Overhead reduction in frequency hopping system for intermittent transmission

• US 20060198426A1
• Filed: 08/01/2005
• Published: 09/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Andrzej Partyka
• Original Assignee: Andrzej Partyka
• Inventors: Partyka, Andrzej
• Granted Patent: US 7,447,252 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/133
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/713 using frequency hopping
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/71563 Acquisition

Abstract

A radio transmission telemetry system includes several transmitters intermittently transmitting short messages indicative associated sensors status and a receiver for collecting data from the sensors. The transmitters transmit short messages separated by long time intervals independently of any receiver capable of receiving from any of the transmitters. Each transmitter changes time and frequency of transmissions according to a time-frequency pattern that is different for each transmitter. The receiver holds information about the expected time and the expected frequency of the future transmissions for each transmitter. The receiver identifies each source of transmissions based on its unique variations of the transmission time and frequency, thus eliminating the necessity to include the transmitter ID code in each transmitted message. The sensor status and other supervisory information such as battery status are partitioned and included in the transmitted messages in portions according to the state of the PN-generator for producing the time-frequency pattern.

Claims

1. A telemetry system comprising:

a plurality of transmitters each of which, when operative, transmits independently of any other of said plurality of transmitters and independently of any equipment for receiving from any of said plurality of transmitters and at transmission frequency and time between transmissions controlled according to a time-frequency pattern that is different for each of said plurality of transmitters, and includes selectively, in transmissions, portions of information payload according to said time-frequency pattern; and

a receiver for;

(a) holding, simultaneously for each plurality of transmissions, data indicative of an expected time and an expected frequency of at least one future transmission, and

(b) identifying said portions of information payload based on said time-frequency pattern.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein each of a plurality of transmissions is devoid of bits of a transmitter identification.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said receiver is enabled to identify at least one of said plurality of transmitters based on said time-frequency pattern.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein information payload includes bits of time-frequency pattern generator.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein, said receiver is enabled to aggregate said portions of information payload.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said portions of information payload are included at various rates in the transmitted messages.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said portions of information payload are included according to a variable algorithm.

8. A receiver comprising:

logic for holding, simultaneously for each plurality of transmissions, data indicative of an expected time and an expected frequency of at least one future transmission, wherein each said plurality of transmissions is transmitted by different one of a plurality of transmitters, and wherein each of said plurality of transmitters, when operative, transmits independently of any other of said plurality of transmitters and independently of any equipment for receiving from any of said plurality of transmitters, and wherein, transmission frequency and time between transmissions are controlled according to a time-frequency pattern that is different for each of said plurality of transmitters; and

logic for identifying portions of information payload bits included in transmissions based on said time-frequency pattern.

9. The receiver of claim 8 wherein said receiver further comprises logic for identifying at least one of said plurality of transmitters based on said time-frequency pattern.

10. The receiver of claim 8 wherein said receiver is enabled to aggregate said portions of information payload.

11. A plurality of telemetry transmitters, each of which comprises:

a circuit for transmitting intermittently, at various transmission frequencies, independently of any other of said plurality of transmitters, and independently of any apparatus for receiving from any of said plurality of transmitters, and

logic for controlling transmission frequency and time between transmissions according to a frequency-time pattern that is different for each of said plurality of transmitters,

wherein, in operation, each of a plurality of transmissions comprises a portion of information payload, wherein said portion is selected based on said frequency-time pattern.

12. The plurality of telemetry transmitters of claim 11 wherein each of a plurality of transmissions is devoid of bits of a transmitter identification.

13. The plurality of telemetry transmitters of claim 11 wherein information payload includes bits of time-frequency pattern generator.

14. The plurality of telemetry transmitters of claim 11 wherein said portions of information payload are included at various rates in the transmitted messages.

15. The plurality of telemetry transmitters of claim 11 wherein said portions of information payload are included according to a variable algorithm.