit 28 is also connected to both the echo detecting unit 22 and the pulse generating unit 20

The signal processing unit 28 is furthermore connected to a data combining unit 30 The data combining unit 30 is in turn connected to application handling units 16 and 18, which application handling units are other units than the radar unit that are sources of data The data providing units may be location data providing units that provide data associated with the location of the device 10 A first such data providing unit may be an image capturing unit in the form of a camera 16, while a second may be a position determining unit in the form of a GPS unit 18 The combining unit 30 is furthermore connected to both the display 14 and the keypad 12

The camera 16 may include a lens connected to a digital image receiving unit, which converts a projected image into a digital picture This unit may be a CCD unit The digital image receiving unit may also be connected to an image store and to a camera control unit Through the camera a view-finder image may be provided on the display 14 The camera may also provide a captured digital image on the display 14

Fig 3 shows a flow chart outlining a number of method steps providing the general processing of an echo These steps are according to the present invention carried out in the radar unit The general function of the radar unit will now be described with reference being made to fig 2 and 3

It all starts with a radar application being selected, which radar application is controlled via the signal processing unit 28 A radar application can be combined with a lot of the other applications of the phone 10, where some will be described in more detail later A radar application can be used in order to for instance perform distance measurements, collision

warning, fluid level detection, intruder detection as well as ground and wall penetration As a radar application is selected, the signal handling unit 28 orders the timing unit 24 to provide an echo detection window, step 36 This makes the timing unit 24 connect the pulse generating unit 20 to the antenna 26 using switch 32 and orders the pulse generating unit 20 to generate a radar pulse P step 38 which is transmitted via the antenna 26 in a direction determined by the orientation of the phone 10, step 40 The timing unit 24 then controls the switch 32 to connect the echo detecting unit 22 to the antenna during the echo detection window Thereafter the echo detecting unit 22 is disconnected from the antenna If an echo E of the transmitted pulse P is received by the echo detecting unit 22, this echo E will be forwarded to the signal processing unit 28 If no echo was received, step 42, the signal processing unit 28 orders the timing unit 24 to adjust the echo detection window, step 44, which is followed by the generation of a pulse, step 38, the transmission of said pulse, step 40, and again determining if an echo was received, step 42 If an echo E is received, step 42, the signal processing unit 28 processes the echo E based on the type of application the radar 19 is operating according to, step 46 It may for instance determine a distance to the target 34 based on the time between the transmission of the pulse P and the reception of the echo E It may also process the echo E in order to obtain some information embedded in the target, for instance a bar code that may be an URL (Uniform Resource Locator) The results of the processing may then be presented by the signal processing unit 28 to a user of the device 10 via the display 14

As mentioned earlier there are a number of different applications that may with advantage be combined with a radar Three non-limiting examples will now be given

Fig 4 shows a flow chart of a method of combining the processed echo with data associated with the location of the device according to a first embodiment of the present invention

The first embodiment will now be described with reference to fig 2 and 4 A user may according to this first embodiment select to combine the data from the radar unit 19 with the view-finder of the camera 16 The selection may with advantage be received via the keypad 12, which selection is forwarded to the combining unit 30 The combining unit 30 will, when receiving such a user selection, connect to the camera 16 and order it to provide a view-finder image, step 48 In response thereto the camera 16 supplies a view-

finder image to the combining unit 30. The combining unit 30 then orders the radar unit 19 to detect a target 34, to determine the dispersion of the antenna and perform some further processing. This dispersion is typically determined by the signal processing unit 28 through analysing the received echo E. Based on this dispersion and the distance of the 5 target 34, the signal processing unit 28 determines a position of the target 34 in an image plane associated with the device 10. The result is then forwarded to the combining unit 30. The combining unit 30 has previous knowledge of the position of the antenna and the position of the lens of the camera 16 in the device 10 and relates the position of the target 34 to a position in the view-finder image based on this knowledge. In this way a position of

10 the target in the view-finder image is determined, step 50. The combining unit 30 then provides a target symbol, which it combines with the view-finder image, step 52, and thereafter presents this combined view-finder image and target symbol on the display 14, step 54. It should here be realised that this may with advantage be combined with also presenting the distance to the target, which distance may be determined by the signal

15 processing unit 28 in the earlier described way.

Fig. 5 shows a flow chart of a method of combining the processed echo with data associated with the location of the device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

20

The second embodiment will now be described with reference to fig. 2 and 5. A user may according to this second embodiment select to use the radar in a function combining the radar unit 19 with the GPS unit 18. The selection of this function may with advantage be received via the keypad 12, which selection is forwarded to the combining unit 30. The

25 combining unit 30 will, when receiving such a user selection, connect to the GPS unit 18 and order it to provide positions of the device 10. The positions are here obtained in ordinary fashion by receiving these positions from a GPS system via a GPS antenna of the GPS unit 18. The positions are then forwarded from the GPS unit 18 to the combining unit 30, which in this way obtains them, step 56. The combining unit also orders the radar

30 unit 19 to provide distance measurements to the target 34, which goes on and provides distance measurements in the previously described way, and supplies them to the combining unit 30. In this way the combining unit 30 therefore also obtains distances to the target 34, step 58. The combining unit 30 then determines the position and speed of the target, step 60. This is done through determining the speed and location of the device

35 10 using the positions obtained from the GPS unit and changing them based on the

distances of the target 34 obtained at different points in time and through applying Doppler analysis. The combining unit 30 then presents the position and speed of the target 34, step 62, which may with advantage be carried out using the display 14. This type of functionality may with advantage be provided for a vehicle in order to determine the distance and speed of another vehicle.

Fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a method of combining the processed echo with data associated with the location of the device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The third embodiment will now be described with reference to fig. 2 and 6. A user may according to this third embodiment select to combine data from the radar unit 19 with an image captured by the camera 16. The selection may with advantage be received via the keypad 12, which selection is forwarded to the combining unit 30. The combining unit 30 will, when receiving such a user selection, connect to the camera 16 and order it to capture an image, step 64. At the same time it will order the radar unit 19 to detect information embedded in a target 34. Here the target 34 may be provided behind the image and have a radar tag embedded in it. The target 34 is here covered by the image, i.e. it is not visible from the device 10. It may also be almost as large as the image. The target may here be provided through a material combination having different qualities regarding how well theses materials absorb and reflect radar waves. The radar unit 19 therefore emits a pulse P, which gets reflected by the target 34 in one or more echo signals E. This/these is/are then received by the echo detecting unit 22. The echo signal(s) E will then be provided to the signal processing unit 28, which in turn processes it/them so that the information provided in it/them is obtained, step 66. The processed result is then provided to the combining unit 30, which may determine the type of information, like for instance if it is a URL and present it together with the image. The combing unit 30 may here present the image together with a hyperlink to an URL associated with the image, step 68. It is here possible that the URL is not seen, but can be selected by the user clicking on the image. Alternatively the URL may be provided in a window separate from the image. In this way further information in relation to an image can be obtained. In this way the image is aesthetically more pleasing since the functional but less pleasing additional information is hidden.

There are a number of variations that can be made to the present invention apart from the ones already mentioned It is possible to use other units than a camera and a GPS unit, like a microphone It is for instance possible to use and provide a distance and direction to a sound source through combining information from the sound received by a directional microphone and the echo detected by a radar The position may furthermore be determined using other means than GPS It is for instance possible to use tπangulation in relation to a number of access points, like base stations, WLAN access points and Bluetooth access points

The present invention opens up a number of interesting applications, where just a few were mentioned above There are several further applications that can be combined with a radar Since mobile electronic devices nowadays include a number of different applications, there are several interesting combinations that can be made

The present invention also has a number of further advantages Since the present invention intends to use components provided for UWB communication, which as mentioned above will be used in short-range communication and the other units, like camera and GPS, are also already provided in many mobile electronic devices, the additional costs associated with providing the present invention is in essence only the costs associated with providing some additional software and a good clock as a timing unit that measures time in a precise manner

The combing and signal processing units in the phone are normally each provided in the form of one or more processors together with a program memory store containing program code for performing the functions of these units and ordering the application handling units, timing unit, pulse generating unit, and echo detecting unit to perform their above described functions This program code can also be provided on a computer program product, like a CD ROM disc, a memory stick or another suitable data carrier, which performs the invention when being loaded into the device One such medium is schematically shown in fig 7, which shows a CD ROM disc 70, on which the program code for the phone may be provided The program code may furthermore be provided on an external server and downloaded from there into the camera and/or the phone

Therefore the present invention is only to be limited by the following claims