JP2004501523A - Time Synchronous Cellular Network Equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

A time synchronous cellular network device.
A method and system (28c-28f) are provided for synchronizing a digital communication device (27) to a mobile telephone network system time. When the device is activated and the update time is displayed to the system user (28c), the previous reference time associated with the device is updated to the system time. The update time is also used to automatically update the time associated with the data file associated with the time recorded in the memory (28e) of the device. Finally, the user can set the system time to any desired time using the operation mode (28d).
[Selection diagram] FIG.

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of wireless communications. In particular, the present invention relates to a novel system for automatically providing synchronization time to digital devices configured to receive data transmitted over a wireless communication network.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the integration of mobile telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), it has become important to synchronize the operation between these two devices and, for example, to adjust the time. PDAs have come in a variety of forms and are essentially pocket computers. Recent technological advances have increased their processing power, functionality, and storage capacity, so that they compete with many laptop computers. Users are relying on these devices to increasingly supplement or replace the many activities reserved for these larger personal computers.
[0003]
In addition, the proliferation of mobile phones and the exponentially increasing creditworthiness of the Internet have accelerated the integration and sharing of these devices. Currently, the mobile telephones and PDAs are contained in a single integrated package, and it is important that the operation be automated and synchronized, as well as the time reference of these devices. That is, mobile phone users are based on these time zone references and are able to update or synchronize their PDA operations in accordance with the time zone standards. A time base requires performance that is automatically given. An element that enables such perfection is the mobile telephone system.
[0004]
Mobile phones have become an integral part of the telecommunications industry. The most advanced and most widely used form of mobile communications is the cellular network system 1, as shown in FIG. A cellular network is defined as a mobile communication system, which divides its coverage area into adjacent geographical areas, referred to as cell grids 11,13,15. Each grid serves a specific geographic area including one base station (BS) 5, 7, 9 in the network. The base station receives, among other components, a processor, a receiver, and a transmitter (not shown), and receives a telephone call from the user and communicates the received call to other users in the grid, or It consists of a function like a repeater that transmits the call to the ground line. A mobile switching center (MSC) 3 controls the operation of the BSs 5, 7, and 9 and provides a wireless cellular network having a connection to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 4. Thus, each grid in the network can handle many individual users 15, 17, 19, 21 separately, but is somewhat limited in terms of the number of users based on call processing capacity. If the user moves from one cell to another, the processing of his telephone call is moved to the nearest BS, as in the example of user 19.
[0005]
All calls placed or received by user 19 while located in cell 11 will be handled by BS5. As long as user 19 remains within the geographical boundaries of cell 11 as shown at location A, the processing of his telephone call will remain at BS5. However, when the user 19 moves and reaches the boundary of the cell 11 (position B), the processing of the telephone call will be moved to the next closest BS. In the current example, if user 19 moves in the direction from B to C, the closest BS will be BS7 of new cell 13. These cell-to-cell handovers result in increased traffic handling and traffic capacity for the cellular network, as the total system capacity is divided between a number of different BSs.
[0006]
Cellular system service providers are regulated by the amount of frequency spectrum that can be allocated to cellular communications. Therefore, as the number of cellular users increased, the cellular industry was forced to consider different alternatives beyond the increasing available frequency spectrum to increase capacity. Among these alternatives is the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technique. CDMA was published in July 1993 and is incorporated herein by reference. WIDEBAND SPRRAD SPECTRUM CELLULLAR SYSTEM ”is a digital radio frequency (RF) channelization technology. Wireless communication systems employing this technique assign unique codes to communication signals and spread these communication signals over a common (wideband) spread spectrum frequency width. As long as the receiving device in a CDMA system has the correct code, it can successfully detect and select its communication signal from other signals transmitted simultaneously over the same frequency band. The use of CDMA causes an increase in the call capacity of the system, improves on overall call volume and noise reduction, and provides a reliable transmission mechanism for data service calls. An important factor in a CDMA system that enables the time synchronization described above is the CDMA system time.
[0007]
In a CDMA digital system, all BS transmissions are time synchronized based on a common CDMA system time. The CDMA system time is based on the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time scale. The CDMA system time is used to synchronize the timing of all network signals and operations. While mobile telephones generally process signals encoded based on system time, this time is generally not presented to the user in any meaningful or usable way.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, what is needed is a system that provides CDMA system time to synchronize operation and timing between a PDA and a mobile phone. If available, a system or method that uses this time can notify the user of the current time within the accuracy of the GMT time standard. In addition, such a system or method would be able to provide a user with multiple reference time selections, for example, reference times in different time zones for selection. The user will then set their mobile phone to the local time of the land according to the time zone selected from the choices provided. In systems where the mobile phone and the PDA are integrated in a single unit, this same system time is used, for example, to update files, reservations, calendars or times identifying other data within the PDA. Will be.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention addresses the needs identified above by providing a system, apparatus, and method for recognizing mobile telephone network system time and providing this time to a user. According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus including a portable digital device. The portable device is combined with the previous local time and adapted to receive a time-encoded signal representing the network system time transmitted over the cellular network. The device receives a signal when the device is activated. The apparatus also includes a deriving mechanism that derives the system time from the received signal and a converter that converts the system time to the current local time. Finally, the device includes an update mechanism for updating the previous local time to the current local time and a transmission mechanism for communicating the current local time to the user.
[0010]
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description set forth above, and the detailed description of the embodiments provided below, together with the principles of the invention. Used for the description.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
As mentioned above, FIG. 1 illustrates a typical cellular network configuration. In such an arrangement, when user 19 first activates his mobile telephone, the telephone transmits a series of signals, which broadcasts a request to cellular network 1 to receive or transmit a call. Used for Also transmitted is the identification of the mobile telephone and the location of the caller. The signal is received by each BS close enough to receive the signal based on the strength of the signal. At the same time, the BSs 5, 7, 9 continuously transmit beacon signals, referred to as pilot signals, which inform the user that the system is available and ready for use. Used for Once the signal transmitted by the user has been received by the BSs 5, 7, 9 and the information contained in the signals has been authenticated, the mobile telephone can receive and process the pilot signal from the closest BS. . The mobile phone measures the signal strength of the incoming call and it is usually determined by the mobile phone that the BS transmitting the strongest signal is the closest BS.
[0012]
FIG. 2 depicts the transmission of a pilot signal by the BS. In particular, pilot signal 29 is transmitted from all BSs in a CDMA cellular system and is identical to one another except for the phase of the signal. Part of the information included in pilot signal 29 is CDMA system time 29a. As previously mentioned, the CDMA system time 29a is based on the GMT time standard. Current cellular systems use this system time for system operation, billing and dispatch, and the like. The use of CDMA system time is transparent to the user of a typical device such as device 23.
[0013]
3 and 4 illustrate a typical mobile telephone 23 and a PDA 25, respectively. Users of PDA devices do not have access to external time sources. PDA 25 has an internal clock that is set by the user and does not change unless modified by the user. The PDA 25 can include information such as calendars and schedules that are time dependent and must be updated manually by the user. More recent devices, such as the device 27 of FIG. 5, integrate both the mobile telephone 23 and the PDA 25 into a single unit, such as the Qdcomm Corporation's pdQ series. The integrated device 27 of FIG. 5 includes a PDA portion 27a and a mobile phone portion 27b. This integrated device 27 provides the user with an automatic real-time display based on CDMA or other similar systems to facilitate a continuous correlation between the mobile phone 23 and the PDA 25 or other similar systems. Scale, can provide the benefits. FIG. 5 also shows some exemplary modes of operation of the integrated device 27. FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the integrated device 27.
[0014]
FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment illustrating the invention performed in the automatic operating mode 28c of the integrated device 27 as shown in FIG. As shown in block B40a, the user of the integrated device 27 must first activate the device. When activated, the pilot signal 29 will be received by the mobile phone processor (not shown), as shown in block B40a.
[0015]
After the pilot signal is received and the integrated device 27 is activated, the system time is derived using the derivation mechanism 27c, as shown in block B40b. Since additional information is encoded in the pilot signal, the system time can be derived by extracting and separating time information from other information components of the signal.
[0016]
After derivation of the system time, the converter 27d converts the system time to local time, as shown in block B40c. The local time includes the proper local time of the user, that is, the system time converted into the user's local time zone 40c. This conversion corresponds to the GMT reference time and is performed using a time domain offset. For example, for a user in Illinois, the CDMA system time 29a is 6 hours after GMT, see for example 31 in FIG. Similarly, users in Australia are 11 hours prior to GMT. In this way, the CDMA system time 29a is converted to a local time zone by using these previously extended offsets to communicate the proper local time to the system.
[0017]
When the system time is converted to the local time, the local time is transmitted to the user via the transmission mechanism 27i in block B40e. The transmission of the local time may include, for example, displaying the local time at a fixed location on the user interface display of the integrated device 27. Once the local time has been communicated, the automatic mode operation 28c of the integrated device 27 ends at block B40i.
[0018]
FIG. 8 describes the database mode of operation 28e of the integrated device 27 as shown in FIG. This mode provides the user with the ability to manage the data recorded on the PDA section 27a of the integrated device 27. This feature may allow the user to have time-dependent information 25b recorded on the PDA portion 27a of the integrated device 27, such as appointments and / or calendars (shown in FIG. 10). Therefore it is important.
[0019]
Blocks B42a, B42b, and B42c as shown in FIG. 8 are similar to blocks B40a, B40b, and B40c in the automatic mode in the operation described in FIG. Thus, upon converting the system time to local time, comparator 27e compares the previous system time recorded in memory block B42h with the previous time, as indicated by block B42d. If the comparison of block B42d indicates that the previous time is different from the current local time of block B42e, the previous time is updated to the current local time using update mechanism 27f. This comparison is necessary because the user may move to a different time zone than the zone where he was last operating the phone. The user may have time sensitive data entered into the PDA portion 27a of the integrated device, which may not be appropriate in the new time zone. Thus, the comparison in block B42d determines whether the previous time is different from the current local time.
[0020]
If the previous time is the same as the current local time, the database mode of operation ends at block B42i. If the previous time is different from the current local time, the warning mechanism 27g warns the user in block B42f. Once the user has been alerted, as shown in B42g, the user has the option of operating and combining mechanism 27h to combine / update the time dependent information of memory block B42h to the current time. Have. From the database update feature, a number of different, such as automatic data update without notice to the user as shown at 28f, or complete de-selection for all of this feature. A combination of modes can be formed. While the deselection continues, the time data is not updated. As another means, the local time can be transmitted in the same manner as in the block B40e in the automatic operation mode.
[0021]
FIG. 9 describes a manual mode of operation of the integrated device 27. The manual mode allows the user to select any desired time using the selector 27k and that time be communicated as the system time of the integrated device 27. The user can set the time of the integrated device 27, for example, 5 minutes before the system time, or any other desired setting method. In this mode, the CDMA system time 29a is not used.
[0022]
When activating the manual mode, the user performs the operation of block B44a for the device and selects the operation of the manual mode as shown in block B44b, for example, as shown in FIG. Selected by choosing action 28d. By the user simply selecting one of the time zones in block B44c, this selection will enable display mechanism 27j to display a list of time zone options 31 to the user. Once the desired time zone has been selected, at block B44d, the input mechanism will allow the user to enter the desired time. Finally, in block B44e, the transmission mechanism 27i transmits the desired time to the user, and this process ends in block B44f.
[0023]
From the invention thus described, it will be clear that the invention can be varied in many ways. Such modifications should not be deemed to depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all such modifications as would be apparent to one skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims. Should be interpreted.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic structure of a cellular network.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2 shows a single mobile phone receiving a pilot signal transmission from a BS.
FIG. 3
FIG. 3 is a typical mobile phone case.
FIG. 4
FIG. 4 is an example of a PDA.
FIG. 5
FIG. 5 shows a mobile phone and PDA integrated into a single device, and a typical user mode.
FIG. 6
FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the integrated device of FIG.
FIG. 7
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a specific example regarding the automatic mode in the present invention.
FIG. 8
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a specific example regarding the database update mode in the present invention.
FIG. 9
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a specific example in which the operation is in the manual mode.
FIG. 10
FIG. 10 shows an apparatus in which FIG. 4 for displaying a reservation list is integrated.
FIG. 11
FIG. 11 is an example of a time zone selection displayed to a typical user.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... cellular network system 3 ... mobile switching center (MSC)
4 Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
5.7… Base station (BS)
11.13 ... cells 15.17, 19 ... user 23 ... mobile phone 25 ... PDA
27 Integrated device 27a PDA part 27b Mobile phone part 27c Derivation mechanism 27d Converter 27i Transmission mechanism 27e Comparator 27f Update mechanism 27g Warning mechanism 27h Coupling / update mechanism 27k Selector 27j ... Display mechanism 29 ... Pilot signal

Claims (8)

A method for synchronizing time in a mobile communication device, comprising:
Receiving a time-encoded signal, wherein the signal is (i) transmitted over a cellular network, and (ii) corresponds to a network system time;
Deriving the system time from the signal,
Converting the system time to a current local time and communicating the current local time to a user;
A method for synchronizing time, including steps. further,
Compare the current local time with the previous time,
If the previous time and the local time are different, update the previous time to the current local time;
Alert the user if the previous time has been updated, and update the data associated with the previous time to the current local time;
The method for synchronizing time according to claim 1, comprising a step. 3. The method for synchronizing time according to claim 2, wherein the updating is automatic. 4. The method for synchronizing time according to claim 3, wherein the updating is based on user input. A method for enabling a user to set a desired time for a mobile communication device,
Allows the user to select the manual time input mode,
If the manual mode is selected, inform the user of multiple time zone options and allow the user to enter a desired time based on one of the selected time zone options;
A method comprising steps. A portable digital device combined with a previous local time and adapted to receive a time-coded signal, wherein the signal is (i) transmitted through a cellular network and (ii) corresponds to a network system time; The device receives the signal when the device is activated,
A derivation mechanism for deriving a system time from the received signal;
A converter for converting the system time to a current local time, and a transmission mechanism for transmitting the current local time to a user;
Equipment including. further,
A memory for storing user data, wherein the user data is related to a previous time;
A comparator that compares the previous time with the current local time;
An updating mechanism for updating the previous time to the current local time if the previous time is different from the current local time;
A warning mechanism for warning a user when the previous time is updated to the current local time;
A coupling mechanism for coupling the data with the current local time;
The device of claim 6, comprising: A device that allows a user to set the mobile communication device at a desired time,
A portable digital device adapted to receive a manual time input;
A display mechanism for displaying to the user multiple time options for manual time,
A selector that allows the user to select one of the options;
An input mechanism that allows a user to enter a time based on one of the selected options;
A transmission mechanism for transmitting the input option as a desired time;
Equipment including.

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