Method and Apparatus for Enabling Networked Operations in Voice Radio Systems

• US 20110064022A1
• Filed: 09/16/2009
• Published: 03/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Original Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Inventors: Curtin, Michael Thomas, Burton, Dale Edward
• Granted Patent: US 8,446,883 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5038 for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A method and system for the networking of radio transceivers is disclosed. The system includes a source transceiver with a source address, and a destination transceiver with a destination address. A router gateway includes a first interface in communication with the source transceiver and a second interface in communication with the destination transceiver, and interconnections between the two are defined in a routing table. A network signaling system independent of the respective radio transmission and receipt systems enables communication between the source transceiver and the destination transceiver.

Claims

1. A radio network system, comprising:

a source transceiver unit with an assigned source address;

a destination transceiver unit with an assigned destination address;

a router gateway having a first interface in radio communication with the source transceiver unit, a second interface in radio communication with the destination transceiver unit, and a routing table defining an interconnection of the first interface to the second interface based upon the destination address; and

a network signaling framework abstracted from the radio communication level, wherein the router gateway, the source transceiver unit and the destination transceiver unit each include a encoder/decoder in compliance therewith, the interconnection of the first interface to the second interface being initiated with routing signals generated from and decoded by the encoder/decoders associated with respective ones of the source transceiver unit and the router gateway.

2. The radio network system of claim 1, wherein the radio communication between the first interface of the router gateway and the source transceiver unit is incompatible with the radio communication between the second interface of the router gateway and the destination transceiver unit.

3. The radio network system of claim 1, wherein the source and destination transceiver units both include:

an input keypad for entering the destination address; and

an output screen for displaying the destination address and the source address.

4. The radio network system of claim 1, wherein the router gateway further includes:

a memory module for storing audio messages received from the source transceiver unit, the audio message being retrievable from the memory module by the second interface for transmission to the destination transceiver unit.

5. The radio network system of claim 1, wherein the radio communication is selected from a group consisting of:

Very High Frequency (VHF) radio, Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS), LINK-16, and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

6. The radio network system of claim 1, wherein the source transceiver unit and the destination transceiver unit each include a remote routing module coupled to push-to-talk radio transceivers, the routing signals being transmitted through a one of the push-to-talk radio transceivers over its radio broadcast link.

7. The radio network system of claim 1, wherein the source transceiver unit and the destination transceiver unit each include a remote routing module integrated into push-to-talk radio transceivers.

8. A radio network gateway for routing transmissions from a remote source transmitter to a remote destination receiver, comprising:

a plurality of source receivers, a one of the source receivers being in radio communication with the remote source transmitter;

a plurality of destination transmitters, a first one of the destination transmitters being in communication with the remote destination receiver;

a routing path database having a destination address of the remote destination receiver associated with the first one of the plurality of destination transmitters in communication therewith; and

a router having a selectable interconnection between the source receiver and the destination transmitter, the interconnection being defined by the routing path database.

9. The radio network gateway of claim 8, further comprising:

an audio decoder, the destination address transmitted as an audio signal from the remote source transmitter being extracted thereby.

10. The radio network gateway of claim 8, further comprising:

an audio encoder, the source address transmitted as an audio signal to the remote destination receiver being encoded thereby.

11. The radio network gateway of claim 8, further comprising:

a memory for storing an audio message received from the remote source transmitter, the audio message being transferred through the router to the one of the plurality of destination transmitters in accordance with the selected interconnection.

12. The radio network gateway of claim 8, wherein the routing path database associates the destination address to a unique user identifier of the remote destination receiver.

13. A method for radio communications, comprising:

establishing a first radio communication link between a first remote transceiver and a gateway;

transmitting to the gateway over the first radio communication link a predefined destination identifier, and a message payload;

routing the message payload through the gateway to a transmitter designated as being associated with a second remote transceiver, the destination identifier being assigned to the second remote transceiver;

establishing a second radio communication link between the gateway and the second remote transceiver; and

transmitting the message payload to the second remote transceiver over the second radio communication link.

14. The method for radio communications of claim 13, wherein a source identifier is transmitted to the gateway over the first radio communication link, the source identifier being associated with the first remote transceiver.

15. The method for radio communications of claim 14, further comprising:

transmitting a response message payload from the second remote transceiver to the gateway; and

routing the response message payload through the gateway to the first remote transceiver over the first radio communication link according to the received source identifier.

16. The method for radio communications of claim 14, further comprising:

displaying the source identifier on an output of the second remote transceiver.

17. The method for radio communications of claim 13, wherein prior to establishing the first radio communication link, the method includes:

displaying the destination identifier on an output of the first remote transceiver.

18. The method for radio communications of claim 13, wherein the destination identifier and the source identifier are transmitted as encoded audio signals.

19. The method for radio communications of claim 13, wherein a routing table associates the destination identifier with an interface of the gateway for the second radio communication link.

20. The method for radio communications of claim 13, wherein the first radio communication link is selected from a group consisting of:

Very High Frequency (VHF) radio, Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS), LINK-16, and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

21. The method for radio communications of claim 20, wherein the first radio communication link is incompatible with the second radio communication link.