Marine radio communication system

Abstract

To make it possible to avoid unnecessary measures due to deterioration of the received sound of a radiotelephone device.SOLUTION: A marine radio communication system 1 includes a plurality of radiotelephone devices 2 used on a ship. The plurality of radiotelephone devices 2 each include a PTT button 41 for radio transmission and a display 32, and are connected via an in-house communication network 5 so that they can communicate with each other. When the PTT button 41 is turned on in one of the radiotelephone devices 2, the radiotelephone device 2 transmits a transmission start command indicating that radio transmission will be performed to the other radiotelephone devices 2 via the in-house communication network 5, and when the other radiotelephone devices 2 receive the transmission start command, they display a transmission in progress indicator on the display 32 indicating that one of the radiotelephone devices 2 is during radio transmission.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a ship radio communication system equipped with a plurality of radiotelephone devices for use on a ship. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, passenger ships engaged in international voyages and cargo ships of a certain tonnage or more are required to carry two or more international VHF (Very High Frequency) radio telephone devices based on the GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). It is desirable to install the antennas of these multiple international VHF radio telephone devices vertically to avoid interference between their radio waves. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-163062 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, on some ships, space constraints may force antennas to be placed close together horizontally. In such cases, when one radiotelephone device transmits, the other radiotelephone device may hear a white noise-like reception sound due to interference, even if the other radiotelephone device is receiving on a different channel. Even if no noise-like phenomenon occurs, the reception sensitivity of one radiotelephone device may be suppressed while the other radiotelephone device is transmitting, resulting in a deterioration of the reception sound.

[0005] If multiple wireless telephone devices are installed in the same space (for example, the same room), it is possible to know that the cause of this phenomenon is that another wireless telephone device is transmitting, but if they are installed in different spaces or rooms, the cause is not clear. For this reason, it may be mistakenly believed that the deterioration of the received sound is due to a malfunction of the wireless telephone device, and unnecessary measures may have to be taken.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a marine radio communication system that makes it possible to avoid unnecessary measures due to deterioration of the received sound of a radio telephone device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 is a ship radio communication system having a plurality of radiotelephone devices used on a ship, wherein the plurality of radiotelephone devices are equipped with a talk button and a display unit for performing radio transmission, and are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via an internal communication network, and when the talk button is turned on in any of the radiotelephone devices, the radiotelephone device transmits a transmission start command indicating that radio transmission will be performed to the other radiotelephone devices via the internal communication network, and when the other radiotelephone devices receive the transmission start command, they display a transmission in progress indicator on the display unit indicating that one of the radiotelephone devices is currently transmitting radio.

[0008] The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the marine radio communication system described in claim 1, when the talk button of a radiotelephone device with the talk button turned on is turned off, the radiotelephone device transmits a transmission end command indicating the end of radio transmission to the other radiotelephone devices via the in-house communication network, and when the other radiotelephone devices receive the transmission end commands from all the radiotelephone devices to which the transmission start command was transmitted, they erase the transmitting indication from the display unit.

[0009] The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the ship radio communication system described in claim 1, the multiple radiotelephone devices are equipped with an attenuation means for attenuating the received sound, and when the other radiotelephone devices receive the transmission start command, they attenuate the received sound using the attenuation means.

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that, in the marine radio communication system described in claim 3, whether or not to attenuate the received sound using the attenuation means when the transmission start command is received can be set for each radiotelephone device. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the invention described in claim 1, when the talk button is turned on to transmit or talk wirelessly on one of the wireless telephone devices, a transmission indicator is displayed on the display of the other wireless telephone device. Therefore, even if the reception sound of the other wireless telephone device deteriorates, it is known that this is due to another wireless telephone device being wirelessly transmitted. Therefore, there is no misunderstanding that the deterioration of the reception sound is due to a malfunction of the wireless telephone device, and it is possible to avoid unnecessary measures.

[0012] According to the invention described in claim 2, when the talk button is turned off in all wireless telephone devices during wireless transmission, that is, when all wireless transmission is finished, the transmission indication is erased from the display unit of the other wireless telephone devices. Therefore, if the reception sound deteriorates in this state, it is possible that there is a malfunction of the wireless telephone device, and it is possible to respond promptly and appropriately.

[0013] According to the invention described in claim 3, when the talk button is turned on on any one of the wireless telephone devices to perform wireless transmission / talk, the received sound of the other wireless telephone device is attenuated, thereby making it possible to suppress deterioration of the received sound caused by another wireless telephone device being engaged in wireless transmission.

[0014] According to the invention described in claim 4, whether or not to attenuate the received sound when another wireless telephone device is transmitting wirelessly can be set for each wireless telephone device, thereby enabling flexible response to the installation environment of each wireless telephone device and the preferences of each user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a marine wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a radiotelephone device of the marine radio communication system of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a timing chart showing the operation of the marine wireless communication system of FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the illustrated embodiment.

[0017] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a vessel radio communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a radiotelephone device 2 of this vessel radio communication system 1. Here, Fig. 2 shows only the components of the radiotelephone device 2 according to the present invention. This vessel radio communication system 1 is a system equipped with multiple radiotelephone devices 2 used on a vessel, and when radio transmission / talk (talk transmission) is being performed by any of the radiotelephone devices 2, this is known by the other radiotelephone devices 2.

[0018] First, each radiotelephone device 2 comprises a device main body 3 and a handset 4, and is disposed at a predetermined location on the ship. Here, each radiotelephone device 2 has the same basic configuration and functions as an international VHF radiotelephone device based on GMDSS, and the following mainly describes the different configurations and functions.

[0019] The device main body 3 is shaped like a square box, and as shown in Fig. 2, mainly comprises a LAN port 31, a display (display unit) 32, an attenuator (attenuation means) 33, and a control unit 35. Note that reference numeral 34 in Fig. 1 denotes a squelch for blocking unnecessary noise and voice, and has the same function and configuration as a conventional device.

[0020] The LAN port 31 is a socket for detachably connecting a network cable (hereinafter referred to as a "LAN cable 51") for configuring a local area network 5. By connecting the LAN cable 51 to the LAN port 31 of each device main body 3, a plurality of wireless telephone devices 2 are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other via the local area network 5. Here, reference numeral 52 in FIG. 1 denotes a switching hub for connecting a plurality of LAN cables 51.

[0021] The display 32 is a display panel for displaying various information, and in this embodiment, it mainly displays a transmission indicator, which will be described later. The attenuator 33 is a circuit element for attenuating / muting the received sound, and as will be described later, is activated when any of the wireless telephone devices 2 is performing wireless transmission / talk, thereby attenuating / muting the received sound.

[0022] The control unit 35 is a controller that transmits commands from the LAN port 31 to the outside and controls the display 32 and attenuator 33, and is provided with a program for performing a predetermined operation. First, in response to a user's operation, it transmits a transmission start command or a transmission end command to the outside. That is, when a PTT button 41, which will be described later, is turned on, it transmits a transmission start command indicating that wireless transmission / talk is to be performed to another wireless telephone device 2 (device main body 3) via the local communication network 5. After that, when the PTT button 41 is turned off from on, it transmits a transmission end command indicating that wireless transmission / talk is to be ended to another wireless telephone device 2 via the local communication network 5.

[0023] In addition, in response to a command received from the outside, the control circuit 31 controls the display 32 and the attenuator 33. That is, when a transmission start command is received, a transmission indicator (transmission mark) showing that any of the other wireless telephone devices 2 is in the process of wireless transmission is displayed on the display 32, and the attenuator 33 is operated to attenuate or mute the received sound.

[0024] Here, whether or not to attenuate / mute the received sound by the attenuator 33 when a transmission start command is received can be set for each wireless telephone device 2. In other words, whether or not to attenuate / mute the received sound can be set by performing a predetermined setting operation on each device main body 3. Therefore, only in a wireless telephone device 2 that has been set to attenuate / mute the received sound when a transmission start command is received (attenuation setting), the attenuator 33 is operated to attenuate / mute the received sound.

[0025] Furthermore, when a transmission end command is received from all the wireless telephone devices 2 to which it has transmitted a transmission start command, the transmission indication is erased (made non-display) from the display 32, and, if the attenuator 33 is operating, the operation of the attenuator 33 is stopped. In other words, when wireless transmission / talk is ended in all the wireless telephone devices 2, the display of the transmission indication and the attenuation / mute of the received sound are ended.

[0026] Here, whether or not the transmission end commands have been received from all the wireless telephone devices 2 to which the transmission start commands were transmitted may be determined in any manner, but for example, the determination is made as follows. That is, the busy counter is incremented (increased by 1) every time a transmission start command is received, and the busy counter is decremented (decreased by 1) every time a transmission end command is received. Then, when the busy counter reaches zero, it is determined that all wireless transmissions and conversations have ended.

[0027] The handset 4 is connected to the device main body 3 and is a handset for outputting voice from the outside, collecting the user's voice, converting it into an electrical signal, and transmitting it to the outside. The handset 4 is equipped with a PTT button (Push To Talk button, call button) 41 for wireless transmission and communication, and by turning on this PTT button 41, the user's voice can be transmitted to the outside, and while this PTT button 41 is off, only reception and audio can be performed.

[0028] Next, the action and operation of the vessel radio communication system 1 configured as above will be described with reference to the timing chart in Fig. 3. Here, Fig. 3 illustrates two radiotelephone devices 2, but the action and operation are similar even when three or more radiotelephone devices 2 are provided.

[0029] First, when a user of any of the wireless telephone devices 2 turns on the PTT button 41 of the handset 4 (step S1), a transmission start command is transmitted from this wireless telephone device 2 to the other wireless telephone devices 2 via the local communication network 5 (step S2). Then, a transmission indicator is displayed on the display 32 of all the other wireless telephone devices 2 that receive this command, and the attenuator 33 attenuates or mutes the received sound in the wireless telephone devices 2 that are set to attenuation (step S3).

[0030] Next, when the user of the radiotelephone device 2 with the PTT button 41 turned on turns off the PTT button 41 (step S4), a transmission end command is transmitted from this radiotelephone device 2 to the other radiotelephone devices 2 via the local communication network 5 (step S5). Then, when the radiotelephone device 2 displaying the transmission in progress indicator receives transmission end commands from all the radiotelephone devices 2 to which it transmitted the transmission start command, the transmission in progress indicator is erased from the display 32. Furthermore, if the attenuator 33 is operating, the operation of the attenuator 33 is stopped, and the attenuation / mute of the received sound is terminated (step S6).

[0031] In this way, according to the marine radio communication system 1, when the PTT button 41 of any radiotelephone device 2 is turned on to perform radio transmission / talk, a transmission indicator is displayed on the display 32 of the other radiotelephone device 2. Therefore, even if the received sound of the other radiotelephone device 2 deteriorates, it is known that this is because another radiotelephone device 2 is transmitting radio signals. Therefore, there is no misunderstanding that the deterioration of the received sound is due to a malfunction of the radiotelephone device 2, and it is possible to avoid unnecessary measures.

[0032] Furthermore, when the PTT button 41 of any of the wireless telephone devices 2 is turned on to transmit or talk wirelessly, the received sound of the other wireless telephone devices 2 is attenuated or muted, thereby making it possible to suppress deterioration of the received sound caused by another wireless telephone device 2 being engaged in wireless transmission.

[0033] Furthermore, whether or not to attenuate the received sound when another wireless telephone device 2 is transmitting (talking) wirelessly can be set for each wireless telephone device 2, allowing for flexible response according to the installation environment of each wireless telephone device 2 and the preferences of each user.

[0034] In addition, when the PTT buttons 41 are turned off in all wireless telephone devices 2 that are wirelessly transmitting, that is, when all wireless transmissions are terminated, the display of the transmission indicators and attenuation of the received sound of the other wireless telephone devices 2 are terminated. Therefore, if the received sound deteriorates in this state, it is possible that a malfunction of the wireless telephone device 2 is the cause, and it is possible to take action promptly and appropriately.

[0035] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the specific configuration is not limited to the above embodiment, and even if the design is changed within the scope of the gist of the present invention, it is included in the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the transmission indicator is displayed on the display 32 of the device main body 3, but the handset 4 may be provided with a lamp as a display unit, and the lamp may be turned on to indicate the transmission indicator.

[0036] 1. Marine radio communication system 2 Radio telephone equipment 3. Device body 4. Handset 41 PTT button (talk button) 32 Display (display unit) 33 Attenuator (attenuation means) 5. Internal communication network 51 LAN cable

Claims

1. A shipboard radio communication system including a plurality of radiotelephone devices for use on a ship, The plurality of wireless telephone devices are provided with a call button and a display unit for wireless transmission, and are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via an in-house communication network, When the talk button is turned on in any one of the wireless telephone devices, the wireless telephone device transmits a transmission start command, which indicates that wireless transmission is to be performed, to the other wireless telephone devices via the local area network; when receiving the transmission start command, the other wireless telephone device displays on the display unit a transmission in progress indication indicating that any one of the wireless telephone devices is performing wireless transmission. A marine wireless communication system.

2. when the talk button of the wireless telephone device in which the talk button is turned on is turned off, the wireless telephone device transmits a transmission end command indicating an end of wireless transmission to the other wireless telephone devices via the local area network; when the other wireless telephone device receives the transmission end command from all of the wireless telephone devices to which the transmission start command has been transmitted, the other wireless telephone device erases the transmission indication from the display unit.

2. A marine wireless communication system according to claim 1.

3. The plurality of wireless telephone devices each include an attenuation means for attenuating a received sound, when the other wireless telephone device receives the transmission start command, the attenuation means attenuates the received sound.

2. A marine wireless communication system according to claim 1.

4. whether or not to attenuate the received sound by the attenuation means when the transmission start command is received can be set for each of the wireless telephone devices.

4. A marine wireless communication system according to claim 3.

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