Patent ID: 8115622

Claim:
An improved underground radio communications and personnel tracking system, comprising: a portable communications device configured for wearing by a miner when underground in a mine; the improvement comprising: miner communication gear ( 102 ) and a mine management controller ( 104 ) configured for automatic mutual communication through various ever-changing media channels available to them including an ionosphere-earth waveguide ( 106 ), a layered earth waveguide ( 107 ), a coal seam waveguide ( 108 ), a conductor/lifeline waveguide ( 109 ), and a tunnel waveguide ( 110 ); wherein the miner communication gear ( 102 ) includes a cap-lamp transceiver configured for voice and text communication on ultra-low frequency (ULF) to ultra-high frequency (UHF) carrier frequencies and using various kinds of modulation that instantaneously favor at least a particular one of the ionosphere-earth waveguide ( 106 ), layered earth waveguide ( 107 ), coal seam waveguide ( 108 ), conductor/lifeline waveguide ( 109 ), and tunnel waveguide ( 110 ) radio communication medium and pathway channels; a cap-lamp transceiver implemented with a software definable transceiver (SDT) for text messaging, voice communication, and tracking with passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tags; wherein the miner communication gear ( 102 ) and mine management controller ( 104 ) include transceivers programmed for making selective and agile radio contacts via any of the radio communication medium and pathway channels ( 106 - 110 ) by finding a combination of radio carrier frequency and modulation that supports communication between the miner communication gear ( 102 ) and the mine management controller ( 104 ) as each independently and unpredictably fades in and out.