RADIO SYSTEM EMPLOYING SIMULTANEOUSLY TRIGGERED PULSE REPEATERS

• US 3,825,829 A
• Filed: 01/29/1973
• Issued: 07/23/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: William V. Braun
• Original Assignee: William V. Braun
• Inventors: Braun, William V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mayer, Albert J.
• Application Number:
  US05/327,332
• Time in Patent Office: 540 Days
• Field of Search: 178/22,66A 325/4-6,8,13,14,16,18,21,22,15
• US Class Current: 375/214
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/48 in circuits for connecting transmitter and receiver to a common transmission path, e.g. by energy of transmitter H04B1/46 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/54 using the same frequency for two directions of communication H04B1/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/60 Systems for communication between relatively movable stations, e.g. for communication with lift H04B3/54 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/17 employing pulse modulation, e.g. pulse code modulation

Abstract

An asynchronous radio repeater system for providing radio coverage within a large building or the like employs a plurality of pulse repeaters distributed over the communications area. Each repeater receives oscillation pulses from a portable pulse transmitter or from another repeater and transmits pulses of oscillations having substantially the same frequency as the received oscillations. A blanking system is incorporated in each repeater to disable the repeater for a predetermined time duration following tee transmission of a pulse to prevent selfsustaining oscillation of the system.

Claims

1. A chain reaction type pulse communications system including a plurality of simultaneously triggered pulse repeaters, wherein all of said repeaters are triggered in a chain reaction in response to an input pulse applied to the system, said chain reaction having a predetermined time duration related to the response time of said repeaters and the propagation delay therebetween, each repeater including means for receiving a burst of oscillations having a predetermined frequency, transmitting means connected to said receiving means and responsive thereto for transmitting a burst of oscillations having substantially said predetermined frequency and a predetermined time duration immediately upon detection of said received burst in response thereto, and blanking means connected to said receiving means for rendering said repeater non-responsive to oscillations for a predetermined time interval equal to at least the time duration of the chain reaction following the receipt of each burst.

2. A communications system as recited in claim 1 further including a pulse producing transceiver including means for transmitting bursts of oscillations having substantially said predetermined frequency in a predetermined sequence in response to a signal applied thereto, and means for receiving bursts of oscillations having substantially said predetermined frequency and providing a detected signal in response thereto.

3. A communications system as recited in claim 2 wherein said transceiver further includes means for generating a predetermined sequence of pulses in response to an information signal applied thereto connected to said transmitting means and applying said pulses thereto, and converting means connected to said receiving means for receiving said detected signal and providing a demodulated information signal in response to said detected signal.

4. A communications system as recited in claim 3 wherein said pulse generating means includes means connected to said generating means for translating an acoustic signal to an analog information signal and providing the analog information signal to said pulse generating means, and means connected to said converting means for translating said demodulated information signal to an acoustic signal.

5. A communications system as recited in claim 3 further including means connected to said generating means for applying data information signals thereto, and means connected to said converting means for receiving data information signals therefrom.

6. A chain reaction type repeater communications system including in combination:

a transceiver including pulse means for generating a predetermined sequence of pulses in response to an information signal applied thereto and providing a demodulated signal in response to a pulse sequence applied thereto, means connected to said pulse means for transmitting bursts of oscillations having a predetermined oscillation frequency in response to said generated pulses, and means connected to said pulse means for receiving bursts of oscillations having substantially said predetermined frequency and for providing pulses to said pulse means in response to the bursts received thereby; and

a plurality of substantially simultaneously triggered pulse repeaters deployed in a two dimensional array over a predetermined geographic area, each repeater being responsive to the bursts of oscillations provided by said transceiver to generate a chain reaction in response to each of said bursts, each repeater including means for detecting said bursts, means connected to said detecting means for generating and transmitting a repeat burst of oscillations having substantially said predetermined oscillation frequency immediately upon the detection of a burst by said detecting means, and means connected to said detecting means for rendering said repeater non-responsive to oscillation bursts for a predetermined time interval greater than the time duration of said chain reaction following the receipt of each burst to thereby prevent the generation of other repeat bursts during said predetermined time interval, each repeater being responsive to a burst from one of said other repeaters and said transceiver for generating one repeat burst of oscillations in response to each burst of oscillations transmitted by said transceiver.

7. A communications system as recited in claim 6 wherein said repeaters are arranged in a spaced relation with respect to each other, each repeater being sufficiently close to at least one other repeater to provide for reception of repeat bursts from each of said repeaters by at least one other repeater, all of said repeaters thereby being caused to transmit a burst upon receipt of a burst by any one of said repeaters.

8. A communications system as recited in claim 7 further including transducer means connected to said pulse means for receiving said demodulated signal and providing an acoustic signal in response thereto, said transducer means further including means for receiving an acoustic signal and applying an information signal to said pulse means in response to said acoustic signal.

9. A system as recited in claim 7 further including data means connected to said pulse means for applying data information thereto and for receiving demodulated signals therefrom.

10. A chain reaction type pulse communications system comprising a plurality of repeaters spaced in a two dimensional array, each repeater being spaced within communication range of at least one other repeater, each repeater including in combination:

receiving means responsive to signals having a predetermined frequency;

detecting means connected to said receiving means for detecting the presence of said predetermined frequency signal;

blanking means connected to said detecting means and responsive thereto for rendering said receiving means non-responsive to signals for a predetermined time interval greater than the time duration of said chain reaction after the predetermined frequency signal has been detected; and

transmitting means connected to said detecting means and responsive thereto for transmitting a signal having said predetermined frequency for a predetermined time duration immediately upon the detection of said predetermined frequency signal by said detecting means.

11. The method for transmitting information within a predetermined geographic area, comprising the steps of:

dispersing a plurality of pulse repeaters in a two dimensional spaced relationship to each other over said predetermined geographic area;

providing binary signal bits representative of said information, each bit having one of first and second levels;

transmitting a burst of oscillations having a predetermined oscillation frequency and time duration to at least one of said repeaters in response to each bit having a predetermined one of said first and second levels;

receiving said bursts with one of said repeaters and transmitting therewith a repeat burst of oscillations having substaNtially said predetermined oscillation frequency and time duration to at least one of the other of said repeaters immediately upon receipt of said received bursts to thereby cause other ones of said repeaters to substantially simultaneously transmit another burst to other repeaters, thereby causing all of said repeaters to substantially simultaneously transmit bursts in chain reaction fashion in response to each burst initially transmitted;

rendering each of said repeaters non-responsive to bursts of oscillations for a predetermined time interval greater than the time duration of said chain reaction following the receipt of each initially transmitted burst;

receiving and detecting said bursts from at least one of said repeaters and providing second binary signal bits similar to said binary signal bits in response to said detected bursts; and

converting said second binary signal bits to a second information signal representative of said information.

12. The method recited in claim 11 wherein said information is acoustic analog information and wherein the step of providing said binary signal bits comprises the steps of:

applying said analog acoustic information to a transducer to derive an analog electrical signal representative of said acoustic analog information; and

applying said analog electrical signal to a modulator to convert said analog electrical signal to a binary signal having binary signal bits.

13. The method recited in claim 12 wherein the step of converting the second binary signal bits to a second information signal comprises the steps of:

applying said second binary signal bits to a demodulator to provide a second analog electrical signal representative of said information in response to said second binary bits; and

applying said second analog electrical signal to a second transducer to derive said acoustic analog information from said second electrical analog signal.