JPH0530011A - Selective calling receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a defect of continuous use of the receiver in the reception disable state by informing it when the reception state detected by a reception state detection means is deteriorated more than a prescribed threshold level set in advance. CONSTITUTION:A control circuit 40 is provided with a main control section such as a microprocessor, with a reception state discrimination means 41 and a reception state deterioration notice control means 42 in addition to the usual control function such as a call notice control and a message display control. At first, the reception state discrimination means 41 discriminates whether or not a synchronization word is correctly received for each reception period of a group to which its own equipment belongs and counts number of times when the word is not correctly received. Then whether or not the count exceeds a preset threshold level is discriminated. On the other hand, a reception state deterioration notice control means 42 displays the result of discrimination of the reception state discrimination means 41 and a disable state on a liquid crystal display device 9 when the reception is disable and emits a ring tone from a speaker 7.

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 having a function of detecting and displaying a reception state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as one of mobile radio systems,
Selective call systems are known. The selective call system uses a selective call signal as shown in FIG. 4, for example.
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 (a), and these groups are further shown in (b). In m words). Further, these calling words are individual number codes (ID codes) of the selective calling receiver as shown in (c).
And a message code.

When calling the desired selective call receiver, the caller dials the telephone number corresponding to the selective call receiver to call the 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 respectively 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. 5 shows an example of the configuration of a selective call receiver. In the figure, the radio circuit 2 and the demodulation circuit 3 operate under the control of the control circuit 4 only during the reception period of the group to which the own device belongs in one frame. During this reception period, the selective call signal sent from the base station is received by the radio circuit 2 via the antenna 1, demodulated by the demodulation circuit 3 and introduced into the control circuit 4. The control circuit 4 collates the ID code included in the demodulated selective calling signal with the ID code of the own device stored in advance in the individual number code memory (ID-ROM) 5. Then, if a match between both codes is detected by this collation, it is recognized that a call to the own machine has occurred, and a sound signal is supplied to the speaker 7 via the drive circuit 6. For this reason, a ringing tone is generated from the speaker 7, and the owner is notified of the ringing tone. The ringing sound is stopped when the stop switch 11 is pressed or when a certain time has elapsed since the sound was generated.

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 it, and further the message data obtained by this decoding. Is supplied to the display drive circuit 8. Therefore, the liquid crystal display (LCD) 9
Displays message information. 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 a message memory (M-RAM).
10 and stored. The message code stored in the M-RAM 10 is read out by pressing the display switch 12 later and displayed again on the LCD 9.
The message information displayed on the LCD 9 is erased when the stop switch 11 is operated or when a certain display time has elapsed.

By the way, recently, it has been considered to provide an out-of-coverage area display means in a selective call receiver of this type. This kind of means, for example, when the user presses the test switch in the call waiting state, the control circuit 4 determines whether or not the own receiver is within the reception area of the selective calling signal based on the reception result of the selective calling signal. It is configured to make a determination and display the determination result on the display 9. Providing this means is very convenient because the user can check whether his or her receiver is in the calling area voluntarily or periodically.

[0007]

However, the out-of-service area display means of this type, which has been conventionally considered, determines the out-of-service area when the user presses the test switch as described above and displays the result. Therefore, the user cannot know the out-of-range state unless the user actively checks whether or not it is out of range. Therefore, even if the user is out of the reception area, he / she continues to use it without knowing it, and even if a call occurs during this period, he / she cannot receive the call, which is very undesirable.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reliably inform the user when the reception state is deteriorated, without the user intentionally performing an operation for confirming the reception state. In this way, it is possible to provide a selective call receiver capable of preventing the problem that the user continues to use the terminal without knowing that the user cannot receive the signal.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a receiving state detecting means for detecting the receiving state of a selective calling signal, and a receiving state deterioration notifying means,
When the reception state detected by the reception state detection unit deteriorates below a preset threshold value, the reception state deterioration notification unit notifies that effect.

Further, according to the present invention, when notifying the deterioration of the reception state, a plurality of different thresholds are set in advance corresponding to the factors of deterioration of the reception state, and the reception state detected by the reception state detection means is When the deterioration is more than each of the threshold values, the information relating to the deterioration factor corresponding thereto is also notified. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the notification form when the reception state deteriorates below the threshold is different from the notification form at least when the call notification is performed.

[0011]

As a result, according to the present invention, when, for example, the selective call receiver goes out of the coverage area, the selective call receiver itself detects and notifies the deterioration of the reception state. For this reason,
The user can know that he / she is out of the service without consciously operating the switch to check the reception status, which causes the user to continue to use it without knowing that reception is impossible. Is prevented. Also,
Even if the receiving circuit system of the selective call receiver malfunctions, the deterioration of the receiving state is detected and notified, so that the problem that the user continues to use without knowing the failure of the receiving circuit system is also prevented. You can

Further, the thresholds are set in a plurality of stages, and when the reception state is deteriorated from these thresholds, each of them is notified, so that different notifications are performed depending on the degree of deterioration of the reception state. Can be done. For example, by making the first threshold value correspond to the outside of the reception range and the second threshold value to correspond to the operation failure of the reception circuit, the out-of-coverage area and the reception circuit failure are detected and notified separately. It becomes possible. In addition, for example, if the first threshold value is made to correspond to the vicinity of the reception area boundary and the second threshold value is made to correspond to a position completely outside the reception area, the selective call receiver is set to the reception area boundary. Alerts can be issued when nearby and alerts can be issued when the selective call receiver moves farther and is completely out of range. Therefore,
The user can know the reception state of the selective call receiver in detail.

Further, if the notification form when the reception state is deteriorated is made different from the notification form at least when the call occurs, the out-of-coverage area or the failure of the receiving circuit system is distinguished from the call and is used more clearly. Can inform the person.

[0014]

1 is a circuit block diagram showing the configuration of a selective call receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The control circuit 40 includes, for example, a microcomputer as a main control unit, and has a reception state determination unit 41 and a reception state deterioration notification control unit 42 in addition to ordinary control functions such as call notification control and message display control. have. Of these, first, the reception state determination means 41
It is determined whether or not the synchronization word is correctly received for each reception period of the group to which the own device belongs, and when the synchronization word is not correctly received, the number of times m is counted. Then, the count value m is set to the preset first threshold value K and second threshold value.
It is determined whether or not the threshold L has been exceeded.

On the other hand, the reception state deterioration notification control means 42 is
If K <m <L as a result of the determination by the reception state determination means 41, it is determined that the reception area is out of the range, and the LCD 9 displays “out of area”. When K <L <m, it is determined that reception is impossible due to a malfunction or failure of the receiving circuit system, "inability" is displayed on the LCD 9, and a sound is emitted from the speaker 7. At this time, set the ringing interval of the ringing tone to be different from the ringing tone, the initial ringing tone generated when the power is turned on, and the low voltage warning tone generated when the battery output voltage drops below the specified voltage. There is.

Next, the operation of the selective call receiver configured as described above will be described according to the control procedure of the control circuit. First, when a power switch (not shown) is turned on, the control circuit 40
After initializing itself, the speaker 7 makes an initial sound to notify that the reception preparation is completed. Then, after establishing frame synchronization with the selective call signal, a call waiting state with battery saving is entered.

In this state, the control circuit 40 monitors in step 2a and step 2b whether or not the reception period of the group to which it belongs has come, as shown in FIG. 2, and whether or not the display switch 12 has been pressed. Repeatedly monitor. Then, if it is now the reception period of the group to which the device belongs, the control circuit 40 shifts to the reception control shown in FIG.

That is, first, in step 3a, the wireless circuit 2
Then, the sync word is fetched from the selective call signal of the group received by the demodulation circuit 3, and it is judged in step 3b whether or not the sync word is correct. Now, assuming that the selective call receiver is within the reception range, the selective call signal is received with a sufficiently large electric field strength, and the synchronization word is correctly received. Therefore, in step 3b, the reception result of the synchronization word is determined to be correct. Then, the control circuit 40 proceeds to step 3c to clear the register m (m = 0), and then shifts to the call notification control. In this call notification control, first, the ID code inserted in the selective call signal is compared with the ID code of the own machine stored in the ID-ROM 5. And both ID
If the codes match, a ringing tone is generated from the speaker 7,
If a message code is inserted in the selective call signal, the message code is displayed on the LCD 9 and stored in the M-RAM 10.

On the other hand, it is assumed that the selective calling receiver has moved out of the coverage area. Then, the received electric field strength of the selective call signal deteriorates, and as a result, an accurate sync word cannot be detected in step 3b. Then, the control circuit 4
0 increments the value of the register m in step 3d every time the reception period of the group to which the device belongs becomes (m = m +
1) Then, it is determined in step 3e whether m> K. If, for example, several minutes elapse and m> K is reached, that is, if the self-group that cannot correctly receive the synchronization word continues for K frames, the control circuit 40 may be out of the coverage area or the reception circuit system may be inoperable. Then, it is determined in step 3f whether m> L. Then, if m> L is not satisfied yet, it is determined that the selective call receiver has gone out of the reception range, and the process proceeds to step 3g, where the LCD 9 displays "out of range". Therefore, the user can know that the selective call receiver is out of the reception area by looking at the display of the LCD 9. And
If it moves into the reception area, the selective call receiver can normally receive again. If the signal can be received, the control circuit 40 proceeds from step 3b to step 3c, where the register m is cleared.

If the content of m does not reach K, the control circuit 40 returns to the call waiting state without performing the out-of-range notification. Therefore, for example, when the received electric field strength temporarily deteriorates due to fading or entering the shade of a building, it is not erroneously notified that the electric field strength is out of the receiving area.

On the other hand, it is assumed that the receiving circuit system becomes inoperable. Then, even if the user moves the selective call receiver into the reception range, the sync word is still not correctly received. Therefore, the content of the register m becomes larger, and for example, m> L when one hour has passed.
Becomes For this reason, the control circuit 40 proceeds to step 3h to display, for example, "unreceivable" on the LCD 9 here, and causes the speaker 7 to emit a sound in step 3i.
Therefore, the user can know that the selective call receiver is inoperable by the sound and the display on the LCD 9, and can arrange for immediate repair or the like. The intermittent period of the ringing tone is different from the intermittent period of the ringing tone. Therefore, the user can clearly know that the operation is disabled due to the ringing sound, separately from the occurrence of a call.

In this way, according to the present embodiment, the reception result of the synchronization word is determined every time the group to which the own device belongs is received, and when this synchronization word cannot be correctly received K times in succession. When it is judged that it is out of the reception range, the fact is displayed on the LCD 9, and when the synchronization word of its own group is not correctly received L times consecutively, it is judged that the receiving circuit system is inoperable and the fact is displayed. Since a ringing tone is generated, the selective call receiver is out of the coverage area or incapable of receiving even if the user does not positively operate the test switch etc. When the state is reached, it is possible to immediately and clearly know out-of-range and outage of reception by the notification. Therefore, it is possible to immediately take appropriate measures against the out-of-coverage area and the inoperability of the reception, and it is possible to prevent the trouble of continuing to use it without knowing that it is out of the in-service area or incapable of the reception operation.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when it is out of the reception range, the fact is only displayed on the LCD 9, but a sound may be generated at the same time. In this case, it is advisable that the ringing tone has an intermittent period or tone color different from that of the ringing tone or the ringing tone for notifying the inoperability. Also, light emitting diode (LED)
In the case where the above is provided, the notification may be made by causing the LED to emit light instead of making a sound.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the out-of-range notification and the notification of the unreceivability are performed has been described, but only the out-of-service notification may be performed. In this case, for example, the first threshold value is made to correspond to the vicinity of the boundary of the reception area and the second threshold value is set.
The threshold value of corresponds to a position completely outside the coverage area, which alerts the selective call receiver when it is near the boundary of the coverage area, and moves the selective call receiver further away to receive completely. You should give a warning when you are out of the service area. In this way, the user can know the reception status of the selective call receiver in more detail.

Further, the threshold value for judging the reception state may be set in three or more steps other than two steps. Also,
The reception state may be determined by detecting the reception S / N of the selective call signal, or may be determined by another method.

Further, in addition to the function of automatically informing the reception state described in the above embodiment, a function of determining the reception state when the test switch is operated and notifying the result may be used together. In this way, the user can consciously confirm the reception state.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the selective call receiver with the display device is used has been described, but the same applies to the selective call receiver of the type that does not have the display device and generates only the sound. be able to.

In addition, the configuration and system of the reception state determining means, the control procedure and control contents of the deterioration notifying control means, the configuration of the notifying means, etc. can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0029]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the receiving state detecting means for detecting the receiving state of the selective calling signal and the receiving state deterioration notifying means are provided, and the receiving state deterioration notifying means is provided. In the case where the reception state detected by the reception state detection means deteriorates below a preset predetermined threshold value, by notifying that effect,
Even if the user does not intentionally confirm the reception status, the user can be surely notified when the reception status is deteriorated, so that the user can receive it. It is possible to provide a selective call receiver capable of preventing the problem of continuing to use the terminal without knowing that it is in an impossible state.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a call waiting control procedure by the control circuit of the selective call receiver shown in FIG. 1 and its control contents.

3 is a flowchart showing a reception control procedure and its control content by a control circuit of the selective call receiver shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a frame structure of a selective calling signal.

FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional selective call receiver.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Antenna, 2 ... Radio circuit, 3 ... Demodulation circuit, 5 ... Individual number code memory (ID-ROM), 6 ... Driving circuit, 7 ...
Speaker, 8 ... Display drive circuit, 9 ... Liquid crystal display (LC
D), 10 ... Message memory (M-RAM), 11 ...
Stop switch, 12 ... Display switch, 40 ... Control circuit,
41 ... Reception state determination means, 42 ... Reception state deterioration notification control means.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A selective call receiver which receives a selective call signal transmitted from a base station and issues a call notification when the selective call signal is addressed to the own station. Receiving state detecting means for detecting, and when the receiving state detected by the receiving state detecting means deteriorates below a preset threshold value, receiving state deterioration notifying means for notifying that And a selective call receiver comprising: 2. The reception status deterioration notifying means has a plurality of different threshold values set in advance corresponding to the deterioration factors of the reception status, and the reception status detected by the reception status detection means is the above-mentioned each. 2. The selective call receiver according to claim 1, wherein information relating to the deterioration factors corresponding to respective deteriorations from the threshold value is notified. 3. The reception state notification means sets a notification mode when the reception status deteriorates below a threshold value to at least a notification mode when the call notification is performed. 2. The selective call receiver described in 2.