Ericsson Gmbh

Innovative Wireless Technologies, Inc.

Paul E Schmidt

Thomas A Przelomiec

Luke Koleszar

Paul Ralph Carpenter

James Edward Silverstrim

Kent D Colling

Steve Harrison

Thomas Gahagen

Tim Dechant

A method and apparatus for reliable wireless voice, data and location communication for deployment in underground, industrial and other hazardous environments using a wireless mesh network. The network includes protocol for dispatch operation, emergency operation, remote supervision, remote status, asset control, machine state of health and operational management. The architecture is based on localized clusters of autonomous nodes capable of ad hoc interconnection with nearby nodes and connection to gateway nodes. The resulting network is an ad hoc mesh topology comprised of fixed mesh nodes with approximately 50% coverage overlap between nodes. This provides a reliable communication network for mobile nodes carried by personnel and sensor nodes that are fixed or mobile that supports voice, data and tracking/situation awareness. Each cluster of nodes transfers digital voice and data to gateway nodes either directly or through multi-hop transactions.

Method and apparatus for reliable communications in underground and hazardous areas

Methods and apparatus for forming and maintaining an ad hoc mesh network suitable for reliable voice and data communications in underground, industrial and other hazardous environments. This invention includes support for cooperative negotiation of dedicated transmission bandwidth for all fixed network nodes, determination of network time synchronization without a pre-determined time master, discovery and merging of adjacent ad hoc mesh networks, and routing techniques for voice, data and network status packets which react instantaneously to network topology changes. Furthermore this invention provides a reliable communication network for mobile nodes carried by personnel and sensor nodes that are fixed or mobile that supports voice, data and tracking/situation awareness. A current application for this technology is a coal mine communication system with an operations center to dispatch, monitor and control coal mine operation including communication and location of mine personnel, and environmental conditions in the mine.

Distributed ad hoc mesh network protocol for underground mine and hazardous area communications

A method for forming a protocol structure for use in an ad hoc, distributed, scaleable wireless sensor node network which enables nodes to join the network autonomously without there being a designated, permanent central time reference and for enabling such nodes to synchronize timing with each other and with other nodes in the network. The method involves discovering the active channel changing sequence used by the network, synchronizing communications of a new node with the remainder of the nodes in the network and scanning communications channels to detect merging clusters of nodes.

Distributed ad hoc network protocol using synchronous shared beacon signaling

A simplified method of controlling the operating mode of a wireless communications device, particularly the speaker mode, includes operating a wireless communications device according to a selected default mode. The method of audio output, such as through a loud speaker or through a quieter speaker, is determined, at least in part by the default mode setting. The device includes at least a first key and a second key. Pressing the first key causes the device to automatically initiate a call session in radio mode and stay in radio mode until the end of the call session. On the other hand, pressing the second key causes the device to automatically initiate a call session in phone mode and stay in phone mode until the end of the call session. In either case, the wireless communications device reverts to the default mode when the call session ends. By doing so, the user is provided with a simple method for temporarily switching to the desired mode of operation, without the necessity of first determining the current mode of the wireless communications device and through the simple press of a single key. This method is particularly adapted for use with wireless communications devices having two separate speakers, a quiet one for phone mode and a louder one for radio mode.

Simplified speaker mode selection for wireless communications device

A communications terminal, such as a wireless mobile terminal, is supplied with an indication of group call characteristics for incoming group calls so as to distinguish such calls from other types of incoming calls. A Group Call Server in charge of the group call may selectively augment the calling party number field of the paging message with one or more indicator &ldquo;flag characters,&rdquo; indicating one or more characteristics of the group call, such as call type, call subtype, or priority level. The communications terminal receives the group call paging message and selects the appropriate response to the paging message based on the flag characters. The communications terminal preferably examines the calling party field of the paging message and notes the presence of the flag characters. When the flag characters are present, the communications terminal parses out the flag characters and calling party ID. Based on the flag characters, the communications terminal determines the proper response to the paging message. This response may include, for instance, controlling the man-machine interface of the communications terminal and determining whether or not to automatically answer the call. For instance, the communications terminal may automatically answer group calls of certain kind(s) and require manual intervention of the user prior to answering the paging call for other kind(s). Thus, the communications terminals receiving the augmented paging message will base their response, such as whether to auto-answer or not, on the group call characteristics indicated in the paging message.

Controlling communications terminal response to group call page based on group call characteristics

A method of establishing a group call in a wireless communications system includes a group call server supplying mobile terminals of a certain type with an indication of call type, and optionally other information, for group calls so as to distinguish such calls from other types of calls. The group call server in charge of the group call may selectively augment the calling party number field of the outgoing paging message with one or more indicator flags when the targeted mobile terminal is adapted to receive and act upon such information. The indicator flags indicate one or more characteristics of the group call, such as call type, call subtype, or priority level. One flag may indicate priority level and another may indicate the call subtype of the group call. The mobile terminals receiving the augmented paging message base their response, such as to auto-answer or not, on the group call characteristics indicated in the paging message. The group call server may rely on already built-in flexibility in existing air interface protocols so that the method disclosed herein may be implemented without the need to change the signaling and air interface protocols or substantial changes to the existing system equipment.

Method of establishing group calls in a communications system

The invention includes a method for processing group calls. A group list is created having a plurality of group members and preferably includes for each group member whether the group member requires an affirmative response when contacted, and an identifier. A request is received from an originator to contact the group members. At least one of the group members is contacted, and an affirmative response is requested. After receiving the affirmative response, the originator and group member are connected. If no affirmative response is received, the group member is not connected with the originator.

Method of processing group calls within a wireless communications network

A group call server supplies communications terminals of a certain type with an indication of call type, and optionally other information, for group calls so as to distinguish such calls from other types of calls. The group call server in charge of the group call may selectively augment the calling party number field of the outgoing paging message with one or more indicator flags when the targeted communications terminal is adapted to receive and act upon such information. The indicator flags indicate one or more characteristics of the group call, such as call type, call subtype, or priority level. One flag may indicate priority level and another may indicate the call subtype of the group call. The communications terminals receiving the augmented paging message will base their response, such as to auto-answer or not, on the group call characteristics indicated in the paging message. The group call server may rely on already built-in flexibility in existing signaling and air interface protocols so that the method disclosed herein may be implemented without the need to change the air interface or the BMI.

Communications system providing call type indication for group calls

A simplified method of assigning a call address to a PTT key for speed dialing in radio mode. The existing call addresses stored in memory are reviewed by the user and one of the call addresses is chosen as the default call address. This default call address is associated with a particular hot key, such as the PTT key. Thereafter, when the hot key is pressed to initiate a call without another call address currently pending, the default call address is used to initiate the call in radio mode. In preferred embodiments, the user may assign the call address to be the default without having to move the call address information from one memory location to another. Likewise, the user may change the call address assigned to be the default without having to move the call address information from one memory location to another. Thus, the present invention provides a simpler and less error prone procedure.

Selectable assignment of default call address

A mobile station is provided for transmitting and receiving communication signals over the air. The mobile station includes a memory storing user preference information, a receiver adapted to receive an over-the-air information signal including user preference information, and a user preference program in the mobile station adapted to change the user preference information in the memory according to user preference information in a received over-the-air information signal. The mobile station is remote from a master control unit selectively activatible for transmitting the over-the-air information including select user preference information input at the master control unit.

System and method for over the air programming of mobile stations

A method of selectively connecting group phone calls to a roaming mobile station. A mobile station is provided for use in a wireless communication system for selectively originating and receiving group phone calls. The mobile station includes a memory storing a plurality of group phone numbers for each group of which the mobile station is a member, and roam originate and receive enable flags for each group phone number. The roam originate and receive enable flags are selectively settable between first and second states to either permit or prohibit group calls to be originated from, or received at, the mobile station while the mobile station is roaming.

Method and apparatus for inhibition of calls while roaming

An auto answer cellular phone system is described in which the caller ID field of an originating cellular page message is modified to be a group ID number designating a plurality of cellular phones within a group. In an example embodiment, an originating phone dials a group phone number, the group phone number is routed to a group ID server by the mobile radio switch. The group ID server looks up the group number in a lookup-table to determine which cellular phones are included in the particular group and then forwards the individual group members ID codes to the switch for connection to the originating phone. Before sending the group members' ID codes to the switch, the group ID server 21 replaces the caller ID field from the originating phone ID to the group number ID. This tells the mobile stations that the call is a group call, as opposed to an individual call and forces the mobile stations into an auto-answer mode such that the mobile station then acts as a dispatch radio, as opposed to a human-answer cellular phone.

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Forest, VA, United States of America

Paul E Schmidt