Paging device having a switch actuated signal strength detector
First Claim
1. A paging device comprising:
- a radio receiver;
.decoding circuitry connected to an output of said radio receiver, said radio receiver receiving an encoded transmitted signal and supplying a demodulated signal at its output to said decoding circuitry for decoding by said decoding circuitry;
an indicator connected to said decoding circuitry, said decoding circuitry energizing said indicator to alert a user that a call has been received when a decoded demodulated signal matches a code for said paging device;
signal strength detector and monitoring means connected to said receiver for detecting and monitoring the strength of a carrier signal for said transmitted signal;
energizer means which, when connected to said signal strength detector and monitoring means, for providing an output to said indicator representing the monitored strength of said carrier signal; and
switch means on said paging device which when activated by a user, provides a temporary connection between said signal strength detector and monitoring means and said energizer means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A paging device includes a radio receiver (10-20) and decoding circuitry (22) for receiving an encoded transmitted signal and operates an indicator (26) to alert a user that a call has been received. A signal strength detector (30) monitors the strength of a carrier for a transmitted signal and provides a voltage level proportional to the carrier signal strength. A switch (33), when enabled, connects the voltage level from the detector (30) to a voltage controlled oscillator (32) which provides an output having a frequency proportional to the monitored strength of the carrier signal. The output of the variable frequency oscillator (32) is connected to the indicator (26) to provide the user with an indication of whether transmissions may be reliably received. The variable frequency oscillator may be replaced by a threshold device (35) to simplify the paging device, or the basic system may be provided with an averaging device (27) so that the user may select between instantaneous and average values of the strength of the monitored carrier signal. In an alterative embodiment, the paging device may be implemented using a microprocessor (23) controlled by a program stored in ROM (25) as the decoder. In this implementation, the microprocessor may be programmed to perform additional functions including computing the error rate of decoded messages, and if the error count exceeds a predetermined threshold, alerting the user of an unreliable radio link. A further refinement allows the user to monitor the error rate.
67 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A paging device comprising:
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a radio receiver;
.decoding circuitry connected to an output of said radio receiver, said radio receiver receiving an encoded transmitted signal and supplying a demodulated signal at its output to said decoding circuitry for decoding by said decoding circuitry; an indicator connected to said decoding circuitry, said decoding circuitry energizing said indicator to alert a user that a call has been received when a decoded demodulated signal matches a code for said paging device; signal strength detector and monitoring means connected to said receiver for detecting and monitoring the strength of a carrier signal for said transmitted signal; energizer means which, when connected to said signal strength detector and monitoring means, for providing an output to said indicator representing the monitored strength of said carrier signal; and switch means on said paging device which when activated by a user, provides a temporary connection between said signal strength detector and monitoring means and said energizer means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. In a paging device of the type including a radio receiver and a decoder for receiving an encoded transmitted signal and operative to energize an indicator to alert a user that a call has been received, said paging device being provided with a switch operable by the user, the process of alerting the user when the paging device is not reliably receiving messages comprising the steps of:
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detecting and monitoring the strength of a carrier signal for said transmitted signal; detecting if the user has actuated said switch; and when the user actuates said switch, determining if the indicator is energized and if it is energized, turning off said indicator before energizing said indicator to provide an indication of the strength of the carrier;
butif the indicator is not energized, immediately energizing said indicator to provide said indication of the strength of the carrier. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A paging device comprising:
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a radio receiver; decoding means connected to an output of said radio receiver, said radio receiver receiving an encoded transmitted signal and supplying a demodulated signal at its output to said decoding means for decoding; an indicator connected to said decoding means, said decoding means energizing said indicator to alert a user that a call has been received when a decoded demodulated signal matches a code for said paging device; signal strength detector and monitoring means connected to said receiver for detecting and monitoring the strength of a carrier signal for said transmitted signal; energizer means which, when connected to said signal strength detector and monitoring means, for providing an output to said indicator representing the monitored strength of said carrier signal; switch means operable by a user for providing a temporary connection between said signal strength detector and monitoring means and said energizer means; said decoding means including means for detecting if the user has operated said switch, and when the user operates said switch, determining if the indicator is energized and if it is energized, turning off said indicator before energizing said indicator to provide an indication of the strength of the carrier, but if the indicator is not energized, immediately energizing said indicator to provide said indication of the strength of the carrier. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification