TDMA communication device with two antennas transmitting two beacons The present invention concerns the field of radio communication systems and more particularly group communication systems using a hierarchical half-duplex TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) technology. 5 The system is said to be a group system in that it enables communication between a plurality of radio handsets within a communicating group. It is hierarchical since the system is based on the definition of a handset as the base, the other sets establishing a connection with this base. The functioning of the handsets is asymmetric, each handset connects with the base and communicates directly only with 10 the latter. The system is TDMA in that the time is divided into frames used for communication. Each frame is itself divided into elementary time intervals referred to as time slots for the communication. This communication is also multifrequency, that is to say the system can communicate on a plurality of frequencies. The transmission 15 channel can therefore be seen as an arrangement with two dimensions, a time dimension and a frequency dimension, which defines elementary communication units (slots) corresponding to a time and frequency slot pair enabling communication.
The system is half-duplex in that the communication from base to handset, referred to as downlink communication, and communication from handset to base, referred to as uplink communication, is not simultaneous but distributed over different time slots. Typically, the frame is divided into two parts, a part dedicated to downlink 5 traffic and a part dedicated to uplink traffic. Fig. 1 illustrates the structure of the frame in the example embodiment of the invention. The frame 1.1 is divided into a first part 1.2 dedicated to the downlink traffic transmitted by the base to the handsets, and a second part 1.3 dedicated to the uplink traffic from the handsets to the base. It is expressed along the time axis 1.4 and 10 the frequency axis 1.5. It defines elementary communication units 1.6 defined by a given frequency and a duration equivalent to the elementary time slot. The duration of the frame is, in the example embodiment, around 10 ms divided into twice 12 elementary time slots. This frame is repeated periodically. The communication system is intended for a group of mobile individuals who 15 carry the communication handset on themselves. Since the body of the user may mask the antenna of the handset depending on the position of the user and his location with respect to the individual carrying the base, the handset advantageously has two antennas placed at different points on the body of the user. Typically a first antenna is placed on one side of the torso while the second antenna is placed on the opposite 20 shoulder. To enable a handset to connect to the base, the latter transmits a signal known as a beacon. This signal uses one of the elementary units of the frame in its downlink part. This signal is therefore transmitted periodically during each frame and contains the signalling and synchronisation information necessary for the handset to connect 25 and synchronise on the base so as to be able to communicate with it. This beacon signal is typically transmitted on a predefined antenna. The invention aims to improve the range of the system described by proposing the transmission of a second beacon on the second antenna. In this way, the handsets the position of which involves the masking of the first antenna can receive the beacon 30 transmitted by the second antenna and connect to the base. Particular embodiments limit the consumption of base communication units by using units utilised for communication to carry this second beacon. The invention concerns a communication device able to communicate in a hierarchical half-duplex TDMA radio communication system, the transmission 3 channel being defined by a time-frequency frame of elementary communication units defined by a frequency and a duration equal to an interval of unit time, including: - at least two antennas; - means for transmitting a first beacon signal contained in a header of data 5 packets transmitted in a first elementary communication unit on a first antenna; - means for transmitting a second beacon signal contained in said header of data packets transmitted in a second elementary communication unit on a second antenna; 10 - each data packet further including a payload for data; wherein it further includes: - means for duplicating data to be broadcast from said device, in the only parts of data of the packets respectively transmitted in the first and second elementary communication units, so that said data packets have their 15 respective headers carrying the first and second beacon signals and their payloads are identical and contain said replicated data. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, it comprises a transmission channel composed of a pair of communication units, one unit per communication direction having been reserved for a communication, said device also 20 comprising means for moving said second beacon signal to transmit it within the communication unit of the reserved channel. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, it comprises means for transmitting the signal transmitted on the reserved channel on the antenna that benefitted from the best reception during the previous frame and it also comprises 25 means for transmitting the first beacon signal that was not moved to the transmission channel on the antenna that is not selected for the transmission of said reserved transmission channel. Comprises/comprising and grammatical variations thereof when used in this specification are to be taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps 30 or components or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.
3a The features of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will emerge more clearly from a reading of the following description of an example embodiment, said description being given in relation to the accompanying drawings, among which: Fig. 1 illustrates the structure of the frame in an example embodiment of the 5 invention, Fig. 2 illustrates the structure of the data packet transmitted in a communication unit in the example embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3 illustrates the structure of the frame in a first embodiment of the invention, and 10 Fig. 4 illustrates the structure of the frame in a second embodiment. The systems of the prior art function according to the principle described with two antennas implementing an antenna switch mechanism during communications. According to this mechanism the communication typically involves an associated pair of communication units, a first in the first downlink half-frame and the second on the 15 same frequency at the time slot offset by 12 in the uplink half-frame. The signal is 4 received on the two antennas. For each communication unit, the receiver determines the antenna on which the received signal is the stronger. This antenna is then selected for transmitting the response. It is assumed that, in the lapse of time between the reception of the signal and the transmission of the response, the position of the 5 interlocutors has varied only a little and that generally the better antenna in reception is also once again the better antenna in transmission. In fact, measurements show that the range of the system, defined as the maximum distance at which the communication remains operative, increases when this antenna switch mechanism is used. 10 The transmitted signal is transmitted in the form of a data packet transmitted in a communication unit. This data packet is illustrated by Fig. 2 according to the example embodiment of the invention. In other embodiments, it could take a different form. In this example, the data packet is composed of a header 2.1 that contains signalling and protocol information and a data part 2.2 that contains the exchanged data proper. 15 Typically, the data part contains the audio samples during a voice communication. The beacon signal transmitted by the base to enable the handsets to be connected consists of signalling information contained in the header of the data packet. The data part of the packet is therefore not impacted by the beacon information. This signal is intended for any number of handsets and does not participate in a data exchange. It 20 cannot therefore benefit from the antenna switch mechanism described above for attempting to determine, during each transmission, the best antenna for transmitting the beacon. The latter is therefore transmitted by default on a predefined antenna. It therefore happens that a handset may not receive the beacon signal since this antenna is masked whereas a signal transmitted by the second antenna could be received. 25 The invention proposes to provide the base with means for transmitting a second beacon signal on the second antenna. Thus each frame has two beacon signals, the two beacon signals are transmitted in two different communication units and on different antennas. Thus a handset seeking to connect to the base can choose, to do this, the beacon signal that it best receives, or even the only one that it receives. One thus 30 benefits from the diversity of antennas in the context of the reception of the beacon signal and the connection of the handset. According to the prior art where only one beacon is transmitted by the base, when a handset connected to the base loses the beacon signal it loses the connection with the base. According to the invention, the handset receives the two beacon signals transmitted by the base. It connects to the beacon signal received with the most power. If it happens that it loses reception of the beacon signal that it used in order to connect, it skips beacon. For this purpose, it is provided with means for automatically switching its connection onto the second beacon when it loses the reception from the 5 beacon to which it is connected. The communication system described enables a handset to communicate with the base. It also typically comprises a broadcast mode in which the carrier of the base communicates with all the handsets connected. Moreover, the system described also has the feature of broadcasting the 10 communication from a handset so that all the connected handsets are in a position to listen to the transmission from one of the handsets. These features lead to differentiating several operating modes of the system that will be described below. In a first mode, no one is speaking, and the base therefore transmits its two beacons on its two antennas. This mode is illustrated by the frame in figure 3. A first 15 beacon is transmitted on a first antenna in the communication unit 3.1 while the second is transmitted on the other antenna in the communication unit 3.2. Each of these transmissions involves the sending of a data packet, only the header of which is used for the signalling information of the beacon signal. The data part of the packet is not defined. 20 In a second mode, the carrier of the base speaks in broadcast mode to all the group. According to the prior art, the broadcasts made by the base use the data part of the packet used for the transmission of the beacon in order to avoid consuming an additional communication unit in the frame. This method can be repeated in the invention. In this first embodiment, the audio broadcast by the base is therefore 25 transmitted in the data part of one of the beacon packets transmitted in the frame. Advantageously, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, this audio is duplicated in the two beacons. In this mode, the data packets of the two beacon signals each contain a different header corresponding to the signalling of their respective beacon and the same duplicated data part. In this way, the handsets at the limit of 30 range increase their chance of receiving the broadcast audio data. They can choose the signal best received. The same applies whatever the nature of the broadcast message, voice or data, and the data are then also duplicated in the data part of the packets of the two beacons.
6 In a third mode, a handset carrier begins to speak. To do this he needs a transmission channel. The transmission channel is defined here as a pair of elementary communication units, one unit per communication direction. A first unit in the downlink subframe and a second in the uplink subframe. Typically, these units match 5 each other, that is to say they use the same frequency and are separated by 12 elementary time slots. In this mode, the audio transmitted by the handset is transmitted in the reserved transmission channel. Advantageously, this audio is retransmitted by the base to all the handsets connected in broadcast mode. In this case, it is transmitted, in a duplicated fashion, in the data parts of the beacon packets. 10 Advantageously, when the communication is established and the transmission channel is reserved, the base suppresses one of the two beacons in order to transfer it onto the reserved channel. It is thus possible to save on a communication unit. The signalling information necessary for the beacon is then transmitted in the header of the data packet transmitted in the transmission channel reserved for communication. In 15 this mode, illustrated in Fig. 4, the two beacons are transmitted in the communication units 4.1 and 4.2. A handset causes the reservation of a transmission channel in order to transmit, this channel is reserved, it consists of corresponding communication units 4.3 and 4.4. The base then has the means for suppressing the beacon transmitted in the communication unit 4.2 and therefore to move the beacon signal in order to transmit it 20 in the communication signal 4.3 of the reserved communication channel. Previously it will have warned the connected handsets of this change in communication unit for the transmission of the beacon. We have seen that the transmissions advantageously benefit from the antenna switch mechanism to improve the range. According to this mechanism, a signal is 25 transmitted on the antenna where the reception of the corresponding signal was the best during the previous frame. In this embodiment, the signal transmitted in the communication unit 4.3 will therefore be transmitted now on the first antenna, now on the second, depending on the quality of the signal received in the communication unit 4.4 in the previous frame. However, the beacons are each transmitted on one antenna. 30 When the beacon is carried by a communication unit subject to the antenna switch mechanism, it is therefore necessary to switch the antenna transmitting the other beacon in a synchronised fashion so that, during this frame, each beacon continues to be transmitted on a different antenna. Advantageously, the base is therefore provided with means for transmitting the first beacon signal that has not been moved to the reserved transmission channel on the antenna that is not selected for transmitting said reserved transmission channel. The invention is described for a system where the handsets comprise two antennas, it can naturally be extended to a system where the handsets comprise three 5 antennas or more. In this case, any number of beacon signals between two and the number of antennas can be transmitted.