WO2003019956A1

WO2003019956A1 - Transmission of a radio signal in a control centre

Info

Publication number: WO2003019956A1
Application number: PCT/EP2002/004981
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wolfgang Henhappl
Original assignee: Wolfgang Henhappl
Priority date: 2001-08-22
Filing date: 2002-05-06
Publication date: 2003-03-06
Also published as: WO2003019957A1; DE10297175D2; DE10297100D2

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for transmitting a radio signal (X1, X2) in a control centre. According to said method, said radio signal (X1, X2) is converted into digital data packets (P) which are transmitted, through a local computer network (28) of the control centre, to the device to which the radio signal (X1, X2) must be transmitted, and said radio signal (X1, X2) is recovered from the transmitted digital data packets (P). The invention also relates to a control centre as well as to a radio adapter and a workstation designed for said control centre and showing appropriate features. The invention allows for a substantial reduction in costs associated to a control centre.

Description

Transmission of a radio speech signal in a control center

The invention relates generally to the field of the technical design of operational control centers, as are required for the reception of emergency calls and for the coordination of emergency services (e.g. the police, fire brigade, civil protection or a plant protection service). Further areas of application of the invention are operational control centers of public transport companies, energy suppliers or air traffic control.

The term "operations control center" is to be understood in its broadest meaning. It includes not only operations control centers for handling emergency calls or unusual situations, but generally all departments in which the work of several people who have radio contact with the operations control center is coordinated. For example, an air traffic control center or a coordination office of a public transport company an operational control center in the sense used here. More particularly, the invention relates to the technical design of an operational control center for transmitting radio speech signals within the operational control center, and to the design of essential components of such an operational control center.

A control center according to the prior art has in a typical configuration about five workstations, about five to nine radio devices and a central switching center. At each workstation, the reception signals of all radio devices can be mixed and listened to in the manner of a mixer. It is also possible to send radio messages from any workstation.

In such a control center, both the cabling and the central switching center are very complex. All signals (both voice signals and various control signals) from all radio devices and all workplaces must be routed to the exchange and interconnected there in a variety of ways. In addition to the high costs, there is also a loss of quality, which may make critical operational situations even more difficult. It is therefore the object of the invention to at least partially avoid the problems mentioned above. In particular, the costs of an operational control center are to be considerably reduced by the invention. The invention preferably also provides the technical foundations for improving the quality of signal transmission in an operations control center and / or for further functions which are not possible in the prior art at a reasonable cost.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in whole or in part by a method with the features of claim 1, an operations control center with the features of claim 12, a radio adapter according to claim 13 and a work station with the features of claim 18. The dependent claims relate to preferred embodiments of the invention ,

The invention is based on the basic idea of converting the radio speech signal to be transmitted into digital data packets and then transmitting these digital data packets over a local computer network of the operations control center. The device to which the radio speech signal is transmitted then reassembles the digital data packets to form the radio speech signal. This measure considerably reduces the effort required because the various connection variants required for operating the operations control center can be implemented relatively easily via the local computer network.

Particularly large savings can be achieved if the local computer network of the control center is not only used to transmit the digital data packets of the radio speech signal, but is also provided for the transmission of other computer data. This can be data generally generated in the operations control center, or data that is specifically required for radio operation (eg for controlling radio devices). A local computer network, which is used for the transmission of general computer data, is usually already provided in the control center and can also be used. Even if (e.g. for reasons of security or network capacity) a further local computer network is set up specifically for the transmission of radio speech signals, standard components can be used for this, which are considerably cheaper than the proprietary components of operational control centers according to the prior art. In order to enable the use of standard components, the local computer network preferably works according to a standardized and frequently used method. At the hardware level, the computer network can be configured, for example, as Ethernet in accordance with the IEEE 802.3 standard. In preferred embodiments, the protocols TCP / IP (for basic communication functions) and / or H.323 (for services of higher protocol levels) are used to transmit the digital data packets. As such, these protocols are well known.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, in addition to the actual radio speech signals, further signals specific to the field of activity of an operational control center are evaluated. In particular, these are signals (FSK-modulated signals or tone sequences) from a radio communication system, e.g. Transmitter identification signals (to identify the transmitting radio) and / or transmitter location signals (to transmit coordinates that have been determined by a GPS device) and / or transmitter status signals (to transmit predefined status codes). These signals or the information obtained by evaluating the signals are preferably also transmitted via the local computer network.

In a preferred specification of the method according to the invention, it is used in a receive operating mode. A radio of the control center generates an (analog or digital) reception signal. In some embodiments, the radio speech signal is derived exclusively from the received signal, for example by digitization and / or dynamic compression to increase speech intelligibility and / or further signal processing steps. In other configurations, the radio speech signal, on the other hand, is a mixture of several received signals from one or more radio devices. The radio speech signal is transmitted in the manner according to the invention to a work station of the control center. A playback signal is generated at the workplace, which in turn is either derived exclusively from the radio speech signal or is generated by a mixture of several radio speech signals (and possibly further signals). The playback signal is finally from a playback device of the workplace (such as headphones or a loudspeaker Spokesman or a loudspeaker arrangement for generating a spatial sound impression) output.

In preferred embodiments, it is provided that at least one acoustic parameter is automatically set as a function of a transmitter identifier and / or a transmitter location specification and / or a transmitter status specification (generally information transmitted by a radio signaling system) when the playback signal is generated. This information can in particular have been determined by the already mentioned evaluation of transmitter identification signals or transmitter location signals or transmitter status signals. The acoustic parameter is preferably the volume or the sound impression or the apparent spatial arrangement of the signal source when the playback signal is reproduced. For example, the signal reproduction can be designed in such a way that the user has a spatial impression of the signal source which corresponds approximately to the actual position of the transmitting radio within the area of use.

The setting of at least one acoustic parameter just described is particularly advantageous in embodiments in which a mixture of several signals to form a radio speech signal or a playback signal takes place. In this case, in particular the relative volume of the several signals to one another can be changed as a function of the transmitter identifier. For example, it can be provided that all signals that are assigned to an insert selected by the user or to several inserts selected by the user or to all inserts managed by the user are reproduced at a higher volume than signals that belong to other inserts.

In a further embodiment, the method according to the invention is used in a transmission operating mode. In this case, a recording signal is recorded by a microphone in the workplace, and the radio speech signal is generated at the workplace from the recording signal. After the transmission of the radio speech signal according to the method according to the invention, a transmission signal is generated from the radio speech signal by means of a radio adapter and is output to the radio. Here, too, is theoretically a mixture of several Recording signals for a single radio signal (or several radio signals for a single transmission signal) possible. However, such a mixture is preferably prevented in the transmission operating mode, so that the transmission signal corresponds exclusively to a single recording signal.

In preferred embodiments, the radio adapter not only outputs the (analog or digital) transmission signal to the radio, but also a transmission request signal and / or a channel selection signal. In preferred configurations, the radio device is therefore controlled completely (and not only with regard to the transmission signal) by the radio adapter.

The operational control center according to the invention has a radio or, as a rule, a plurality of radio devices, a work station or, as a rule, a plurality of work stations and one or more radio adapters. A single radio or several radio devices can be connected to each radio adapter. The radio adapters and workstations are connected to one another via a local computer network. The operations control center is designed to carry out a method according to the invention (or preferably to carry out a method according to a preferred embodiment of the invention).

A radio adapter of such a control center connects a radio to the local computer network. The radio adapter according to the invention is set up both for the transmit operating mode and for the receive operating mode. In the receive operating mode, a first radio speech signal is generated as a function of a receive signal received from the radio. Again, different configurations are provided, in which either the first radio speech signal is determined exclusively by the received signal (if appropriate after suitable signal processing) or the first radio speech signal results from a mixture of several received signals. The radio adapter then outputs the first radio speech signal in the form of digital data packets to the local computer network. In transmission mode, the radio adapter receives digital data packets, converts them into a second radio speech signal and outputs a transmission signal that is dependent on them to the radio. A work station according to the invention is configured similarly to the radio adapter in order to connect a microphone and a playback device to the local computer network. The transmission mode and the reception mode are also provided here.

In preferred configurations, the radio adapter and / or the work station are developed with features that correspond to the features described above and / or the features mentioned in the dependent method claims. This applies in particular with regard to the possibility of automatically setting acoustic parameters of the respectively forwarded signals depending on the transmitter identification and / or a transmitter status specification and / or a transmitter location specification and thus providing the user with additional information which simplifies the work and / or for avoiding errors contribute.

Further features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of several exemplary embodiments and alternative embodiments of the invention. Reference is made to the schematic drawings in which:

1 shows a block diagram of an operations control center according to an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 shows an example of a user interface of a work station in a simple variant of the operations control center from FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 shows an example of a user interface of a work station in a more complex variant of the operations control center from FIG. 1.

In the operational control center shown in FIG. 1, a radio device 10 is connected to an interface 12 of a radio adapter 14. The radio 10 is known per se. In the present exemplary embodiment, it is an analog radio device, as is used, for example, in the BOS area (BOS = authorities and organizations with security tasks). In alternative embodiments, the radio 10 can also be designed as a digital radio, for example in accordance with the TETRA system. The radio 10 outputs an analog reception signal AR to the interface 12 of the radio adapter 14, which signal AR reproduces the radio messages arriving on the current reception channel. The reception of a carrier on the set reception frequency is indicated to the radio adapter 14 by a digital carrier detection signal CD. For transmission operation, the radio adapter 14 outputs an analog transmission signal AS and a digital transmission request signal SR to the radio 10. When the transmission request signal SR is active, the radio 10 transmits the messages transmitted by the analog transmission signal AS on the set channel.

In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the transmission and reception channels of the radio 10 are fixed or can only be changed manually. On the other hand, in alternative embodiments it is provided that the radio adapter 14 also makes the channel selection by means of suitable channel selection signals. Further signals which are transmitted from the radio adapter 14 to the radio 10 in the exemplary embodiment described here are first and second ring signals T1 and T2 which cause the radio 10 to emit signal tones with a frequency of 1750 Hz and 2135 Hz, respectively. In alternative embodiments, these signal tones can also be generated by the radio adapter 14 and transmitted to the radio as an analog transmit signal AS.

In the exemplary embodiment described here, the radio adapter 14 is designed as a customary personal computer (PC) with the required expansion plug-in cards. With regard to the present invention, the functional groups of the radio adapter 14 include, in particular, an analog / digital converter 16, a digital / analog converter 18, an interface module 20, a computer module 22, a signal processing stage 24 and a network interface 26.

The functional groups mentioned can be implemented in different ways in different configurations of the radio adapter 14. For example, the analog / digital converter 16, the digital / analog converter 18 and the interface module 20 can be arranged on a first plug-in card (for example a common sound card), which the network interface 26 can can be implemented by a conventional network card, and the signal processing stage 24 can be formed in software by a main processor (CPU) of the computer module 22. In alternative embodiments, however, the analog / digital converter 16, the digital / analog converter 18 and the signal processing stage 24 are provided by a suitably programmed digital signal processor (DSP).

The analog / digital converter 16 converts the analog received signal AR into a digital received signal DR, which is fed to the signal processing stage 24. Accordingly, a digital transmission signal DS output by the signal processing stage 24 is converted by the digital / analog converter 18 into the analog transmission signal AS. The interface module 20 generates the signals SR, T1, T2 already described as a function of commands from the computer module 22 or outputs feedback about the level of the carrier detection signal CD to the computer module 22.

Digital radio speech signals are exchanged between the computer module 22 and the network interface 26, specifically a first radio speech signal X1 in the receive operating mode of the radio adapter 14 in the direction of the network interface 26 and a second radio speech signal X2 in the direction of the computer module 22 in the transmit operating mode of the radio adapter 14. The network interface 26 converts the first radio speech signal X1 into digital data packets P, which are transmitted from the network interface 26 to a local computer network 28. Correspondingly, the network interface 26 receives digital data packets P from the local computer network 28 and combines them to form the second radio speech signal X2.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the local computer network 28 is configured as Ethernet in accordance with the IEEE 802.3 standard. It is therefore a packet-oriented network, the stations of which send to a common medium. This avoids costly point-to-point cabling. With regard to the network and water sports level, the protocol TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) is used in the present exemplary embodiment. For the transmission of the various signals that ultimately derive from speech signals, the techniques described under the collective term Voice Over IP are used. In particular, services are used in accordance with the H.323 standard of the ITU (International Telecommunication Union).

1, the local computer network 28 has a star-shaped topology with a central switching distributor 30 (switch). In alternative embodiments, other network topologies known per se are used, for example a configuration with a central network strand or configurations in which routers or bridges are provided instead of or in addition to the switching distributor 30.

A plurality of radio adapters 14 are connected to the local computer network 28, of which only one is shown in FIG. 1 for the sake of clarity (further radio adapters are indicated by three points in FIG. 1). 1 also shows a work station 32 which is also connected to the local computer network 28 and which has a work station computer 34. The usual input and output elements such as e.g. a screen 36, a keyboard 38 and a mouse 40 are connected. Voice input and output takes place via a headset 42. For the sake of clarity, only a single work station 32 is shown in FIG. 1, while several work stations are provided in a typical installation of the control center according to the invention. Such further workplaces are indicated in FIG. 1 by three points.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the workstation computer 34 is designed as a personal computer (PC). Similar to the radio adapter 14, the

Workstation 34 has a network interface 44, a computer module 46 with a signal processing stage 48, a digital / analog converter 50, an analog / digital converter 52 and an interface module 54.

The network interface 44 and the computer module 46 exchange bidirectional radio speech signals. More specifically, in a receive operating mode of the work station 32, the network interface 44 converts the incoming digital data packets P into the first radio speech signal X1, which is sent to the computer module 46. In a transmit mode, the Network interface 44, however, digital data packets P from the second radio speech signal X2, which are output to the local computer network 28.

The signal processing stage 48 outputs a digital reproduction signal DP to the digital / analog converter 50, which in turn generates an analog reproduction signal AP. The analog playback signal AP is present at a playback device 56, which in the present exemplary embodiment is formed by two earphones of the headset 42 connected in parallel. In alternative embodiments, the playback device 56 is an arrangement of two or more separately controlled earphones or loudspeakers in order to enable stereophonic or even two-dimensional spatial impression. The playback signal AP then has a correspondingly large number of signal components for controlling the individual ear capsules or loudspeakers of the playback device 56.

A microphone 58 of the headset 42 generates an analog recording signal AM, which is converted by the analog / digital converter 52 into the digital recording signal DM and fed to the signal processing stage 48. The interface module 54 is used in a manner known per se for generating a video output signal for controlling the screen 36 and for recording the data inputs generated by the keyboard 38 and the mouse 40.

Further components of the operations control center shown in FIG. 1 are a radio server 60 and a module 62 for IP telephony. These components, the function of which will be described later, are also connected to the local computer network 28.

When the radio 10 receives a radio call during operation of the control center, this is signaled to the radio adapter 14 via the carrier detection signal CD. The actual radio call is output as an analog received signal AR, digitized by the analog / digital converter 16 to form the digital received signal DR and processed in the signal processing stage 24.

The signal processing stage 24 evaluates all signals of a radio reporting system contained in the paging (in particular transmitter identification signals, transmitter status Signals and possibly also location information signals). Furthermore, the signal processing stage 24 compresses the dynamic range of the received signal DR in order to improve its intelligibility. In alternative embodiments, further signal processing steps are provided, for example active noise suppression.

In the present exemplary embodiment, in which the radio adapter 14 has only a single interface 12 for connecting a single radio device 10, no mixing processes take place in the signal processing stage 24. In alternative embodiments, however, the radio adapter 14 can have a plurality of interfaces 12 for connecting one radio device 10 each (or one interface 12 for connecting a plurality of radio devices 10). In such configurations, the signal processing stage 24 can already mix the received signals from these multiple radio devices according to the requirements of the individual workplaces 32. Furthermore, in the structure shown in FIG. 1, it is also possible to mix the digital received signal DR with at least one radio speech signal X2, which originates from other radio adapters and was transmitted via the local computer network 28.

The data packets P fed into the local computer network 28 by the radio adapter 14 (which correspond to the first radio speech signal X1) are available to all workplaces 32 of the operations control center. In the work station 32 shown by way of example in FIG. 1, these data packets P are converted again by the network interface 44 into the first radio speech signal X1.

Here too, the signal processing stage 48 can carry out processing steps for sound optimization, noise reduction or improvement of speech intelligibility. In particular, however, it is provided that the signal processing stage 48 mixes the radio speech signal X1 just described with further radio speech signals which the work station 32 receives from the radio computer adapters 28 and other radio adapters and radio devices. In preferred embodiments, each work station is always provided with all radio speech signals fed into the local computer network 28. For example, if the operations control center has nine radios, nine radio adapters, and five workstations, Access to all radio speech signals that are fed into the local computer network 28 by these nine radio devices and radio adapters.

In a simple embodiment of the invention, the user interface displayed on the screen 36 of the workplace 32 is modeled on the workplace of a conventional operations control center. 2 shows an example of such a user interface 70, which is displayed in a window on the screen 36. The user interface 70 is divided into two areas, namely a radio control area 72 and a radio signaling system area 74.

In the radio control area 72, a setting controller 76A, 76B, 76C and a transmission button 78A, 78B, 78C are displayed for each available channel (only three channels are shown in the present simple example), which in their optical design are roughly a mechanical slider and correspond to a mechanical button. By means of the setting regulators 76A, 76B, 76C, the operator at the work station 32 can manually set the mixing ratio of the available radio speech signals. Similar to a mixer, the radio speech signals of the individual radio devices are mixed in a freely selectable volume ratio (depending on the position of the setting controls 76A, 76B, 76C). The result of this mixing is output by the signal processing stage 48 as a digital reproduction signal DP to the digital / analog converter 50 and presented by the operator as an analog reproduction signal AP via the reproduction device 56.

When the operator at the work place 32 wishes to send a call, he actuates one of the transmit buttons 78A, 78B, 78C using the mouse 40. Alternatively, the send command can also be given via the keyboard 38 or another key, not shown in the drawings. In all these cases, however, the operator must specify the radio or channel on which the message is to be sent.

The radio signaling system area 74 shown in FIG. 2 also corresponds optically to the display device of a conventional radio signaling system. The last received messages are shown in a continuous display. In the example of FIG. 2, these are the last four messages, each of which consists of a vehicle identification number (eg 1001, ...) and a message code (eg 2 = start of journey, ...).

FIG. 3 shows a more complex embodiment of the user interface, in which each use is shown on the screen 36 in the form of an index card 80A, 80B. Each index card 80A, 80B has a tongue 82A, 82B which contains a short identification of the respective application (e.g. type of application and location). In the example of FIG. 3, the index card 80A is shown completely in the foreground. It hides the index card 80B except for its tongue 82B. To switch between the active operations, the operator clicks on the tongue 82A, 82B of the index card 80A, 80B that is assigned to the desired application.

The index card 80A has an identification field 84, a field 86 for the vehicle status display and a protocol field 88. In the identification field 84, more precise information about the use is displayed. In particular, the identification field 84 contains the name and the telephone number of each caller transmitted by a telephone system or the module 62. In field 86, a wagon status table is displayed which, for each motor vehicle involved in the operation, provides an identification of the vehicle, the time of delivery of the operation order to the driver, the start of the journey, the arrival time and the time at which the vehicle is released from the operation has been. The log field 88 contains a continuous log with all events relevant to the use, each with the date, time and keyword.

The exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 3 goes beyond the simple configurations mentioned above (for example according to FIG. 2) in that the possibilities provided by the digital signal processing are advantageously used. This is because the mixing ratio of the radio speech signals is set automatically as a function of information which is transmitted by the radio reporting system, for example the transmitter identification or the transmitter status information or the transmitter location information. As already explained above, this information is obtained from the radio signal from the signal processing stage 24 of the radio adapter 14 extracted and transmitted as computer data over the local computer network 28 to the workplace 32. In contrast, alternative embodiments provide for the radio signal signals (usually FSK-modulated signals or tone sequences by which the information mentioned is coded) to be transmitted unchanged from the radio adapter 14 to the work station 32 and only to be evaluated there by the signal processing stage 48 in order to evaluate the to gain information contained therein.

The technique just described can be used to achieve automatic volume boosting of radio speech signals that determine

Transmitters or certain groups of transmitters are assigned. Such a group of transmitters can be defined, for example, for every ongoing application. In this case, the transmitter device group of an insert is preferably determined by those transmitter devices that are located in the vehicles that are listed in field 86 of the index card 80A, 80B assigned to the insert.

When a radio call arrives from an emergency vehicle that is assigned to the index card 80A, 80B that is currently in the foreground, the workstation computer 34 recognizes this on the basis of the transmitter identification of the radio call. The corresponding radio speech signal is then reproduced to the operator at the work station 32 with increased volume, while other radio calls (which are not assigned to the application in the foreground) are only quietly recorded in the playback signal AP in the background or are suppressed entirely. Status signals that may have been transmitted can also be used to influence the playback volume; for example, emergency messages can be played louder than routine reports.

In further embodiment variants of the invention, in which the playback device permits stereophonic playback or even a simulation of spatially two-dimensionally arranged signal sources, the acoustic sense of location of the operator can also be used for further information transmission. For example, radio calls from several emergency vehicles can be switched to different degrees on the right and left stereo channels in order to increase quick recognition by the operator and errors in the To avoid divorce. If more operations or service vehicles are to be distinguished, their radio messages can also be reproduced in such a way that they appear to be arranged in a virtual, two-dimensional grid for the acoustic-spatial sensation of the operator.

Provision can furthermore be made to change the apparent spatial position of the signal source for the operator as a function of a transmitter location specification. If, for example, the emergency vehicles are equipped with GPS devices and location information is transmitted in the form of radio signal signals for each call, for example, a call from the eastern sector of a surveillance area can appear to the operator on the right, a call from the northern sector for the operator apparently in front, a paging from the western sector for the operator apparently on the left, and a paging from the southern sector apparently in the rear. A similar functionality can also be achieved by evaluating the transmitter identification if the approximate positions of the individual emergency vehicles are known.

If, in the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 3, the operator wants to send a radio call at the work place 32, he carries out a mouse click on the corresponding identification of an emergency vehicle. This identifier is displayed on screen 36 in field 86 of index card 80A located in the foreground. The workstation computer 34 then accesses a table in which each radio vehicle is assigned the radio channel on which it made its last radio message. The channel entered in this table is then used automatically, either by addressing the radio set permanently to this channel or (in embodiments which allow automatic channel selection of the radio sets) to generate a corresponding channel selection signal.

In the two embodiments according to FIGS. 2 and 3, in the transmission operating mode initiated by a transmission command, the analog recording signal AM of the microphone 58 is converted in the analog / digital converter 52 into the digital recording signal DM, which in turn is processed by the signal processing stage 48 , During this processing, filtering processes and other measures to improve signal quality and speech understanding (e.g. dynamic compression). Mixing processes are also possible, but are not provided in the present exemplary embodiments in order to achieve an unambiguous assignment of the transmitted signal to an operator.

As an output signal, the signal processing stage 48 generates the second radio speech signal X2, which is transmitted from the network interface 44 as digital data packets P to the local computer network 28. The network interface 26 of the radio adapter 14 converts the digital data packets P back into the second radio speech signal X2, which (assuming an error-free transmission) is identical to the corresponding signal of the work station 32. After a possible further processing by the signal processing stage 24, the radio speech signal is output as a digital transmission signal DS to the digital / analog converter 18, and the transmission request signal SR is simultaneously set to an active level. The radio 10 now transmits the analog transmission signal AS received by the digital / analog converter 18 on the preset channel.

The radio server 60 also shown in FIG. 1 is used for communication with other control centers. According to the previously known state of the art, radio messages that go beyond the own transmission range are transmitted by means of a complex and quality-reducing radio relay technology. The radio server 60, on the other hand, works similarly to a bridge and transmits data packets of the local computer network 28, which are intended for other operations control centers, to these other control centers. For this purpose, the radio server 60 is connected to a regional or national computer network (in the present exemplary embodiments to the state administration network), with which the other control centers designed according to the invention are also connected.

In a particularly simple exemplary embodiment, the telephone accessibility of the operations control center can be ensured via a telephone system that is independent of the structure shown in FIG. 1. However, the functions of the telephone system are preferably controlled by the workstations 32 and / or the radio adapters 14 or other devices which are connected to the local computer network 28. This is in the sense of computer integrated Telephony (CIT) allows extensive integration of the telephone functions into the processes described above, even if additional lines are required for the telephone voice signals. The module 62 for IP telephony provided in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, on the other hand, enables complete integration of telephone and radio functions by also transmitting the voice signals of incoming and outgoing calls as digital data packets via the local computer network 28. The module 62 is connected to the telephone system or directly to telephone exchange lines.

Claims

claims

1. A method for transmitting a radio speech signal (X1, X2) in an operational control center, comprising the steps:

Converting the radio speech signal (X1, X2) into digital data packets (P), transmitting the digital data packets (P) via a local computer network

(28) the operations control center to the device to which the radio speech signal (X1, X2) is to be transmitted, and - restoring the radio speech signal (X1, X2) from the transmitted digital data packets (P).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the local computer network (28) of the operations control center is also a network provided for the transmission of computer data.

3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the local computer network (28) is designed in accordance with IEEE 802.3 and / or in which at least one of the protocols TCP / IP for transmitting the radio speech signal (X1, X2) in the local computer network (28) and H.323 is used.

4. The method according to one of claims 1 to 3, in which radio signal signals, in particular transmitter identification signals and / or transmitter location signals and / or transmitter status signals, are also evaluated, and in which these signals and / or the information contained therein about the local computer network (28 ) be transmitted.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which in a receive operating mode: a receive signal (AR, DR) is generated by a radio (10) of the control center, the radio message signal (X1) corresponds to the receive signal (AR, DR) or at least is influenced by this the radio speech signal (X1) is transmitted to a work station (32) of the operational control center, a playback signal (DP, AP) is generated at the work station (32) which corresponds to or is at least influenced by the radio speech signal (X1), and the playback signal (DP , AP) is output by a playback device (56) of the work station (32).

6. The method according to claim 5, in which in the reception operating mode a plurality of reception signals (AR, DR) of a plurality of radio devices (10) are mixed to form a radio speech signal (X1).

7. The method according to claim 5, in which in the receive operating mode at the work station (32) a plurality of radio speech signals (X1) are mixed to form a playback signal (DP, AP).

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, in which at least one acoustic parameter in the generation of the playback signal (DP, AP) is automatically set as a function of a transmitter identifier and / or a transmitter location and / or a transmitter status.

9. The method according to claim 6 or claim 7, in which, when mixing the plurality of signals, the relative volume of the plurality of signals to one another and / or the respective sound impression of the signals and / or the apparent spatial arrangement of the signals as a function of a transmitter identifier and / or a station location information and / or a station status information is automatically set.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, in which in a transmission operating mode: a recording signal (AM, DM) is recorded by a microphone (58) of the workplace (32), the radio speech signal (X2) is generated at the work station (32) from the recording signal (AM, DM), a transmission signal (DS, AS) is generated from the radio speech signal (X2) by means of a radio adapter (14) and is sent to the radio (10) is issued.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the radio adapter (14) further outputs a transmission request signal (SR) and / or a channel selection signal to the radio.

12. Operations control center with: at least one radio device (10), at least one radio adapter (14) connected to the at least one radio device, at least one workstation (32), - a local computer network (28) that has the at least one radio adapter

(14) connects to the at least one work station (32), the operational control center being set up to carry out a method according to one of claims 1 to 11.

13. Radio adapter (14) for an operations control center, in particular for an operations control center according to claim 12, comprising: at least one interface (12) for connection to at least one radio device (10) to transmit a transmission signal (AS, DS) to the radio device (10) to transmit and receive a reception signal (AR, DR) from the radio (10), - signal processing components (16, 18, 24) to generate a first radio speech signal (X1) in dependence on the reception signal (AR, DR), and to generate the transmission signal (AS, DS) as a function of a second radio speech signal (X2) and a network interface (26) for connection to a local computer network (28) of the operations control center to convert the first radio speech signal (X1) into digital data packets (P ) and to feed into the local computer network (28), and to receive digital data packets (P) from the local computer network (28) and convert them into the second radio speech signal (X2).

14. The radio adapter (14) according to claim 13, in which the signal processing components (16, 18, 24) are set up to evaluate radio message signals, in particular transmitter identification signals and / or transmitter location signals and / or transmitter status signals, and which is set up to feed these signals and / or the information contained therein into the local computer network (28).

15. Radio adapter (14) according to claim 12 or claim 13, which is set up to mix a plurality of received signals (AR, AS) of a plurality of radio devices to form the first radio speech signal (X1).

16. Radio adapter (14) according to claim 15, which is set up to automatically set at least one acoustic parameter when mixing the plurality of received signals (AR, AS) as a function of a transmitter identification and / or a transmitter location and / or a transmitter status.

17. Radio adapter (14) according to claim 16, wherein the at least one acoustic parameter is the relative volume of the plurality of signals to each other and / or the respective sound impression of the signals and / or the apparent spatial arrangement of the signals.

18. Work station (32) for an operations control center, in particular for an operations control center according to claim 12, comprising: a network interface (44) for connection to a local computer network (28) of the operations control center in order to receive digital data packets (P) from the local computer network (28) to receive and convert it into a first radio speech signal (X1) and to convert a second radio speech signal (X2) into digital data packets (P) and feed it into the local computer network (28),

Signal processing components (48, 50, 52) to generate a playback signal (AP, DP) in response to the first radio signal (X1) and to generate the second radio signal (X2) in response to a recording signal (AM, DM), and an interface for connecting a playback device (56) and a microphone (58), the playback signal (AP, DP) being transmitted to the playback device (56) and the recording signal (AM, DM) being received by the microphone (58).

19. Workplace (32) according to claim 18, which is set up to a plurality of first radio call signals (X1)

Mix playback signal (AP, DP).

20. Workplace (32) according to claim 18, which is set up to automatically set at least one acoustic parameter when generating the playback signal (AP, DP) as a function of a transmitter identifier and / or a transmitter location specification and / or a transmitter status specification.

21. Workplace (32) according to claim 19, which is set up to mix at least one acoustic parameter in the generation of the playback signal (AP, DP) when the plurality of first radio speech signals (X1) to the playback signal (AP, DP) automatically set a station identifier and / or a station location and / or a station status statement.

22. Workplace (32) according to claim 21, in which the at least one acoustic parameter is the relative volume of the plurality of signals to one another and / or the respective sound impression of the signals and / or the apparent spatial arrangement of the signals.