Secure network-routed voice multicast dissemination

• US 7,801,133 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2002
• Issued: 09/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Northrop Grumman Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Inventors: Siegel, Neil G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mattis; Jason E
• Application Number:
  US10/295,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20040095900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,868 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/328, 370/338, 370/343, 370/351, 370/389, 370/390, 370/391, 370/400, 370/401, 370/329, 370/352, 370/254, 370/255, 370/432, 375/132
• US Class Current: 370/390
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5069 for group communication, multicast communication or broadcast communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for routing voice communications to groups in a voice communication system. The voice communication system can be a mobile communication system having a plurality of members grouped as logical networks and/or unit task organizations. One or more routers are provided in the system. The one or more routers extract routing information from received voice messages. The routing information is used with a router database to determine which identified group to route the digitized voice packets. The one or more routers can be adapted to receive and route voice communications to different radio types across different logical networks.

Claims

1. A wireless voice communication system comprising:

a router that receives a voice message and extracts routing information from the voice message, the routing information being used in conjunction with a router database that defines logical network groupings of a plurality of mobile communication units and at least one unit task organization of the plurality of mobile communication units, the router transmitting the voice message to members in the at least one unit task organization, based on the routing information and the router database, by employing a first wireless transmitter, which is coupled with the router, for sending the voice message to a first member of the unit task organization according to a first communication parameter and by employing a second wireless transmitter, which is coupled with the router, for sending the voice message to a second member of the unit task organization according to a second communication parameter, the voice message being sent to the first and second members concurrently, the first member being a different radio type having one of a different frequency hopping scheme, a different communication protocol, a different modulation scheme, and a different cryptographic variable set than the second member.

2. The system of claim 1, the plurality of mobile communication units being a plurality of two-way radio devices.

3. The system of claim 2, the two-way radio devices being line-of-sight radio devices.

4. The system of claim 1, the at least one task unit organization formed of mobile communication units associated with a plurality of different logical networks.

5. The system of claim 1, the voice message being transmitted in a multicast transmission to only members in the at least one selected unit task organization.

6. The system of claim 1, the router determines at least one routing path for the voice messages based on at least one of time, priority, router location, mobile communication unit location, bandwidth and load sharing.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a configuration manager that disseminates configuration information to the router, the configuration information defining logical networks, unit task organizations and equipment parameters, the router utilizing the configuration information to create the router database defining communication requirements and routing connections for routing the voice messages.

8. The system of claim 7, the configuration manager provides logical network groupings and task organization groupings and converts the logical network groupings and task organization groupings to physical network groupings and task organization groupings.

9. The system of claim 8, the configuration manager provides a network operational database and a set of management information blocks using the physical network groupings and task organization groupings, the network operational database defining logical network grouping connections and task organization grouping connections and the management information blocks having data for reconfiguring the router database.

10. The system of claim 7, further comprising a graphical user interface that allows a user to group members into logical networks and unit task organizations and provides information to the configuration manager relating to the groupings.

11. The system of claim 1, the router performs administrative updates to update the router database and determine if new members have entered the system.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the first communication parameter is different than the second communication parameter, such that the first member can process the digitized voice packets that are transmitted based on the first communication parameter but cannot process the digitized voice packets that are transmitted based on the second communication parameter, and such that the second member can process the digitized voice packets that are transmitted based on the second communication parameter but cannot process the digitized voice packets that are transmitted based on the first communication parameter.

13. A two-way radio communication system comprising:

a router that contains a router database defining logical network groupings of members of a plurality of two-way radio devices and task organization groupings of members of the plurality of two-way radio devices, the router having a routing algorithm that extracts routing information from digitized voice packets and utilizes the extracted routing information from the router database to transmit the digitized voice packets to a plurality of destination two-way radio devices based on the groupings by employing a first transmitter, which is coupled with the router, to transmit the digitized voice packets to a first destination two-way radio device based on a first communication parameter and by employing a second transmitter, which is coupled with the router, to transmit the digitized voice packets to a second destination two-way radio device based on a second communication parameter, the digitized voice packets being sent to the first destination two-way radio device and the second destination two-way radio device concurrently, and wherein the first communication parameter is different than the second communication parameter, such that the first destination two-way radio device can process the digitized voice packets that are transmitted based on the first communication parameter but cannot process the digitized voice packets that are transmitted based on the second communication parameter, and such that the second destination two-way radio device can process the digitized voice packets that are transmitted based on the second communication parameter but cannot process the digitized voice packets that are transmitted based on the first communication parameter.

14. The system of claim 13, the plurality of two-way radio devices being a plurality of half-duplex line-of-sight two-way radio devices.

15. The system of claim 14, the plurality of half-duplex line-of-sight two-way radio devices operative to transmit data information and priority information in addition to digitized voice packets.

16. The system of claim 13, the router having a plurality of different ports that provide connections to different two-way radio communication links through different two-way radio devices, the different two-way radio devices, including the first transmitter and the second transmitter, being members of different logical networks.

17. The system of claim 13, the router having a routing path algorithm that determines a routing path for the voice packets based on at least one of time, priority, router location, mobile communication unit location, bandwidth and load sharing.

18. The system of claim 13, the router having an algorithm that receives configuration information and generates the router database defining logical network groupings, unit task organization groupings, and router connections to two-way radio devices in the system, the router using the router database with information in the digitized voice packets to route the digitize voice packets.

19. The system of claim 13, the router having an algorithm that performs administrative updates to the router database to determine if new members have entered the system.

20. The system of claim 13, the digitized voice packets being one of Voice Over Internet Protocol packets and Network Voice Protocol packets.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein the first destination two-way radio device is a different radio type having one of a different frequency hopping scheme, a different communication protocol, a different modulation scheme and different cryptographic variable set than the second two-way radio device.

22. A half duplex two-way radio communication system comprising:

a plurality of half-duplex two-way radio devices having means for wirelessly transmitting digitized voice packets;

means for grouping the plurality of half duplex two-way radio devices into logical networks and task unit organizations;

means for routing the digitized voice packets by employing at least a first transmitter to send the digitized voice packets to a first of the plurality of half-duplex two-way radio devices based on a first communication parameter and a second transmitter to send the digitized voice packets to a second of the plurality of half-duplex two-way radio devices based on a second communication parameter, the digitized voice packets being transmitted to the first and second of the plurality of half-duplex two-way radio devices concurrently, wherein the first communication parameter is different than the second communication parameter;

means for configuring the means for routing to provide the means for routing with a router database defining member groups;

means for updating the router database based on changes in the system; and

means for determining routing paths based on the router database and routing information in the digitized voice packets.

23. A wireless voice communication system comprising:

a first router that receives a voice message and extracts routing information from the voice message, the routing information being used in conjunction with a router database that defines logical network groupings of a plurality of mobile communication units and at least one unit task organization of the plurality of mobile communication units, the router transmitting the voice message to members in the at least one unit task organization by employing a first wireless transmitter for sending the voice message to a first member according to a first communication parameter and by employing a second wireless transmitter for sending the voice message to a second member according to a second communication parameter, the voice message being sent to the first and second members concurrently; and

at least one second router that is operative to receive the voice message directly from the first wireless transmitter according to the first communication parameter, the second router transmitting the received voice message to members in the at least one unit task organization by employing at least one of a third wireless transmitter for sending the voice message to a third member according to the first communication parameter and a fourth wireless transmitter for sending the voice message to a fourth member according to a third communication parameter.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the second router sends the voice message to the third and fourth members concurrently.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein at least one of the first and second routers is operative to determine an optimal transmission path to route the voice message from the first router to the third member.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the plurality of mobile communication units are configured as a self-contained mobile network infrastructure, the router database defining connections to members of the self-contained mobile network infrastructure.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the voice message is transmitted in a multicast transmission to only members in at least one selected unit task organization.

28. A wireless voice communication system comprising:

a first mobile communication unit comprising;

a first radio of a first radio type capable of sending a voice message according to a first communication parameter;

a second radio of a second radio type capable of sending the voice message according to a second communication parameter; and

a router that receives a voice message and extracts routing information from the voice message, the router being coupled with the first radio through a first port and being coupled with the second radio though a second port, the routing information being used in conjunction with a router database that defines logical network groupings of a plurality of mobile communication units and at least one unit task organization of the plurality of mobile communication units, the router communicating the voice message to members in the at least one unit task organization, based on the routing information and the router database, by employing the first radio for sending the voice message to at least a first member according to the first communication parameter and by employing the second radio for sending the voice message to at least a second member according to the second communication parameter; and

at least a second mobile communication unit that comprises a third radio of the first radio type capable of receiving the voice message directly from the first radio, and a fourth radio of a radio type that is different from the first radio type capable of sending the voice message according to a communication parameter that is different from the first communication parameter.