Watch pager system and communication protocol
First Claim
1. In a communication system including a message transmission facility and a plurality of individually addressable receivers, said system utilizing a repeating time frame comprising time slots and the facility directing each message to a selected receiver by transmission thereof in one or more time slots associated with said selected receiver, each receiver comprising:
- signal receiving circuitry collecting when activated messages transmitted by said facility; and
timing circuitry activating said signal receiving circuitry during each time slot associated therewith to collect messages when directed thereto by said facility, said timing circuitry defining for said receiver a set of associated time slots, the number of associated time slots determining the frequency of said signal receiving circuitry being activated to collect messages.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Battery saving can be achieved in a selective call receiver (i.e. in a radio pager) by only periodically activating the receiver. The activation rate or time cycle of the receiver determines how often the receiver can receive messages and the amount of time between the periods when messages can be received. The present invention provides a selective call receiver which has variable cycle rates. A system includes a plurality of receivers, some of which have a first cycle rate and some of which have a second cycle rate.
50 Citations
10 Claims
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1. In a communication system including a message transmission facility and a plurality of individually addressable receivers, said system utilizing a repeating time frame comprising time slots and the facility directing each message to a selected receiver by transmission thereof in one or more time slots associated with said selected receiver, each receiver comprising:
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signal receiving circuitry collecting when activated messages transmitted by said facility; and timing circuitry activating said signal receiving circuitry during each time slot associated therewith to collect messages when directed thereto by said facility, said timing circuitry defining for said receiver a set of associated time slots, the number of associated time slots determining the frequency of said signal receiving circuitry being activated to collect messages. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A communication system comprising:
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a message collection and transmission facility receiving messages and broadcasting said messages according to a system protocol, said system protocol defining time slots of a repeating time frame, said facility broadcasting each of said messages in a selected time slot of said time frame; and a plurality of message receiving devices, each member of a first subset of said plurality of message receiving devices being associated with a first given number of said time slots, each member of a second subset of said plurality of message receiving devices being associated with a second given number of said time slots, each of said plurality of receiving devices activating signal receiving circuitry during each associated time slot to capture a message when directed thereto by said facility, said first given number being greater than said second given number whereby each of said first subset of receiving devices activates its signal receiving circuitry more often than said second subset of message receiving devices. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A communication system comprising:
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a message collection and transmission facility receiving messages and broadcasting said messages according to a system protocol, said system protocol defining a repeating time frame, said repeating time frame defining sub-frames, said sub-frames defining time slots whereby each time slot of said time frame is specified by a sub-frame identifier in combination with a time slot identifier, said facility broadcasting each of said messages in selected time slots of said time frame; and a plurality of message receiving devices, each message receiving device being associated with an address including a first address portion corresponding to a sub-frame identifier and a second address portion corresponding to a time slot identifier whereby each said receiving device is associated with a set of time slots of said time frame specified as a function of said first and second address portions, each of said receiving devices activating signal receiving circuitry during each associated time slot to capture a message when directed thereto by said facility, a first one of said receiving devices being associated with a first given number of time slots of said time frame and a second one of receiving devices being associated with a second given number of time slots of said time frame whereby said first one of said receiving devices activates its signal receiving circuitry more often and can receive messages more often than said second one of said receiving devices. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A communication system comprising:
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a message collection and transmission facility receiving messages and broadcasting said messages according to a system protocol, said system protocol defining a repeating time frame, said repeating time frame defining sub-frames, said sub-frames defining time slots whereby each time slot of said time frame is specified by a sub-frame identifier in combination with a time slot identifier, said facility broadcasting each of said messages in selected time slots of said time frame; and a plurality of message receiving devices, each message receiving device being associated with an address including a first address portion corresponding to a sub-frame identifier and a second address portion corresponding to a time slot identifier whereby each said receiving device is associated with a set of time slots of said time frame specified as a function of said first and second address portions, each of said receiving devices activating signal receiving circuitry during each associated time slot to capture a message when directed thereto by said facility, a first one of said receiving devices being associated with a first given number of time slots of said time frame and a second one of receiving devices being associated with a second given number of time slots of said time frame whereby said first one of said receiving devices activates its signal receiving circuitry more often and can receive messages more often than said second one of said receiving devices and wherein, said set of time slots associated with each receiving device is established by masking a portion of said first address portion to define a set of time slots with similar time slot identifiers but appearing in different sub-frames.
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Specification