WO2024100370A1

WO2024100370A1 - Radio device

Info

Publication number: WO2024100370A1
Application number: PCT/GB2023/052408
Authority: WO
Inventors: Martin Antony SMITH; William Anthony CHADWICK
Original assignee: Thales Holdings Uk Plc
Priority date: 2022-11-07
Filing date: 2023-09-18
Publication date: 2024-05-16
Also published as: GB202216566D0; GB2624043A

Abstract

A radio configured for use in a TDMA scheme, the radio being configured to transmit and receive on a plurality of frequency channels, each frequency channel having a plurality of recurring time slots, wherein: for a first one of the frequency channels, a first one of the time slots is reserved for voice communication between members of a first subnetwork; for each one of the one or more other frequency channels, a second one of the time slots is reserved for voice communication between members of a respective other subnetwork; the radio being switchable between the first frequency channel and one or more of the other frequency channel(s) to enable the user of the radio to communicate with the members of the first subnetwork on the first frequency in the first time slot, and to communicate with members of the other subnetwork(s) on their respective frequencies in the second time slot.

Description

Radio device

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate to a radio device.

BACKGROUND

In military scenarios, army personnel are typically deployed in a hierarchy of different units, including sections, platoons and companies. Figure 1 shows, schematically, how these different units relate to one another. A section will typically consist of 7 to 12 men under the command of a corporal, sergeant, or non-commissioned officer. A platoon may be made up of several sections, comprising a total of 25 to 30 men under the command of a lieutenant or second lieutenant. A company is formed from two or more platoons and typically comprises between 100 and 150 men, under the command of a major or captain.

When soldiers and other personnel are deployed in such an arrangement, it is desirable that the personnel within in each section should be able to share Position Location Information (PLI) and data with all others in the company. At the same time, it is desirable for the commanders of each section and/or platoon to be able to communicate privately between themselves, without the personnel under their command being privy to those communications.

In order to achieve the above goals, a multi-network approach may be used, as shown in Figure 2. In this approach, personnel within an individual section are equipped with a single radio, with which they are able to communicate with their section commander and other members of their section over a first network. As shown in Figure 2, personnel 201 belong to a first section having a section commander 203, whilst personnel 205 belong to a second section having a section commander 207 and personnel 209 belong to a third section having a section commander 211 . Each section commander 203, 207, 211 meanwhile is equipped with two radios. The first of these radios is used to communicate with the personnel under their command on a first network 213, 215, 217, whilst the second radio 219, 221 , 223 is used to communicate with the other section commanders I platoon commanders on a second, different network 225. In this way, the second radio 213, 215, 217 allows the commanders 203, 207, 211 to communicate privately with one another, without the personnel in their section being privy to those communications. A commander can also use the second radio to relay the PLI and data from men in their section over the second network to other commanders, thereby ensuring that this information is communicated across the entire company.

Although the arrangement described above allows for PLI and data from within an individual section to be passed on to members of the company outside that section, this is dependent on the commander of that section relaying that information between their two radios. Connecting between the two radios in order to transfer this PLI and data adds cabling and additional interface equipment for the commanders. At the same time, relaying information by audibly repeating the information received on one radio into the second radio adds delay and potential for inaccuracy and errors. Moreover, carrying two radios also adds to the commanders’ burden both in terms of additional equipment, batteries, cables etc. as well as the complexity inherent in operating two radios, including finding an optimal positioning of the radios to support a raised antenna location.

An alternative arrangement is to replace the multiple networks with one single radio network that can be used for all voice communications within the entire company or platoon. In this case, there will be a single voice channel available for all participants to share, allowing for each section's or platoon’s voice communications to be heard across the entire platoon and company. Such an arrangement, however, restricts the ability of commanders to communicate between themselves at the platoon and company level.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a radio configured for use in a TDMA scheme, the radio being configured to transmit and receive on a plurality of frequency channels, each frequency channel having a plurality of recurring time slots, wherein: for a first one of the frequency channels, a first one of the time slots is reserved for voice communication between members of a first subnetwork; for each one of the one or more other frequency channels, a second one of the time slots is reserved for voice communication between members of a respective other subnetwork; the radio being switchable between the first frequency channel and one or more of the other frequency channel(s) to enable the user of the radio to communicate with the members of the first subnetwork on the first frequency in the first time slot, and to communicate with members of the other subnetwork(s) on their respective frequencies in the second time slot.

Each subnetwork may be formed of a respective group of personnel, wherein: the groups of personnel in the other subnetwork(s) comprise one or more persons with a first rank; and the first subnetwork is reserved for personnel having a higher rank than the first rank.

The user of the radio may be a member of each subnetwork.

The first one of the frequency channels may comprise a third time slot allocated for data and/or SA (Situation Awareness) and management information.

The frequency bands of the plurality of frequency channels may be non-contiguous.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a radio system comprising: a radio according to the first aspect of the present invention; and a second radio configured for use in the TDMA scheme, wherein the second radio is switchable between the first one of the frequency channels and at least one of the one or more other frequency channel(s), wherein the second radio is prevented from transmitting and receiving in the first time slot of the first one of the frequency channels but is configured to transmit and receive in the second time slot in the at least one other frequency channel, thereby to allow the user of the second radio to communicate with other members of the subnetwork for which the at least one other frequency channel is reserved.

The first one of the frequency channels may comprise a third time slot allocated for data and/or SA and management information. Both the first radio and second radio may be capable of accessing the third time slot when switched to the first one of the frequency channels.

The plurality of frequency channels may comprise the first one of the frequency channels and at least two other frequency channels. The radio and the second radio may both be switchable between the at least two other frequency channels, thereby to allow the user of the radio and the user of the second radio to communicate with other members of the respective subnetworks for which the at least two other frequency channels are reserved.

The radio system may further comprise a third radio, wherein: the plurality of frequency channels comprise the first one of the frequency channels and at least two groups of other frequency channels; for the first one of the frequency channels, the first one of the time slots is reserved for voice communication between members of the first subnetwork and for voice communication between members of a second subnetwork; the first radio is switchable between the first frequency channel and each frequency channel in a first one of the groups of other frequency channels, thereby to enable the user of the radio to communicate with the members of the first subnetwork on the first frequency in the first time slot, and to communicate with members of the other subnetwork(s) for which the frequencies in the first group of other frequency channels are reserved; the second radio is switchable between the first frequency channel and at least one frequency channel in the first one of the groups of other frequency channels; and the third radio is switchable between the first frequency channel and each frequency channel in a second one of the groups of other frequency channels, thereby to enable the user of the third radio to communicate with the members of the second subnetwork on the first frequency in the first time slot, and to communicate with members of the other subnetwork(s) for which the frequencies in the second group of other frequency channels are reserved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows an arrangement of sections and platoons in a company of military personnel.

Figure 2 shows an example of how the members of a section and section commanders communicate with one another in a conventional setup; Figure 3 shows a schematic of a channel access framework according to an embodiment;

Figure 4A shows the channel access framework of Figure 3, highlighting the channels to which members of a first subnetwork have access;

Figure 4B shows the channel access framework of Figure 3, highlighting the channels to which members of one or more other subnetworks have access; and

Figure 5 shows an extension of the channel access framework of Figure 3, according to a further embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described herein provide a single overall network voice channel, together with separate voice channels for one or more groups of personnel, such that voice communications from each group of personnel do not occupy/interrupt the overall network voice channel whilst allowing Position location Information (PLI) and data from all network participants to be shared across the entire network.

Embodiments described herein can be used for Dismounted Tactical Communications for Platoons, as well as Mounted Tactical communications.

Figure 3 shows a schematic of a channel access framework according to an embodiment. The framework comprises a number of frequency channels, each of which is split into several recurring time slots, in accordance with a TDMA scheme. The four time slots include two slots for voice (Voice slot 1 , and Voice slot 2), a data slot, and an SA (Situation Awareness) & Management slot. It will be appreciated that the arrangement of time slots shown in Figure 3 is exemplary, and further slots may be added depending on system requirements.

The first frequency, Frequency 1 , includes a voice channel 1 that is reserved for voice communication between members of a first subnetwork. Each one of the subsequent frequencies (Frequency 2, Frequency 3, Frequency 4) includes a voice channel in the second time slot (Voice channel 2, Voice channel 3, Voice channel 4) that is reserved for voice communication between members of another, respective, subnetwork. For military applications, each one of the other subnetworks may be formed by members of a respective section within a platoon, whilst the first subnetwork is formed by the commanders of each section and/or the platoon commander.

The members of the first subnetwork are each provided with a radio that is switchable between the first frequency channel, Frequency 1 , and the other frequency channels, Frequency 2, Frequency 3, Frequency 4. The radios permit the members of the first subnetwork to communicate with one another on Voice channel 1 in the first time slot of Frequency 1 , and to communicate with members of the other subnetworks on their respective frequencies Frequency 2, Frequency 3, Frequency 4 using Voice channels 2, 3 and 4 in the second time slot. For example, the radio may be provided with two Push-To-Talk (PPT) buttons, PTT1 and PTT2. A section commander or platoon commander equipped with the radio may use PTT1 to communicate with members of the first subnetwork on Frequency 1 , and use PPT2 to communicate with members of whichever one of the other subnetworks the radio is tuned to at that time.

Members that belong to a respective one of the other subnetworks, but who do not also belong to the first subnetwork, are also provided with radios that are switchable between the first frequency channel, Frequency 1 , and their own respective frequency channels, Frequency 2, Frequency 3 and Frequency 4. In some embodiments, these radios may be switchable between each one of the frequencies, whilst in others embodiments, the radios may only be switchable between the first frequency and the specific frequency that is reserved for their own subnetwork. Unlike the members of the first subnetwork, these members’ radios are prevented from transmitting and receiving in the first time slot on Frequency 1 ; for example, the radios assigned to these members may be programmed with a table of frequencies that are available to transmit on / receive on in each time slot, with Frequency 1 being absent from the list of frequencies available for use in the first time slot. In this way, voice channel 1 is reserved solely for members of the first subnetwork.

By means of this arrangement, the members of each section (including the section commanders) can communicate with one another on their respective frequency in voice slot 2, whilst section commanders and/or a platoon commander can communicate with one another separately using the voice channel 1 on Frequency 1. The Data Channel and SA & Management Channel, occupying the third and fourth time slots on frequency 1 , respectively, are accessible to all personnel.

The above described arrangement is summarised in Figure 4. Figure 4A shows the voice and data channels to which members of the first subnetwork have access (these channels being shaded), whilst Figure 4B shows the voice and data channels to which members of each one of the other subnetworks have access.

In use, members of each one of the subnetworks will begin by tuning their radios to Frequency 1 to obtain I publish management information in the SA & management slot. The management information allows those personnel to identify other radios in the neighbourhood and build up a picture of the local radio network. Following this, for voice communication (and in some cases, data communication) within their subnetwork, personnel will tune to their reserved frequencies and broadcast using their allocated voice slot. Thus, members of one of the subnetworks will tune their radios to Frequency 2 and communicate using Voice slot 2 at that frequency, whilst members of another subnetwork will tune their radios to Frequency 3 and communicate using Voice slot 2 at that frequency. Members of the first subnetwork will keep their radios tuned to Frequency 1 and communicate with one another using Voice slot 1 ; in the event they need to communicate with members of the other subnetworks, they may do so by tuning their radio to the respective frequency and using Voice slot 2 at that frequency.

Accordingly, embodiments as described herein allow for section commanders and platoon commanders to communicate between themselves and the members of each section using a single radio, rather than having to use two separate radios as in the conventional approach. In so doing, embodiments can reduce the load to be carried by each individual, as well as the overall operator complexity.

In embodiments described herein, the frequencies allocated to each subnetwork may be non-contiguous frequencies, with the same narrowband width retained for each on- air signal. This contrasts with conventional approaches that utilize greater contiguous bandwidths in order to support multiple voice channels across a network of sub groups, and which require wider on-air bandwidth in order to function. Larger on-air bandwidth requires higher power to achieve representative ranges, which in turn increases the size and weight to accommodate the power amplifier, antenna and thermal considerations of each radio. In the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4, although the overall bandwidth utilized on-air is now four times that which would be required in the case of a single frequency being used for all communications, the bandwidth is spread across four separated frequencies, all operating at narrowband, thereby preventing any increase in size, weight and power of the radio units and helping to retain optimal battery and mission life. Figure 5 shows an extension of the channel access framework of Figure 3, according to a further embodiment. Here, in addition to the first frequency channel, Frequency 1 , the framework includes several groups of other frequency channels. The first group of frequency channels comprises frequencies 2, 3 and 4; a second group of frequency channels comprises frequencies 5, 6, and 7, and a third group of frequency channels comprises frequencies 8, 9 and 10. In this example, each group of frequency channels is associated with a respective platoon, and each frequency within a group is reserved for a section of that platoon.

As before, each one of the voice channels in Voice slot 2 is reserved for members of a respective subnetwork; in this case, the members of a respective section of a platoon. Within each section, the members may communicate with one another using voice slot 2 of the respective frequency.

The Voice slot 1 in Frequency 1 is reserved for communications between section commanders and/or platoon commanders. The section commanders and platoon commander for a particular platoon can communicate between themselves using the Voice slot 1 in Frequency 1 , and can communicate with the members of each section of the platoon by tuning their radio to the relevant frequency and transmitting I receiving voice data in Voice slot 2. For example, a commander of platoon 1 may communicate with members of the first section of platoon 1 by tuning their radio to Frequency 2 and transmitting / receiving voice data in Voice slot 2 at that frequency; if they wish to communicate with members of the second section of platoon 1 , they may do so by tuning to Frequency 3 and transmitting / receiving voice data in Voice slot 2 at that frequency. In the same way, a commander of platoon 2 may communicate with members of the first section of platoon 2 by tuning their radio to Frequency 5 and transmitting / receiving voice data in Voice slot 2 at that frequency; if they wish to communicate with members of the second section of platoon 2, they may do so by tuning to Frequency 6 and transmitting / receiving voice data in Voice slot 2 at that frequency.

It will be noted that, according to the above arrangement, Voice slot 1 on Frequency 1 will be used by three different groups (subnetworks); namely, the section commanders and platoon commander of platoon 1 , the section commanders and platoon commander of platoon 2, and the section commanders and platoon commander of platoon 3. In order to keep the communications of the individual platoons separate from one another, a “selective calling" mechanism may be implemented, whereby the section commanders of a respective platoon, together with the platoon commander of that platoon, can talk to each other without members of the other platoons hearing them. Here, the voice communications of the section commanders and platoon commander of each respective platoon are identified by separate code-words, such that although Voice channel 1 may, at any given time, be occupied by a particular platoon’s transmission, the section commanders and platoon commander of other platoons, whilst still tuned to Frequency 1 , will not decode for reception of those voice communications. Instead, for the members of those other platoons, the radio channel will appear ‘occupied’ so that, for example, voice communications for platoon 2 are held off (Frequency 1 PTT is rejected) whilst voice communications for platoon 1 are active.

Accordingly, the section commanders and platoon commander of any one of the platoons will be provided with radios having similar functionality to those allocated to the section commanders and platoon commander of the other platoons, being able to switch between voice communication in Voice slot 1 on Frequency 1 and voice communication in Voice slot 2 on one or more other frequencies reserved for the sections within the respective platoon. The radios provided to section commanders / platoon commanders of each respective platoon may, however, be provided with different code-words from those of the other platoons, allowing for the section commanders and platoon commander of each respective platoon to communicate with each other on Frequency 1 without the section commanders and platoon commanders of the other platoons being able to hear them. As an alternative, if all three platoons have the same talk group identifier, the section commanders and platoon commanders for each platoon may all communicate with one another at the same time using Voice slot 1 on Frequency 1 .

Also shown in Figure 5 is an additional “Company frequency” channel, Frequency 11. A Company commander might use voice channel 11 to talk to the platoon commanders alone, or use 'selective calling - all groups’ to talk to all the Platoon commanders and all the Section commanders, on voice channel 1.

In this way, embodiments as described herein can provide the following functionality:

- A company commander can talk to platoon commanders and platoon commanders can talk to other platoon commanders on a company voice frequency and transmit their and receive all PLI and data from every member of the entire network.

- A platoon commander, if part of a single platoon only network, can talk to section commanders on a platoon voice network, and transmit their and receive all PLI and data from every member of the entire network.

- A platoon commander, if part of a company network of multiple platoons, can talk to section commanders on a platoon voice network, when the overall voice network channel is not being used by another platoon, and transmit their and receive all PLI and data from every member of the entire network.

- A section commander, if part of a single platoon only network, can talk to other commanders on the platoon voice network and their section members on a section voice network and transmit their and receive all PLI and data from every member of the entire network.

- A section commander, if part of a company network of multiple platoons, can talk to other commanders on the platoon voice network when the overall voice network channel is not being used by another platoon and their section members on a section voice network and transmit their and receive all PLI and data from every member of the entire network.

- A section member can talk to their section commander and transmit their and receive PLI and data from to every member of the entire network.

Embodiments as described herein may be implemented as an algorithm in software on general purpose processors. Embodiments may also be implemented in a FPGA or in a dedicated signal processing device.

Implementations of the subject matter and the operations described in this specification can be realized in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Implementations of the subject matter described in this specification can be realized using one or more computer programs, i.e. , one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded on computer storage medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or in addition, the program instructions can be encoded on an artificially generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium can be, or be included in, a computer- readable storage device, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memory array or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover, while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computer storage medium can be a source or destination of computer program instructions encoded in an artificially generated propagated signal. The computer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or more separate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, or other storage devices).

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel methods, devices and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A radio configured for use in a TDMA scheme, the radio being configured to transmit and receive on a plurality of frequency channels, each frequency channel having a plurality of recurring time slots, wherein: for a first one of the frequency channels, a first one of the time slots is reserved for voice communication between members of a first subnetwork; for each one of the one or more other frequency channels, a second one of the time slots is reserved for voice communication between members of a respective other subnetwork; the radio being switchable between the first frequency channel and one or more of the other frequency channel(s) to enable the user of the radio to communicate with the members of the first subnetwork on the first frequency in the first time slot, and to communicate with members of the other subnetwork(s) on their respective frequencies in the second time slot.

2. A radio according to claim 1 , wherein each subnetwork is formed of a respective group of personnel, wherein: the groups of personnel in the other subnetwork(s) comprise one or more persons with a first rank; and the first subnetwork is reserved for personnel having a higher rank than the first rank.

3. A radio according to claim 1 , wherein the user of the radio is a member of each subnetwork.

4. A radio according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first one of the frequency channels comprises a third time slot allocated for data and/or SA and management information.

5. A radio according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the frequency bands of the plurality of frequency channels are non-contiguous.

6. A radio system comprising: a radio according to any one of the preceding claims, and a second radio configured for use in the TDMA scheme, wherein the second radio is switchable between the first one of the frequency channels and at least one of the one or more other frequency channel(s), wherein the second radio is prevented from transmitting and receiving in the first time slot of the first one of the frequency channels but is configured to transmit and receive in the second time slot in the at least one other frequency channel, thereby to allow the user of the second radio to communicate with other members of the subnetwork for which the at least one other frequency channel is reserved.

7. A radio system according to claim 6 wherein the first one of the frequency channels comprises a third time slot allocated for data and/or SA and management information and both the first radio and second radio are capable of accessing the third time slot when switched to the first one of the frequency channels.

8. A radio system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the plurality of frequency channels comprises the first one of the frequency channels and at least two other frequency channels; and the radio and the second radio are both switchable between the at least two other frequency channels, thereby to allow the user of the radio and the user of the second radio to communicate with other members of the respective subnetworks for which the at least two other frequency channels are reserved.

9. A radio system according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising a third radio, wherein: the plurality of frequency channels comprise the first one of the frequency channels and at least two groups of other frequency channels; for the first one of the frequency channels, the first one of the time slots is reserved for voice communication between members of the first subnetwork and for voice communication between members of a second subnetwork; the first radio is switchable between the first frequency channel and each frequency channel in a first one of the groups of other frequency channels, thereby to enable the user of the radio to communicate with the members of the first subnetwork on the first frequency in the first time slot, and to communicate with members of the other subnetwork(s) for which the frequencies in the first group of other frequency channels are reserved; the second radio is switchable between the first frequency channel and at least one frequency channel in the first one of the groups of other frequency channels; and the third radio is switchable between the first frequency channel and each frequency channel in a second one of the groups of other frequency channels, thereby to enable the user of the third radio to communicate with the members of the second subnetwork on the first frequency in the first time slot, and to communicate with members of the other subnetwork(s) for which the frequencies in the second group of other frequency channels are reserved.