Group communication system

Abstract

The invention relates to a group communication system (1) comprising: at least one WLAN wireless network, a plurality of terminal devices (E1-E3), and a plurality of access points (AP1-AP3), wherein each of the access points (AP1-AP3) forms a node of the group communication system (1), wherein several or all of the access points (AP1-AP3) form a WLAN mesh wireless network (2), wherein each of the terminal devices (E1-E3) is connected to the access point (AP1-AP3) with which the best quality WLAN wireless connection exists, wherein each of the terminal devices (E1-E3) is a participant in a group communication that encompasses the entire WLAN mesh wireless network (2), and wherein participation in the group communication occurs regardless of which access point (AP1-AP3) the respective terminal device (E1-E3) is connected to.

Description

The invention relates to a group communication system according to the preamble of claim 1. From DE 10 2017 124 553 A1, a method for operating a group communication system is known, which comprises at least three communication devices, wherein the communication devices communicate in at least one radio network, wherein each communication device provides at least one communication channel for the transmission of a sound, in particular voice, signal, wherein direct communication between all devices takes place simultaneously via at least one radio link between the devices, and each communication channel provides bidirectional signal transmission. The invention is based on the objective of proposing a group communication system in which not all terminal devices necessarily have to be within range of each other. This problem is solved by means of the characterizing features of claim 1, starting from the features of the preamble of claim 1. Advantageous and expedient embodiments are specified in the dependent claims. The group communication system according to the invention comprises at least one WLAN radio network comprising a plurality of terminal devices, each terminal device comprising a WLAN radio module comprising a plurality of access points, each access point forming a node of the group communication system, each access point comprising a WLAN radio module, several or all of the access points forming a WLAN mesh radio network with network coverage defining a geographical area, each terminal device being registered with the access point to which the best quality WLAN radio connection exists depending on its current position in the geographical area defined by the network coverage, a communication application being operated on each terminal device, each terminal device being a participant in a group communication that encompasses the entire WLAN radio network, and participation in the group communication occurring independently ofwhich access point the respective device is connected to. This allows the devices to communicate regardless of whether they are within direct range of each other or not. Accordingly, a WLAN wireless network is set up using access points, whereby the access points not only have a distribution or access function for the end devices logged into this WLAN wireless network, but also enable seemingly direct communication between all end devices. The advantageous setup of a Wi-Fi network is a mesh network. A Wi-Fi mesh network is a local wireless network topology in which each infrastructure node (access point) is directly, dynamically, and non-hierarchically connected to as many other infrastructure nodes as possible. These infrastructure nodes cooperate to efficiently route data to and from the access points (end devices). Data transmission is typically based on a routing table, which is generated depending on the Wi-Fi network configuration. A routed message is passed along a path by hopping from node to node until it reaches its destination. Direct communication between all end devices connected to the WLAN wireless network formed by the access points is achieved by the WLAN wireless network of access points establishing a complete communication infrastructure that does not use routing tables, because all access points participate in the communication and transmit the message to all connected end devices; therefore, in this communication infrastructure, all end devices can communicate directly with each other, regardless of which access point they are connected to. Each access point sends each message to each terminal device registered with the respective access point, in a transmission according to a multicast procedure. Accordingly, the communication application for a WLAN mesh operating mode can be initialized in such a way that all end devices operating in WLAN mode are registered in the WLAN mesh network and that multicast transmission is established between the end device and the access point. This enables efficient operation of the group communication system. At the same time, the mobility of the end devices must be possible; regardless of which access point the end device is logged into, it must be able to participate in group communication. Furthermore, each access point can be configured to send every message to every end device connected to that access point via multicast transmission. This enables efficient operation of the group communication system. For the purposes of the invention, a WLAN wireless network also includes any other type of local wireless network, such as a DECT wireless network. For the purposes of the invention, a WLAN radio module also includes any other type of radio module for a local radio network, such as a DECT radio module. Further details of the invention are described in the drawing with reference to schematically illustrated embodiments. Figure 1 shows a first group communication system with a multitude of access points connected to each other via WLAN to form a WLAN mesh network, and with a multitude of end devices, each connected to the access point that provides the best communication with the highest signal strength; Figure 2 shows a first group communication system with a multitude of access points connected to each other in a WLAN mesh network, and a multitude of end devices, each connected to the access point that provides the best communication with the highest signal strength, wherein three end devices are connected to one of the access points and this access point operates accordingly in multicast mode. Figure 1 shows a first group communication system 1 comprising a plurality of access points AP1 to AP3, which are interconnected via WLAN to form a WLAN mesh radio network 2. Furthermore, the group communication system 1 includes a plurality of end devices E1 to E3, each of which is registered with one of the access points AP1 to AP3. Each end device E1 to E3 registers with the access point AP1 to AP3 that offers the best communication at any given time, e.g., in terms of the strongest signal strength. If a change in the position of an end device E1 to E3, or a change in the position of one or more of the access points AP1 to AP3, results in better communication with a different access point, the respective end device registers with that other access point. The WLAN mesh radio network 2 has network coverage 4 defined by a geographical area 3.Within this network coverage 4, the terminal devices E1 to E3 can move to any position and, depending on their current position, register with the access point AP1 to AP3 to which the best connection exists. Figure 1 shows a second group communication system 101, comprising a plurality of access points AP4 to AP8, which are interconnected via WLAN to form a WLAN mesh radio network 102. Furthermore, the group communication system 101 includes a plurality of end devices E4 to E8, each of which is registered with one of the access points AP4 to AP8. Here, end device E4 is registered with access point AP4. Here, end device E9 is registered with access point AP9. Here, end devices E5 to E7 are registered with access point AP5. Here, end device E8 is registered with access point AP7. As with the first communication system, each of the end devices E4 to E8 registers with the access point AP4 to AP8 that offers the best communication at any given time, e.g., in terms of the strongest signal strength.If a change in the position of the respective terminal device E4 to E8 or a change in the position of one or more of the access points AP4 to AP8 results in improved communication with another access point, the respective terminal device connects to one of the other access points. Figure 2 also symbolically depicts two building structures 103 and 104, through which no WLAN connection is possible, so the WLAN mesh radio network 102 must organize itself accordingly. Arrows 105, 106 and 107 symbolize a multicast transmission 108 from access point 5 to end devices E5, E6 and E7. In Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the WLAN radio modules of the terminal devices E1 to E3 and E4 to E8 and the access points AP1 to AP3 and AP4 to AP8 are each symbolized by a small circle. Reference symbol list 1 Group communication system 2 WLAN mesh network 3 Geographic area 4 Network coverage AP1-AP3 Access point E1-E3 End device 101 Group communication system 201 WLAN mesh network 103-104 Building structure 105-107 Arrow 108 Multicast transmission AP4-AP8 Access point E4-E8 End device QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature DE 10 2017 124 553 A1

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Claims

Group communication system (1; 101) comprising: - at least one WLAN radio network, - a plurality of terminal devices (E1-E3; E4-E8), each of which comprises a WLAN radio module, - a plurality of access points (AP1-AP3; AP4-AP8), each of which forms a node of the group communication system (1; 101), each of which comprises a WLAN radio module, - several or all of which form a WLAN mesh radio network (2; 102) with a network coverage (4) defining a geographic area (3), - each of which, depending on its current position in the geographic area defined by the network coverage (4), (3) is logged into the access point (AP1-AP3; AP4-AP8) to which the best quality WLAN radio connection exists, - with each of the terminal devices (E1-E3;E4-E8) a communication application is operated,- wherein each of the terminal devices (E1-E3; E4-E8) is a participant in a group communication that encompasses the entire WLAN mesh radio network (2; 102),- wherein participation in the group communication occurs regardless of which access point (AP1-AP3; AP4-AP8) the respective terminal device (E1-E3; E4-E8) is connected to.; Group communication system (1; 101) according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication application for a WLAN mesh operating mode is initialized such that all terminal devices (E1-E3; E4-E8) which are in WLAN operating mode are logged into the WLAN mesh radio network (2; 102) and that a multicast transmission (108) is established between terminal device (E1-E3; E4-E8) and access point (AP1-AP3; AP4-AP8). Group communication system (1; 101) according to claim 1 and / or 2, characterized in that each of the access points (AP1-AP3; AP4-AP8) sends each message to each terminal device (E1-E3; E4-E8) integrated in the respective access point (AP1-AP3; AP4-AP8) by means of a multicast transmission (108).

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