Adaptive Transmit Delay for Trunked Radio Audio Patching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing intercommunication systems face issues with latency, audio clipping, and channel acquisition failures when patching audio sources into trunked-radio systems due to fixed transmit delays, which are inadequate for real-time communication across different radio systems.
Innovation Solution
An Adaptive Transmit Delay system that buffers outgoing audio and listens for the Talk Permit Tone to determine when to release it, using frequency analysis and pattern matching to synchronize with the radio system's channel acquisition, thereby reducing unnecessary delays and ensuring accurate transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed transmit delay is used to buffer outgoing audio, then channel acquisition reliability is improved, but communication latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic transmit delay adjustment by monitoring the Talk Permit Tone from the radio system. Instead of using a fixed delay, the system continuously adapts the buffer duration based on real-time channel availability feedback, optimizing the balance between reliability and latency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from the Talk Permit Tone detection to adjust the transmit delay. When the Talk Permit Tone is detected, the system knows the channel is available and can reduce the delay; when not detected, it extends the delay to ensure reliable channel acquisition.
2Reliability
If a fixed transmit delay is used to ensure channel availability, then channel acquisition success is improved, but audio clipping occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the transmit delay duration based on actual channel acquisition time observed through Talk Permit Tone detection. This prevents both audio clipping (by not delaying too long) and channel acquisition failures (by delaying long enough when needed).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the transmit delay parameter from a fixed value to a dynamically adjusted value based on the detected channel acquisition time. This allows the system to optimize audio timing accuracy while ensuring channel availability.
3Reliability
If a long fixed transmit delay is used to guarantee channel availability, then channel acquisition reliability is improved, but real-time communication capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic transmit delay that adapts to current channel conditions. When channels are available quickly, the delay is short, preserving real-time communication. When channels take longer to acquire, the delay extends to ensure reliability, but only when necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The Talk Permit Tone provides feedback about actual channel acquisition time, allowing the system to adjust the transmit delay dynamically. This feedback mechanism enables the system to maintain real-time communication capability when possible while ensuring reliability when needed.
4Reliability
If transmit delay is used to synchronize with channel acquisition, then transmission synchronization is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the Talk Permit Tone as an intermediary signal to mediate between the audio buffering system and the radio channel. This simple audible tone provides all the necessary information to adjust the transmit delay, avoiding complex synchronization protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the radio's own Talk Permit Tone signal to automatically adjust its transmit delay, eliminating the need for external synchronization signals or complex control mechanisms. The system serves itself by using the channel's own feedback to manage its own timing.
Data Source
AI summary
An intercommunication system with Adaptive Transmit Delay patches audio sources to a radio system (e.g., a trunked-radio system) such that outgoing audio is sent to the radio system as soon as a channel has been acquired, without further transmit delay. The intercommunication system generates a pattern representative of the radio's Talk Permit Tone. The intercommunication system then buffers outgoing audio while analyzing incoming audio from the radio and comparing the incoming audio to the generated pattern to determine when a Talk Permit Tone has been received. When the Talk Permit Tone is received, the intercommunication system releases buffered outgoing audio for transmission.