Transmitter/receiver system, mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus, communication management apparatus, broadcasting station carrier receiver apparatus, and method of attempting communication of call origination information

• US 20030040302A1
• Filed: 07/15/2002
• Published: 02/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Okada, Hiroki
• Granted Patent: US 7,424,286 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 using broadcasted information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/12 Inter-network notification

Abstract

Besides a plurality of base stations (64) enabling telephone calls between mobile terminals (30) and between the mobile terminals (30) and fixed telephones (12), a call management apparatus (60) is further provided a broadcasting station (72) that transmits call origination information via a broadcasting station carrier of a frequency band that is lower than that of a telephone call carrier. Furthermore, each mobile terminal (30) is provided with a broadcasting station carrier receiver portion capable of receiving broadcasting station carriers. An exchange control station (70) transmits call origination information from the broadcasting station (72) via a broadcasting station carrier if a mobile terminal (30) is in a state in which it is incapable of transmission/reception via the telephone call carrier. Since broadcasting station carriers have a better electromagnetic reflection characteristic than telephone call carriers, each mobile terminal (30) can receive call origination information by using the broadcasting station carrier receiver portion even if the mobile terminal (30) is in a state in which it is incapable of transmission/reception via the telephone call carrier. Thus, the communication of call origination information to the mobile terminals (30) can be improved.

Claims

1. A transmitter/receiver system comprising:

one or more mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus comprising;

telephone call transmission/reception means for transmitting and receiving respective audio data via a first carrier of a first frequency band and for receiving respective first call origination information via said first carrier; and

call origination reception means for receiving respective second call origination information via a second carrier of a second frequency band that is different from said first frequency band; and

a transmission/reception management apparatus that manages transmission to and reception from any of said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus, said transmission/reception management apparatus comprising;

telephone call management means for governing an exchange, employing said first carrier, of said respective audio data between any of said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus and either another mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus or a communication apparatus connected to said transmission/reception management apparatus;

first call information transmission means for transmitting, when a call is made to any one of said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus, said respective first call origination information via said first carrier; and

second call information transmission means for transmitting, when a call is made to said any one of said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus, said respective second call origination information via said second carrier.

2. The transmitter/receiver system of claim 1, wherein said second carrier has a frequency of at most 1 GHz.

3. The transmitter/receiver system of claim 1, wherein said second carrier is a broadcasting station carrier as used for radio or television broadcasting.

4. The transmitter/receiver system of claim 3, wherein said second carrier is a sideband of said broadcasting station carrier of an area in which said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus is being used

5. The transmitter/receiver system of claim 3 or 4, wherein said second call information transmission means transmits said second call origination information by superimposing said information on said broadcasting station carrier.

6. The transmitter/receiver system according any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said second call information transmission means transmits the call origination information a plurality of times.

7. The transmitter/receiver system of claim 6, wherein the second call information transmission means transmits the call origination information a plurality of times at predetermined intervals.

8. The transmitter/receiver system of claim 6, wherein the second call information transmission means transmits the call origination information a plurality of times at intervals that are changeable in accordance with call or carrier traffic.

9. The transmitter/receiver system of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein if said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus has yet to receive said first call origination information although said first call origination information has been transmitted by said first call information transmission means a predetermined number of times, said second call information transmission means transmits said second call origination information via said second carrier.

10. The transmitter/receiver system of any one of claims 1 to 9,

wherein said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus comprises first transmission on-off means for transmitting, to said transmission/reception management apparatus, information as to whether the transmission/reception management apparatus should transmit call origination information to the mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus via said second call information transmission means, and

wherein said transmission/reception management apparatus comprises second call information transmission control storage means for storing information as to whether transmission of the call origination information is to be performed by the second call information transmission means with respect to each of said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus, and first control means for controlling said second call information transmission means such that the call origination information is transmitted by the second call information transmission means solely when information indicating that call origination information is to be transmitted is stored in the second call information transmission control storage means.

11. The transmitter/receiver system of any one of claims 1 to 10,

wherein the mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus comprises second transmission on-off means for transmitting, to the transmission/reception management apparatus, information as to whether the transmission/reception management apparatus should transmit call origination information to another of said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus via said second call information transmission means, and

wherein the transmission/reception management apparatus comprises second control means for, if the mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus has made a request for transmission of call origination information to another of said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus, controlling the second call information transmission means such that the call origination information is only transmitted by the second call information transmission means if information indicating that call origination information is to be transmitted to the another mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus by the second call information transmission means is transmitted by the second transmission on-off means.

12. A mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus for use in a transmitter/receiver system comprising one or more mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus and a transmission/reception management apparatus that manages transmission to and reception from any of said mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus, comprising:

telephone call transmission/reception means for transmitting and receiving audio data via a first carrier of a first frequency band and for receiving first call origination information via said first carrier; and

call origination information reception means for receiving second call origination information via a second carrier of a second frequency band that is different from said first frequency band.

13. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 12, wherein said second carrier has a frequency of at most 1 GHz.

14. A mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 12, wherein said second carrier is a sideband of a broadcasting station carrier that as used for radio or television broadcasting.

15. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of any one of claims 12 to 14, further comprising telephone call transmission/reception on-off means for governing an on-off state of said telephone call transmission/reception means, and call information reception on-off means for governing an on-off state of said call information reception means.

16. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of any one of claims 12 to 15, further comprising state display means for displaying the operating state of said telephone call transmission/reception means and the operating state of said call information reception means.

17. A mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of any one of claims 12 to 16, further comprising control means for controlling said telephone call transmission/reception means and/or said call information reception means based on the operating state of said telephone call transmission/reception means and the operating state of said call information reception means.

18. A mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 17, wherein said control means comprises means for limiting the operation of said call information reception means when said telephone call transmission/reception means is capable of transmission to and reception from said transmission/reception management apparatus.

19. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 18, wherein the operational limitation of said call information reception means consists of turning off said call information reception means.

20. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 15, further comprising control means for controlling said telephone call transmission/reception means and/or said call information reception means based on the operating state of said telephone call transmission/reception means and the operating state of said call information reception means, said control means comprising means for limiting a search in which said telephone call transmission/reception means is prompted to check for recovered reception of said first carrier, said search being carried out when said call information reception means is in an “

on”

state as governed by the call information reception on-off means and said telephone call transmission/reception means has lost reception of said first carrier in spite of the fact that said telephone call transmission/reception means is in an “

on”

state as governed by the telephone call transmission/reception on-off means.

21. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 20, wherein said limitation of the search comprises extending the interval between checks for recovered receptionas a function of the elapsed time since previous reception.

22. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 15, further comprising control means for controlling said telephone call transmission/reception means and/or said call information reception means based on the operating state of said telephone call transmission/reception means and the operating state of said call information reception means,

the control means comprising means for limiting either a search in which said telephone call transmission/reception means is prompted to check for recovered reception of said first carrier or a search in which said call information reception means is prompted to check for recovered reception of said second carrier, said either of said searches being carried out when said telephone call transmission/reception means and said call information reception means have lost reception of said first and second carriers, respectively, in spite of the fact that both said telephone call transmission/reception means and said call information reception means are in an “

on”

state as governed by said telephone call transmission/reception on-off means and said call information reception on-off means, respectively.

23. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 22, wherein said control means comprises means for limiting said search in which said telephone call transmission/reception means is prompted to check for recovered reception of said first carrier.

24. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 15, further comprising control means for controlling said telephone call transmission/reception means and/or said call information reception means based on the operating state of said telephone call transmission/reception means and the operating state of said call information reception means,

said control means comprising means for setting said call information reception means to an “

on”

state regardless of the current state of said call information reception means is set to an “

off”

state, when said call information reception means provided that said telephone call transmission/reception means has lost reception of said first carrier in spite of the fact that said telephone call transmission/reception means is set to an “

on”

state by said telephone call transmission/reception on-off means in response to a predetermined signal.

25. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 24, wherein said predetermined signal is an externally generated jamming signal.

26. The mobile transmitter/receiver of claim 24 or 25, wherein the control means comprises means for limiting said search in which said telephone call transmission/reception means is prompted to check for recovered reception of said first carrier when said telephone call transmission/reception means has lost reception of said first carrier due to said predetermined signal.

27. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of any one of claims 12 to 26, wherein said telephone call transmission/reception means comprises means for, when said telephone call transmission/reception means is capable of reception of said first carrier, transmitting status information to the transmission/reception management apparatus.

28. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of any one of claims 12 to 27, further comprising electronic key means that allow the transmitter/receiver apparatus to adopt the capabilities of an electronic vehicular key.

29. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of any one of claims 12 to 28, further comprising information output means for outputting at least a portion of said second call origination information received by said call information reception means using speech/sounds, characters, and/or images.

30. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

identification information storage means for storing at least one piece of identification information identifying each of one or more communication terminals; and

identification information determination means for determining whether said received first/second call origination information includes a piece of identification information stored by said identification information storage means,

said information output means comprising means for outputting at least a portion of said first/second call origination information if said determination by said identification information determination means is affirmative.

31. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 30, further comprising identification information change-addition-deletion means for changing, adding to, and deleting identification information stored by said identification information storage means.

32. The mobile transmitter/receiver apparatus of claim 29,

wherein said call information reception means comprises means capable of receiving a radio broadcasting station carrier and/or a television broadcasting station carrier, and

wherein said information output means comprises means for outputting the radio and/or television broadcast broadcast via said radio and/or television broadcasting station carrier.

34. The communication management apparatus of claim 31, wherein said predetermined carrier is a broadcasting station carrier or a sideband thereof.

33. A communication management apparatus that manages an exchange of audio data via a physical and/or wireless communication link between communication terminals, comprising:

call information transmission means capable of transmitting call origination information to any one of said communication terminals via a predetermined carrier; and

control means for controlling said transmission of call origination information by said call information transmission means.

35. A broadcast receiver apparatus that receives a broadcasting station carrier as used for radio or television broadcasting and that outputs the broadcast broadcast via said broadcasting station carrier using speech/sounds, characters, and/or images, comprising:

call carrier reception means capable of receiving a predetermined carrier used by a communication management apparatus that manages an exchange of audio data via a physical and/or wireless communication link between communication terminals to transmit call origination information to one or more of said communication terminals; and

call information output means for outputting the call origination information received by said call carrier reception means using speech/sounds, characters, and/or images.

36. The broadcast receiver apparatus of claim 35, wherein said predetermined carrier is a sideband of said broadcasting station carrier.

37. The broadcast receiver apparatus of claim 35 or 36, further comprising:

identification information storage means for storing at least one piece of identification information identifying each of one or more communication terminals; and

identification information determination means for determining whether said received call origination information includes a piece of identification information stored by said identification information storage means,

the call information output means comprising means for outputting at least a portion of said call origination information if said determination by said identification information determination means is affirmative.

38. The broadcast receiver apparatus of claim 37, further comprising identification information change-addition-deletion means for changing;

adding to, and deleting identification information stored by said identification information storage means.

39. The broadcast receiver apparatus of claim 37,

wherein said broadcast receiver apparatus is a radio apparatus installed in a vehicle, and

wherein said identification information storage means comprises means for storing, in respective association with said at least one piece of identification information of the communication terminals, identification information identifying each of one or more electronic keys capable of locking a door of the vehicle, unlocking the door, and starting an engine of the vehicle, wherein

said identification information determination means comprises means for determining whether said received call origination information includes a piece of identification information stored by said identification information storage means in association with the identification information of the electronic key that has been used to unlock the door and/or start the engine.

40. A method of attempting communication of call origination information to a target communication terminal employing:

a physical and/or wireless communication link suitable for exchanging audio data between communication terminals; and

/or a broadcasting station carrier as used for radio or television transmission/reception, wherein;

the decision whether said communication is to be attempted via said communication link, said broadcasting station carrier, or both depends on a caller'"'"'s preference, the preference of a target communication terminal user, the ability to establish said communication link, and/or the success of attempted communication of said call origination information to said target communication terminal via said communication link.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein if the success of attempted communication of said call origination information to said target communication terminal via said communication link cannot be confirmed, communication of said call origination information to said target communication terminal is attempted via said broadcasting station carrier.

42. The calling method of claim 40, wherein if attempted communication via said broadcasting station carrier has been requested by a user of said target communication terminal, communication is attempted via said communication link and said broadcasting station carrier.

43. The calling method of claim 40, wherein if attempted communication via said broadcasting station carrier has been requested by a caller, communication is attempted via said communication link and said broadcasting station carrier.