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US 5,117,501 AGranted
Dynamic regrouping in a trunked radio communications system
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsJeffrey S. Childress, David L. Hattey
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AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsJeffrey S. Childress, David L. Hattey
Estimating the term…
In a trunked radio frequency communications system, a dynamic regrouping scheme includes an effective user interface, automatic support of multi-site systems, the capability to program individual radio transceivers with multiple new groups dynamically, a fast rate of reconfiguration, instantaneous switch over to prevent radios from residing in immature groups, and a satisfactory mode of operation should the site controller (or site controllers in non-fault tolerant systems) fail. Some of the dynamic regrouping features includes unlimited prestored plans and source and destination groups per plan, regrouping at the plan or destination group level, an advanced user interface, automatic support of multiple sites, fast regrouping at the rate of over 30 radios per second while reducing loading on the system control channel, and fast activation/deactivation. Each plan can be immediately activated or deactivated and users are effectively regrouped together. An alternate control channel is used to regroup transceivers to avoid undue main control channel loading and to increase rate of regrouping.
A method of dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system comprising:
A method of dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system of the type having a digital control channel, said method comprising:
A method of dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system of the type having digital control channel, said method comprising:
A method of dynamically regrouping RF transceivers in a trunked radio repeater system including the steps of:
A method of dynamically regrouping RF transceivers in a trunked radio repeater system including at least one group of RF transceivers, including the steps of:
A method of dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system comprising:
A method of dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system comprising:
A method of dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system comprising:
A method of dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system comprising:
A method of dynamic regrouping in a trunked radio communications systems comprising the steps of:
A method of deactivating a dynamic regrouping in a trunked radio communications system comprising:
A trunked radio communications system including dynamic regrouping capability comprising;
Apparatus for dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system of the type having a digital control channel, said apparatus comprising:
Apparatus for dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system of the type having digital control channel comprising:
A trunked radio repeater system including:
A system for dynamically regrouping RF transceivers in a trunked radio communications arrangement including at least one group of RF transceivers, including:
An arrangement for dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system comprising:
Equipment for dynamically regrouping radio transceivers in a trunked radio communications system comprising:
A radio transceiver of the type that operates in a trunked radio communications system, said transceiver comprising:
A digital mobile radio communications system comprising;
A digital mobile radio transceiver comprising;
A trunked radio communications system comprising:
A method of dynamically regrouping digital radio transceivers comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
Large scale networks; Deep hierarchical networks: trunked mobile radio systems
Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective…:…
For selective distribution or broadcast: for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services
Wireless communication networks
Term ended 26 May 2009 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
This application is related to commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 085,663 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,321 filed on Aug. 14, 1987 entitled "Radio Trunking Fault Detection System". This application is also related to the following commonly-assigned U.S. patent applications all filed on Jun. 3, 1987: application Ser. No. 056,922 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,302 of Childress et al entitled "Trunked Radio Repeater System"; Application Ser. No. 057,046 of Childress et al entitled "Failsoft Architecture for Public Trunking System"; Application Ser. No. 056,924 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,292 of Childress entitled "Adaptive Limiter/Detector Which Changes Time Constant Upon Detection of Dotting Pattern"; Application Ser. No. 056,923 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,234 of Childress et al entitled "Apparatus and Method for Transmitting Digital Data Over a Radio Communications Channel". This application is also related to the following commonly-assigned copending applications filed on Aug. 14, 1987: Application Serial No. 085,572 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,731 of Nazarenko et al entitled "Processor-to-Processor Communications Protocol for a Public Service Trunking System"; Application Ser. No. 085,490 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,262 of Dissosway et al entitled "Mobile Radio Interface"; and application Ser. No. 085,491 of Cole et al entitled "A Method for Infrequent Radio Users to Simply Obtain Emergency Assistance". This application is also related to U.S. application Ser. No. 181,441 filed Oct. 7, 1987, 1988 entitled "Signalling Protocol for a Trunked Radio Repeater System". The disclosures of each of those related copending patent applications are incorporated by reference herein.
This invention is generally directed to the art of trunked radio repeater systems. It is more particularly directed to a trunked radio repeater system arrangement and method which permits individual and groups of mobile radio units to be dynamically regrouped to allow communications between units which cannot normally communicate with one another.
Radio repeater trunking (time sharing of a single repeater communications channel among many users) is well-known. Early trunking systems used analog control signals while some more recent systems have utilized digital control signals. Control signals have been utilized on a dedicated control channel and/or on different ones of the working channels for various different reasons and effects. A non-exhaustive but somewhat representative sampling of publications and patents describing typical prior art trunked radio repeater systems is identified below:
These as well as other features and advantages of this invention will be more completely understood and appreciated by carefully studying the following detailed description of the presently preferred exemplary embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of simplified exemplary user groupings in a typical trunked radio repeater system;
FIG. 2 is an overall block diagram of a digitally trunked radio repeater system with dynamic regrouping capability in accordance with the presently preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
An exemplary trunked radio repeater system 100 in accordance with this invention is generally depicted in FIG. 2. System 100 includes at least one (and typically many) mobile (or portable) radio transceiving stations 150 and at least one (and typically many) RF repeater stations 175. Mobile transceiving station 150 communicates via an RF link and repeater station 175 with other mobile transceiving stations and/or with landbased parties connected to the repeater station by conventional dial-up landlines.
Repeater station 175 includes a site controller 410, individual repeater channel transceivers 177, and a multiplexing telephone interconnection network ("switch", or "MTX") 179. Site controller 410 is preferably a mainframe digital computer which oversees the general operation of repeater station 175. In particular, site controller 410 controls the operation of RF transceivers 177 by transmitting digital signals to and receiving digital from "trunking cards" ("TC") 400 connected between the site controller and individual transceivers (although only one transceiver 177 and one trunking card 400 are shown in FIG. 1, there typically are many such trunking card/transceiver combinations in repeater station 175 -- one for each RF channel the repeater station operates on).
Site controller 410 communicates with one or more dispatch consoles 102 via a "downlink" 103 which includes a "downlink" trunking card 450 and a "switch" trunking card 454. The downlink 103 also typically is channeled through switch 179. Also connected to switch 179 are AVL (automatic vehicular locating system) 181 and CAD (computer aided dispatch system) 183. A system manager computer system 416 (hereafter referred to as the "system manager") is connected to site controller 410 and to switch 179 to allow a system manager to oversee and control the overall operation of system 100 -- and to control the dynamic regrouping process.