JPH05259965A - Selective call receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the informing performance to the occurrence of an emergency call and also to increase the life time of a battery by suppressing the battery consumption and then informing a user of the emergency call with higher sureness. CONSTITUTION:When a selective call signal addresses to its own is received, a 1st call informing action is carried out by a 1st call information control means 41. If a user is not awear of the call informing action, the user decides through an emergency call deciding/storing means 43 whether the preceding selective call signal shows an emergency call or not. This deciding result is stored. If an emergency call is confirmed, a 2nd call information control means 42 performs intermittently and repetitively a 2nd call informing action to show an emergency call at each time interval (t2) until the user is aware of the call informing action.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a selective call receiver used in a selective call system having an emergency call function in addition to a normal call function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a selective call system, a selective call signal as shown in FIG. 5, for example, is used. That is, one frame of the selective call signal is time-divided into a plurality of groups (n groups in the figure) as shown in FIG. 5A, and these groups are further divided into a synchronization word and a plurality of groups as shown in FIG. 5B. It is time-divided into a call word (m words in the figure). In addition, these calling words are the individual number code (ID code) of the selective calling receiver as shown in FIG.
It consists of a message code and.

When calling a desired selective call receiver, a caller dials a telephone number corresponding to the selective call receiver to call a base station and sends message information to the base station. Then, the base station first generates an ID code previously given to the selective call receiver and a message code obtained by encoding the message information. And 1
The ID code and the message code are inserted into the empty call words of the group to which the selective call receiver belongs, out of a plurality of groups forming the frame, and the frame is transmitted.

On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows an example of the configuration of a selective call receiver used in this type of system. In the figure, the selective call signal transmitted from the base station is received by the radio circuit 2 via the antenna 1 and then the demodulation circuit 3 is received.
Is demodulated by and is introduced into the control circuit 4. The control circuit 4 is
The individual number code (ID code) included in the demodulated selective calling signal is stored in the individual number code memory (ID-RO
M) Collate with the ID code of the own machine stored in advance in 5. When a match between both codes is detected by this collation, it is recognized that a call to the own machine has occurred, and a ringing drive signal is supplied to the drive circuit 6 to drive the speaker 7. For this reason, a ringing tone is generated from the speaker 7, and the owner is notified of the ringing tone.

When the ID code coincidence is detected, the control circuit 4 performs error correction processing on the message code received subsequent to the ID code and then decodes the message code, and further the message data obtained by this decoding. Is supplied to the display drive circuit 8. Therefore, the liquid crystal display (LCD) 9
Will display a message. Therefore, the owner can know the message from the caller by looking at the LCD 9 at the time of calling notification. The received message code is stored in a message memory (not shown), can be read by operating the display switch, and can be displayed again on the LCD 9.

[0006]

In the selective call receiver of this type, generally, when the owner presses the stop switch 11 while the ringing tone is being generated, the ringing tone is stopped and the stop switch 11 is not pushed. However, the ringing tone is automatically stopped after a certain period of time. For this reason,
For example, if the owner does not carry the selective call receiver temporarily or if he / she does not notice the generation of a ringing sound due to the noise around him / her, the owner should know the occurrence of the call. Can not be. This causes a problem especially in the following cases.

That is, recently, in this type of system, for example, each selective call receiver is provided with an ID code for an emergency call in addition to the ID code for a normal call, and the ID code for an emergency call is designated to make a selection. It is contemplated to allow the call receiver to make an emergency call. However, in the conventional selective call receiver, even if an emergency call arrives, the ringing tone is automatically stopped after a certain period of time. If the user does not notice the ringing sound, the owner cannot know the emergency call at all, which may cause serious trouble, which is very undesirable.

On the other hand, in order to solve this problem, it is conceivable that when an emergency call occurs, the ringing tone is not automatically stopped but is continuously generated until the owner operates the stop switch. ing. However, in such a case, the battery of the selective call receiver becomes severely consumed, and in some cases, the call notification may shorten the battery life and even make the receiving operation impossible.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to make it possible to notify the owner of an emergency call more reliably while suppressing battery consumption. It is an object of the present invention to provide a selective call receiver that has high alerting performance when a call occurs and has a long battery life.

Further, according to the present invention, the call notification operation is repeatedly performed only when an emergency call occurs and the owner does not notice the call notification, thereby suppressing battery consumption and extending battery life. It is also an object to provide a selective call receiver that can be further extended.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the reception judging means judges that the signal arriving from the base station is addressed to itself, and the emergency call judging means preliminarily detects the received signal. When it is determined that the call is for a predetermined emergency call, the emergency call notification means intermittently repeats the call notification operation in which the operation time is limited to a fixed time at a preset predetermined time interval. It was done like this.

[0012] In order to achieve the above-mentioned other object, another invention of the present invention performs a call notification operation when a signal addressed to itself is received, and at the first time from the start of this call notification operation. In a selective call receiver configured to stop the call notification operation when a call confirmation operation is performed before or after the time elapses, the call notification operation is stopped with the elapse of a first time, and When the emergency call determination means determines that the received signal is for a predetermined emergency call, the re-call notification means is activated and the second time elapses after the call notification operation is stopped. After that, the call notification operation is performed again.

The re-call notification operation is repeatedly and intermittently performed at the third time interval until the call confirmation operation is performed, or the call confirmation operation is performed or the number of times of re-call notification operation is repeated. Is repeated intermittently at a third time interval until a predetermined number of times has been set.

[0014]

As a result, according to the present invention, when an emergency call addressed to itself is generated, a call notification operation whose operation time is limited to a fixed time is intermittently repeated at a predetermined time interval set in advance. .. Therefore, even if the owner does not notice the call notification operation immediately after the call occurs, it is possible to know that the emergency call has occurred by the repeated call notification operation that is repeatedly performed thereafter. Therefore, the notification performance at the time of an emergency call is improved. Also,
Since the call notification operation when an emergency call occurs is performed intermittently, it is possible to suppress the consumption of the battery as compared to the conventional case where the call notification operation is continuously performed, thereby extending the battery life. Becomes

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the call notification operation immediately after the occurrence of an emergency call, the re-call notification operation is performed only when the owner does not notice this call notification. The useless re-call notification operation of is not performed. Therefore, the consumption of the battery is suppressed to that extent, which makes it possible to further extend the battery life.

Further, by setting an upper limit on the number of times the re-call notification operation is repeated, it is useless in a situation where the call confirmation operation is impossible, for example, when the owner does not carry the selective call receiver. It is possible to prevent the re-call notifying operation from being performed semipermanently, thereby suppressing wasteful consumption of the battery and extending the battery life.

[0017]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below based on examples.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional arrangement of a selective call receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The selective call receiver of this embodiment has a first individual number code memory (ID-RO) as an individual number code memory.
M1) 51 and the second individual number code memory (ID-R
OM2) 52, and further includes a first timer circuit (TIM
1) 12 and a second timer circuit (TIM2) 12. The ID-ROM 1 stores an ID code for normal call assigned to its own selective call receiver. The ID-ROM 2 also stores an ID code for emergency call assigned to its own selective call receiver. On the other hand, the first and second timer circuits 12 and 13
Includes the call notification operation time t1 (for example, 8 times).
The count value that defines the second) and the count value that defines the interval period t2 (for example, 1 minute) for the recall notification operation are set in advance.

By the way, the control circuit 40 has, for example, a microcomputer as a main control unit, and has a first call notification control means 41 as a function related to the call notification operation.
And second call notification control means 42 and emergency call determination storage means 43.

When the selective call signal addressed to itself is received, the first call notification control means 41 generates a ring tone and starts the first timer circuit 12 for measuring the first time t1. When the stop switch 11 is pressed before the elapse of the first time t1 from the start of the call notification operation, or before the elapse of the first time t1, the operation of generating the ringing tone is controlled.

In the first call notification control, the emergency call determination storage means 43 receives the call at this time when the stop switch 11 is not pressed and the first time t1 has passed and the generation of the ringing tone is stopped. Included in the selected selective call signal
It is determined whether the code is an ID code for emergency call. And if the ID code is for an emergency call,
The fact is stored in the register in the control circuit 40, and the second timer circuit 13 for counting the second time t2 is started.

After the second call notification control means 42 has stopped the call notification operation by the first call notification control means 41 in a state where the emergency call determination storage means 42 stores the fact that the call is an emergency call. After the second time t2 has elapsed, the call notification operation is performed again.

Next, the call notification operation of the selective call receiver configured as described above will be described according to the control procedure of the control circuit 40. In the standby state, the control circuit 40 determines in step 2a of FIG. 2 whether or not the selective call signal including the ID code addressed to itself is received. When the selective call signal including the ID code addressed to itself is received in this state, the first call notification control is executed as follows.

That is, the control circuit 40 first executes step 2
In step b, the generation of a ringing tone is started from the speaker 7, and in step 2c, the first timer circuit 12 is started. Then, in this state, in step 2e, the first
The operation of the stop switch 11 is monitored in step 2d while monitoring the timer circuit 12 for time-out. Here, it is assumed that the owner confirms the ringing tone and presses the stop switch 11. Then, the control circuit 40 makes the step 2
The generation of the ringing tone is stopped by f, and then the standby state is restored. FIG. 4A is a timing chart showing the operation at this time.

On the other hand, the owner does not notice the generation of the ringing tone for some reason, and the first time t1 has passed and the first time t1 has passed.
It is assumed that the timer circuit 12 of 1 has timed out. Then, the control circuit 40 stops the generation of the ringing tone in step 2g, and then shifts to step 2h to determine whether the previously received ID code for itself is for emergency calling. As a result of this judgment, if it is judged that the above-mentioned call is not the emergency call but the normal call, the control circuit 4
0 returns to the standby state as it is. On the other hand, if it is determined that the call is an emergency call, the control circuit 40 proceeds to step 2i to store the fact that the emergency call has occurred in the register in the control circuit 40, and then the step 2
At j, the second timer circuit 13 is started, and then the second call notification control shown in FIG. 3 is entered.

That is, the control circuit 40 first executes step 3
In a, it is determined whether or not an emergency call is being stored, and if it is being stored, the operation of the stop switch 11 is monitored in step 3b, and the time-out of the second timer circuit 13 is monitored in step 3c. On the other hand, the control in the standby state, that is, the arrival of the selective call signal addressed to itself is monitored. In this state, after the second time t2 has elapsed, the second timer circuit 1
When 2 times out, the control circuit 40 proceeds to step 3d.
In step 3e, a ringing tone is generated again to notify that the call is an emergency call, and the first timer circuit 12 is started in step 3e. While the ringing tone is being generated, the stop switch 11 is monitored at step 3f while monitoring the time-out of the first timer circuit at step 3g.
Monitor the presence or absence of operations.

In this state, the owner notices the generation of a ringing tone indicating the emergency call and the stop switch 1
Suppose you press 1. Then, the control circuit 40 stops the ringing tone in step 3k, erases the information indicating that the emergency call has occurred stored in the register in the control circuit 40 in step 3l, and returns to the standby state.

On the other hand, if the owner does not notice the re-generation of the ringing tone and the first timer circuit 12 times out after the first time t1, the control circuit 40 proceeds to step 3h. After the generation of the ringing tone is once stopped, the second timer circuit 13 is restarted in step 3i,
Return to standby mode. And the stop switch 1 by the owner
Until 1 is pressed, the re-call notifying operation indicating the emergency call is repeated at the second time interval t2 by the second timer circuit 13. FIG. 4C is a timing diagram showing this emergency calling operation.

It should be noted that during the period during which the time-out of the second timer circuit 13 is monitored in step 3c, that is, during the interval for the emergency call, it is determined whether the owner makes an emergency call. It is assumed that the stop switch 11 is pressed for self-check. Then, the control circuit 40 confirms in step 3j that the information indicating that the emergency call is generated is stored in the register in the control circuit 40, and then proceeds to step 3m where the "emergency call" is displayed on the LCD 9, for example. “Calling is occurring” is displayed for a certain period of time. Then, the process proceeds to step 3l where the control circuit 4
The information indicating that the emergency call has occurred, which is stored in the register within 0, is erased, and the state returns to the standby state. FIG. 4B is a timing chart showing the operation when the above-described voluntary emergency call confirmation operation is performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the selective call signal addressed to itself arrives and the first call notification is made, and the owner does not notice this call notification, the call is addressed to the self. It is determined whether or not the selective call signal is for an emergency call, and if it is an emergency call, until the owner notices a re-call notification indicating an emergency call,
The second time (t is defined by the second timer circuit 13
2) The process is repeated intermittently at intervals. Therefore, even if the owner does not carry the selective call receiver temporarily, or does not notice the first call notification due to noise in the surroundings or the like, an emergency call is generated by the re-call notification. It becomes possible to know.
Therefore, the notification performance of the emergency call is improved. Further, since the re-call notification operation for the emergency call is performed intermittently, it is possible to suppress the consumption of the battery as compared with the conventional case in which the call notification operation is continuously performed, thereby extending the battery life. can do.

Further, according to the present embodiment, only when the first call notification operation immediately after the call is generated is automatically stopped by the time-out of the first timer circuit 12, that is, the owner is notified to the first call notification. Only when the user does not notice it, the above-mentioned re-call notification operation for notifying an emergency call is repeatedly performed, so that it is possible to prevent unnecessary re-call notification operation after the owner confirms. it can. Therefore, the consumption of the battery is suppressed to that extent, which makes it possible to further extend the battery life.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the recall notification indicating an emergency call is repeated intermittently until the owner notices it. However, even if the recall is repeated a predetermined number of times by the owner, an upper limit is set on the number of repetitions. If the confirmation operation is not performed, the recalling notification operation may be terminated. By doing so, it is possible to prevent a wasteful re-call notification operation from being semipermanently performed in a situation where the call confirmation operation is impossible, for example, when the owner does not carry the selective call receiver. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the wasteful consumption of the battery and extend the battery life.

Further, in the above embodiment, the re-call notification operation for notifying the emergency call is repeatedly performed only when the owner does not notice the first call notification. Even if the owner notices the notification and performs the confirmation operation, the recall notification operation may be performed only once for reconfirmation.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the time length of each recalling notification operation is set to a constant value (t1), but it may be set longer or shorter as the number of repetitions increases. Further, the ringing volume of the re-call notifying operation may be made higher than the ringing volume of the first calling notifying operation performed immediately after the arrival of the selective calling signal addressed to itself.

Further, in the above embodiment, when the voluntary emergency call confirmation operation is performed, the fact that the emergency call is being generated is displayed on the LCD 9, but a ringing tone may be generated. ..

In addition, the control procedure and the control content of the first and second call notification control, the processing content of the emergency call determining means, etc. can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0038]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the reception determination means determines that the signal coming from the base station is addressed to itself, and the emergency call determination means determines the reception signal in advance. If it is determined that the call notification operation is for use, the emergency call notification means intermittently repeats the call notification operation with the operation time limited to a fixed time at a preset predetermined time interval. is there.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to more surely notify the owner of an emergency call while suppressing the consumption of the battery, whereby the notification performance at the time of emergency call is high and the battery life is long. A call receiver can be provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a call notification operation is performed when a signal addressed to itself is received, and a call is made before or after the first time has elapsed from the start of this call notification operation. In a selective call receiver configured to stop the call notification operation when a confirmation operation is performed, the call notification operation is stopped with the elapse of a first time, and the reception signal is received by the emergency call determination means. If it is determined that it is for a predetermined emergency call,
The re-call notifying means is activated to perform the re-call notifying operation again after the second time has elapsed after the stop of the call notifying operation.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the call notification operation is repeated only when an emergency call occurs and the owner does not notice the call notification, thereby suppressing the consumption of the battery. A selective call receiver capable of further extending the battery life can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a selective call receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure and control contents of first call notification control performed by a control circuit of the selective call receiver shown in FIG.

3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure and control contents of second call notification control performed by a control circuit of the selective call receiver shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram for explaining a call notification operation of the selective call receiver shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a selective call signal used in the selective call system.

FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a conventional selective call receiver.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Antenna, 2 ... Radio circuit, 3 ... Demodulation circuit, 6 ... Drive circuit, 7 ... Speaker, 8 ... Display drive circuit, 9 ... Liquid crystal display (LCD), 11 ... Stop switch, 12 ... First timer circuit (TIM1), 13 ... Second timer circuit (TIM
2), 40 ... Control circuit, 41 ... First call notification control means, 42 ... Second call notification control means, 43 ... Emergency call determination storage means, 51 ... First individual number code memory (ID-
ROM1), 52 ... Second individual number code memory (ID-
ROM2).

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Mitsushi Shiono 21-3-1, Asahigaoka, Hino-shi, Tokyo 21 Toshiba Communication Technology Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A reception determination means for receiving a signal transmitted from a base station and determining whether or not this signal is addressed to itself, and a reception determined by this reception determination means for its own address. Emergency call determining means for determining whether or not the signal is for a predetermined emergency call, and when the emergency call determining means determines that the signal is for an emergency call, the operation time 2. The selective call receiver, comprising: an emergency call notification means for intermittently repeating a call notification operation limited to a fixed time at a preset predetermined time interval. 2. A reception determination means for receiving a signal transmitted from a base station and determining whether or not this signal is addressed to itself, and the reception determination means determines that the received signal is addressed to itself. Call notification operation is performed when the call notification operation is performed, and the call notification operation is stopped when the call confirmation operation is performed before or after the first time elapses from the start of the call notification operation. An alerting means, an emergency call determining means for determining whether or not the reception signal determined to be addressed to itself by the reception determining means is for a predetermined emergency call, and the call alerting means When the call notifying operation is stopped with the lapse of a first time, and when the received signal is judged by the emergency call judging means to be for emergency calling, the call notifying operation is stopped by the call notifying means. A selective call receiver comprising re-call notification means for performing a call notification operation again after a second time has elapsed. 3. The selective call receiver according to claim 2, wherein the re-call notifying means repeatedly and intermittently performs the re-call notifying operation at a third time interval until a call confirmation operation is performed. 4. The re-call notifying means repeats the re-call notifying operation at a third time interval until a call confirmation operation is performed or the number of times the re-call notifying operation is repeated reaches a preset number of times. 3. The selective call receiver according to claim 2, wherein