US 5,521,925 AGranted

Method and apparatus for providing mixed voice and data communication in a time division multiple access radio communication system

AssigneeHughes Aircraft Company

InventorsLazaros Merakos, Shrirang Jangi, Fayu Li

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Abstract

A system is described which integrates terminal traffic in a digital voice cellular radio communication system. Data is conveyed from remote data stations and remote radio telephone stations over a reverse channel TDMA frame. The allocation of time slots in the reverse channel TDMA frame is controlled at the base station. The base station provides priority to radio telephones having digitized voice traffic. The base station assigns time slots within the reverse channel TDMA frame based upon allocation requests received from radio telephone stations and remote data stations. Remote data stations may contend on a random access for a minority of a set of time slots in the reverse channel data frame. Additionally, they may request an assigned slot by inserting an allocation request in a control slot of the reverse channel data frame. The base station allocates time slots on a voice radio telephone priority, and assigns any excess time slots to data stations waiting for access to the reverse channel.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A method of implementing TDMA communications between a plurality of user radio telephone stations and a plurality of user data stations, and a base station, said method comprising the steps of:

establishing, at the base station, a pool of available traffic transmission channels, each traffic transmission channel comprising a time slot in a repeating time division multiple access (TDMA) frame at a predetermined carrier frequency;
establishing, at the base station, a control channel for the user radio telephone stations and a separate control channel for the user data stations, each control channel being comprised in at least one selected time slot in the TDMA frame, and at least one of a plurality of different frequencies;
responding at a user data station, to detection of a data packet to be transmitted, by transmitting a requesy for assignment of a traffic transmission channel on the control channel for data stations;
in response of receipt of the assignment request at the base station, searching for an available traffic transmission channel from the pool of available traffic transmission channels, said search resulting in the location of an available traffic transmission channel at the base station;
in response to location of an available traffic transmission channel at the base station, transmitting an identification of the located channel to the user data station and removing the located channel from the pool of available traffic channels;
receiving the transmitted located channel identification at the user data station;
in response of receipt of the channel identification at the user data station, initiating transmission of the data packet in the located and identified traffic transmission channel of the repeating time division multiple access frame;
receipt of a request from a user radio telephone station for assignment of a traffic transmission channel on the control channel for user radio telephone stations, in response thereto, also searching for an available traffic transmission channel from the pool of available traffic transmission channels, transmitting an identification of a located channel to the user radiotelephone station, and removing the located channel pool.

5 more elements

In a radio telephony system having a plurality of data transmitting stations and a plurality of voice transmitting stations, each station transmitting information bursts to another station, the bursts containing either data for data stations or digitized voice for voice stations, the bursts being transmitted on radio carrier frequencies which are divided into repeating sequential time slots of a repeating time division multiple access (TDMA) frame, the time slots being associated with either a data control channel for carrying data station control messages, a voice control channel for carrying voice control messages or an information channel for carrying the information bursts, the data and voice control messages controlling the transmission of the data and voice information bursts between data and voice stations, respectively, a method for transmitting the information bursts from a transmitting station to a receiving station comprising:

detecting an information burst;
selecting a first slot associated with a control channel for transmitting a control message, the first slot being associated with a data control channel for data bursts and a voice control channel for a voice burst;
selecting a second slot associated with an information channel for transmitting the detected information burst;
transmitting the control message in the first selected slot for identifying the second selected slot;
and
transmitting the detected information burst in the second selected slot.

3 more elements

In a radion data communications system having a base station and a plurality of user data stations, each user data station transmitting and receiving information bursts to and from the base station, the bursts being transmitted on radio carrier frequencies divided into time slots of a repeating time division multiple access (TDMA) frame, the slots being grouped into information channels for carrying information bursts, random access channels for carrying information bursts, and control channels for carrying control messages for controlling the transmission of the information bursts between stations, a method for transmitting the information bursts from a user station to the base station comprising:

receiving from the base station at the user data station an identification of each channel within a predetermined set of channels for use in transmitting data between the stations including an assignment of a specific control channel slot from among the control channel slots;
detecting at the user data station an information burst;
determining the time delay between the detection of the information burst and the next occurrence of the assigned control channel slot;
determining the time delay between the detection of the information burst and the next occurrence of a random access channel;
selecting the shortest time delay and transmitting from the user data station to the base station either an information channel allocation request using the assigned control channel slot or the information burst using the next random access channel.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.