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Description  |
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of personal
communication systems, and more particularly to wireless data
communication systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Personal communication systems have greatly enhanced and expanded
telecommunications in the United States and throughout the world. Examples
of such personal communications systems include both cellular
communication systems and cordless radiotelephone systems such as the CT-2
(second generation cordless telephone) and DECT (digital European cordless
telephone) systems. These systems have provided wireless communication
access to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) with the use of a
plurality of fixed location telepoint base stations which have provided
voice communication capability between a plurality of portable
radiotelephone handsets and conventional telephone receivers.
In conventional cellular communication systems, a number of cells, i.e.,
base stations and their associated coverage areas, are widely distributed
throughout different geographic areas. In CT-2 systems, as compared to
cellular communication systems, a greater number of telepoint base
stations have had to be distributed throughout different geographic areas
because of the relatively low power outputs provided in the portable
radiotelephone handsets. Both systems, however, generally include
landmarks such as shopping malls, airports, restaurants, etc., within the
coverage areas of the base stations. There is a need, therefore, to be
able to provide not only conventional telecommunication capability to the
system subscribers, but also data communication capability in which
information of interest could be relayed to system subscribers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a personal
communication system comprises transceiver stations providing
communication capability between one or more portable units and a wireline
network, wherein one or more of the transceiver stations is further
capable of storing a data base and of transmitting the same in response to
a request for such transmission being received from a portable units
communicating therewith. The data base includes at least positional
information pertaining to relative locations of the transceiver stations,
and the portable unit communicating therewith is capable of receiving the
data base and of presenting at least a portion of the same.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a personal
communication system which includes transceiver stations to provide
communication between a portable unit and a wireline network, wherein the
transceiver stations further are capable of storing and transmitting a
data base, the portable unit comprises means for generating and
transmitting a request to receive the data base stored within a
transceiver station through which communication is established. The data
base includes at least positional information pertaining to relative
locations of the transceiver stations. The portable unit further comprises
a receiver for receiving the data base transmitted by the transceiver
station and a presentation device for presenting at least a portion of the
data base.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an electrical block diagram of a personal communication system in
accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a pictorial diagram of an application of the positional
information in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 3 is a pictorial diagram depicting the application of providing
localized information in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
FIG. 4 is an electrical block diagram of the network control center in
accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting the formatting of the localized
information in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 6 is an electrical block diagram of the transceiver station in
accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a pictorial diagram depicting the portable radiotelephone in
accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an electrical block diagram of the portable radiotelephone in
accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 9-11 are flow charts depicting the operation of the portable
radiotelephone and the transceiver station in accordance with the
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the figures, FIG. 1 is an electrical block diagram of a
personal communication system in accordance with the preferred embodiment
of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a personal communication
system 10 includes a plurality of transceiver stations 12, 14, 16 and 18
(of which four are shown) which are used to provide data and/or voice
communication between one or more portable units, such as radiotelephones
20, 22 and 24 (of which three are shown) and conventional telephone
handsets 26, 28 through a wireless data network, e.g., the Public Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN) 30. Examples of such a personal communication
system 10 which provides voice communication and/or data transmission
capability are well known in the art, and include such personal
communication systems as the newer cordless radiotelephone systems such as
the CT-2 (second generation cordless telephone) and DECT (digital European
cordless telephone) systems. In such cordless radiotelephone systems,
voice communication is originated by one of the portable radiotelephone
handsets, such as handset 20, which is in range of a transceiver station,
such as a CT-2 telepoint base station 12.
For purposes of illustration, the description to follow will focus on a
personal communication system, such as the CT-2 cordless radiotelephone
system, although it will be appreciated that other forms of personal
communication systems, such as other cordless telephone and cellular
communication systems can also provide the voice communication capability
between a portable radiotelephone handsets, such as handset 20, and a
transceiver station, such as a cellular or telepoint base station 12.
In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, a
wireless data communications system, such as a cellular paging system,
could include wireless data units, such as paging receivers or
transceivers, for receiving data transmissions from base stations coupled
to a wireline data network.
Portable radiotelephone handsets suitable for use in a CT-2 systems are
well known in the art, such as the SILVERLINK.TM. 2000 Personal Telephone
manufactured by Motorola Inc. Telepoint base stations suitable for use in
a CT-2 systems are also well known in the art, such as the SILVERLINK.TM.
Telepoint Base Station manufactured by Motorola Inc. Such portable
radiotelephone handsets and telepoint base stations provide voice
communication utilizing the well known CT2/CAI communication protocol.
As calls are originated by the radiotelephone handsets, or portable
radiotelephones, the calls are logged for billing purposes, among other
things, by the telepoint base station, or transceiver station, through
which the call is placed. Periodically, such as once a day, the call
information collected at each of the telepoint base stations 12, 14, 16
and 18 is transferred to a central control point, such as the network
control center 32. One such network control center is the Motorola Network
Control Center (MNCC) and Business Management and Billing System (BMBS)
for Public Telepoint Systems, which provides, among other things,
automatic supervision of all system base stations and flexible billing
cycles and automatic entry of recurring charges.
Unlike the prior art personal communication systems, the personal
communication system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the
present invention provides a means for transmitting positional
information, which includes the relative locations of the telepoint base
stations, to the portable radiotelephones. This positional information is
preferably fixed and changes only when telepoint base stations are added
or deleted from the personal communication system. Therefore, the
positional information will generally only need to be transmitted to or
stored in the telepoint base stations once, unless telepoint base stations
are added or deleted from the system.
Additionally, the personal communication system according to the present
invention provides a means for collecting localized information pertaining
to landmarks located within the vicinity of one or more of the telepoint
base stations. When the landmarks are business establishments, such as
shopping malls or airports, information pertaining to the conduct of
business for the business establishments may also be collected. When the
localized information includes more than a simple listing of landmarks,
the localized information will generally be periodically transmitted to
the telepoint base stations to provide updated information to the
telepoint base stations.
The positional information and the localized information are preferably
stored as a system information data base by the network control center 32
for transmission to the telepoint base stations, which are equipped to
provide the positional and localized information, or a portion thereof, to
requesting radiotelephone handsets, as will be described in detail below.
The entry of the information to be included within the system information
data base into the network control center 32 can be provided in any of a
number of ways, such as through the use of conventional telephone handsets
38, through the use of computers or video displays terminals 40 which are
coupled to the network control center 32 through the PSTN (public switched
telephone network) using modems 42, or through an ISDN (integrated
services data network) network 44, just to name a few. The nature and type
of information provided for the system information data base will become
more apparent in the description to follow.
Once the localized information to be included within the system information
data base has been collected within the network control center 32, the
localized information is distributed to the appropriate telepoint base
stations 12, 14, 16 or 18, using preferably an RF transmission system,
such as provided by paging transmitter 46 and a receiver located at the
appropriate telepoint base stations. Other distribution methods, such as
through the PSTN 30 or other wireline networks, could be utilized as well.
Thereafter, when requested by a portable radiotelephone, positional and
localized information, or a portion thereof, is transmitted from a
telepoint base station with which the portable radiotelephone has
established communication to the portable radiotelephone for storage and
subsequent presentation thereby. Distribution of information included in
the system information data base to the telepoint base stations and the
portable radiotelephones will be described in greater detail below.
Reference is now directed to FIG. 2, which is a pictorial diagram depicting
an application of the system information database. As mentioned above, the
system information data base includes positional information pertaining to
the telepoint base stations. This positional information is preferably
displayed by the portable radiotelephone in the form of a coverage map 100
of at least a portion of the personal communication system, in which each
telepoint base station is represented by icons 102. However, in a public
telepoint system, such as the personal communication system described as
the preferred embodiment, there may be hundreds, or even thousands, of
telepoint base stations included within the personal communication system.
It is not always feasible, therefore, to display a coverage map of the
entire personal communication system. Rather, the telepoint base stations
within a limited geographic area, such as a small suburb, may be
represented by the icons on the coverage map. When the portable
radiotelephone user relocates to a different geographic area, different
positional information, stored by a different cluster of telepoint base
stations, can be transmitted to the portable radiotelephone for generation
of a different coverage map.
In a cellular data communication system, such as a cellular telephone
system, on the other hand, each icon 102 represents a cell, or a portion
thereof, included within the system. Because the cells are generally much
larger than the coverage areas of the telepoint base stations, a coverage
map of a larger geographic area may then be generated by a wireless data
unit, e.g., a cellular telephone, included within the system.
Preferably, the icon 102 associated with the telepoint base station with
which the portable radiotelephone has established communication is
indicated in such a manner as to be discernible by the user. This may be
done, for example, by flashing the icon or perhaps by shading the icon
104, as shown. As the portable radiotelephone moves from the coverage area
of a first telepoint base station to the coverage area of a second
telepoint base station, the icon associated with the second telepoint base
station, rather than the icon associated with the first telepoint base
station, will be shaded. In this manner, the user can conveniently
determine an approximate direction of travel. Additionally, in a cellular
data communication system, the user can determine whether or not he is in
danger of traveling out of the system coverage range.
Included within the portable radiotelephone according to the present
invention is a keypad or a touch activated screen by which a user may
select any of the displayed icons, in response to which localized
information pertaining to the associated telepoint base station will be
displayed, as may be better understood by referring to FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 illustrates the use of the localized information in accordance with
the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As stated above,
personal communication systems, such as a CT-2 cordless telephone system,
provide wireless communication access to a wireline network, e.g., the
PSTN in isolated islands of coverage, such as, but not limited to,
shopping areas or malls 200 including restaurants and other places of
business, spread throughout a geographic area or city, such as at
Interstate Highway interchange 202, and in places providing public
transportation, such as bus stations, railway stations and airports 204.
Depending upon the location, access to the public switched telephone
network may be through a single telepoint base station having but a single
communication channel, such as at a highway interchange or other low
traffic area, to multiple telepoint base stations employing multiple
communication channels such as at an airport where the telepoint station
would be distributed throughout the terminal and parking areas.
As shown in FIG. 3, the localized information includes information
pertaining to the conduct of business for establishments located within
the vicinity of a given telepoint base station. Examples of such localized
information data base information includes service station related
information such as gas prices and station location, restaurant location
and motel information at typical highway interchanges, such as Interstate
Highway interchange 202. Examples of such localized information include
retail store sale information, movie guides and restaurant information,
such as at shopping malls 200, or other shopping and entertainment
districts. Still other examples of such localized information include
airline departure or arrival information at airports 204. While the type
of information described relates generally to the immediate vicinity of
any particular telepoint base station, it will be appreciated other forms
of information relating to the conduct of business, such as information on
churches, police and fire, hospitals, and the like may include larger
geographic areas beyond the immediate vicinity of any given telepoint base
station.
In a cellular data communication system, as mentioned above, each icon 102
(FIG. 2) may represent a cell having a typically larger coverage area than
a single telepoint base station. As a result, it may not always be
practical to include detailed localized information that could consume
extremely large blocks of memory. Alternatively, therefore, the localized
information in a cellular data communication system could simply include a
listing of landmarks, such as business establishments, located in each
cell.
FIG. 4 is an electrical block diagram of a network control center 300 in
accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The
network control center 300 includes a remote data entry port 302 which is
utilized for the entry of information intended for the various localized
information data bases throughout the personal communication network using
such data entry devices as a telephone handset 38 or a computer or video
display terminal 40. The remote entry data port 302 provides the required
interface between the various remote entry devices and the network control
center 300. The output of the remote entry data port 302 is coupled to a
central controller 304, which is preferably microcomputer controlled using
any of a number of well known microcomputer devices. Coupled to the
central controller 304 are data entry devices, one of which is shown, such
as a video display terminal 306. The data entry device 306 enables control
of the personal communication system from the network control center 300,
and entry of new subscriber numbers, or cancellation of old subscriber
numbers from the personal communication system. A memory 308, which may be
random access memory (RAM), floppy or hard disk drive memory, or magnetic
tape, or any combination thereof, provides a subscriber data base listing
all active and inactive portable radiotelephones, call billing information
collected periodically from the telepoint base stations, and in the
preferred embodiment of the present invention a general data base
containing the system information data base, which includes the positional
information and the localized information for each of the telepoint base
stations throughout the personal communication system, as well as any
associated billing information which may be derived therefrom. As shown,
the localized information includes, but is not limited to, such data
entries as the telepoint base station number, the specific location
information, or localized information associated with the particular
telepoint base station, and where appropriate, time or date information
which may indicate such information as the date the information was posted
on the system, and the length of time, or end date after which the
information is to be removed from the system. It will be appreciated, the
entry of the localized information may be either automatically or
manually, as will be described in further detail below. When the localized
information is time stamped, or dated, a real time clock 310 is used in
conjunction with the central controller 304 to control the automatic
deletion of the localized information, as well as to control such other
system operations as call billing collection. The central controller 304
couples to a telephone interface 312 which couples the network control
center 300 through the public switched telephone network 30 to the
individual telepoint base stations, such as base station 18, located
throughout the personal communication system. The central controller 304
also couples to the input of paging port 314. The output of paging port
314 is coupled to paging transmitter 46 which is used to distribute the
localized information, as described below.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting the entry and formatting of the localized
information in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present
invention. The establishment wishing to place information into the system
information data base places a call the network communication center
(NCC), at block 402 which functions as a means for collecting the
information pertaining to the conduct of business. The call may be
originated as described above using a telephone handset or computer or
video display terminal over the public switched telephone network, or over
an integrated services data network (ISDN). The establishment provides the
information which is to be presented, which may include the
establishment's name and location, any advertisement information, the
merchandising area or area for which data distribution is to be provided,
and any time related information, such as the length of time the
information is to be available, at block 404. The information is formatted
by the central controller which functions as a means for formatting the
localized information for storage in the network control center memory
together with the designated telepoint base station information, at block
406, and stored in memory, at block 408. The localized information is
then, at predetermined time intervals such as daily, transmitted using the
paging transmitter or public switched telephone network to the designated
base stations, at block 410. The designated base stations receive the
localized information intended for that station, at block 412 using any of
a number of well known data transmission and receiving device selection
protocols, such as the POCSAG or Golay Sequential Code signalling
protocols for RF paging transmissions, or the X.25 communication protocol
for communication over the public switched telephone network. The
telepoint base station, after receiving the localized information, stores
the information in the base station memory as will be described in detail
below, at block 414, and then transmits the requested localized
information, as well as positional information, to portable
radiotelephones communicating therewith, as will be described below, at
block 416.
FIG. 6 is an electrical block diagram of the telepoint base station, or
transceiver station 500, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of
the present invention. The telepoint base station 500, includes a
microprocessor controller 502 which controls the overall operation the
telepoint base station 500 regarding voice communication between the
telepoint base station and the portable radiotelephones in a manner well
known in the art. Calls originated by a portable radiotelephone handset,
such as handset 20, are received by one of the RF transceivers 504, or the
RF transceiver in single transceiver telepoint base stations. The calls
are coupled through codec 506 which processes the information in a manner
well known in the art to provide an analog voice output which is coupled
to telephone interface 508 under the control of the microprocessor
controller 502. The outbound call is coupled from the telephone interface
508 through the public switched telephone network to the telephone handset
26, 28 to which the call is directed. The inbound call responses are
directed from the telephone handset 26, 28 through the public switched
telephone network to the telephone interface 508, which couples the
inbound call response to the codec 506 which then converts the analog
voice information into digital information for transmission under the
control of microprocessor controller 502. The digitized call response is
coupled to the RF transceiver 504 for transmission to the portable
radiotelephone handset 20 originating the call. A data base memory 510
which is coupled to the microprocessor controller, stores such information
as an active/inactive subscriber data base as well as the information
related to billing of call placed through the telepoint base station 500.
Unlike the prior art telepoint base stations, the telepoint base station in
accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes
a remote data entry port 512 which is coupled to the microprocessor
controller 502. The localized information and the positional information
which is transmitted from the network control center is received at the
telepoint base station 500 through antenna 514 which is coupled to
receiver 516. Receiver 516 processes the received information in a manner
well known in the art to provide at the output a stream of digital
information corresponding to the positional information, when received,
and the localized information, which includes also address information
specifying the telepoint base station to which the localized information
is directed. The received address information is processed in a manner
well known in the art by the microprocessor controller 502 which functions
as an address decoding means. When the received address corresponds to the
address assigned to the telepoint base station, the corresponding
localized information and positional information is stored in the data
base memory 510 under the control of the microprocessor controller 502.
In addition to the transmission of information from the network control
center, localized information can also be directly entered into the
telepoint base station 500 through the remote entry data port 512. When
localized information is directly entered, such as through the use of a
TOUCH-TONE.TM. telephone handset 518 or a computer or video display
terminal 520, the microprocessor controller 502 controls the reception and
storage of the information into the data base memory 510. In this
instance, the microprocessor controller 502 provides a means for directly
collecting the information pertaining to the conduct of business for the
establishments located within the vicinity of the telepoint base station,
enabling the generation of the localized information at the telepoint base
station 500. Such direct entry of localized information is especially
useful in such geographic areas as in airports, where the airlines
directly control the ever changing arrival and departure information.
Other geographic areas, such as in shopping malls could also route the
localized information through a central collection point, such as the mall
manager's office, who would then be responsible for posting the localized
information to the telepoint base stations located throughout the mall.
FIG. 7 is a pictorial diagram depicting a preferred embodiment of the
portable radiotelephone 600 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of
the present invention. The portable radiotelephone 600 includes an
eighteen key keyboard 602 which includes ten digit keys and eight function
keys. The function keys include the conventional asterisk (*) and pound
(#) keys, a unit power selection key 604, a shift key 606, memory
recall/store key 608, intercom/page key 610, redial/public-private
selection key 612, and a call activation (phone) key 614. Secondary key
functions are selectable using the shift key 606. A liquid crystal (LCD)
display 616, which utilizes preferably twelve numeric digits, provides
display of the selected telephone number. A row of display indicators 618
is also provided which indicate which of a number of preselected functions
are active, such as BUSY, public (PUB), private (PRIV), DATA, VOICE and
unit power on (PWR). Several function annunciators (not displayed) are
also provided. In particular, the VOICE indicator indicates when the
portable radiotelephone is in the voice mode for conventional telephone
conversations, whereas the DATA indicator indicates when the portable
radiotelephone has been placed in the data mode for reception of
positional information and selected localized information. Selection of
the voice and data modes is controlled by the shift key 606 and the
DATA/VOICE mode selection switch 620. The dual keystroke selection
prevents inadvertent mode alteration, thereby insuring voice or data mode
calls are not inadvertently interrupted.
The portable radiotelephone 600 includes an earpiece 622 located in the
keypad section 626 and a mouthpiece 624 located in the hinged keyboard
cover section 628. Also within the hinged keyboard cover section 628 is a
second liquid crystal (LCD) display 630 which provides for the display of
icons and alphanumeric characters. The display 630 may be, for example, a
dot matrix display capable of displaying pixel images. Preferably, the
icons are utilized to display the coverage map 100 (FIG. 2) in which the
positional information is included. The alphanumeric characters preferably
are utilized for display of the localized information. It will be
appreciated that other display formats and character sizes can be utilized
as well, depending upon the amount of information which is to be displayed
at any given time and the capabilities of the implemented user interface,
for example, graphical user interface, pen input, etc.
Cursor keys 632, 634, 636, 638 enable the portable radiotelephone
subscriber to select an icon when the positional information, i.e., the
coverage map 100, is displayed, as described above. Upon selection of an
icon, localized information pertaining to the associated telepoint base
station is displayed, preferably as a directory or an image generated from
graphic primitives as defined by the user interface. A typical "directory"
level display is shown on LCD display 630, and includes such directory
entries as "area shopping guide", "movie guide", "local attractions"
guide, "restaurant guide", "medical services" directory, "service station"
directory, "church" directory, and "arts and entertainment" guide. The
"directory" level display is typical of a first portion of the localized
information which would be transmitted upon request to the portable
radiotelephone. Cursor keys 632, 634, 636 and 638 further enable the
portable radiotelephone subscriber to select from particular categories
which are representative of the telepoint base station geographic
location, and which can vary from telepoint base station to telepoint base
station in located different geographic areas. In particular, cursor keys
632 and 634 enable movement up and down within the directory or menu.
Cursor keys 636 and 638 enable movement within a particular menu item,
such as would be required when reading a lengthy message. As each menu, or
level, of information is received from the telepoint base station,
particular information can be saved within the portable radiotelephone
using the "SAVE" key 640. The "SELECT" key initiates each data
communications session with the telepoint base station when the DATA mode
is selected, and further enables the recovery of selected localized
information, when the portable radiotelephone is in the voice mode,
thereby allowing retrieval and review of information which has been
received and stored while the portable radiotelephone was in range of a
telepoint base station, as will be described below.
In summary, the portable radiotelephone enables the subscriber to request
positional and localized information from a telepoint base station with
which communication is established. The information when received is
displayed and can be stored for retrieval at a later time, thereby
enabling the portable radiotelephone subscriber to obtain information when
in range of a telepoint base station, and thereafter review the
information on an as needed basis while the subscriber is in the
geographic area covered by the received information.
FIG. 8 is an electrical block diagram of the portable radiotelephone 600 in
accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The
portable radiotelephone 600 includes an RF transceiver 650 which is
coupled to an antenna 652 for transmitting and receiving voice and data
information. The RF transceiver is synthesized to enable the selection of
one of the forty communication channels assigned to the CT-2 system.
Selection of the channel of operation is controlled by the microprocessor
controller 654, such as implemented using an MC 68HC05 microcomputer
manufactured by Motorola, which also enables the codec 656 for encoding
the analog voice information derived from audio mouthpiece transducer 658
into the digital format, and the decoding of the digitally encoded voice
information into an analog format for delivery by the audio earpiece
transducer 658. A memory 660, such as a random access memory (RAM) or
electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) stores such
information as often used phone numbers in a phone number directory file,
and the positional and localized information which was received and
stored, as described above. A real time clock 662 is coupled to the
microprocessor controller 654 and enables such functions as automatic
deletion of localized information as described above. A numeric display
664, as described above, is coupled to the microprocessor controller 654,
and provides for displaying telephone numbers, and other information
relative to the operation of the portable radiotelephone. A
numeric/function keypad 666, as described above, is coupled to the
microprocessor controller 654, and enables entry of phone numbers, and
control of the operation of the portable radiotelephone, including such
functions as the selection of voice or data modes of operation. An
alphanumeric or dot matrix display, as described above, is also coupled to
the microprocessor controller 654, and provides display of the positional
information and selected localized information. An alphanumeric keyboard
680 can also be provided which is coupled to the microprocessor controller
which would allow the portable radiotelephone subscriber to enter specific
alphanumeric information which could be utilized to select information to
be transmitted from the telepoint base station, or which could be used in
the retrieval of information stored in the device memory 660.
FIGS. 9-11 are flow charts depicting the operation of the portable
radiotelephone and the transceiver station in accordance with the
preferred embodiment of the present invention. In particular, referring to
FIG. 9, when the portable radiotelephone subscriber turns the unit power
on, at step 800, the microprocessor controller is initialized, at step
802. Initialization includes selection of the voice mode of transmission,
in which instance, the numeric display indicator indicates the voice mode
is selected, at step 804. When the data mode is not selected, at step 806,
and the "phone" key is actuated, at step 808, the handset e | | |
