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What is claimed is:
1. A data communication system comprising:
a base station for transmitting variable length message signals to a
plurality of remotely located data terminals, said base station including:
input means for receiving variable length message signals to be sent to
said plurality of data terminals, and a transmitter, coupled to said input
means, for transmitting the variable length messages to said plurality of
data terminals, said variable length messages comprising at least one of a
call-back number and message text; and
said plurality of data terminals, each comprising: a receiver for receiving
the variable length messages, means, coupled to the receiver, for
selecting a variable length message as intended for a particular data
terminal among the plurality of remotely located data terminals, means for
storing a table of caller identification information in memory, said
caller identification information comprising at least one of a caller ID
number and a catchword, means, coupled to the selecting means for
extracting the call-back number from the selected message, means, coupled
to memory and the selecting means, for comparing the received call-back
number to caller ID numbers stored in memory, and means for displaying the
selected message and the caller identification information stored in
memory as a function of the comparison.
2. The data communication system of claim 1 wherein a data terminal is a
device selected from the group consisting of:
general purpose computers, personal computers, portable computers, notebook
computers, electronic personal organizers and intelligent personal
communicators.
3. The data communication system of claim 1 wherein a data terminal further
comprises means, coupled to the selecting means for comparing the received
message text to stored catchwords when a call-back number is not present,
and means for displaying the selected message and the caller
identification information stored in memory as a function of the
comparison.
4. A general purpose data terminal for receiving a radio paging call
comprising a caller generated variable length message, said message
comprising at least one of a call-back number and message text, said
general purpose data terminal comprising:
a radio receiver for receiving the caller generated variable length
message;
memory for storing a table of caller identification information, said
information comprising at least one of a plurality of caller ID numbers
and a plurality of catchwords;
processing means, coupled to the radio receiver, for extracting the
call-back number from the received message;
said processing means, coupled to the memory, for indexing the table as a
function of the extracted call-back number;
a display unit, coupled to memory, for displaying the received message and
the indexed caller identification information;
an input device, operative by a data terminal user, for designating a user
selected response in response to the message display; and
a radio transmitter, responsive to the user designation, for transmitting a
signal acknowledging reception of said paging call, said acknowledge
signal also being indicative of a response to said paging call.
5. The general purpose data terminal of claim 4 is a device selected from
the group consisting of:
personal computers, portable computers, notebook computers, electronic
personal organizers, intelligent personal communicators and portable
wireless terminals.
6. The general purpose data terminal of claim 4 wherein the displaying unit
is a visual display device selected from the group consisting of:
cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors, television monitors, liquid crystal
display (LCD) modules, and light emitting diode (LED) displays.
7. The general purpose data terminal of claim 4 wherein the input device
for designating a user selected response is a device selected from the
group consisting of:
touch screen apparatus, electromechanical switches, alphanumeric keyboards,
light sensitive pens, voice activation devices, graphic user interfaces,
and computerized information presentation systems.
8. The general purpose data terminal of claim 4 further comprising said
processing means, coupled to the radio receiver and memory, for comparing
the received message text to catchwords stored in memory when a call-back
number is not present and for indexing the table based upon a catchword
comparison, said display unit, coupled to memory, for displaying the
received message and the caller identification information stored in
memory as a function of the comparison.
9. The general purpose data terminal of claim 4 wherein the key words are
selected from the group consisting of: first names, surnames, business
names, addresses and names for interpersonal relationships.
10. In a data communication system a method of radio paging comprising the
steps of:
transmitting a paging call comprising a caller generated variable length
message, said message comprising at least one of a call-back number and
message text;
receiving at a general purpose computer, having a radio receiver, the
caller generated variable length message;
storing within general purpose computer memory, a table of caller
identification information, said caller identification information
comprising at least one of call-back numbers and catchwords;
extracting the call-back number from the received message;
indexing the table as a function of the extracted call-back number;
displaying the received message and the indexed caller identification
information;
in response to the display of said message and the caller identification
information, designating a user selected response; and
in response to the user designation, transmitting a signal acknowledging
reception of said paging call, said acknowledge signal also being
indicative of a response to the transmitted paging call.
11. A data communication system comprising:
a base station for transmitting variable length message signals to a
plurality of remotely located data terminals, said base station including:
input means for receiving variable length message signals from a message
originator to be sent to said plurality of data terminals, said variable
length messages comprising at least one of a call-back number and message
text, a transmitter, coupled to said input means, for transmitting the
variable length messages to said plurality of data terminals, a receiver
for receiving messages from said plurality of data terminals in response
to the transmitted message, and means, coupled to the receiver for routing
signals back to said originator, said signals providing indicia of
reception of the transmitted signal as well as a response to the
originator; and
said plurality of data terminals, each comprising: a receiver for receiving
the variable length messages, means, coupled to the receiver, for
selecting a variable length message as intended for a particular data
terminal among the plurality, means for storing a table of caller
identification information in memory, said caller identification
information comprising at least one of a call-back number and a catchword,
means, coupled to the selecting means for extracting the call-back number
from the selected message, means, coupled to memory and the selecting
means, for comparing the received call-back number to call-back numbers
stored in memory, and means for displaying the selected message and the
caller identification information stored in memory as a function of the
comparison.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein a data terminal further comprises:
an input device, operative by a data terminal user, for designating a user
selected response in response to the message display; and
a radio transmitter, responsive to the user designation, for transmitting a
signal back to the base station, said signal providing indicia of
reception of the transmitted signal as well as a response to the
originator. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates generally to radio communication systems. More
particularly, the invention relates to a method for enabling a
general-purpose data terminal, such as a personal computer, portable
computer, personal intelligent communicator, portable wireless terminal
and the like to operate as a pager.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Communication systems which employ portable data terminals for providing
data message communications over conventional radio frequency (RF)
channels are becoming more and more common in the industry. Typically,
such RF data communication systems comprise a base station with full
duplex capability, a network control processor (NCP), front end to a
system host computer, and a plurality of portable radio data terminals
operating in half-duplex mode.
With the recent proliferation of personal computing and communications
platforms which employ microcomputers, and the advent of increasingly
smaller, yet reliable RF modems, it would be extremely advantageous to
incorporate paging-type functionality within conventional data terminal
devices such as, but not limited to portable computers, personal
computers, personal intelligent communicators and the like. Such an
incorporation will eliminate the need for multiple device platforms and
will permit a single device to provide both paging and computing
functionalities.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly described, the present invention is a method and apparatus for
enabling a general-purpose data terminal, such as a personal computer,
portable computer, personal intelligent communicator, portable wireless
terminal and the like to function as a two-way acknowledge back pager. In
this effort, the general purpose data terminal includes method steps and
apparatus structure for receiving a radio paging call comprising a caller
generated variable length message, said message comprising a call-back
number and/or message text, said general purpose data terminal comprises a
radio receiver for receiving the caller generated variable length message;
memory for storing a table of caller identification information, said
information comprising at least a call-back number and catchwords; a
processor, coupled to the radio receiver, for extracting the call-back
number from the received message; said processor, coupled to memory for
indexing the memory table as a function of the extracted call-back number;
a display unit, coupled to memory, for displaying the received message and
the indexed caller identification information; an input device, operative
by the general purpose data terminal user, for designating a user selected
response in response to the message display; and a radio transmitter,
responsive to the user designation, for transmitting a signal
acknowledging reception of said paging call, said acknowledge signal also
being indicative of a response to the transmitted paging call.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional RF data only communication
system which may be considered as known in the art;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an RF data communication system which has been
constructed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a representation of the message format utilized by the base
station and the remote terminals of FIG. 2 during inbound and outbound
communications;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram embodiment of a virtual pager in accordance with
the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting the operation of a virtual pager in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 6. is a caller ID look-up table employed by the virtual pager of the
present invention.
FIG. 7 is an exemplary view of a graphic user interface of the type
visually presented to a virtual pager user during the display of a virtual
page message; and
FIG. 8 is a flow chart depicting the operation of a base station in
accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to the present invention, there is provided a method and
apparatus for supporting a paging-type functionality via general purpose
computer terminals such as, but not limited to, radio data terminals,
personal computers, portable computers, electronic notebooks, personal
intelligent communicators, wireless data terminals and the like.
Referring now to the drawings, a typical radio data only communication
system 10, which may be considered as known in the art, is illustrated in
block form in FIG. 1. The system has a centrally located base station 12,
comprising transmitter 14 and receiver 16, operating in full duplex mode,
which communicates with, by modem 18, and is controlled by, a network
control processor (NCP) 20. NCP 20 in turn communicates with a host
computer 22 as indicated. A plurality of radio data terminals 24 are also
a part of the system 10, operating in half duplex mode to communicate with
the base station 12 via a communications medium, such as an RF channel.
As will be appreciated, a second base station (not shown), coupled to NCP
20, may be included in the system 10, to provide redundancy for improved
reliability when co-located with the base station 12, or it may be located
away from the base station 12 in order to expand the coverage area to a
larger geographic area.
The communication system equipment of FIG. 1 already exists and has in the
past been available from Motorola Inc. Specifically, base station
equipment 12 has in the past been available as Motorola model number
MSF-5000 and NCP 20 has in the past been available under Motorola model
number NCP-500 or model NCP-3000. Data terminals 24 are available from
Motorola in a variety of models, including, but not limited to, model
KDT-440, KDT-460 and KDT-840. These and the aforementioned Motorola models
and corresponding instruction manuals may be obtained by contacting
Motorola Inc. at 1303 E Algonquin Road, Schaumburg Ill. 60196.
The data system of the present invention, which permits paging-type
functionality between a page originator and general purpose data
terminals, is set forth in FIG. 2, which system has been constructed in
accordance with the precepts of the present invention. In broad terms, the
system 210 of FIG. 2 is substantially similar to the system 10 described
in association with FIG. 1 in that a centrally located base station 212
comprising a receiver 214 and transmitter 216 is provided. Modem 218
permits communication between base station 212 and NCP 220. NCP 220 in
turn communicates with a host computer 222. A plurality of portable/mobile
radio data terminals 242, hereinafter referred to as virtual pagers, are
also integral to the system 210. In addition to the data terminals
specifically mentioned above, it will be appreciated by those skilled in
the art that any general purpose data terminal or computer device such as,
but not limited to, personal computers, portable computers, electronic
notebooks, electronic personal organizers, personal intelligent
communicators and the like, in combination with a radio packet data modem
such as a Motorola model F2070A may constitute a virtual pager 242. In the
past, the above-mentioned radio packet data modem and corresponding
instruction manuals have been available by contacting Motorola Inc. at
1303 E. Algonquin Road, Schaumburg Ill. 60196.
In the system 210 of FIG. 2, base station 212 is connected to a
conventional telephone interface 240 of the type generally used for
central paging terminals. Telephone interface 240 couples paging call
source devices, such as telephones 125 and 135 and data terminal 145 (with
modem and auto dialer), via outside telephone lines 141, 142 etc. to an
input of host computer 222. Telephone interface 240 converts message
signals from lines 141, 142, etc. to digital signals which host computer
222 can process.
By way of example, a caller wishing to send a numeric page to a virtual
pager 242 user may use telephones 125 or 135 and dual tone multi-frequency
(DTMF) signaling to key in a desired message. Upon receipt, telephone
interface 240 converts the analog DTMF message signal into a digital
representation which host computer 222 processes as described herein below
in more detail. Optionally, a caller wishing to send an alphanumeric
messages to a virtual pager user may use data terminal 145 to key in the
desired message for communication to telephone interface 240 via telephone
line 149 and a modem in a manner well known in the art. Upon receipt,
telephone interface 240 again converts the analog message signal into a
digital representation which host computer 222 processes prior to
transmission.
The host computer 222 may further include a keyboard coupled to a data
input port (not shown). Such a keyboard permits an operator to directly
input numeric or alphanumeric messages into host computer 222 for
transmission to virtual pagers within the general population via NCP 220
modem 218 and transmitter 214. As will be appreciated, other forms of
messages, such as, but not limited to, digitized voice messages, may also
be processed and transmitted from base station 212 as well. Digitizing and
transmitting voice messages is well known in the art.
Although the above system has been described in terms of the arrangement
depicted in FIG. 2, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art
that system 210 may optionally be configured to that shown in FIG. 3 of
issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,233, as assigned to the assignee of the present
application, if and when the addition of voice communications is desired.
According to the present invention, each virtual pager is given a unique
subscriber unit identification number by which it is identified. In
addition, each virtual pager contains a user definable list for
maintaining caller identification information to be stored within a table
in virtual pager memory. This list typically comprises the names,
addresses, phone numbers and other relevant identification information
pertaining to page originators who frequently page the virtual pager user.
In order to set up the system of the present invention, each virtual pager
user selects and enters a set of caller specific identification
information into the list of a table like the one depicted in FIG. 6.
The operation of the system is as follows. A page originator places a
paging call via one of input devices 125, 135, 145 etc., by entering the
appropriate commands to the host computer 222 or by lifting the handset of
the telephone 125 or 135 and dialing a predetermined number assigned to
the base station 210. The telephone interface 240 routes the call to the
base station 212. Upon receipt, host computer 222 issues a prompt message
(e.g. a digitized voice prompt in the case of a telephone input device)
prompting the page originator to enter an identification number for the
virtual pager 242 to be paged. After entry of this number (e.g. via DTMF
touch pad in the case of telephones 125 and 135), the host computer 222
issues a further prompt, prompting the page originator to enter a
call-back number and/or any additional message. Typically, the page
originator enters his call-back number in the same manner. Upon receipt of
the virtual pager ID, call-back number and the associated message, the
host computer directs the base station 212 to transmit a page message to
the virtual pager population.
Upon receipt by the virtual pager 242 population, the message must first be
identified as a virtual page. The manner in which this identification
process is performed by a virtual pager will be described below with
reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. After the page message has been identified as
a virtual page, the specific virtual pager for which the page message is
intended must so recognize the page message. This is accomplished by a
comparison between the virtual pager ID included in the page message and
the unique special interest destination number stored in virtual pager
memory and by which each virtual pager may be identified.
Upon receipt and verification, the destination virtual pager proceeds to
process the received virtual page by comparing the call-back number
against the list of called specific identification information previously
stored in memory, and determines whether a match exists with one of these
user entered entries. If a match exists, the virtual pager will retrieve
all relevant identification information associated therewith from memory
and display the retrieved information, along with the call-back number and
any additional message as transmitted within the virtual page message. If
no match is identified, the virtual pager will display the call-back
number and message and identify them as being transmitted from an unknown
source.
Assuming the virtual page message fails to comprise a call-back-number,
text matching, as is known in the art, may be employed to access
information relevant to the page originator, as stored in the user
generated list of caller specific identification information. By way of
example, and not by way of limitation, various catchwords within the
message text portion of a virtual page message may be compared against
those entries comprising the user generated list. Such catchwords may
include, but are not limited to first names, surnames, business names,
addresses and interpersonal relationships (e.g., husband, wife, son,
daughter).
If a match exists, the virtual pager will retrieve all relevant
identification information associated therewith from memory and display
the retrieved information, along with the message text portion of the
virtual page message. If no match is identified, the virtual pager will
display the message text and identify it as being transmitted from an
unknown source.
The base station 212 transmits virtual pages to the virtual pager 242
population by generating and transmitting a virtual page message signal
(F2) shown in FIG. 2. In response to the receipt of a virtual page, a
virtual pager 242 may respond to the page originator by generating and
transmitting a reverse page message signal (F1) as shown in FIG. 2. In
accordance, FIG. 3 is a representation of the packet data message format
utilized by the base station and the virtual pagers of FIG. 2 during
inbound and outbound communications. Referring to FIG. 3 it can be seen
that each virtual page and reverse page comprises at least a header field
310, destination address field 320, source address field 330, date/time
field 340, cyclic redundancy check field 350 and data field 360.
The header field 310 is a radio header as is known in the art and is
therefore typically used to facilitate radio synchronization. In the
outbound direction the destination address fields 320 maintains the unique
address for the virtual pager intended to receive the virtual page message
signal (F2). As will be described, the page originator must provide this
information during virtual page message creation. In the inbound
direction, however, the destination address fields 320 will contain the
address for the base station 212 intended to receive the reverse page
message signal (F1) transmitted by a a virtual pager 242. Typically, this
will be the base station that transmitted the virtual page. Where roaming
is permitted, such as in a cellular communication system, it may be
necessary to route the inbound message via another base station as is
known in the art.
In the outbound direction the source address fields 330 will contain the
address of the base station that transmitted the virtual page message
signal (F2). In the inbound direction, however, the source address field
330 will contain the address of the virtual pager 242 that transmitted the
reverse page message signal (F1). This convention permits an awaiting base
station to identify reverse pages which correspond to a previously
transmitted virtual page.
Time/Date field 340 contains indicia of the year, month, day, hour and
minute that the radio data packet of FIG. 3 is transmitted. This time
stamp information assists the base station 212 in determining if and when
to play a time out message to a page originator awaiting a potential
response. Cyclic redundancy check field 350 is provided for error
detection and correction. Finally, Data field 360 comprises the message
text portion of the variable length message as entered by the page
originator.
In accordance with the present invention the first character of the data
field 360 is used to distinguish virtual and reverse pages from other
message types. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, when the first
character of the message field 360 is an asterisks (*), the message is a
either a virtual or a reverse page. In a similar fashion, weighting the
most significant bit of data field 360 may also be employed to identify
virtual and reverse page messages.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a virtual pager 242 of FIG.
2. In one embodiment of the invention, virtual pagers 242 transmit reverse
page command signals on the same radio frequency as that on which base
station 212 transmits although this is not necessarily a requirement of
the system. That is, other embodiments of the invention are contemplated
wherein the virtual pagers transmit reverse page command signals at
frequencies other than within the spectrum of the virtual paging channel
employed by base station 212 of FIG. 2. However, in the present invention,
a radio packet data modem 408, such as a Motorola model F2070A is included
within such virtual pagers to enable them to accurately tune to and
transmit reverse page command signals at different sub-bands within the
same paging channel spectrum as that employed by base station 212 of FIG.
2 for transmission of paging signals as is known in the art. In the past,
such radio packet data modem 408 and corresponding instruction manuals has
been available by contacting Motorola Inc. at 1303 E. Algonquin Road,
Schaumburg Ill. 60196.
Each virtual pager may include such an RF modem as described herein. Such a
device includes a transmit/receive antenna 401 exhibiting an appropriate
size and geometry to permit transmission and reception of radio frequency
signals on the radio frequency paging channel on which base station 212
transmits and receives. Antenna 401 is coupled to a common port 402A of a
transmit receive switch 402. Transmit/receive switch 402 includes a
receive port 402B and a transmit port 402C in addition to the above
mentioned antenna input port 402A. Switch 402 includes a control input
402D as shown in FIG. 4. When an appropriate control input signal is
supplied to control input 402D, transmit/receive switch 402 couples
antenna port 402A to receive port 402B to place virtual pager 242 in the
receive mode. Alternatively, virtual pager 242 is placed in the transmit
mode when an appropriate control signal is supplied to control input 402D
such that transmit receive switch 402 couples the antenna input port 402A
to transmit port 402C. These control signals are supplied to control input
402D by microcomputer 410. One microprocessor which may be employed as
microcomputer 410 is the model MCC1468705G2 manufactured by Motorola, Inc.
Receive port 402B of switch 402 is coupled to the input of a radio
frequency receiver 404 as is known in the art. It is noted that the
frequency of the virtual paging channel on which base station 212
transmits is defined to by F.sub.RX, for example, 150 MHz. Thus, the radio
frequency signals which reach virtual pager 242 and which are provided to
receiver 404 exhibits a frequency of F.sub.RX or 150 MHz.
Receiver 404 operates to demodulate the RF signals provided thereto in
order to separate the preamble, address, and message signals from the
carrier wave on which they were transmitted by base station 212. The data
signals thus resulting are provided to microcomputer input 410B as shown
in FIG. 4. Such data signals include preamble, address, and message
signals. Microcomputer 410 of virtual pager 242 decodes the address
signals provided at data input 410B and compares the incoming decoded
addresses with the predetermined unique address of such pager 242 which is
stored in a code memory 450. Code memory 450 is typically an
electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) such that
unique pager address codes are easily assigned and programmed into each
virtual pager 242. As seen in FIG. 4, memory 450 is coupled via a bus to a
memory port 410F of microcomputer 410. When microcomputer 410 determines
that the address in a received virtual page message corresponds to the
unique address of such virtual pager 242, then microcomputer 410 decodes
the message. In this fashion, microcomputer 410 determines which virtual
page messages are intended for virtual pager 242.
In a known fashion, microcomputer 410 generates appropriate output signals
which are supplied via linear support module 420 to audio module 422 and
speaker 424 to alert the device user that a message has been received. The
selected message is either stored in a random access memory (RAM) 430
which is coupled via a bus to microcomputer memory port 410E or displayed
to the device user via display unit 440.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment, display unit 440, comprising a
display device 700 as shown in FIG. 7, is coupled to the display output
410D of microcomputer 410 such that the selected message received by pager
242 can be displayed for viewing by the pager user. Such display operation
can be made automatic, upon receipt of the virtual page message, or in the
alternative, the device user can determine if and when to recall the
virtual page page message from memory 430 for viewing at a more convenient
time. Display unit 440 display devices are selectable from any of the well
known visual display units comprising cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors,
television monitors, liquid crystal display (LCD) modules, and light
emitting diode (LED) displays. In accordance with the preferred
embodiment, the display device of display unit 440 is a CRT monitor. A
clock circuit 460 is coupled to a clock input 410G of microcomputer 410.
Clock 460 provides microcomputer 410 with a reference time base. Read only
memory (ROM) 480 is coupled to memory port 410J of microcomputer 410. As
will be appreciated ROM 480 maintains a program instruction set which
directs and controls the operation of microcomputer 410 and the various
devices connected thereto.
A user reply input device 470 is coupled to a data input port 410H of
microcomputer 410 as shown in FIG. 4. In accordance with the preferred
embodiment, the user reply input device 470 comprises a touch screen
controller and a transparent touch screen display which overlies the CRT
display screen 700 of display unit 440. As will be appreciated, the touch
screen display senses touch and un-touch actions performed by the device
user. The touch screen display is connected electrically to the controller
of the user reply input device 470 which in turn is coupled to data input
port 410H of microcomputer 410 as shown in FIG. 4. In accordance with the
preferred embodiment, the touch screen controller provides the drive
voltages for the x and y axes of the touch screen, converts the analog
input signals from the touch screen into digital coordinates for x and y
and transmits these coordinates to the microcomputer 410. Such a touch
screen and controller are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,815.
It will be appreciated that the user reply input device 470 is not limited
to the touch screen apparatus which was discussed above. Other input
devices, such as, for example, a multi-position electromechanical switch,
an alphanumeric keyboard, light and or pressure sensitive styli, voice
activation schemes, graphic user interfaces, computerized information
presentation systems or other key entry devices as are known in the art
may be employed as user input device 470 in other embodiments of the
invention to generate reverse page commands (reply data).
Reverse page commands are then transmitted back to base station 212 by
virtual pager 242 using the protocol depicted in FIG. 3. In this effort,
reverse page commands which includes indicia of a response provided by the
device user at user reply input device 470 are output from microcomputer
410 at reverse page port 410I. The output of the reverse page port 410I is
coupled to the input of transmitter 406 which amplifies and modulates the
received signals prior to transmission. The output of transmitter 406 is
in turn coupled to input 402C of transmit/receive switch 402 which couples
the transmitter output to antenna 401 via common port 402A for
communication back to base station 212.
Referring next to FIG. 5, a flow chart diagram of the control program,
resident within virtual pager memory, for controlling the operation of
each virtual pager 242 and further providing pager-like functionality
within the communication system 210 of FIG. 2 is provided. The flow chart
of FIG. 5 summarizes the steps performed by microcomputer 480 of virtual
pager 242 upon receipt of a virtual page as described in association with
FIG. 3.
Commencing at start block 500, flow proceeds to block 502 where a virtual
pager 242 receives an RF message. Flow proceeds to decision block 504
where a check is performed to determine whether the received message is a
virtual page (F1). As previously discussed, virtual pages are readily
distinguishable from other types of messaging structures based upon the
unique message format described in association with FIG. 3. In addition,
the first character of the data field 360 of FIG. 3 is checked for the
presence or absence of an asterisks (*). The presence of an asterisks in
the first character field of data field 360 of FIG. 3, in conjunction with
the message format of FIG. 3, identifies the transmission as a virtual or
reverse page in accordance with the present invention.
Assuming a received message does not conform to the virtual page message
format, flow proceeds to block 506 where other appropriate action is taken
regarding processing of the non-virtual page message. From block 506, flow
branches back to block 502 where the virtual pager 242 continue to monitor
for the receipt of a next incoming message.
Assuming the received message is a virtual page message, flow proceeds from
block 504 to block 508 where the virtual page message is processed by each
virtual pager 242 within the virtual pager population to determine which
specific virtual pager is intended to receive the message. As previously
mentioned, each virtual pager is programmed with a unique identification
number. A corresponding number which identifies the destination virtual
pager is entered into the destination address field 320 of each virtual
page message of FIG. 3 during the message generation process performed by
the page originator and host computer 222. In this manner, each virtual
pager can readily determine whether or not the received virtual page is
intended for it.
Assuming the virtual page is not intended for the virtual pager in
question, flow branches back to block 502 where the virtual pager 242
continue to monitor for the receipt of a next incoming message. If, on the
other hand, the virtual page is intended for the virtual pager in
question, flow proceeds to block 510 where the virtual pager processes the
received message to extract the call-back number, as entered by the page
originator.
When the virtual page comprises a numeric message only the message will
typically comprise a call-back number at which the caller can be reached.
When the message comprises alphanumeric characters it will typically
comprise a call-back number in addition to the textual information the
caller wishes to convey. In accordance with the present invention, the
call-back number of each virtual page message is compared to the telephone
numbers entered by the virtual pager user pursuant to the creation of the
list of caller specific identification information as depicted in FIG. 6.
The table comprising the list of phone number will typically contain
additional caller identification information associatable with the
call-back number such as, but not limited to: the caller's name; address;
home, office, fax, and cellular telephone numbers; as well as other
pertinent information which may assist the virtual page user determine the
identity of the page originator, such as the caller's relationship to the
virtual page user, whether it by familial, business, personal or other. Of
note, the virtual page user is responsible for generating the information
which is entered into the caller identification table.
At block 514 a check is performed by virtual pager 242 (i.e., microcomputer
410 of virtual pager 242) to determine whether the call-back number within
the virtual page message matches any of the numbers stored in a caller
identification table of FIG. 6, as stored in virtual pager memory. If no
match is found at block 514, flow branches to block 516 where certain
catchwords as found in the virtual page message text may be utilized to
identify the page originator when a call-back number is absent or no match
is found.
Catchword determinations are made by the device user pursuant to creation
of the list of caller specific identification information. In accordance
with the preferred embodiment, catchwords include, but are not limited to
surnames, first names, business names and addresses for those individuals
who frequently page the virtual pager user. Such catchwords are programmed
into virtual pager memory during the creation of the list and are
thereafter identifiable within a received virtual page by text matching as
known in the art. Thus, at block 516, the virtual pager conducts a page
matching operation to compare the words in the message text portion of the
received virtual page and each of the catchwords within the list of caller
specific identification information.
Assuming no match is found pursuant to the check performed at block 518,
flow proceeds to block 520 where the virtual page message text and an
"unknown source" prompt are displayed to the virtual pager user via visual
display device 700 of FIG. 7. When either a call-back number match at
block 514 or a catchword match at block 518 are determined, flow proceeds
to block 522 where the virtual page message message along with the caller
identification information stored in the caller identification table of
FIG. 6 are displayed to the virtual device user.
From the displayed message, the ba | | |
