# US 2013/0157713 A1 · Cap-lamp and communications support system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2013/0157713 A1 - Document ID: US20130157713A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/371,470 - Filed: 2012-02-12 - Published: 2013-06-20 - Earliest claimed: 2008-11-20 - Assignees: Stolar, Inc. - Inventors: Larry G. Stolarczyk - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130157713A1 ## CPC - H04M 1/026: {Details of the structure or mounting of specific components} - G08B 21/02: Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons - G08B 21/0275: {Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS] tag technology used for parent or child unit, e.g. same transmission technology, magnetic tag, RF tag, RFID} - G08B 21/0291: {Housing and user interface of child unit} - H01Q 1/2208: {associated with components used in interrogation type services, i.e. in systems for information exchange between an interrogator/reader and a tag/transponder, e.g. in Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] systems (methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns G06K7/00; record carrier for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00)} - H01Q 1/44: using equipment having another main function to serve additionally as an antenna {, e.g. means for giving an antenna an aesthetic aspect}(H01Q1/27 - H01Q1/34 take precedence) - H01Q 21/30: Combinations of separate antenna units operating in different wavebands and connected to a common feeder system - H04B 5/45: Transponders - H04B 5/77: for interrogation - H01Q 1/2291: {used in Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi® devices of Wireless Local Area Networks [WLAN] (H01Q1/241 takes precedence; WLAN in general H04W)} - H04B 5/26: using coils - H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08) - G08B: SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS - H01Q: ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS (radiators or antennas for microwave heating H05B6/72) - H04B: TRANSMISSION ## Abstract An underground radio communications and personnel tracking system uses a cap-lamp worn by a miner when underground in a mine. A cap-lamp transceiver provides voice and text communication on ultra-low frequency (ULF) to ultra-high frequency (UHF) carrier frequencies and modulation adapted by programming of a software defined radio to making selective and agile radio contacts via through-the-earth, conductor/lifeline, coal seam, tunnel, and ionosphere/earth-surface waveguides for transmission of electromagnetic waves. These waveguides comprise layered earth coal and mineral deposits, and manmade mining complex infrastructures which serendipitously form efficient waveguides. Ultra-Low Frequency F1/F1 repeaters are placed underground in the mine, and providing for extended range of communication of the cap-lamp transceiver with radios and tracking devices above ground of the mine. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A cap-lamp and communications support system, comprising: a hard plastic shell (1502) on which are directly mounted an LED lamp (1504) and a rechargeable battery (1506); a radio transceiver (1508) mounted to the hard plastic shell and powered by the rechargeable battery, and configured to provide two-way voice, data, and SMS text communications underground in a mine; a brim-mounted, air-core vertical magnetic dipole (VMD) antenna (1510) connected to the radio transceiver and capable of coupling radio signals into a mine communications network (1516); and a passive RFID disk transponder (1512) for providing electronic, wireless identification of a registered miner associated with the cap-lamp. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The cap-lamp and communications support system of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of passive RFID disk transponders (1514) for stationing at fixed, surveyed locations throughout a mine and which are encoded with location information that can be read-in through the VMD antenna and transceiver, wherein such information is interpretable to inform a miner wearing the cap-lamp where they are in the mine. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The cap-lamp and communications support system of claim 1, further comprising: a transponder reader (1518) for querying the passive RFID disk transponder (1512) such that any miners wearing the cap-lamp that pass by can be automatically identified and transparently logged in. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The cap-lamp and communications support system of claim 1, wherein is provided a multi-network cap-lamp with a multi-mode transceiver for voice, synthetic voice, and text messaging via a coal seam waveguide, a conductor/lifeline waveguide, a tunnel waveguide, other radio communication medium and pathway channels automatically selected and preferred according to their current ability to support a particular communication session. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The cap-lamp and communications support system of claim 1, further comprising: a mine management controller (104) configured for automatic mutual communication through various ever-changing media channels available to them including an ionosphere-earth waveguide (106), a layered earth waveguide (107), a coal seam waveguide (108), a conductor/lifeline waveguide (109), and a tunnel waveguide (110); wherein, the cap-lamp transceiver (1508) is configured for voice and text communications on ultra-low frequency (ULF) to ultra-high frequency (UHF) carrier frequencies using kinds of modulation that instantaneously favor at least a particular one of the ionosphere-earth waveguide (106), layered earth waveguide (107), a coal seam waveguide, a conductor/lifeline waveguide, a tunnel waveguide, other radio communication medium and pathway channels automatically selected. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The cap-lamp and communications support system of claim 1, wherein: the transceiver (1508) is configured to periodically burst a radio wave to power-up and then listen to a reply from nearby passive reverse radio frequency identification (RFID) tags (1514) integrated with a lifeline waveguide (109); and said periodic bursts are detectable by Fox Hunter direction finding antennas when locating downed and trapped miners. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The cap-lamp and communications support system of claim 1, further comprising: an intrinsically safe (IS) vertical magnetic dipole (VMD) antenna and F1/F1 through-the-earth (TTE) transceiver repeater, wherein a phase coherent array of resonant VMD antenna elements each have a circuit-Q of less than unity.