JP6341305B2 - Relay device and communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a relay device and a communication system for relaying communication between a plurality of wireless devices.

  A relay device and a communication system have been proposed in which voice communication such as a transceiver is relayed over a network so that a plurality of transceivers in a communication area where radio waves do not reach each other can communicate with each other (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-135291 A

  The relay device and the communication system of Patent Document 1 enable transceivers in different communication areas to communicate with each other, provided that they are devices that communicate using the same communication method (for example, analog half-duplex communication). Met. Even in the same communication area, transceivers of different communication systems such as a full-duplex communication system and a half-duplex communication system, and an analog communication system and a digital communication system cannot directly communicate with each other.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a relay apparatus and a communication system that enable mutual communication using a plurality of types of wireless devices having different communication methods.

The relay apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of radio interface, a mixing unit connected to the plurality of radio interfaces, and a selection unit that selects a radio interface to be mixed. Each radio interface is connected to a relay radio that performs radio communication using a predetermined communication method. Each radio interface inputs the uplink voice signal received from the slave unit communicating with the relay radio unit via the relay radio unit and outputs the downlink voice signal to be transmitted to the slave unit. The mixing unit supplies a downlink audio signal to each radio interface selected by the selection unit . The downlink audio signal supplied to each radio interface is created by adding and synthesizing the uplink audio signal input from the radio interface selected by the selection unit other than the radio interface.

In the above invention, the selection unit may include a storage unit that stores a plurality of mixing groups to which a plurality of wireless interface units belong, and an operation unit that receives a selection operation of a mixing group by a user. The selection unit may select a radio interface belonging to the mixing group selected by the selection operation received by the operation unit as a radio interface to be mixed. Further, the selection unit may select a mixing group by a signal from a slave unit input via any one of the radio interface instead of the selection operation of the operation unit.

  A communication system according to the present invention includes the relay device, a plurality of relay radios connected to a plurality of radio interface, and a plurality of slave units communicating with any one of the plurality of relay radios. An audio signal transmitted by any one of the plurality of child devices is transmitted to other child devices other than the child device via the relay device.

  According to the present invention, even wireless devices (slave devices) having different communication methods can communicate with each other via the wireless device interface and the mixing unit.

It is a block diagram of the communication system which is embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the relay apparatus of a communication system. It is a figure which shows the structure of the signal processing part, mixing part, and packet processing part when the mixing function of a relay apparatus is turned off. It is a figure which shows the structure of the signal processing part, mixing part, and packet processing part when the mixing function of the relay apparatus is turned on. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the setting screen of a mixing group. It is a figure which illustrates the form of cooperation of a plurality of communication systems.

  A relay device and a communication system according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a communication system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the relay apparatus 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the signal processing unit 21, the mixing unit 22, and the packet processing unit 23 of the relay device 2.

  The relay device 2 of the communication system 10 relays the wireless communication of the transceiver 4 (41, 42, 43) via the network 1. For example, the communication between the transceiver 41 in the figure and the other transceiver 4-2 under the relay device 2-2 of the other communication system 10-2 is relayed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the relay device 2 includes one network interface 24 and a plurality of radio interface 20 (201, 202, 203, 204). The radio interfaces 201 and 202 are analog radio interfaces, to which a half duplex (simplex) relay transceiver 31 and a full duplex (full duplex) relay transceiver 32 are connected, respectively. The half duplex relay transceiver 31 communicates with the same half duplex user transceiver 41 used by the user. The full duplex relay transceiver 32 communicates with the same full duplex user transceiver 42 used by the user.

  The half-duplex transceiver is a transceiver that can be appropriately switched between the transmission mode and the reception mode by the user. The half-duplex transceiver includes a push-to-talk (PTT) switch and a VOX circuit. When the PTT switch is turned on, when a user voice is detected by the VOX circuit, or a PTT signal is externally received. Switch to transmission mode when is entered. A full-duplex transceiver is a transceiver that can perform transmission and reception in parallel by operating a transmission circuit and a reception circuit in parallel on different channels (frequencies). As described above, since the half-duplex transceiver and the full-duplex transceiver have different communication methods, they cannot communicate with each other wirelessly.

  The radio interface 203 is a digital radio interface, to which a digital relay transceiver 33 is connected. The digital relay transceiver 33 communicates with the digital user transceiver 43 used by the user. The radio interface 204 is an audio input / output terminal to which the calling device 5 that is not a radio is connected. The calling device 5 includes a microphone 51 and a speaker 52 and is directly operated by an operator.

  The digital transceiver 43 is a transceiver that digitizes an audio signal and transmits / receives the signal using a modulation method such as PSK (Phase Shift Keying). Of course, it is not possible to wirelessly communicate with an analog transceiver.

  A voice signal input from the transceiver 4 or the calling device 5 through the radio interface 20 is converted into an RTP packet by a signal processing unit 21, a mixing unit 22, and a packet processing unit 23, which will be described later, and is transmitted from the network interface 24 to the network 1. Sent out. The network interface 24 receives an RTP packet from a communication partner on the network 1. The RTP packet received by the network interface 24 is converted into an audio signal by the above-described packet processing unit 23, mixing unit 22, and signal processing unit 21, and is input to each radio interface 20.

  In addition to the communication system 10, one or more communication systems 10-2 are connected to the network 1, and the relay devices 2 and 2-2 of the communication systems 10 and 10-2 communicate with each other. The RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) packets carrying the voice call signals of the transceivers 4 and 4-2 are exchanged. As the network 1, for example, a LAN configured by Ethernet (registered trademark) or the Internet can be applied.

  In this embodiment, the radio interface 20 is provided with four systems of the analog radio interfaces 201 and 202, the digital radio interface 203, and the audio input / output terminal 204. However, the number of the radio interfaces 20 is arbitrary. is there. Also, the combination of the number of analog radio interface, digital radio interface, and audio input / output terminal is arbitrary. For example, two analog radio interface, four digital radio interface, and two audio input / output terminals may be provided.

  3 and 4 are diagrams showing the configurations of the signal processing unit 21, the mixing unit 22, and the packet processing unit 23 of the relay device 2. FIG. 3 shows a connection form when the mixing function is turned off, and FIG. 4 shows an example of a connection form when the mixing function is turned on.

  The signal processing unit 21 includes signal processing units 211, 212, 213, and 214 associated with the four wireless device interfaces 201, 202, 203, and 204. The mixing unit 22 includes mixing units 221, 222, 223, and 224 that are associated with the four wireless device interfaces 201, 202, 203, and 204. The packet processing unit 23 also includes packet processing units 231, 232, 233, and 234 that are associated with the four wireless device interfaces 201, 202, 203, and 204.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 4A, the signal processing unit 21 (211, 212, 213, 214) processes the audio signal of the audio communication, and at the same time, FIG. ), A control signal for switching transmission / reception of the radio is processed.

  The analog radio interface 201, the analog signal processing unit 211, the mixing unit 221, and the packet processing unit 231 form a first communication system. The analog radio interface 202, the analog signal processing unit 212, the mixing unit 222, and the packet A second communication system is configured by the processing unit 232. The digital communication device interface 203, the digital signal processing unit 213, the mixing unit 223, and the packet processing unit 233 constitute a third communication system. Further, the audio input / output terminal 204, the analog signal processing unit 214, the mixing unit 224, and the packet processing unit 234 constitute a fourth communication system.

  When the mixing function is off, each communication system operates independently as shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the mixing function is turned on, as shown in FIG. 4, the audio signal and the control signal (audio detection signal) of each communication system are added together and output from each system. FIG. 4 shows only the connection form of the mixing unit 221 of the first communication system, but the mixing parts 222, 223, and 224 also have the same connection form and the audio signals and control signals (audio detection signals) of each system. Output.

  A half-duplex relay analog transceiver 31 is connected to the analog signal processing unit 211 via the analog radio interface 201. The analog signal processing unit 211 converts the analog audio signal input from the analog transceiver 31 for relay into a digital signal for RTP packet, and analog the audio signal output to the analog transceiver 31 for relay. A D / A converter 2112 for converting the signal is provided. Also, when a squelch signal (SQL) is input from the analog transceiver 31 for relay, a SQL detection unit 2113 that generates a control signal (voice detection signal) that means that there is a voice signal, and a voice detection signal from another processing unit Is input, the PTT processing unit 2114 outputs a PTT signal to the relay analog transceiver 31.

  A full-duplex relay analog transceiver 32 is connected to the analog signal processing unit 212 via the analog radio interface 202. The analog signal processing unit 212 converts the analog audio signal input from the relay analog transceiver 32 into a digital signal for an RTP packet, and analog the audio signal output to the analog transceiver 32 for relay. A D / A converter 2122 for converting the signal is provided. Also, a VOX detection unit 2123 that detects that a voice signal is input from the full-duplex relay analog transceiver 32 that does not generate a squelch signal, and generates a voice detection signal when the input of the voice signal is detected, and a PTT A PTT processing unit 2124 is provided that always turns on the signal and always allows the D / A converter 2022 to output an audio signal.

  The digital signal processing unit 213 is connected to the (half duplex) relay digital transceiver 33 via the digital radio interface 203. The digital signal processing unit 213 converts the digital audio signal input from the relay digital transceiver 33 into a digital signal for RTP packets, and the digital signal for RTP packets input from other processing units. Is converted to a compressed digital audio signal to be output to the relay digital transceiver 33. Also, when a packet for transmitting an audio signal is input from the relay digital transceiver 33, a packet detection unit 2133 that generates an audio detection signal when the packet is transmitted, and when an audio detection signal is input from another processing unit, the relay digital A PTT processing unit 2134 that outputs a PTT signal to the transceiver 33 is provided.

  The calling device 5 is connected to the analog signal processing unit 214 via the audio input / output terminal 204. The analog signal processing unit 214 converts an analog voice signal input from the calling device 5 into a digital signal for an RTP packet, and converts a voice signal output to the calling device 5 into an analog signal. A D / A converter 2142 is provided. Further, when a voice signal is input from 51 input from the microphone and a voice detection signal is input from a VOX detection unit 2143 that generates a voice detection signal and another processing unit, the microphone 51 is connected. A relay processing unit 2144 that turns off and turns on the speaker 52 is provided.

  When a voice detection signal is inputted, the packet processing unit 23 (231, 232, 233, 234) creates and transmits an RTP packet based on the voice signal inputted at that time. When an RTP packet is received from the network 1, a voice detection signal is generated and a voice signal included in the RTP packet is output. The packet processing units 231, 232, 233, and 234 respectively send RTP packets to / from a communication partner on the network 1 that is predetermined or selected / set by the user via the network interface 24. Send and receive.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a connection form of the mixing unit 21 when the mixing function is turned on. Although only the connection form of the mixing unit 221 of the first communication system is shown in this figure, the mixing units 222, 223, and 224 also mix and output audio signals and audio detection signals of each system in the same connection form. .

  The mixing unit 221 includes adders 2211 and 2212 that add and synthesize audio signals, and adders 2213 and 2214 that logically add audio detection signals.

  The adder 2211 adds and synthesizes audio signals input from the A / D converter 2111, the A / D converter 2121, the demodulator 2131, the A / D converter 2141, and the RTP packet readers 2322, 2332, and 2342. This audio signal is input to the RTP packet creation unit 2311 of the packet processing unit 231 as an uplink audio signal. That is, all the audio signals output from other than the packet processing unit 231 (RTP packet reading unit 2312) that is the input destination of the audio signal are added and synthesized to generate an upstream audio signal. The reason why the audio signal output from the packet processor 231 at the input destination is not added is to prevent echo and howling.

  The adder 2212 adds and synthesizes audio signals input from the A / D converter 2121, the demodulator 2131, the A / D converter 2141, and the RTP packet readers 2312, 2322, 2332, and 2342. This audio signal is input to the D / A converter 2112 of the signal processing unit 211 as a downstream audio signal. That is, an upstream audio signal is generated by adding and synthesizing all the audio signals output from other than the signal processing unit 211 (A / D converter 2111) that is the input destination of the audio signal. The reason why the audio signal output from the signal processing unit 211 at the input destination is not added is to prevent echo and howling.

  An adder 2213 that performs a logical OR operation on the voice detection signals receives the voice detection signals input from the SQL detection unit 2113, the VOX detection unit 2123, the packet detection unit 2133, the VOX detection unit 2143, and the RTP packet reception detection units 2324, 2334, and 2344. Perform a logical OR. Then, the ORed voice detection signal is input to the RTP packet transmission instruction unit 2313 of the packet processing unit 231. As a result, the uplink voice signal created by the adder 2211 described above is output from the RTP packet creation unit 2311 to the network interface 24.

  The adder 2214 performs a logical OR operation on the voice detection signals input from the VOX detection unit 2123, the packet detection unit 2133, the VOX detection unit 2143, and the RTP packet reception detection units 2314, 2324, 2334, and 2344. Then, the ORed voice detection signal is input to the PTT processing unit 2114 of the signal processing unit 211. As a result, the downlink voice signal created by the adder 2212 described above is input from the RTP packet creation unit 2311 to the relay transceiver 31 via the radio interface 201 and transmitted to the user transceiver 41.

  Through the above-described processing of the mixing unit 22, the uplink and downlink voices of all the systems to be mixed are added and synthesized and transmitted to the transceivers 4 of each system. become.

  In the relay apparatus 2, when the mixing function is turned on, all communication systems may be the target of mixing, but the user may be able to select which communication system is the target of mixing.

  Here, in FIG. 2, a control unit 25 is connected to the signal processing unit 21 and the mixing unit 22. A storage unit 26, a display unit 27, and an operation unit 28 are connected to the control unit 25. The storage unit 26 stores selection information of signal processing systems (mixing groups) that perform mixing among a plurality of signal processing systems when the mixing function is turned on. The user can set the mixing group by operating the operation unit 28 based on the display on the display unit 27.

  In the mixing group setting mode, a setting screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display unit 27, and the user operates the operation unit 28 to turn on / off the radio button, thereby selecting a mixing group to which each communication system belongs. You can choose. This setting content is stored in the storage unit 26. In the operation mode, the user turns on the mixing function and selects a mixing group to operate the mixing function.

  Furthermore, a tone signal such as a DTMF signal or a 5-tone signal is input from the transceiver 4 (41, 42, 43), and the ON / OFF of the mixing function, the selection of the mixing group, or the mixing group is determined by this tone signal. You may enable it to set.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6A, by connecting a plurality of communication systems 10 having the above-described configuration via the network 1, so-called octopus connection or daisy chain connection of the communication system 10 becomes possible. A wide range of mutual communication beyond the area is also possible.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 6B, a wireless access point 6 is arranged on the network 1 so that a multi-function mobile phone (smart phone) 7 that can send and receive RTP packets can access the network 1. By setting the communication partner of one of the communication systems of the relay device 2 to the multi-function mobile phone 7, the multi-function mobile phone 7 can be put into a mutual communication group, and the multi-function mobile phone 7 is used as a so-called income. It can also be used.

  In the above embodiment, the signal processing unit 21 and the packet processing unit 24 output a voice detection signal in parallel when outputting a voice signal, but the side that outputs the voice signal outputs the voice detection signal. Instead, the audio signal input side may perform VOX processing (generation of a PTT signal) by looking at the input signal level.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network 2 Relay apparatus 3 (31, 32, 33) Relay transceiver 4 (41, 42, 43) User transceiver (slave unit)
6 Wireless access point 7 Multi-function mobile phone (smartphone)
20 Radio interface 21 Signal processing unit 22 Mixing unit 23 Packet processing unit 24 Network interface 25 Control unit 26 Storage unit 27 Display unit 28 Operation unit

Claims (4)

A relay device comprising a plurality of radio interface, a mixing unit connected to the plurality of radio interfaces, and a selection unit for selecting a radio interface to be mixed,
Each radio interface is connected to a relay radio that performs radio communication by a predetermined communication method, and an uplink audio signal received from a slave that communicates with the relay radio is transmitted via the relay radio. And inputting and outputting a downlink voice signal to be transmitted to the slave unit via the relay radio unit,
The mixing unit, for each radio interface selected by the selection unit, is created by adding and combining the uplink speech signal input from the selected radio interface by the selecting portion other than the radio interface A relay device that supplies downstream audio signals . The selection unit includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of mixing groups to which a plurality of radio interface units belong, and an operation unit that receives a selection operation of a mixing group by a user, and the selection operation received by the operation unit The relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a radio interface belonging to the mixing group selected by (2) is selected as the radio interface to be mixed. The relay device according to claim 2, wherein the selection unit selects the mixing group based on a signal from the slave unit input via any one of the radio interface instead of the selection operation of the operation unit. . A relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A plurality of relay radios respectively connected to the plurality of radio interface;
A plurality of slave units communicating with any of the plurality of relay radio units;
Have
A communication system in which an audio signal transmitted by any one of the plurality of slave units is transmitted to other slave units other than any one of the slave units via the relay device.

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