Pager-based communications system

• US 20010010490A1
• Filed: 02/27/2001
• Published: 08/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert W. Bellin
• Original Assignee: Robert W. Bellin
• Inventors: Bellin, Robert W.
• Granted Patent: US 6,683,526 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/7.46
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/027 providing paging services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/185 Selective call encoders for paging networks, e.g. paging centre devices

Abstract

A communications system is provided for communicating information to and from recipients scattered over wide geographic areas. A computer controlled head end communications interface adds address information to a message in accordance with who the intended recipients are. A media router directs the message through appropriate transport media in accordance with the address information. Preferably, the messages are communicated, at least in part, over existing paging systems. Additional transport media include existing power distribution networks, twisted wire pairs and fiber optics networks. Bi-directional reporting capability is provided. The system is well-suited for applications such as remote reading of utility meters, communication of emergency warnings, bi-directional alarm reporting, time synchronization, and encryption/authentication.

Claims

1. A method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients, comprising the steps of:

providing a message which includes a base group address and a message portion;

including said arbitrarily defined subgroup address in said message portion, said message becoming an appended message with the incorporation of said arbitrarily defined subgroup address;

transmitting said appended message with a transmitter over a geographic area containing the potential message recipients; and

providing a plurality of receivers which are responsive to said base group address and being further responsive to said arbitrarily defined subgroup address incorporated into said message portion, each of said plurality of receivers further being associated with members of a specific group.

2. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 1

, wherein:

said transmitter and said plurality of receivers being a part of a paging system.

3. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 1

, further comprising:

said arbitrarily defined subgroup address being inserted into said message portion with a head end communication interface, said head end communication sending said appended message to said transmitter.

4. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 1

, further comprising:

each said receiver being a remote media interface gateway, said remote media interface gateway having a media router and at least one transport medium, said media router choosing from one of at least two types local network function modules.

5. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 1

, further comprising:

a local network function module having a transport medium and a control input and output module, said control input and output module communicating with a particular device, said local network function module communicating with at least one said receiver.

6. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 1

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     1)

each said receiver being a remote media interface gateway, said remote media interface gateway having a media router, said media router choosing from one of at least two types of displays devices.

7. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 3

, wherein:

(FIG.

     10)

a plurality of head end communication interfaces each being capable of communication with one of a plurality of transmitters.

8. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 1

, wherein:

(FIG.

     11)

said subgroup address defining geographic coordinates, said appended message going out to every potential message recipient contained within said geographic coordinates.

9. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 1

, wherein:

(FIG.

     12)

each said receiver having a message display, a light emitting diodes, and an audible transducer, said message display, said light emitting diodes, and said audible transducer being driven by a control microprocessor, said microprocessor receiving instructions from a plurality of control buttons.

10. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 9

, wherein:

(FIG.

     12)

each said receiver having a rechargeable battery and a charger circuit, said charger circuit being operable from a wall socket, each said receiver being structured to plug into a wall socket.

11. A method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients, comprising the steps of:

providing a message which includes a base group address and a message portion;

including said arbitrarily defined subgroup address in said message portion, said message becoming an appended message with the incorporation of said arbitrarily defined subgroup address;

providing a head end media interface which transmits said appended message over a geographic area containing the potential message recipients; and

said head end media interface being capable of receiving messages; and

providing a plurality of transceivers which are responsive to said base group address and being further responsive to said arbitrarily defined subgroup address incorporated into said message portion, each of said plurality of transceivers further being associated with members of a specific group, each said transceivers being capable of transmitting messages to said head end media interface.

12. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, wherein:

said head end media interface and said plurality of transceivers being a part of a paging system.

13. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, further comprising:

said arbitrarily defined subgroup address being inserted into said message portion with a head end communication interface, said head end communication sending said appended message to said transmitter.

14. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, further comprising:

each said transceiver being a remote media interface gateway, said remote media interface gateway having a media router and at least one transport medium, said media router choosing from one of at least two types local network function modules.

15. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, further comprising:

a local network function module having a transport medium and a control input and output module, said control input and output module communicating with a particular device, said local network function module communicating with at least one said transceiver.

16. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, wherein:

(FIG.

     2)

a local network function module sensing an alarm, said local network function module sending an alarm message to said head end communication interface through said receiver and said transmitter.

17. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     3)

a local network function module including a usage meter, said usage meter receiving messages from said head end communication interface, said usage meter sending messages back to said head end communication interface.

18. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, wherein:

(FIG.

     5)

each said transceiver being a remote media interface gateway, said remote interface gateway having a media router and at least two transport mediums, said media router communicating with said at least two transport mediums, each said transport medium communicating with a particular local network function module.

19. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 18

, wherein:

(FIG.

     6)

said remote media interface gateway having a microprocessor and a memory device, said microprocessor being connected said memory device, said microprocessor being connected to said media router.

20. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 19

, wherein:

(FIG.

     6)

said remote media interface gateway having the ability to communicate with device modules having different protocols, said remote media interface having a limited number of protocol translations for alarm codes of device modules having different protocols, said limited number of protocol translations being stored in a look-up table.

21. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, further comprising:

(FIGS. 7-9)

each transceiver being a remote media interface gateway, said remote media interface gateway being coupled to at least one transport medium transceiver, said transport medium transceiver comprising one or more of a power distribution network, twisted wire pair, or fiber optics network.

22. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, further comprising:

(FIGS. 7-9)

each transceiver being a remote media interface gateway, said remote media interface gateway being coupled to at least one transport medium transceiver.

23. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 22

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     7)

said transport medium transceiver using one power line to transmit a message and another power line to receive a message.

24. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 22

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     8)

said transport medium transceiver using one neutral line to receive a message, said transport medium transceiver using a first power line to transmit a message, a second power line being capacitively coupled to said first power line.

25. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 22

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     9)

a medium switch choosing the communication route for a transport medium transceiver, said transport medium transceiver receiving a message on a first power line when said medium switch is in a second position, said transport medium transceiver receiving a message on a neutral line when said medium switch is in a second position.

26. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, wherein:

(FIG.

     10)

a plurality of head end communication interfaces each being capable of communication with one of a plurality of transmitters.

27. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 11

, wherein:

(FIG.

     11)

said subgroup address defining geographic coordinates, said appended message going out to every potential message recipient contained within said geographic coordinates.

28. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 13

, wherein:

(FIG.

     13)

each said transceiver having a message display, a light emitting diodes, and an audible transducer, said message display, said light emitting diodes, and said audible transducer being driven by a control microprocessor, said microprocessor receiving instructions from a plurality of control buttons.

29. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 28

, wherein:

(FIG.

     13)

said control processor being programmed to accept entries from a plug in keyboard, an attached keypad, or an alarm source, entries from said plug in keyboard, said attached keypad, or said alarm source being transmitted to said head end communication interface through said head end media interface.

30. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 28

, wherein:

(FIG.

     13)

each said transceiver having a rechargeable battery and a charger circuit, said charger circuit being operable from a wall socket, each said receiver being structured to plug into a wall socket.

31. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 13

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     17)

each said transceiver being a remote media interface gateway, said remote media interface gateway communicating with a voice based communication interface, said voice based communication interface having a microphone, a speaker, and a switcher box, said switcher box connecting to either said microphone or said speaker, said transport medium controlling said switcher box, the output of said microphone being transmitted to said head end communication interface, an analog sound from said head end communication interface being output through said speaker.

32. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 31

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     17)

a recorder being connected between said switcher box and said microphone, said recorder recording sound during one period, and transmitting the recorded sound at a later period.

33. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 13

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     18)

each said transceiver being a remote interface gateway, said remote interface gateway communicating with an image based communication interface, said image based interface having a camera and a freeze frame unit, said image based interface being capable of sending visual images to said head end communication interface.

34. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 33

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     18)

each said transceiver being a remote interface gateway, said remote interface gateway communicating with a printer, said printer being capable of receiving any type of image from some source such as an image based interface and printing out an images from said transmission.

35. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 13

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     19)

each said transceiver being a remote interface gateway, said remote interface gateway communicating with a smart card based communication interface, said smart card based interface having a card reader and a credit download terminal, said card reader sending credit information to said head end communication interface, said smart card based interface receiving information from said head end communication interface.

36. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 13

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     20)

each said transceiver being a remote media interface gateway, said remote media interface gateway having a microprocessor and a memory device, said microprocessor being connected said memory device, a look-up table being contained within said memory device.

37. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 36

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     20)

said head end communication interface sending a random string of characters, an algorithm return pointer, and a message to said remote media interface gateway, said microprocessor encrypting said random string of characters with an algorithm identified by said algorithm return pointer, said microprocessor sending back an encrypted random string of characters, and a message to said head end communication interface.

38. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 37

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     20)

said head end communication interface decoding said encrypted random string of characters, said head end communication interface accepting said message if the random string of characters received, matches the random string of characters originally sent to said remote media gateway interface.

39. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 36

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     20)

said head end communication interface sending an encrypted random string of characters, an algorithm return pointer, and a message to said remote media interface gateway, said microprocessor decoding said encrypted random string of characters with an algorithm identified by said algorithm return pointer, said microprocessor encrypting said random string of characters with a second algorithm, said microprocessor sending a second encrypted random string of characters, with a second algorithm return pointer, and message to said head end communication interface.

40. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 39

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     20)

said head end communication interface decoding said second encrypted random string of characters, said head end communication interface accepting said message if the random string of characters received, matches the random string of characters originally sent to said remote media gateway interface.

41. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 36

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     20)

said head end communication interface sending a random string of characters and a message to said remote media interface gateway, said microprocessor, said microprocessor encrypting said random string of characters with an algorithm, said microprocessor sending an encrypted random string of characters, with an algorithm return pointer, and message to said head end communication interface.

42. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 41

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     20)

said head end communication interface decoding said encrypted random string of characters, said head end communication interface accepting said message if the random string of characters received, matches the random string of characters originally sent to said remote media gateway interface.

43. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 36

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     20)

said head end communication being capable of transmitting a different algorithm for a particular time segment, said remote media interface gateway being time synchronized with said head end communication interface, said remote media interface gateway being capable of decoding a random string of characters being sent with said different algorithm for a particular time segment.

44. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 43

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     20)

said head end communication being capable of transmitting to said remote media interface gateway portions of a message using a said different algorithm for a particular time segment.

45. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 13

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     21)

each said transceiver being a remote interface gateway, said remote media interface gateway having a microprocessor and a memory device; and

said remote media interface gateway comparing the time of a local network function module to the time in said remote media interface gateway, said remote media interface gateway resetting the clock of said local network function module.

46. The method for directing a message to an arbitrarily defined subgroup within a plurality of potential message recipients of

claim 45

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     21)

information in addition to said time check message being sent with said time check message to said remote media interface gateway.

47. A method of directing an aloha message to an alarm monitoring center, comprising the steps of:

(FIGS. 14 &

     15)

providing an aloha message with a header and an eleven bit message, said header containing identification or location information;

encoding an alarm code from an alarm panel into said eleven bit message;

transmitting said aloha message with said alarm information to a transceiver or a modem;

providing a microprocessor and a memory device connected to said transceiver, said memory device having a look-up table which contains a list of customers and alarm codes;

comparing said alarm codes in said look-up table to the alarm code contained in said aloha message; and

notifying said alarm monitoring center that a particular alarm is occurring at a specific physical location.

48. The method of directing an aloha message to an alarm monitoring center of

claim 47

, further comprising:

the encoding of an alarm code and the transmitting of said aloha message with said alarm information being performed by a paging transceiver.

49. The method of directing an aloha message to an alarm monitoring center of

claim 47

, further comprising:

said transceiver being a remote media interface gateway.

50. The method of directing an aloha message to an alarm monitoring center of

claim 48

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     15)

said alarm panel being connected to said paging transceiver with a telephone link; and

a telephone line monitor being placed on said telephone link, said telephone line monitor sending an alarm code to said paging transceiver if the connection between said alarm panel and said telephone network is interrupted.

51. The method of directing an aloha message to an alarm monitoring center of

claim 47

, further comprising:

an aloha message not being sent to said paging transceiver until both an alarm condition and a telephone failure has occurred.

52. A method of directing an aloha message to a telephone monitoring center, comprising the steps of:

(FIG.

     16)

providing an aloha message with a header and an eleven bit message, said header containing identification or location information;

encoding a telephone line failure into said eleven bit message;

transmitting said aloha message with said telephone line failure information to a paging transceiver or a modem;

providing a microprocessor and a memory device connected to said transceiver, said memory device having a look-up table which contains a list of customers and telephone line failure codes;

comparing said telephone line failure codes in said look-up table to the telephone line failure code contained in said aloha message; and

notifying a telephone monitoring center that a particular telephone line failure is occurring at a specific physical location.

53. The method of directing an aloha message to a telephone monitoring center of

claim 52

, further comprising:

the encoding of a telephone line failure code and the transmitting of said aloha message with said telephone line failure information being performed by a paging transceiver.

54. The method of directing an aloha message to an alarm center of

claim 53

, further comprising:

(FIG.

     16) a telephone network interface being connected to said paging transceiver with a telephone link; and

a telephone line monitor being placed on said telephone network interface, said telephone line monitor sending a telephone failure code to said paging transceiver if a telephone line failure occurs.

55. A method of communicating a message with a predefined subgroup from a local network function module to a head end communication interface, comprising the steps of:

providing a message which includes a base group address and a message portion;

inserting a subgroup address into said message portion of a message, said message becoming an appended message with the insertion of said subgroup address, said base group address having a pin number identifying said local network function module;

sending said message from said local network function module to a head end communication interface through a remote media interface gateway and a head end media interface.

56. A method of communicating a message with a predefined subgroup from a local network function module to a head end communication interface of

claim 55

, wherein:

sending said appended message from said head end communication interface to a second local network function module through said head end media interface and said head end media interface utilizing said subgroup address to identify said second local network function module.

57. A method of communicating a message with a predefined subgroup from a local network function module to a head end communication interface of

claim 55

, wherein:

said head end communication interface decoding said message to identify the pin number of said local network function module and further identifying said local network function module with said subgroup address.

58. A method of communicating a message with a predefined subgroup from a local network function module to a head end communication interface of

claim 55

, wherein:

said remote media interface gateway having the ability to communicate with local function modules having different protocols, said remote media interface having a limited number of protocol translations for alarm codes of the local function modules having different protocols, said limited number of protocol translations being stored in a look-up table.