GB2150327A - Paging receivers - Google Patents

Abstract

A paging receiver (pager) comprises an aerial (10), receiver circuitry (12), a decoder (14) and a user alert means (16). The user alert means (16) includes a gas discharge tube (18), a generator (24) powered by a battery (26) to generate charge on a charge storage element (28) for discharge through the tube (18) to produce a flash of light, and a trigger circuit (30) operated to initiate one or more flashes of light from the tube (18) in response to the decoder (14) detecting a call intended for the pager. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Paging receivers This invention relates to paging receivers (hereinafter referred to as "pagers") and is more particularly concerned with user alert means thereof, that is to say means for indicating to the user of the pager that he is being paged.

When a selective pager receives a signal indicating that it is being paged, it is usually required to operate a user alert means thereof that indicates to the user of the pager that he is being paged. The most common form of user alert means comprises a sound generating transducer which provides an audible alert. In a simple form of pager, the audible alert can comprise a single burst of sound ("bleep").

In a more complex form of pager which, when addressed, can provide a plurality of different alerts, the sound generating transducer can produce a plurality of different noise patterns which can indicate various respective different messages to the user. The patterns can, for example, indicate the urgency of the call or can indicate the source of the call, i.e. who originated the call.

There are situations where an audible alert is inappropriate. An audible alert would, for example, be inappropriate at meetings and in theatres and, more generally, wherever a discreet alert is advantageous or desired. For these situations, instead of or as well as an audible alert the pager provides a so-called "silent alert". One known form of silent alert means comprises a light emitting diode (LED) and means to cause the LED to flash. The user can, for example, place the pager in front of him at a meeting so that he will be able to see the LED flashing. another form of silent alert means comprises a vibrator in the form of an unbalanced motor which causes the body of the pager to vibrate. For this form of alert to be useful, the user must position the pager against his body.

While the above-described forms of user alert means are in general very useful, there are some environments where the alerts they provide cannot reliably be detected by the user. Consider, for example, a high ambient noise environment (e.g. an industrial building or an outdoor industrial site) where the user has to wear protective clothing such as overalls or outdoor or other outer clothing. In such an environment, an audible alert would be difficult or impossible to detect. If, as is usual, the pager is positioned within the overalls or outdoor clothing, a flashing LED form of alert would of course be undetectable.Even if the user wore a pager with a flashing LED alert outside of his overalls or outdoor clothing, a flashing LED alert would still be difficult to detect since detection of a flashing LED alert relies on continuous viewing of the pager, which is relatively easy to carry out if the pager is positioned on a table in front of the user, for example at a meeting, but relatively difficult to carry out in the environment presently being described. Avibrator alert would probably be distinguishable in a noisy environment. However, since the vibrator has to be positioned next to the body of the user, if the pager is of the increasingly common type that displays messages the user would have to undress tore- spond to the paging call by noting the message, which would, of course, be inconvenient.

According to the present invention there is provided a pager having a user alert means for indicating to the user that he is being paged, the user alert means comprising a gas discharge tube and means for energising the tube to produce at least one flash of light.

Such a user alert means may be useful in a variety of environments and applications, and is particularly useful in a high ambient noise environment where the user has to wear protective clothing (e.g. overalls) or other outer clothing. Thus, unlike a pager with a vibrator alert, the present pager can be worn outside of the protective or other outer clothing, e.g.

on or in an outer pocket. Thus, no undressing operation is required to respond to a call, e.g. to view a message displayed on the pager. Further, of course, ambient noise should have no adverse effect on the alerting effect of the alert means. Due to the fact that the user alert means operates by producing at least one flash of light, it should be difficult for the user to miss an alert, even if he is not looking at the pager when an alert is generated. The pager can in fact be positioned remote from the user and still readily attract his attention when an alert is generated.

In a relatively simple form of pager, in which only a single type of alert is provided, it may be sufficient for the user alert means to produce a single flash of light. Preferably, however, the user alert means produces a series of flashes of light to minimise the possibility of an alert being missed. In a more complex form of pager, in which a plurality of different forms of alert are to be provided, the energising means may be capable of causing the tube to produce any of a plurality of series of flashes of light to indicate different kinds of alert, the different series having respective patterns that are distinguishable from one another by the user. In this way, a plurality of different alerts can be provided to the user in a way analagous to the different forms of alert provided by noise patterns in a conventional audible user alert means.For example, one particular pattern of flashes could indicate that an alert is urgent and another pattern or patterns could indicate one or more possible origins of the call.

The pager may include means for controlling the intensity and/or the duration of the flash or flashes of light in response to the ambient light intensity. In this way, the magnitude of the alerting effect could be increased as the ambient light intensity increases, thereby minimising the chances of an alert being missed. Additionally or alternatively, means may be provided to enable the user to vary the intensity and/or the duration of the flash or flashes of light.

The invention will now be further described, by way of illustrative and non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, the sole figure of which is a block schematic diagram of a pager embodying the invention.

The drawing shows a selective radiopaging receiverror pager that comprises an aerial 10, receiver circuitry 12 for demodulating an incoming signal, a decoder 14 responsive to an output signal from the receiver circuitry 12 to detect whether a received call is intended for the pager, and a user alert means 16 operated by the decoder on receipt of a call intended for the pager to indicate to the user that he is being paged. The pager may additionally comprise display means (not shown) operative to display messages received by the pager. The aerial 10, reciever circuitry 12, decoder 14 and display means may be of conventional construction, well-known to those skiiled in the art, and will therefore no be further described.

The user alert means 16 comprises a gas discharge tube 18 having main electrodes 20 and a discharge electrode 22. A generator 24, connected to a low voltage battery 26, and a charge storage element 28 (e.g. a capacitor) are connected, as shown, via a switch 30, to the main electrodes 20 of the gas discharge tube 18 to apply thereto a voltage on the charge storage element 28 that is generated by the generator 24. A trigger circuit 30 is connected to the discharge electrode 22 of the gas discharge tube 18. The gas discharge tube 18, the generator 24, the battery 26, the charge storage element 28 and the trigger circuit 30 can be constructed and arranged in a manner known generally from the electronic camera art to cause flashes of light to be generated bythetube 18.

The trigger circuit 30 is connected to the decoder 14 by a line 32. The trigger circuit is so constructed as to be responsive to a signal on the line 32, produced by the decoder 14 when it detects that a call intended for the pager is received, to cause the gas discharge tube 18 to generate a flash or pulse of light to alert the user to the fact that he is being paged. In a simple form of pager, only a single pulse or flash of light may be produced. Alternatively, to minimise the possibility of an alert being missed, the decoder 14 and/or trigger circuit 30 can be so designed as to cause the gas discharge tube 18 to produce a series of flashes of light.In a more complex form of pager, in which it is desired that a plurality of different alerts can be provided to the user, the decoder 14 and/or trigger circuit 30 can be so arranged as to cause the tube 18 to produce any of a plurality of series of flashes of lightto indicate different kinds of alert, the different series having respective different patterns that are distinguishable from one another by the user. The different patterns may comprise, for example, light pulse trains of different frequency and/or may comprise different patterns of spacing between the pulses making up the series. In this way, the user can, for example, be alerted to the fact that a received call is urgent and/or originates from a particular source.

The illustrated user alert means 16 is also provided with an ambient light sensor 34. The ambient light sensor 34 is operative on the generator 24 to cause it to increase the voltage on the charge storage element 28 as the ambient light intensity increases, thereby minimising the chance of an alert being missed and also economising on powerconsumption from the battery 26 by reducing the power demand thereon in low ambient light intensity conditions. Additionally or alternatively, the ambient light sensor could vary the duration (rather than the intensity) of the flash or flashes of light by controliing the switch 30 in such a manner as to cut off energisation of the tube 18 after the flash has lasted for a duration determined by the ambient light intensity.

The operation of the switch 30, and therefore the duration of the flash or flashes of light, may also be controlled by the user, if desired, by making the switch 30 manually controllable, whereby the user can control the duration of the flash or flashes of light. Additionally or alternatively, the generator 24 may be provided with some form of manual control means whereby the intensity of the flash or flashes may be controlled by the user.

The invention can, of course, be embodied in other ways than that described above by way of example.

For instance, the invention can be embodied in inductive loop type pagers as well as in radiopagers.

Further, the pager may be provided with a conventional audible alert means and/or silent alert means (e.g. vibrator or flashing LED) as well as the abovedescribed alert means 16, in which case the pager may comprise switch means enabling the user to switch between different alert modes or combinations of alert modes as desired.

Claims (7)

1. A pager having a user alert means for indicating to the user that he is being paged, the user alert means comprising a gas discharge tube and means for energising the tube to produce at least one flash of light.

2. A pager according to claim 1, wherein the energising means is operative on the tube to produce a series of flashes of light.

3. A pager according to claim 2, wherein the energising means is capable of causing the tube to produce any of a plurality of series of flashes of light to indicate different kinds of alert, the different series having respective different patterns that are distinguishable fom one another by the user.

4. A pager according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, including means for controlling the intensity of the flash or flashes of light in response to the ambient light intensity.

5. A pager according to any one of the preceding claims, including means for controlling the duration of the flash or flashes of light in response to the ambient light intensity.

6. A pager according to any one of the preceding claims, including means for enabling the user to vary the intensityand/orthe duration of the flash or flashes of light

7. A pager substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.