Relay device deployer system

• US 8,103,212 B1
• Filed: 08/04/2009
• Issued: 01/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Original Assignee: The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of Agriculture
• Inventors: Pezeshkian, Narek, Burmeister, Aaron Bruce, Nguyen, Hoa G., Holz, Kevin F., Cruickshanks, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Trinh, Tan
• Application Number:
  US12/535,416
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 455/7, 455/11.1, 455/13.1, 455/3.05, 455/414.1, 455/420, 455/456.2, 455/9, 455/16, 455/41.2, 455/513, 455/515, 455/69, 455/522, 455/63.4, 455/67.11, 455/552.1, 455/556.1, 455/562.1, 455/115.1, 455/115.3, 455/99, 455/575.7
• US Class Current: 455/13.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15514 for shadowing compensation for satellite mobile telephony service systems H04B7/18536

Abstract

A relay device deployment system comprising: a deployer, a wireless relay device, a node radio, a deployment mechanism, and a processor. The deployer is configured to be mounted on a mobile platform and to deploy the relay device to a support surface. The relay device comprises dual rotatable antennas and operates as a node in an ad hoc telecommunications network. The node radio has dual antennas and is also configured to operate as a node in the network. The deployment mechanism is configured to deploy the relay device when the network strength drops below a threshold value as monitored by the processor.

Claims

1. A method of operating a relay device deployment system comprising the following steps:

a. mounting a deployer to a mobile platform, wherein the deployer functions as a node in an ad hoc telecommunications network with a base station unit;

b. activating one of a plurality of relay devices stowed in the deployer via an infrared data association (IrDA) transceiver;

c. monitoring with the deployer the highest signal strength of the network with a path back to the base station unit apart from the signal emanating from the stowed, activated relay device;

d. providing configuration parameters from the deployer to the activated relay device via the IrDA transceiver and deploying the activated relay device from the deployer to a surface over which the mobile platform is moving when the highest signal strength of the network with a path back to the base station unit reaches a threshold value;

e. transmitting instructions from the deployer to the deployed relay device to upwardly rotate a pair of antennas on the deployed relay device such that the antennas are substantially parallel with the ambient gravity vector; and

f. repeating steps b through e until all relay devices stowed in the deployer have been deployed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile platform is unmanned.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

g. checking with the deployer if the deployed relay device entered the network and if not, deactivating the deployed relay device and repeating steps b through e.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

h. providing a warning to the base station unit when all the functional relay devices have been deployed and the highest signal strength of the network with a path back to the base station unit reaches the threshold value.