Radio pager system which transmits secret coded messages from a caller to a pager terminal apparatus

• US 5,257,307 A
• Filed: 02/04/1991
• Issued: 10/26/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ise, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Jin F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Oehling, George J.
• Application Number:
  US07/650,094
• Time in Patent Office: 995 Days
• Field of Search: 379/56, 379/57, 340/825.44
• US Class Current: 340/7.31
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/227 with call or message storage means
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/229 with other provisions not elsewhere provided for

Abstract

A radio pager system and pager terminal apparatus used in the system are disclosed. A pager signal to be transmitted includes destination information and message specifying information for specifying a message to be transmitted. The pager terminal apparatus includes a receiver for receiving an incoming pager signal, a detector for detecting that the received pager signal is a signal destined for the pager terminal apparatus, an extracting circuit for extracting message specifying information from the pager signal transmitted to the pager terminal apparatus and message displaying apparatus responsive to the extracted message specifying information for displaying a message corresponding to the extracted message specifying information in a visually recognizable manner. The radio pager system includes the above pager terminal apparatus, a station for transmitting via radio a pager signal, and transmission terminal apparatus for supplying the destination information and the message information to the station. The data to be transmitted is not the body of the message but message specifying information, so that the amount of data to be transmitted is reduced and the communication is kept secret.

Claims

1. A pager terminal apparatus, comprising:

receiving means for receiving an incoming pager signal, said received pager signal including destination information representing the destination and coded message information for specifying a message for said destination;

detection means, coupled to said receiving means, for detecting if said received pager signal is a signal intended for the pager terminal apparatus and for generating a predetermined detection signal indicative thereof;

extracting means, coupled to said receiving means and responsive to said predetermined detection signal, for extracting said coded message information from said received pager signal;

message displaying means, responsive to said coded message information of said received paper signal extracted by said extracting means, for displaying said specifying message on display means in a visually recognizable manner, said message displaying means comprising

converting means, coupled to said extracting means, for converting said coded message information of said received pager signal into said specifying message in accordance with a personal message conversion table comprising plural coded message information/specifying message pairs prepared by an operator of the pager terminal apparatus and a caller;

destination information storage means for storing destination information associated with predetermined destinations of other pager terminals;

manually operable keyboard means, coupled to said destination information storage means, for generating a desired signal sequence of an outgoing pager signal;

transmission signal generating means for generating said outgoing pager signal including coded message information of said desired signal sequence generated by said keyboard means and said destination information stored in said destination information storage means; and

transmission means for transmitting said outgoing pager signal to a pager signal base station over a predetermined signal line in accordance with a predetermined protocol.

2. The pager terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined signal line includes a public telephone line.

3. The pager terminal apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said transmission means includes means for converting said outgoing pager signal into a modulated sound signal,

said modulated sound signal being supplied to a handset of a telephone connected to said public telephone line.

4. The pager terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said destination information storage means stores a plurality of said destination information.

5. The pager terminal apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising selection means, responsive to a specific signal sequence generated by said keyboard means, for selecting one of said plurality of destination information stored in said destination information storage means and for supplying said selected destination information to said transmission signal generating means.

6. The pager terminal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for supplying said coded message information designated by said desired signal sequence to said converting means,

the specified message of said outgoing pager signal being displayed by said display means.

7. A radio pager system comprising:

a station for transmitting a pager signal including destination information representing a destination and coded message information to be transmitted to said destination;

transmission terminal apparatus for supplying said destination information and said coded message information to said station; and

pager terminal apparatus for receiving said pager signal and for displaying a message based on the coded message information included in said received pager signal, when said received pager signal is destined for said pager terminal apparatus,

said coded message information being encoded in accordance with a message converting table prepared by a caller and a pager terminal subscriber, said message converting table being stored within said transmission terminal apparatus,

said pager terminal apparatus comprising

receiving means for receiving a transmitted pager signal,

detection means, coupled to said receiving means, for detecting that said received pager signal is a pager signal transmitted to said pager terminal apparatus, and for generating a predetermined detection signal based on said destination information included in said received pager signal,

extracting means, coupled to said receiving means and responsive to said predetermined detection signal, for extracting said coded message information from said received pager signal, and

message displaying means, coupled to said extracting means, including converting means for converting said coded message information into caller message information, said message displaying means displaying said caller message information in a visually recognizable manner on display means, said transmission terminal apparatus including

conversion means for converting said coded message information into said caller message information,

displaying means, coupled to said conversion means, for displaying said caller message information generated by said conversion means,

destination storage means for storing said destination information input by the caller and associated with a predetermined destination,

manually operable keyboard means, coupled to said destination information storage means, for generating a desired signal sequence upon input by the caller,

transmission signal generating mean for generating said pager signal including said coded message information designated by said desired signal sequence and said destination information stored in said destination information storage means, and

transmission means for transmitting said pager signal to said station over a predetermined signal line in accordance with a predetermined protocol.

8. The radio pager system according to claim 7, wherein said predetermined signal line comprises a public telephone line.

9. The radio pager system according to claim 8, wherein said transmission means of said transmission terminal apparatus comprises means for converting said pager signal into a modulated sound signal,

said modulated sound signal being supplied to a handset of a telephone connected to said public telephone line.

10. The radio pager system according to claim 7, wherein said destination information storage means stores a plurality of said destination information.

11. The radio pager system according to claim 10, wherein said transmission terminal apparatus further comprises:

selection means, responsive to a specific signal sequence generated by said manually operable keyboard means, for selecting one of said destination information stored in said destination information storage means and for supplying said selected destination information to said transmission signal generating means.

12. The radio pager system according to claim 7, wherein said transmission terminal apparatus further comprises:

means for supplying said coded message information designated by said desired signal sequence to said conversion means.

13. A pager system comprising:

a central station for transmitting a pager signal including destination information representing a destination and coded message information for the destination;

transmission terminal means for generating and supplying said destination and said coded message information to said central station; and

pager terminal means for receiving said pager signal and for displaying a message in accordance with said coded message information when said pager terminal means is the destination represented by said destination information of said pager signal,

said coded message information being encoded in accordance with a code conversion table prepared by a caller and a pager terminal subscriber, said code conversion table being stored within said transmission terminal means and said pager terminal means,

said transmission terminal means comprising

electronic pocketbook means having storage means for storing said code conversion table,

display means for displaying said code conversion table,

keyboard mean for accessing said code conversion table,

RAM storage means, coupled to said keyboard means, for storing said destination information and a sequence of said coded message information input by the caller,

said sequence of coded message information being displayed on said display means along with corresponding ones of said caller message information and said destination information, for inspection by the caller,

transmission buffer means, coupled to said RAM storage means, for temporarily storing said sequence of coded message information upon activation of a transmission start switch by the user of said transmission terminal means,

transmission control means, coupled to said transmission buffer means and said keyboard means, for converting said sequence of coded message information and said destination information into a transmission signal, and

speaker means, coupled to a telephone handset, for generating sound in accordance with said transmission signal, handset generating an analog electrical signal representative of said pager signal in response thereto.

14. The pager system according to claim 13, wherein said transmission signal is a dual mode frequency signal.

15. The pager system according to claim 13, wherein said transmission signal is supplied to said central station as said pager signal via a public telephone line.