JP7000745B2 - Terminal device and communication method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to communication technology, and more particularly to a terminal device and a communication method capable of performing communication by commercial radio.

A wireless communication device that uses TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) technology to perform communication using any of a plurality of time slots is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). If the default time slot is not available, the wireless communication device searches for an available time slot, temporarily selects an available time slot, and starts communication. When the default time slot becomes available, the wireless communication device reselects the default time slot.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/01597958

In the above technique, when the default time slot is not available, the available time slot is searched, so complicated determination and processing are required.

The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal device and a communication method capable of switching transmission time slots and executing transmission with simple processing.

In order to solve the above problems, the terminal device of an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit that communicates using any of a plurality of time slots of a communication channel, an operation unit that accepts a user's transmission operation, and a communication unit. When the operation unit accepts a transmission operation while receiving a reception signal that is not addressed to the local terminal device, it is determined whether the time slot of the reception signal is the same as the preset transmission time slot. It is determined by the determination unit and the determination unit that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device is the same as the preset transmission time slot, and the operation unit transmits again within a predetermined time after the determination. When an operation is accepted, a switching unit for switching a transmission time slot and causing a communication unit to execute transmission is provided.

Another aspect of the present invention is a communication method. This method is a communication method in a terminal device that communicates using any of a plurality of time slots of a communication channel, and receives a step of accepting a transmission operation of a user and a reception signal not addressed to the own terminal device. When the transmission operation is accepted while the terminal is in use, the step of determining whether the time slot of the received signal is the same as the preset transmission time slot and the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device are set. A step of switching the transmission time slot and executing transmission when it is determined that the transmission time slot is the same as the default transmission time slot and the transmission operation is accepted again within a predetermined time after the determination . To prepare for.

It should be noted that any combination of the above components and the conversion of the expression of the present invention between methods, devices, systems, recording media, computer programs and the like are also effective as aspects of the present invention.

According to the present invention, transmission can be executed by switching transmission time slots with a simple process.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication system which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the terminal apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the terminal apparatus of FIG.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, first, an outline will be given. The embodiment relates to a terminal device capable of executing communication by commercial wireless. The commercial radio carries out voice communication. An example of voice communication is PTT (Push to Talk). In PTT, the user presses the PTT button at the start of a call and releases the PTT button at the end of the call. Further, in the commercial radio, it is possible to form a group by a plurality of terminal devices.

DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) is known as a standard for communication methods for commercial wireless communication. DMR is a TDMA standard in which two time slots are assigned to one communication channel. The plurality of terminal devices communicate using either of the two time slots of one communication channel. By assigning different time slots to the two groups, one communication channel can be shared and the two groups can individually execute communication. As described above, it is desirable to switch the transmission time slot with a simple process.

Therefore, in the terminal device according to the present embodiment, when a transmission operation by the PTT button is received while receiving a reception signal that is not addressed to the own terminal device, the time slot of the reception signal is initially set for transmission. Determine if it is the same as the time slot of. Then, when it is determined that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device is the same as the preset transmission time slot, and the transmission operation by the PTT button is accepted again, the transmission time slot is used. To make the communication unit execute transmission.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication system 100 according to an embodiment. The communication system 100 includes a first terminal device 10a, a second terminal device 10b, a third terminal device 10c, and a fourth terminal device 10d, which are collectively referred to as a terminal device 10. The number of terminal devices 10 is not limited to "4".

The terminal device 10 is a wireless terminal capable of executing communication with another terminal device 10 by commercial radio. Here, it is assumed that a call is made as communication. In addition, data communication may be performed. Since known DMR technology may be used for commercial radio, detailed description thereof will be omitted here. For example, the first terminal device 10a and the second terminal device 10b form the first group 12, and the third terminal device 10c and the fourth terminal device 10d form the second group 14. In this way, a plurality of groups including a plurality of terminal devices 10 are formed. The number of terminal devices 10 included in one group is not limited to "2". For each group, communication is performed from one terminal device 10 included in the group to the remaining terminal devices 10 included in the group. As described above, in the DMR technology, since one communication channel has two time slots, it is possible to perform half-duplex communication of two lines on one communication channel, that is, one frequency. Therefore, the communication channel used for communication by the plurality of terminal devices 10 in the first group 12 may be the same as the communication channel used for communication by the plurality of terminal devices 10 in the second group 14. Hereinafter, the two time slots are referred to as time slot 1 and time slot 2.

The plurality of terminal devices 10 may be connected to a base station device (not shown). In this case, the plurality of terminal devices 10 can communicate with each other via the base station device. The base station device assigns an uplink channel and a downlink channel to the group. Under such circumstances, one terminal device 10 in the group transmits a signal on the uplink channel, and the other terminal device 10 in the group receives the signal on the downlink channel. The upstream channel and the downstream channel have a time slot 1 and a time slot 2, respectively.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 includes a communication unit 20, a reception processing unit 22, a transmission processing unit 24, a speaker 26, a microphone 28, and an operation unit 30. The transmission processing unit 24 includes a transmission unit 40, a switching unit 42, a determination unit 44, and a notification unit 46.

The communication unit 20 corresponds to the DMR and communicates with another terminal device 10 of its own group by using one of the two time slots of the communication channel. The communication unit 20 receives a signal from the other terminal device 10 and transmits the signal to the other terminal device 10.

The reception processing unit 22 detects the reception signal received by the communication unit 20. The received signal received by the communication unit 20 may be transmitted from another terminal device 10 on the transmitting side of the own group, or from another terminal device 10 of another group sharing the communication channel of the own group. It may be sent. The reception processing unit 22 determines whether or not the received signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10 based on the identifier included in the received signal. The identifier includes the terminal device ID. The terminal device ID is a number that uniquely identifies the terminal device 10. When the terminal device ID included in the received signal matches the terminal device ID of the own terminal device 10, the reception processing unit 22 determines that the received signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10, and is included in the received signal. If the existing terminal device ID does not match the terminal device ID of the own terminal device 10, it is determined that the received signal is addressed to another terminal device 10. The identifier may further include a color code or the like, which is a predetermined number. Further, the reception processing unit 22 determines whether the time slot of the received signal is the time slot 1 or the time slot 2 based on the information of the time slot included in the received signal.

The reception processing unit 22 mutes the audio signal when the power of the terminal device 10 is turned on. If the received signal is not addressed to the own terminal device 10, the reception processing unit 22 continues to mute the audio signal. Due to the mute of the audio signal, the speaker 26 does not output audio. On the other hand, when the received signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10, the reception processing unit 22 cancels the mute of the audio signal, demodulates the audio signal based on the received signal, and reproduces the audio signal. This process is executed regardless of whether the time slot of the received signal is time slot 1 or time slot 2. Specifically, in this case, the reception processing unit 22 causes the communication unit 20 to perform amplification, frequency conversion, demodulation, decoding, and the like of the received signal. The communication unit 20 outputs the processing result (hereinafter, also referred to as “audio signal”) to the reception processing unit 22. The reception processing unit 22 reproduces the audio signal. The reception processing unit 22 outputs an audio signal to the speaker 26. The speaker 26 receives the voice signal from the reception processing unit 22, and outputs the voice signal as voice. The speaker 26 also outputs a notification sound and the like.

The reception processing unit 22 has information on whether or not a received signal has been detected, information on whether or not the received signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10, and the time slot of the received signal is either time slot 1 or time slot 2. The information is output to the transmission processing unit 24.

The microphone 28 receives voice from the user during a call and converts the voice into a voice signal. The microphone 28 outputs an audio signal to the transmission processing unit 24. The operation unit 30 accepts the transmission operation of the user. The operation unit 30 corresponds to a PTT button and is pushed down by the user when transmitting voice by PTT. Also, the PTT button is kept pressed down while transmitting voice. Depressing the PTT button corresponds to receiving a transmission operation for transmitting an audio signal. The PTT button continues to output instructions to the transmission processing unit 24 while it is pressed down.

The transmission unit 40 inputs an audio signal from the microphone 28 when receiving an instruction from the operation unit 30. The transmission unit 40 converts an audio signal from an analog signal to a digital signal, and outputs the converted audio signal (hereinafter, also referred to as “audio signal”) to the communication unit 20. On the other hand, the transmitting unit 40 does not execute such a process when the instruction from the operating unit 30 is not received. The communication unit 20 inputs an audio signal from the transmission unit 40, and transmits the audio signal to another terminal device 10 on the receiving side using the time slot 1 or the time slot 2. For the transmission of the audio signal, the communication unit 20 performs coding, modulation, frequency conversion, amplification and the like.

Which time slot is used as the transmission of the audio signal by the communication unit 20 and the time slot for transmission is controlled by the switching unit 42 as follows according to the received signal. Here, in order to clarify the explanation, (1) when the received signal is not detected, (2) when the detected received signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10, and (3) the detected received signal is the own terminal. The case where it is not addressed to the device 10 will be described in this order.

(1) When the received signal is not detected The transmission processing unit 24 stores the initially set transmission time slot. Hereinafter, the default transmission time slot will be described as an example of the time slot 1, but the time slot 2 may be used. When the reception processing unit 22 has not detected the received signal and the operation unit 30 has received the transmission operation, the switching unit 42 has the communication unit 20 in the time slot 1 which is the initial setting time slot for transmission. To execute the transmission.

(2) When the detected received signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10 When the received signal is detected, the reception processing unit 22 instructs the communication unit 20 to decode, and the time slot is determined by the decoded signal. I do. The switching unit 42 is for transmission in which the received signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10, the operation unit 30 receives the transmission operation within a predetermined time from the end of reception of the received signal, and the time slot of the received signal is initially set. If it is different from the time slot of, the time slot for transmission is switched to the time slot that was received immediately before, and the communication unit 20 is made to execute the transmission. For example, the switching unit 42 switches the transmission time slot to the time slot 2 when the time slot of the received signal is the time slot 2. The predetermined time is a time that enables a response in the same time slot as the received signal received immediately before, and is set in advance by an experiment or the like. When transmitting in response to the received signal addressed to the local terminal device 10, it is necessary to enable transmission in the received time slot for a predetermined time because the transmission is performed within a short time after the reception of the received signal is completed. .. Further, when a certain amount of time has passed after the reception of the received signal addressed to the own terminal device 10 is completed, the process is simplified by returning to the start of the flowchart of FIG. 3 described later and setting the initially set time slot. Can be. The end of reception corresponds to the fact that the received signal is not continued.

On the other hand, in the switching unit 42, the received signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10, the operation unit 30 receives the transmission operation within a predetermined time from the end of reception, and the time slot of the received signal is initially set for transmission. In the same case as the time slot, the time slot for transmission is maintained and the communication unit 20 is made to execute the transmission. That is, when the time slot of the received signal is the time slot 1, the switching unit 42 maintains the time slot for transmission in the initially set time slot 1.

In this way, when the communication unit 20 receives the reception signal addressed to the own terminal device 10 and the operation unit 30 receives the transmission operation within a predetermined time from the end of reception, the communication unit 20 sets the time slot of the reception signal. Use to perform transmission.

When the transmission time slot when the transmission by the communication unit 20 is completed is different from the initial setting transmission time slot, the switching unit 42 sets the transmission time slot as the initial setting transmission time slot. Switch to. The end of transmission corresponds to the end of acceptance of the user's transmission operation by the operation unit 30 of the own terminal device 10 and the end of transmission of the audio signal in the own terminal device 10.

Further, when the reception signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10 and the operation unit 30 does not accept the transmission operation within a predetermined time from the end of reception, the switching unit 42 is initially set regardless of the received time slot. Maintain a time slot for transmission.

The transmission processing unit 24 can transmit in the received time slot even when the communication unit 20 receives the reception signal addressed to the own terminal device 10 and the operation unit 30 accepts the transmission operation before the reception is completed. May be.

Further, the transmission processing unit 24 may be provided with a setting for accepting or rejecting the transmission operation when the communication unit 20 detects the received signal, and further, the received signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10. In this case, if the received signal is continuing, the transmission operation may be rejected. As a result, it is possible to prevent transmission by covering the received signal even though the signal addressed to the own terminal device is being received. Further, when the reception signal not addressed to the own terminal device 10 is received, the setting may be set to accept the transmission operation. In the present invention, the meanings of "accepting the transmission operation" and "not accepting the transmission operation" mean "the transmission operation has been detected" and "the transmission operation has not been detected". That is, it means a determination as to whether or not the user who operates the terminal device 10 has performed the transmission operation. On the other hand, the meaning of "rejecting the transmission operation" means that even if the transmission operation is detected, the transmission state is not set. That is, even if the user who operates the terminal device 10 performs the transmission operation, the transmission state is not set. Means that.

(3) When the detected received signal is not addressed to the own terminal device 10. In the determination unit 44, the operation unit 30 accepts a transmission operation when the communication unit 20 is receiving a received signal that is not addressed to the own terminal device 10. If so, it is determined whether the time slot of the received signal is the same as the preset transmission time slot.

When the determination unit 44 determines that the time slot of the received signal that is not addressed to the own terminal device 10 is different from the initially set transmission time slot, the switching unit 42 uses the initially set transmission time slot. Have the communication unit 20 execute the transmission. That is, when the time slot of the received signal is the time slot 2, the switching unit 42 maintains the time slot for transmission in the initially set time slot 1. At this time, the switching unit 42 causes the communication unit 20 to execute transmission regardless of whether or not the initially set transmission time slot is vacant.

On the other hand, when the determination unit 44 determines that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device 10 is the same as the preset transmission time slot, the switching unit 42 transmits to the communication unit 20. Make it non-executive. That is, the switching unit 42 causes the communication unit 20 to non-execute the transmission when the time slot 1 which is the initially set transmission time slot is being used by another terminal device 10 of another group.

When the determination unit 44 determines that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device 10 is the same as the preset transmission time slot, the notification unit 46 causes the speaker 26 to output a notification sound. , May notify the user that the transmission is non-executive. In addition to the notification sound, the notification unit 46 may display a display unit (not shown) of the terminal device 10 indicating that transmission is not executed. The user who recognizes that the transmission could not be performed cancels the transmission operation and releases the PTT button. When the user wants to send a call, the user performs the send operation again.

The switching unit 42 determines that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device 10 is the same as the preset transmission time slot by the determination unit 44, and the operation unit 30 accepts the transmission operation again. If so, the transmission time slot is switched and the communication unit 20 is made to execute the transmission. Specifically, in the switching unit 42, after it is determined that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device 10 is the same as the preset transmission time slot, the operation unit 30 sets the operation unit 30 within a predetermined time. When the transmission operation is accepted again, a process of switching the transmission time slot and causing the communication unit 20 to execute the transmission is performed. The predetermined time is set in advance by an experiment or the like. That is, the switching unit 42 switches the transmission time slot to the time slot 2 when the time slot of the received signal is the time slot 1. At this time, the switching unit 42 switches the transmission time slot without confirming whether the switching destination time slot is vacant, and causes the communication unit 20 to execute the transmission.

When the transmission time slot when the transmission by the communication unit 20 is completed is different from the initial setting transmission time slot, the switching unit 42 sets the transmission time slot as the initial setting transmission time slot. Switch to.

In addition, if the transmission cannot be performed in the first transmission operation, the user may cancel the transmission. After the switching unit 42 determines that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device 10 is the same as the preset transmission time slot, the switching unit 42 takes a predetermined time before the operation unit 30 accepts the transmission operation again. Maintains a time slot for transmission when is elapsed. Further, the notification unit 46 may stop the notification sound or display notifying the user that the transmission is not executed.

If it is not possible to determine whether or not the received signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10, the switching unit 42 maintains the initially set transmission time slot. For example, if the received signal is weak, noise unrelated to communication, or a nuisance wave, and the reception processing unit 22 cannot determine the time slot from the decoded signal, the switching condition. Keeps the default transmission time slot as not satisfied.

This configuration can be realized by the CPU, memory, or other LSI of any computer in terms of hardware, and by programs loaded in memory in terms of software, but here it is realized by cooperation between them. It depicts a functional block that will be used. Therefore, it is understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

The operation of the terminal device 10 with the above configuration will be described. 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the processing of the terminal device 10. This process is repeated. If the reception processing unit 22 has not detected the received signal (N in S10) and the operation unit 30 does not accept the transmission operation (N in S12), the processing ends. If the operation unit 30 accepts the transmission operation (Y in S12), the communication unit 20 performs transmission in the initially set transmission time slot (S14). If the transmission is not completed (N in S16), the transmission is maintained. If the transmission is completed (Y in S16), the process is terminated.

If the reception processing unit 22 detects the received signal in step 10 (Y in S10) and the received signal is addressed to the local terminal device 10 (Y in S18), the process proceeds to FIG. 4, and the reception processing unit 22 cancels the mute. Then, the communication unit 20 is made to perform demodulation (S20). If the operation unit 30 does not accept the transmission operation (N in S21) and the reception signal is continuing (Y in S22), the process returns to step 21. When the operation unit 30 accepts the transmission operation (Y in S21), the communication unit 20 transmits in the receiving time slot (S23). When the reception signal ends (N in S22), a predetermined time has elapsed from the end of reception (Y in S24), and the operation unit 30 does not accept the transmission operation (N in S25), the process ends. When the operation unit 30 accepts the transmission operation (Y in S25), the communication unit 20 performs transmission in the default time slot (S26). If the predetermined time has not elapsed from the end of reception (N in S24) and the operation unit 30 does not accept the transmission operation (N in S27), the process returns to step 24. If the operation unit 30 accepts the transmission operation (Y in S27), the communication unit 20 performs transmission in the time slot received immediately before (S28).

In the case of transmission (S23, S26, S28), if the transmission is not completed (N in S30), the transmission is maintained. If the transmission is completed (Y in S30) and the time slot used for transmission is the preset time slot for transmission (Y in S32), the process is terminated. If the time slot used for transmission is not the preset time slot for transmission (N in S32), the process returns to FIG. 3, the time slot for transmission is returned to the initialized time slot (S50), and processing is performed. To finish.

If the received signal is not addressed to the local terminal device 10 in step 18 (N in S18), the reception processing unit 22 continues muting (S34). If the operation unit 30 does not accept the transmission operation (N in S36) and continuously receives the received signal (Y in S37), the process returns to step 18. If the operation unit 30 does not accept the transmission operation (N in S36) and the received signal disappears (N in S37), the process ends. If the operation unit 30 accepts the transmission operation (Y in S36) and the time slot of the received signal is not the same as the preset transmission time slot (N in S38), the process proceeds to step 14. If the time slot of the received signal is the same as the preset transmission time slot (Y in S38), the communication unit 20 cancels the received transmission operation and does not execute the transmission (S40). When a predetermined time has elapsed from the cancellation of the transmission (Y in S42), the process ends. If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the transmission was canceled (N in S42) and the operation unit 30 does not accept the transmission operation (N in S44), the process returns to step 42.

If the operation unit 30 accepts the transmission operation (Y in S44), the communication unit 20 performs transmission in a transmission time slot different from the initially set transmission time slot (S46). If the transmission is not completed (N in S48), the transmission is maintained. When the transmission is completed (Y in S48), the time slot for transmission is returned to the initially set time slot (S50), and the process is terminated.

If the reception signal is addressed to the own terminal device 10 and the reception signal is being continued and the transmission operation is rejected, step 21 may always be No.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the transmission operation is received, it is determined that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device 10 is the same as the initially set transmission time slot, and When the transmission operation is accepted again, the transmission time slot is switched and the communication unit 20 is made to execute the transmission. Therefore, it is possible to switch the transmission time slot according to the transmission operation again without determining whether another time slot is vacant. Therefore, the transmission can be executed by switching the transmission time slot with a simple process.

Further, when the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the local terminal device 10 is the same as the preset transmission time slot, the user is notified that the transmission is not executed, so that the transmission is not executed. It is possible to easily make the user recognize that there is. Further, when a predetermined time elapses before accepting another transmission operation after it is determined that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device 10 is the same as the preset transmission time slot. Since the time slot for transmission is maintained, the transmission can be easily stopped.

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments are exemplary and that various modifications are possible for each of these components and combinations of processing processes, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. ..

For example, not only when two time slots are assigned to one communication channel, three or more time slots may be assigned to one communication channel.

10 ... Terminal device, 20 ... Communication unit, 22 ... Reception processing unit, 24 ... Transmission processing unit, 26 ... Speaker, 28 ... Microphone, 30 ... Operation unit, 40 ... Transmission unit, 42 ... Switching unit, 44 ... Judgment unit , 46 ... Notification unit.

Claims (6)

A communication unit that communicates using any of the multiple time slots of the communication channel,
An operation unit that accepts user transmission operations,
When the operation unit accepts a transmission operation while the communication unit is receiving a reception signal that is not addressed to the own terminal device, the time slot of the reception signal is the same as the preset transmission time slot. Judgment unit to determine if there is,
The determination unit determines that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device is the same as the initially set transmission time slot, and the operation unit again within a predetermined time after the determination. When a transmission operation is accepted, a switching unit that switches the transmission time slot and causes the communication unit to execute transmission, and a switching unit.
A terminal device characterized by being provided with. When the determination unit determines that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device is the same as the initially set transmission time slot, the user is notified that the transmission is not executed. The terminal device according to claim 1 , further comprising a notification unit. When the transmission time slot when the transmission by the communication unit is completed is different from the initial setting transmission time slot, the switching unit sets the transmission time slot for the initial setting transmission. The terminal device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the terminal device is switched to a time slot. It is a communication method in a terminal device that communicates using any one of a plurality of time slots of a communication channel.
A step that accepts a user's send operation,
When a transmission operation is received while receiving a reception signal that is not addressed to the local terminal device, a step of determining whether the time slot of the received signal is the same as the preset transmission time slot, and
When it is determined that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device is the same as the initially set transmission time slot, and the transmission operation is accepted again within a predetermined time after the determination. Steps to switch the transmission time slot and execute transmission,
A communication method characterized by being provided with. Further provided is a step of notifying the user that the transmission is not executed when it is determined that the time slot of the received signal not addressed to the own terminal device is the same as the initially set transmission time slot. The communication method according to claim 4, wherein the communication method is characterized by the above. Further including a step of switching the transmission time slot to the initialized transmission time slot when the transmission time slot at the end of transmission is different from the initialized transmission time slot. The communication method according to claim 4 or 5.

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