Secure anti-jamming wireless party line

• US 5,553,126 A
• Filed: 01/20/1995
• Issued: 09/03/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verizon Laboratories Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GTE Laboratories Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tang, Douglas D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOOMIS, PAUL A
• Application Number:
  US08/375,876
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• Field of Search: 379/181, 379/179, 379/185, 379/58, 379/59, 379/60, 379/61, 379/62, 379/63, 375/200, 370/18, 370/85.8, 370/85.7, 370/95.1, 370/95.2, 455/33, 455/33.1, 455/33.4, 455/53.1, 455/54.2
• US Class Current: 370/342
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 1/00 Secret communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/16 for telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/25 based on characteristics of target signal or of transmission as countermeasure against surveillance H04K3/827, e.g. using direct sequence spread spectrum or fast frequency hopping spread spectrum techniques H04B1/69
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/827 using characteristics of target signal or of transmission as countermeasure against jamming H04K3/25, e.g. using direct sequence spread spectrum or fast frequency hopping spread spectrum techniques H04B1/69
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/121 Wireless intrusion detection systems [WIDS]; Wireless intrusion prevention systems [WIPS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/122 Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices

Abstract

A secure wireless party line system that can be used by a group of mobile users to communicate with each other like a wired party line but without the cumbersome inconvenience of long wired tether. The party line function is achieved by the use of a fixed wireless repeater. The fixed wireless repeater receives spread spectrum transmissions from all N mobile users at a frequency f1, and passes the received signals through an RF amplifier and upconverter, and then to an IF amplifier and power divider, which converts the received signals down to a convenient intermediate frequency (IF), and feeds N receive spread spectrum processors, each dedicated to receive a coded spread spectrum transmission from one user. The received voice outputs from the N users are then combined in a N-channel voice data multiplexer, and broadcast at a frequency f2 to all users with a common spread spectrum code word added by a transmit spread spectrum processor. The commonly coded broadcast messages are processed by an RF amplifier and broadcast at frequency f2. All mobile radio receivers receive on the same common code word used by the fixed wireless repeater for broadcasting. Each mobile user on said party line carries a simple single channel radio transceiver. Spread spectrum transmission provides security and anti-jamming performance. Analog and digital embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A wireless party line for radiotelecommunications, comprising:

at least two radio-telephones, each programmed with an identifying code word for inclusion in each of its transmissions and with a common identifying code word for reception of transmissions from other sources;

a fixed wireless repeater capable of receiving telephonic communications from a plurality of radio-telephones within its radio coverage, each with its unique identifying code word, and capable of retransmitting by radio each of said telephonic communications to a plurality of mobile radio-telephones simultaneously using a common identifying code word;

whereby said fixed wireless repeater provides a party line by means of which each mobile radio-telephone receives all retransmitted communications from said wireless mobile radio-telephones.

2. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 1 further comprising means to render said radio radio-telephonic communications secure.

3. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 1 wherein said means to render said radio radio-telephonic communications secure comprises:

means to assign to each mobile radio-telephone a unique code word for transmitting; and

means to spread the spectrum of each radio transmission.

4. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 1 wherein said fixed wireless repeater comprises:

means to receive radio signals from a plurality of radio-telephones, at a first frequency, wherein each transmission from each said radio-telephone includes said identifying code word;

means to convert received radio signals from said plurality of radio-telephones down to a convenient intermediate frequency (IF);

means to feed said coded radio signals to N receive spread spectrum processors, each dedicated to receive a coded spread spectrum transmission from one radio-telephone, whose output is a digitized voice data stream;

means to combine said digitized voice data stream outputs from said N receive spread spectrum processors in an N-channel voice data multiplexer; and

means to broadcast at a frequency f2 said combined voice outputs from said N plurality of radio-telephones to all radio-telephones with a common spread spectrum code word added by a transmit spread spectrum processor.

5. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 4 wherein said fixed wireless repeater further comprises:

means to convert said received coded radio signals to analog voice outputs; and

means to encode said analog voice outputs to recover said digitized voice data stream with time synchronization.

6. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 4 wherein said fixed wireless repeater further comprises:

means to time-multiplex said N output data streams from said N spread spectrum processors representing the voice data streams of the N mobile users to N different time slots to form one combined data stream;

means to spread said combined date stream with a common code word, upconverted to radio frequency, f2, for broadcast to all mobile receivers.

7. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 1 wherein each mobile radio-telephone connected to said fixed wireless repeater comprises:

voice encoding means to digitize and encode the voice of a mobile user;

means to spread said encoded voice with a preprogrammed code word;

means to up-convert said spread spectrum signal to a final rf frequency, f₁, for transmission;

such that all mobile radio-telephones on said party line transmit at the same radio frequency f1, but with different code words.

8. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 7 wherein each mobile radio-telephone connected to said fixed wireless repeater further comprises:

a preprogrammed a code word, common to all mobile receivers;

means to receive the rf spread spectrum signal containing said combined voice data stream broadcast by said fixed wireless repeater;

means to down-convert and recover said combined voice data stream;

means to demultiplex said combined voice data stream to separate the N individual voice data streams;

means to decode each voice data stream to obtain its analog voice;

means to exclude the voice transmitted from said radio-telephone;

means to combine the rest of the (N-1) analog voices on said party line in a (N-1) channel audio mixer; and

,

means to drive an earphone with the output of said audio mixer;

whereby said party line performance is achieved with only one radio transceiver for each mobile user.

9. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 1 wherein said fixed wireless repeater comprises:

means to receive radio signals from a plurality of radio-telephones, at a first frequency, wherein each transmission from each said radio-telephone includes said identifying code word;

means to convert received radio signals from said plurality of radio-telephones down to a convenient intermediate frequency (IF);

means to feed said coded radio signals to N receive spread spectrum processors 38, each dedicated to receive a coded spread spectrum transmission from one radio-telephone;

means to convert said received coded radio signals to voice outputs from said N plurality of radio-telephones;

means to mix said N analog voices in a N-channel audio mixer 80;

means to encode said mixed audio output;

means to spread said mixed audio output with a common code word, up-converted to radio frequency f₂ ; and

means to broadcast at a frequency f2 said combined voice outputs from said N plurality of radio-telephones to all radio-telephones.

10. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 9 wherein each mobile radio-telephone connected to said fixed wireless repeater comprises:

voice encoding means to digitize and encode the voice of a mobile user;

means to spread said encoded voice with a preprogrammed code word;

means to up-convert said spread spectrum signal to a final rf frequency, f₁, for transmission;

such that all mobile radio-telephones on said party line transmit at the same radio frequency f1, but with different code words.

11. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 10 wherein each mobile radio-telephone connected to said fixed wireless repeater further comprises:

a preprograrnmed a code word, common to all mobile receivers;

means to receive the rf spread spectrum signal containing said combined voice data stream broadcast by said fixed wireless repeater;

means to down-convert and recover said combined voice data stream;

means to decode said voice data stream to obtain its analog voice;

means to drive an earphone with said analog voice stream;

whereby said party line performance is achieved with only one radio transceiver for each mobile user;

such that each user will hear himself talking with a slight delay due to processing time and propagation delay.

12. The wireless party line for radiotelecommunications of claim 1 wherein said fixed wireless repeater further comprises:

means to connect said fixed wireless repeater to a wire-line telephone system.