AU637799B2

AU637799B2 - Control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system

Info

Publication number: AU637799B2
Application number: AU57734/90A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Tetsumi Ishiguro; Akira Muramatsu
Original assignee: NEC Corp
Current assignee: NEC Corp
Priority date: 1989-06-21
Filing date: 1990-06-21
Publication date: 1993-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 2010-06-21
Also published as: DE69030749T2; CA2019549C; DE69030749D1; JP2803174B2; AU5773490A; JPH0324828A; EP0404108A1; EP0404108B1; CA2019549A1; HK1002242A1

Description

637799 FORM COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 'COMPLETE SPECIFICATION S F Ref: 134405

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE: Class Int Class Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Su a. @9

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Priority: Related Art: Name and Address of Applicant: NEC Corporation 7-1, Shiba Minato-ku Tokyo

JAPAN

Address for Service: Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia Complete Specification for the invention entitled: Control Apparatus for a Call Reminder in a Paging System The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us 5845/4 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A signal received in a paging receiver includes a reminding control signal, by which a call reminder is controlled to remind a user to respond to the received signal in a periodical reminding mode. The degree of an importance relating to message is conveyed from a caller to a callee by using a periodical reminding call in stead of an ordinary call.

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p 0 50 0.: 0 o* S 00 o• wq w BO W W W Wee -kA- CONTROL APPARATUS FOR A CALL REMINDER IN A PAGING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system, and more particularly to, a paging control apparatus for reminding a user carrying a receiver in a case where a call signal for reminding the user is included in a radio signal transmitted from a paging station, etc.

In these years, a paging receiver having various functions has been proposed and put into a practical use in a tendency of adding multi-functions to the paging system.

0 A conventional paging receiver comprises a call 15 reminder for periodically reminding a user carrying the receiver by using a short alerting call which continues until the user manually discontinues it, so that a call is definitely recognized by the user, for instance, as described in the U.S. Patent No. 4,701,759.

20 However, the conventional paging receiver has disadvantages in that a period between an initial call and a reminder call is fixed in advance, and an actuating time duration of a call reminder is also a, 0* S fixed in advance. Accordingly, the same call reminding operation is carried out between an emergent call and an ordinary call. As a result, a call reminding is ,0S 9 9.

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0 05 carried out even in an ordinary call having no necessity of the call reminding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system in which the form of a reminding call is changed according to the degree of an importance.

It is another object of the invention to provide a control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system, by which the degree of an importance is transmitted from a caller to a callee.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system in which a reminding call is generated 15 only when a caller requires it.

According to this invention, a control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system, comprises: means for detecting a reminding control signal in a signal received in a paging receiver; respora 4o means for determining aAcWn"! -ofo a periodical reminding call as a result of detecting the reminding control signal; means for reminding a user carrying the paging receiver to respond to the received signal; and means for driving the reminding means to remind the user in a di.-.ing manner selected from a periodical 00 00 0 0 9 0 1 reminding mode and an ordinary calling mode as a result of determining the ==n-u1t.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING -~±i4-invention will be explained in more detail in conjunction with appended drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a paging receiver including a control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system in a preferred embodiment according to the invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a received signal in the paging receiver, Figs. 3 and 4 are timing charts showing reminding time signals, and Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing a control flow in S. 15 the control apparatus.

A* t *a DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A control apparatus for a call reminder in a P paging syuem in a preferred embodiment according to the invention will be explained.

20 Fig. 1 shows a paging receiver comprising the ft 0 control apparatus of the preferred embodiment which includes a radio circuit 19 for amplifying and 0 demodulating a radio signal received by an antenna 18, g a waveform shaping circuit 20 for shaping a waveform of a demodulated signal supplied from the radio circuit 19, a decoder 21 for carrying out a below described operation, a quartz oscillator 22 for supplying clock signals to the decoder 21, etc. a PROM 23 for storing its own call signal (call number), an alert signal generating time TI (defined as "first time") and a selecting signal SL of call remi.nders including a speaker 26, a LED 27, a vibrator 28, etc. The speaker 26, LED 27, vibrator 28 is driven by an alert apparatus driver 90. A RAM 24 having a memory region 24a for storing a reminding control signal XX (to be described later),- ar-p-i-fring and driving circuit 25- f--cl. a reset button 29 connected to the decoder 21, a CPU 30 for controlling the display of message, a liquid crystal display (LCD) 31 for 0g 15 displaying the message, and a switch 32 for turning a power supply 33 on and off. In the decoder 21, a signal supplied from the waveform shaping circuit 30 is gee 4 processed to carry out the comparison of a call signal, the detection and analysis of the remining control 20 signal XX, a periodical reminding control operation according to the detection and analysis thereof, a transfer control operation of the message to the CPU etc.

Fig. 2 shows a format of s digital coded signal 25 including the reminding control signal XX. The signal includes a preamble signal 34 for changing an intermittent operation to a continuous operation in the radio circuit 1 9 a synchronous signal 35 for the synchronism of the receiver with a received signal, a selecting call signal 36 which is compared with the call number stored in the PROM 23 in a state of the synchronism with the received signal, message 37 which is received subsequent to the selecting call signal 36 in a state of a coincidence between the selecting call signal and the call number, and the reminding control signal XX of a two digit signal 38. The signal 38 is inputted by a user in accordance with the degrees of the importance and emergency. The signal 38 may not be inputted when user does not require.

Fig. 3 shows four kinds of reminding time signals 45 to 48, one of which is selected by a content P* 15 of the reminding control signal XX 38. Each of the reminding time signals 45 to 48 includes a common first time TI which is the alert signal generating time and a corresponding one of non-common second times T 2 which q 0a:* is a period between an initial call and a reminder call 20 (T2A, T2B, T2C, and T2D), each of which is one period of the corresponding reminding time signal as listed below. In Fig. 3, "high" durations indicated by 46a, 47a and 48a provide a generating period of an initial call, and remaining "high" durations provide a generating period of a reminder call. The two bit signal "1 0" or "11" is designated in accordance with the degree of an importance or emergency. In a call having no necessity of a reminding call, this designation is not carried out.

REMINDING CONTROL SIGNAL REMINDING TIME x X SIGNAL 0 0 0 1 46 1 0 47 1 1 48 Fig. 4 shows another set of reminding time *000 Ssignals 55 to 58, each of which includes a 5 corresponding one of non-common first times TI (TiA, TiB, TIC, and T 1 D) and a common second time T 2 equal to one period thereof. The relations between the reminding time signals 55 to 58 and the reminding control signal XX 38 are listed below. In Fig. 4,- 10 "high" durations indicated by 55a, 56a, 57a and provide a generating period of an initial call, and remaining "high" durations provide a generating period of a reminder call. A content of the signal 38 is designated in accordance with the degree of an 15 importane or eme 15 importance or emergency.

00 REMINDING CONTFOL SIGNAL REMINDING TIME X

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0 0 01 56 1 0 1 1 [56 operation of the control apparatus in the preferred embodiment will be explained in Fig. When the signal as shown in Fig. 2 is 0606 transmitted from a paging station to a paging receiver, Os 5 the signal is r eceived by the antenna 18 of the paging receiver which is turned on by the switch 32t and off.amliie :00 mpliiedand demodulated in the radio circuit 19. The 0 signal thus ampl1ied and demodulated is shaped in its 060 waveform in the waveform shaping circuit 20, and the waveform shaped signal is supplied to the decoder 21.

foe* 69**Before receiving the signal, the radio circuit '19 is controlled to operate in an intermittent mode by the CPU 30. Then, the radio circuit 19 is controlJ.od 'to operate in a continuous mode by receiving the preamble signal 34. When the paging receiver is synchronized with the received signal in accordance with the synchronous signal 35,, the decoder 21 detects whether the signal supplied from, the waveform shaping circuit have a call signal identical to the call signal CD stored in the PROM 23 by roferring to the selecting call signal 36 (step S1). When the identical call signal is detected, it is then detected whether the reminding control signal XX 38 is included therein (step S2).

In a case where no reminding control signal is detected, an ordinary calling alert operation is carried out (step 818). In this ordinary calling alert operation, the a---lli ng i 4- lf a l a ivin 4r- a-prf~ f-s dr -ver i'rouitD' 6 2.is controlled to drive at least one call apparatus selected from the speaker 26, the LED 27, and the vibrator 28 in accordance with the selecting signal SL, by which a user carrying the paging receiver is alerted only one time. In this state, if the message 37 includes data to be displayed on the LCD 31, the 15 data are transferred to the CPU 30 and displayed on the LCD 31.

In a case where the reminding control signal XX 38 is detected in the received signal (step S2), on the *o other hand, the reminding control signals XX 38 is 20 written into the memory region 24a of the RAM 24, and a periodical reminding operation is carried out as explained below.

When the reminding control signals XX 38 is *0 *0 •9 a reminding time signal is set to have a "high" duration of the first tiie TI and a period of the second time T2A as the reminding time signal 45 shown in Fig. 3 (steps S3 and S4). On the other hand, *r.hen a 'a a 6ua 0.

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the reminding control signal XX 38 is respectively, the reminding time signals are set to have periods of the second times T2B, T 2 C and T2D, respectively, relative to the fixed "high" duration of TI as the reminding time signals 46 to 48 shown in Fig.

3 (steps S5 to S9). The relations between the reminding time signals 45 to 48 and the reminding control signal XX 38 are as follows.

REMINDING CONTROL REMINDING TIME SIGNAL 38 SIGNALS 45 TO 48 X X HIGH DURATION PERIOD 0 0 T T2A 0 1 T T2B 1 0

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1 1 TI T2D The reminding call is generated to remind the user for the periodical first time of T 1 after an internal timer is set to have a time-up period equivalent to a period selected from the periods T2A, T2B, T2C and T2D according to a content of the reminding control signal XX 38 (step Consequently, the reminding call is carried out for the first time T 1 by selecting one apparatus from the speaker 26, the LED 27, and the vibrator 28 according to the selecting signal SL stored in the PROM 23, while the internal timer times the second time T 2 selected from T2A, T2B, T 2 C and T2D. Then, the decoder 21 determines whether the reset button 29 is pressed on or not (step S13), and whether the internal timer finishes the time-up of the above set second time T 2 (step S14). In a case where the reset button 29 is not pressed on during the first time T 1 and the set second time T 2 is elapsed without the pressing-on of the reset button 29 (step S11), the decoder 21 controls the internal timer to be reset (step S12). Then, operation is returned to the step S10, wherein the second reminding call is carried out for the next first time

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1 while the internal timer is driven to time the next second time T 2 This reminding operation is repeated by non-limited times, unless the reset button 29 is pressed on by the user.

When the reset button 29 is pressed on by the user, the decoder 21 detects it to exit from a loop of the steps S10, S13, S11, S12, and S10, so that the periodical reminding call finishes to remind the user.

bSe At this time, the decoder 21 resets the internal timer 20 (step S14), and the reminding call is controlled to stop, if the reminding operation continues (if "YES" is found at the step S15), while the reminding control

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signal XX 38 stored in the memory region 24a of the RAM 24 is erased instantly (step S17), if the reminding operation does not continue. Then, this operation is returned to the step S1.

Daring this operation, if the message 37 11 included in the received signal includes data to be displayed on the LCD 31, the CPU 30 receives the data which are then displayed on the LCD 31.

The reminding time signals 45 to 48 may be replaced by the reminding time signals 55 to 58 as shown in Fig. 4, wherein the second time T 2 is set to be a fixed period common to the reminding time signals to 58, while the first time T, is changed to be TIA, TiB T1C r and T1D according to a content of the reminding control signal XX 38 as follows.

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2 Tic TiD t As described above, the deg ee of an importance is transmitted from a caller to a callee by changing a "high" duration of a reminding call, a period thereof, etc. Consequently, the following reminding modes are possible to be carried out.

An important message such as an appointment, a business information, etc. is supplied from a caller to a callee by use of a periodical reminding call, while an ordinary message which is not so important is supplied from the caller to the callee 12 by use of an ordinary calling alert. Accordingly, the caller is not always to respond to the call by discriminating the important and ordinary messages, when the caller can not spare a time to do so due to the busiest state.

In 'he preferred embodiment, the first to fourth class emergencies can be classified by use of the reminding time signals having different "high" durations and periods as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Although the invention has been described with respect to specif'.c embodiment for complete and clear 1 *disclosure, the appended claims are not to be thus 0 limited but are to be construed as embodying all 0 0 modification and alternative constructions that may occur t) one skilled in the art which fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth.

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Claims

1. A control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system, comprising: means for detecting a reminding control signal in a signal received in a paging receiver; means for determining a a uot of a periodical reminding call as a result of detecting said reminding control signal; means for reminding a user carrying said paging receiver to respond to said received signal; and ~means for driving said reminding means to remind 9* 0 said user in a 44@.drir.- manner selected from a e S, periodical reminding mode and an ordinary calling mode Sas a result of determining said.nu. s*e q

2. A control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system, according to claim 1, wherein: said driving means drives said reminding means to operate in accordance with a reminding time signal *9 having a waveform selected from a first signal having a S 20 fixed "high" duration and a period hangeable according to the degree of an iiportance, ahd a second signal 9* having a fixed period and a "high" duration changeable S"according to said degree.

3. A control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system, acco-ding to claim 1, wherein: said reminding means includes an audio apparatus, a visual apparatus, and a vibrator; and I I 14 said driving means selects at least one from said apparatus of said reminding means to be driven according to a selecting signal included in said received signal.

4. A paging receiver, comprising: means for detecting from a paging signal a paging number assigned to said receiver to produce a page detect signal; means responsive to said page detect signal for generating an initial alert signal for a first predetermined period of time; 1 means for generating a reminder alert signal for a second predetermined period of time when a third predetermined period of time has elapsed after the 15 cessation of said initial alert signal; means for detecting from said paging signal a reminding control signal; and means responsive to said reminding control signal forA the length of either one of said 20 first, second and third predetermined periods of time. A paging receiver, comprising: means for detecting from a received signal a paging number assigned to said receiver to produce a detect signal; means responsive to said detect signal for generating an initial alert signal; means for detecting a reminding control signal

34., 15 in said received signal to produce a detected control signal; and means responsive to said detected control signal for generating a reminder alert signal subsequent to the cessation of said initial alert signal. 6. A control apparatus for a call reminder in a paging system substantially as herein described, and as shown in the accompanying drawings. 7. A receiver substantially as herein described, and as shown in the accompanying drawings. DATED this TWENTY-THIRD day of FEBRUARY 1993 NEC Corporation Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON S S 0** S. S S S.. BFD/166