Integrated communication system
First Claim
1. A telephone system for establishing a connection between communicating devices of a first and a second user, comprising:
- a) first and second telephone devices of said first and second users, respectively, at least said first telephone device being a cellular telephone and having a radio transceiver for receiving and transmitting messages, said cellular;
telephone including at least one modem for transmitting data at both a high bit rate and a low bit rate substantially less than said high bit rate;
b) a cellular network for transmitting telephone calls between the first and second telephone devices, said cellular network having a plurality of base stations each with a coverage area for servicing cellular telephone devices located within said coverage area, said cellular network including;
i) means for providing full two-way service at said high bit rate between said telephone devices of said first and second user; and
ii) means for providing partial communication service from said user of said first cellular telephone to said second user via one of said base stations, said partial service enabling a generally long message to be transmitted from said second to said first user at said high bit rate and a limited message of a duration shorter than said long message to be transmitted from said first to said second user at said low bit rate.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A telephone or two-way digital paging communication system providing an alternative partial communication format in which an acknowledgement signal is transmitted from a telephone device in response to a received voice or data signal. The communication system is switchable between different types of communication formats including full two-way voice or data service, partial two-way service and one-way pager service. The communication system may be implemented in a cellular network in which a portable cellular telephone is adapted to transmit signals at different transmission rates so as to increase its operable range.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A telephone system for establishing a connection between communicating devices of a first and a second user, comprising:
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a) first and second telephone devices of said first and second users, respectively, at least said first telephone device being a cellular telephone and having a radio transceiver for receiving and transmitting messages, said cellular;
telephone including at least one modem for transmitting data at both a high bit rate and a low bit rate substantially less than said high bit rate;b) a cellular network for transmitting telephone calls between the first and second telephone devices, said cellular network having a plurality of base stations each with a coverage area for servicing cellular telephone devices located within said coverage area, said cellular network including; i) means for providing full two-way service at said high bit rate between said telephone devices of said first and second user; and ii) means for providing partial communication service from said user of said first cellular telephone to said second user via one of said base stations, said partial service enabling a generally long message to be transmitted from said second to said first user at said high bit rate and a limited message of a duration shorter than said long message to be transmitted from said first to said second user at said low bit rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A cellular network for establishing a connection between communicating devices of a first and second user wherein at least one of said communicating devices is a cellular telephone having at least one modem for transmitting data at both a high bit rate and a low bit rate substantially less than said high bit rate, said cellular network comprising:
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a) a plurality of microcells with each said microcell having a base station for servicing said at least one cellular telephone with full two-way communication service when said cellular telephone is located within a said microcell; and b) a plurality of macrocells with each said macrocell having a macrocell base station for providing said at least one cellular telephone with full two-way communication service at said high bit rate when said cellular telephone is located within a coverage area of one of said macrocells, and also for providing said cellular telephone with partial service when said cellular telephone is outside said coverage area, said partial service enabling a generally long message associated with the other communication device to be transmitted from said macrocell base station to said cellular telephone and a limited message of shorter duration than said long message to be transmitted from said cellular telephone to said macrocell base station, wherein said limited message is transmitted at said low bit rate. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A cellular telephone device comprising:
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a) an antenna for receiving and transmitting communication signals; b) control means connected with said antenna for processing signals related to said communication signals and for selecting between first and second transmission rates for transmitting signals from said antenna; c) transceiver means connected to said antenna and said control means for receiving and transmitting voice and data signals from and to said antenna, and transporting said voice and data communication signals between said antenna and said control means; d) a high speed modem connected to said antenna and said control means for transmitting voice and data signals at a first predetermined transmission rate from said antenna; and e) a low speed modem connected to said antenna and said control means for transmitting data signals at a second predetermined transmission rate less than said first predetermined transmission rate from said antenna. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A two-way digital messaging system for communicating messages between messaging devices of a first and a second user, comprising:
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a) messaging device of said first and second users, each said messaging device having a radio transceiver for receiving and transmitting messages with at least one of said messaging devices being a pager device; b) a two-way pager network for transmitting messages between the messaging devices of said users, said two-way pager network having a plurality of base stations each with a coverage area for servicing a said pager device located within said coverage area, said two-way pager network including; i) means for providing two-way service between said messaging devices of said first and second users, wherein said means is adapted to select a data bit transmission rate for a pager device in dependence upon a signal strength of signals transmitted between said pager device and a said base station, with lower and higher bit transmission rates being selected for lower and higher signal strength levels, respectively; ii) means for providing one-way data service from a said base station to a said pager device; and iii) means for enabling said pager device to be switchable between said two-way service and said one-way data service. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. In a wireless communications network wherein at least a first wireless or wireline communication terminal is capable of communicating voice/data with at least a second wireless terminal via at least one base station at a first bit rate when the second wireless terminal is within a predetermined coverage area of the base station, a method of communicating, comprising the steps of:
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providing, within the second wireless terminal, means for transmitting data at both high and low bit rates; receiving, by the second wireless terminal, data transmission by the base station; transmitting data by the second wireless terminal to the base station at the high bit rate in response to the data transmission by the base station; transmitting data by the second wireless terminal to the base station at the low data rate after a predetermined period of time following the high bit rate transmission by the second wireless terminal if the high bit rate transmission is not received by the base station; determining, at the base station, whether the base station has received a communication from the second wireless terminal at the high or low bit rate; establishing full two-way voice/data communication service if the communication from the second wireless terminal is received at the high bit rate; establishing partial communication service if the communication from the second wireless terminal is received at the low bit rate, wherein data is communicated from the second wireless terminal to the base station at the low bit rate, and data associated with the first communication terminal is transmitted by the base station to the second wireless terminal at the first bit rate. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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Specification