Train radio telephone system using home location register (HLR)

• US 5,937,350 A
• Filed: 03/28/1996
• Issued: 08/10/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Alcatel NV (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel NV (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Frank, Matthias
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisenzopf, Reinhard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kincaid, Lester G.
• Application Number:
  US08/623,160
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 455/66, 455/426, 455/432, 455/433, 455/443, 455/431, 455/455, 455/516, 455/525, 455/526, 455/503, 455/422, 455/437, 455/442, 455/456, 455/11.1, 455/523, 455/434, 455/14 , 455/15, 455/63, 455/62, 246/7, 246/8, 246/5, 370/328, 370/338
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/26 Cell enhancers or enhancement, e.g. for tunnels, building shadow
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/00 Network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/02 Hierarchically pre-organised networks, e.g. paging networks, cellular networks, WLAN [Wireless Local Area Network] or WLL [Wireless Local Loop]

Abstract

A train radio system with a simple network structure that is suitable for a safe radio transmission. The train radio system comprises radio stations (R), which are arranged along a route, and a mobile station (MS) which is mounted in a vehicle moving along the route, and comprises a transceiver (TRX) and a data bank (HLR) that is connected thereto, into which identification codes (IDn, IDn+1) for the radio stations (R) can be entered. A signalling channel (ACH) is provided, through which each radio station (R) transmits its identification code to the mobile station to establish the radio link for checking into the data bank (HLR). In this way the mobile station (MS) forms a single traveling radio cell to provide radio to those radio stations (R) that are located inside this radio cell. The infrastructure, which essentially comprises the radio stations, can be realized simply and requires no costly network structure. Furthermore, two and more radio stations (R) can simultaneously check into the traveling radio cell, which makes a safe radio transmission possible.

Claims

1. A train radio system comprising radio stations (R) arranged along a route and a mobile station (MS) which is mounted in a vehicle moving along the route and comprises a transceiver (TRX), characterized in that the train radio system is a common-frequency radio system that uses only one downward carrier frequency and only one upward carrier frequency throughout the system, that adjacent radio stations are arranged within visual range of each other along said route, that two of the radio stations (R) are always exchanging radio signals with the mobile station (MS) at a time, that the mobile station (MS) further comprises a data base (HLR) which is connected to the transceiver (TRX) and in which identification codes (Idn, Idn+1) of the radio stations (R) can be entered, and that there is provided at least one signalling channel (ACH) on which each radio station (R), to establish radio communication, transmits its identification code to the mobile station (MS) for checking into the data base (HLR).

2. A train radio system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the transceiver is a multichannel transceiver (TRX) containing a radio channel controller which assigns at least one idle traffic channel (TCH) to the checked-in radio stations (R) for establishing the radio communication.

3. A train radio system as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the traffic channels (TCH) are TDMA and/or CDMA channels of a common-frequency radio link.

4. A train radio system as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the transceiver (TRX) is connected to a switching device (SW) which switches only those traffic channels (TCH) to terminal equipment of the vehicle which have a predeterminable minimum transmission quality.

5. A train radio system as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the traffic channels (TCH) are speech and/or data channels.

6. A train radio system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said at least two of the radio stations transmit information to the mobile station on a same downlink frequency, and that the mobile stations transmits to the at least two radio stations on a same uplink frequency that is different from said downlink frequency.

7. A train radio system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the radio stations (R) are connected via a wireless network or a wireline network (ISDN) to a master computer (CTR) which is operable from an operation and maintenance center (OMC) of the train radio system, and which, to establish the radio communication, controls the radio stations (R) on the basis of timetable data such that at least two of the radio stations (R) are in radio communication with the mobile station (MS) at a time.

8. A train radio system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the mobile station transmits a synchronization signal on the at least one signalling channel, and that the radio stations monitor the at least one signalling channel and, upon reception of the synchronization signal, transmit their respective identification codes to the mobile station for establishing radio communication with the latter.

9. A train radio system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the radio stations (R) transmit to the mobile station (MS) on a same frequency downlink and that the mobile stations transmits to the radio stations on an uplink frequency different from said downlink frequency.

10. A mobile station (MS) for a vehicle moving along a route, said mobile station (MS) comprising a transceiver (TRX) for radio communication with radio stations (R) arranged along the route, characterized in that the train radio system is a common-frequency radio system that uses only one downward carrier frequency and only one upward carrier frequency throughout the system, that adjacent radio stations are arranged within visual range of each other along said route, that two of the radio stations (R) are always in radio communication with the mobile station (MS) at a time, that the mobile station (MS) further comprises a data base (HLR) which is connected to transceiver (TRX) and in which identification codes (Idn, Idn+1) of the radio stations (R) can be entered, and that the transceiver (TRX) receives on a signalling channel (ACH) that identification code which is transmitted by a respective one of the radio stations to check into the data base.

11. A train radio system comprising radio stations (R) along a route and a mobile station (MS) which is mounted in a vehicle moving along the route and comprises a transceiver (TRX), characterized in that the train radio system is a common-frequency radio system that uses only one downward carrier frequency and only one upward carrier frequency throughout the system, that adjacent radio stations are arranged within visual range of each other along said route, that the mobile station (MS) further comprises a data base (HLR) which is connected to the transceiver (TRX) and in which identification codes (IDn, IDn+1) of the radio stations (R) arranged along the route are entered prior to said vehicle moving along the route, and that there is provided at least one signaling channel (ACH) on which each radio station (R), to establish radio communication, transmits its identification code to the mobile station (MS) in the vehicle moving along the route for checking into the data base (HLR), wherein each said radio stations (R) are controlled so that two adjacent radio stations along the route are always exchanging line-of-sight radio signals with the mobile station as the vehicle travels by, for establishing a traveling radio cell with redundant radio communication with the vehicle moving along the route as the vehicle travels by.

12. A train radio system as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the transceiver is a multichannel transceiver (TRX) containing a radio channel controller which assigns at least one idle traffic channel (TCH) to the checked-in radio stations (R) for establishing the radio communication.

13. A train radio system as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the traffic channels (TCH) are TDMA and/or CDMA channels of a common-frequency radio link.

14. A train radio system as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the transceiver (TRX) is connected to a switching device (SW) which switches only those traffic channels (TCH) of the two or more checked in radio stations (R) to terminal equipment of the vehicle which have a predeterminable minimum transmission quality.

15. A train radio system as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the traffic channels (TCH) are speech and/or data channels.

16. A train radio system as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that said two adjacent radio stations transmit information to the mobile station on a same downlink frequency, and that the mobile station transmits to the two adjacent radio stations on a same uplink frequency that is different from said downlink frequency.

17. A train radio system as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the radio stations (R) are connected via a wireless network or a wireline network (ISDN) to a master computer (CTR) which is operable from an operation and maintenance center (OMC) of the train radio system, and which, to establish the radio communication, controls the radio stations (R) on the basis of timetable data such that at least two of the radio stations (R) are in radio communication with the mobile station (MS) at a time.

18. A train radio system as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the mobile station transmits a synchronization signal on the at least one signalling channel, and that the radio stations monitor the at least one signalling channel and, upon reception of the synchronization signal, transmit their respective identification codes to the mobile station for establishing radio communication with the latter.

19. A train radio system as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the radio stations (R) transmit to the mobile station (MS) on a same frequency downlink and t hat the mobile stations transmits to the radio stations on an uplink frequency different from said downlink frequency.

20. A mobile station (MS) for a vehicle moving along a route, said mobile station (MS) comprising a transceiver (TRX) for radio communication with radio stations (R) arranged along the route, wherein radio stations (R) are synchronized and arranged within visual range of each other along said route so that two adjacent radio stations (R) are always exchanging radio signals with the mobile station (MS), wherein the mobile station (MS) further comprises a data base (HLR) which is connected to the transceiver (TRX) and in which identification codes (IDn, IDn+1) of the radio stations (R) can be entered, and that the transceiver (TRX) is responsive on a signaling channel (ACH) to that identification code which is transmitted by a respective one of the radio stations along said route to check into the data base as the vehicle travels by and wherein all the radio stations along the route use only one common downward carrier frequency and only one common upward carrier frequency throughout.