Underwater transceiver device, underwater communication system and related communication method

• US 20150071280A1
• Filed: 09/30/2013
• Published: 03/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Suunto Oy (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Suunto Oy (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Lindman, Erik, Ahola, Tom
• Granted Patent: US 9,866,340 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/349
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 13/02 Transmission systems in which the medium consists of the earth or a large mass of water thereon, e.g. earth telegraphy
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0658 Clock or time synchronisation among packet nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/14 Monitoring arrangements for SDH/SONET rings H04J3/085
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/1694 Allocation of channels in TDM/TDMA networks, e.g. distributed multiplexers Passive Optical Networks H04Q11/0062
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/002 Mutual synchronization
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

The invention concerns an underwater transceiver device, communications system and method of communicating sensor data underwater. The transceiver device comprises a sensor unit or a sensor connection for an external sensor unit for providing a sensor value and a communication unit functionally connected to the sensor unit or connection and comprising means for wirelessly transmitting the sensor value to another underwater device as data packets according to a timing scheme. According to the invention, the communication unit further comprises means for wirelessly receiving data packets of other underwater devices, and means for adjusting the timing scheme based on data packets received so as to avoid simultaneous transmitting of underwater devices. The invention enables energy-efficient and robust communications between diving equipment.

Claims

1. An underwater transceiver device comprising;

a sensor unit or a sensor connection for an external sensor unit for providing a sensor value, and

a communication unit functionally connected to the sensor unit or sensor connection and having;

a means for wirelessly transmitting the sensor value to another underwater device as data packets according to a timing scheme, a means for wirelessly receiving data packets transmitted by other underwater devices, and a means for adjusting the timing scheme based on received data packets so as to avoid simultaneous transmitting of underwater devices.

2. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein the means for adjusting is configured to adjust the timing scheme based on a time of receipt and/or content of the received data packets.

3. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein the means for adjusting is configured to adjust the timing scheme so as to synchronize said means for transmitting with the other underwater devices.

4. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein the timing scheme comprises a preconfigured set of cyclically repeating time slots allowed for transmitting and said means for adjusting are configured to select a free time slot for transmitting.

5. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein the means for adjusting are adapted to adjust the timing scheme based on data packets of a master device comprising master status information and a timing scheme command.

6. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a means for determining the presence of a master device based on the data packets received and means for selectively adjusting the timing scheme based on data packets of a master device if a master device is present, or self-adjusting the timing scheme at least partly based on time of receipt of data packets received from one or more other devices, if a master device is not present.

7. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein said data packets comprise at least sensor identification information and sensor value information.

8. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein the timing scheme comprises a time slot reserved for receiving data packets of other underwater devices so as to allow for registering of new devices.

9. The transceiver device according to claim 1, further comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer executable instructions for causing the transceiver device to carry out the steps of:

listening to the data packets of other devices,

adjusting the timing scheme according to instructions contained in the data packet of a first type, if a data packet of a predefined first type is received,

adjusting the timing scheme such that the transmission of a data packet takes place at a second time slot different than the first time slot in the absence of data packets of the predefined first type and upon receipt of data packets of a predefined second type at a first time slot, and

starting transmission according to the adjusted timing scheme.

10. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting and the means for receiving are adapted to operate using magnetoinductive waves.

11. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit is adapted to transmit and receive said data packets at a constant carrier frequency.

12. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein said sensor unit is a diving gas pressure sensor unit and said sensor value is a gas pressure value.

13. The transceiver device according to claim 1, wherein

said sensor unit is a location sensor unit and said sensor value is a location value,

said sensor unit is a proximity sensor unit and said sensor value is a distance value,

said sensor unit is a heartbeat sensor unit and said sensor value is a heartbeat or heart rate value,

said sensor unit is an ambient pressure sensor unit and said sensor value is an ambient pressure value or depth value, or

said sensor unit is a geocache detector and said sensor value is a geocache detection signal.

14. The transceiver device according to claim 1, the device comprising a memory unit with a memory portion for storing wirelessly reconfigurable operation settings.

15. An underwater communication system, the system comprising

at least two transceiver devices, and

a monitoring device comprising means for listening to the data packets of the transceiver devices during repeating listening periods.

16. The communication system according to claim 15, wherein

the timing schemes of the transceiver devices each comprise a limited equal number of transmission time slots and said transceiver devices are arranged to adjust their timing schemes to occupy successive transmission time slots, and

the means for listening to data packets in a monitoring device are adapted to listen to the data packets of all the occupied transmission time slots during a single listening period.

17. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the means for listening to the data packets are adapted to listen only over the occupied successive transmission time slots in at least majority of the listening periods.

18. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the means for listening to the data packets are adapted to listen over all the time slots.

19. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the transceiver devices are capable of transmitting their data packets more seldom than on every listening period in an interleaved mode of operation so as to allow more transceiver devices than the number of time slots in a timing scheme to join the system.

20. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the monitoring device is adapted to listen to the data packet during a plurality of listening periods according to a temporal listening scheme and to be between the listening periods in a resting state consuming less energy than during the listening periods.

21. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the monitoring device is incapable of transmitting to the transceiver devices.

22. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein

the monitoring device is adapted to act as a master device comprising means for transmitting timing scheme commands to the transceiver devices as data packets, and

the means for adjusting of the transceiver devices are adapted to adjust their timing schemes based on said data packets of the master device.

23. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the transceiver devices and/or the monitoring device comprise means for detecting a new transceiver device transmitting during the listening periods and means for adjusting the timing scheme of the new transceiver device depending on the previously adjusted timing schemes of the existing transceiver devices.

24. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the monitoring device is a wristop diving computer or diving mask with an integrated display unit for displaying the sensor data provided by the transceiver devices.

25. A method of communication of sensor data in an underwater communication system comprising at least two transceiver devices, each being arranged to receive sensor data from at least one sensor unit integrated or functionally connected to the transceiver device and each having a programmed repeating timing scheme with a limited number of time slots allowed for transmission of data packets, the method comprising

powering on the transceiver devices,

transmitting a signal from at least a first transceiver device as a data packet according to timing scheme of the first transceiver device,

receiving said data packet in a second transceiver device,

synchronizing the timing scheme of the second transceiver device with the timing scheme of the first transceiver device based on the time of receipt of the data packet from the first transceiver device such that the first and second transceiver devices use successive time slots for transmission of data packets, and

transmitting sensor data containing signals from said first and second transceiver devices according to their synchronized timing schemes, so that their data packets form an ordered data stream.

26. The method according to claim 25, the method receiving said sensor data containing signals using a receiver device as an ordered data stream formed of the data packet of the first and second transceiver devices in said successive time slots.