Methods for transmitting and receiving data in a digital telecommunications system

• US 9,270,329 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2013
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: UnaBiz Pte Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Sigfox, Inc. (UnaBiz Pte Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sellier, Laurence, Fourtet, Christophe
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khai
• Application Number:
  US14/425,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20150222325A1
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 375/133, 375/130, 375/132, 370/208, 370/330, 370/343
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/713 using frequency hopping
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7143 Arrangements for generation of hop patterns
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2201/71376 Threshold
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method for transmitting data via a terminal to a station of a digital telecommunications system. A first stream of data is encoded in data packets and a second stream of data is encoded in a frequency-hopping pattern. The data packets, in which the first stream of data is encoded, is consecutively transmitted in respective frequency bands of a frequency resource. The frequency bands are determined based on the frequency-hopping pattern in which the second stream of data is encoded.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting data by a terminal to a station of a digital telecommunications system, comprising the steps of:

simultaneously transmitting a first data stream and a second data stream to the station;

encoding the first data stream in data packets;

encoding the second data stream in a frequency-hopping pattern; and

consecutively transmitting the data packets, in which the first data stream is encoded, in respective frequency bands of a frequency resource, the frequency bands are determined according to the frequency-hopping pattern in which the second data stream is encoded.

2. The transmission method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of associating a theoretical frequency-hopping pattern with the terminal;

and encoding the second data stream in a modification of the theoretical frequency-hopping pattern.

3. The transmission method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of modifying or removing at least one theoretical frequency hop from the theoretical frequency-hopping pattern to encode the second data stream.

4. The transmission method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising the step of modifying or removing only theoretical frequency hops corresponding to predefined indices of the theoretical frequency-hopping pattern to encode the second data stream.

5. A method for receiving, by the station of a digital telecommunications system, data transmitted by the terminal in accordance with the transmission method as claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of:

searching, in a frequency resource, for data packets transmitted by the terminal;

extracting the first data stream from the detected data packets;

measuring the frequency bands in which the data packets have been detected;

extracting the second data stream according to measurements of the frequency bands in which the data packets have been detected.

7. The reception method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the data packets incorporate a counter incremented by the terminal on each new transmission;

and

further comprising the step of extracting the second data stream according to the counter of the data packets.

8. The reception method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising the steps of encrypting a part of the data packets with a rolling key incremented by the terminal at each new transmission;

and extracting the second data stream according to the rolling keys used for encrypting the data packets.

6. The reception method as claimed in claimed 5, further comprising the step of comparing the measurements of the frequency bands in which the data packets have been detected to a theoretical frequency-hopping pattern associated with the terminal.

9. A terminal of a digital telecommunications system comprises a transmitter configured to transmit data to a station, the transmitter:

simultaneously transmits a first data stream and a second data stream to the station;

encodes the first data stream in data packets;

encodes the second data stream in a frequency-hopping pattern; and

consecutively transmits the data packets, in which the first data stream is encoded, in respective frequency bands of a frequency resource, the frequency bands are determined according to the frequency-hopping pattern in which the second data stream is encoded.

10. A station of a digital telecommunications system comprises a receiver configured to receive data from the terminal of claim 9, the receiver:

searches, in a frequency resource, for the data packets transmitted by the terminal;

extracts the first data stream from the detected data packets;

measures frequency bands in which the data packets have been detected;

extracts the second data stream according to measurements of the frequency bands in which the data packets have been detected.