Portable telephone system

• US 5,579,370 A
• Filed: 09/08/1992
• Issued: 11/26/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Kokusai Electric Incorporated (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Yoshinobu, Kondo, Yoshihiro, Wada, Mitsuhiro, Kuwahara, Hiroshi, Nakagoshi, Arata, Watanabe, Yumiko, Ohta, Kouichi, Fukushima, Yutaka, Iwaki, Shinichi, Takemura, Tetsuo, Udaki, Hirofumi, Hashida, Mitsuyoshi, Wanami, Masao, Shimbo, Isao
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US07/941,963
• Time in Patent Office: 1,540 Days
• Field of Search: 379/56-60, 379/49, 379/16, 379/84, 379/34, 375/11, 455/33.1, 455/33.2, 455/33.4
• US Class Current: 455/440
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/25754 Star network topology
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/06 Testing, supervising or monitoring using simulated traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/04 using triggered events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

Duplicate optical fibers connect between a base station controller and a radio base station for each route. The duplicate optical fiber is connected to each of the radio base stations for each route through a star coupler. The radio base stations are arranged in each of areas so that the radio base stations for different routes are arranged adjacent to each other.

Claims

1. A portable telephone system, comprising:

a plurality of radio base stations, each installed in a respective area;

a portable telephone connected to said radio base stations through corresponding radio transmission paths;

a network service point for registering position information of said portable telephone in response to a position registration request transmitted from said portable telephone and for managing the position information of said portable telephone; and

a switching system connected to said radio base stations through said transmission paths for switching a call of said portable telephone through said radio base stations in accordance with the position information of said portable telephone managed in said network service point,

wherein said portable telephone includes means for determining whether or not said portable telephone is moving at a high rate of speed in accordance with the reception state of electromagnetic waves from said radio base stations collected for a predetermined term, and means for suppressing transmission of the position registration request to said network service point when the determining means determines that said portable telephone is moving at a high rate of speed.

2. A portable telephone system, comprising:

a switching system;

a plurality of radio base stations, each of said radio base stations respectively mounted on a public telephone booth to be installed in a respective area, and said radio base stations being connected to said switching system through transmission paths;

a portable telephone connected to said respective ones of said base stations through corresponding radio transmission paths; and

means for allocating an arbitrary number of time slots on said transmission paths to each of said radio base stations, and for remotely changing the allocation of the time slots to each of said radio base stations.

3. A portable telephone system as set forth in claim 2, wherein each of said radio base stations respectively mounted on corresponding public telephone boxes are waterproof, weather resistant and include properties so as not to interfere with radio wave transmission.

4. A portable telephone system as set forth in claim 2, wherein said radio base stations include reception-only radio base stations for transmitting messages to said portable telephone.

5. A portable telephone system as set forth in claim 4, wherein said reception-only radio base stations are disposed in high-traffic volume areas.

6. A portable telephone system, comprising:

a switching system;

a plurality of radio base stations, each of said radio base stations respectively connected to said switching system through transmission paths in respective areas;

a portable telephone connected to a corresponding one of said radio base stations by means of a part of a plurality of channels on said radio transmission paths,

wherein each of said radio base stations includes a display device for displaying a usage status of said plurality of channels so as to be indicated on the exterior of said corresponding radio base station; and

means for reserving a specific channel for subsequent use when said display device indicates that the specific channel is currently in use.

7. A portable telephone system, comprising:

a switching system;

a plurality of first radio base stations respectively connected to said switching system through transmission paths in respective radio base station areas;

a plurality of second radio base stations connected to said switching system through radio transmission paths and installed in moving bodies; and

a plurality of third radio base stations respectively installed in said moving bodies and connected to one of said plurality of second radio base stations through said radio transmission paths;

a portable telephone connected to said second radio base stations through radio transmission paths.

8. A portable system as set forth in claim 7, further comprising a conversation booth having a base station connected thereto, via said switching system through a radio transmission path, disposed in the moving bodies.

9. A portable telephone system as set forth in claim 8, wherein said conversation booth includes a display indicating an incoming call.

10. In a portable telephone system comprising a plurality of radio base stations, each of said radio base stations installed in a respective area, a portable telephone connected to said radio base stations through radio transmission paths, a network service point for registering and managing position information indicating an area to which said portable telephone belongs, and a switching system connected to said radio base stations through transmission paths for switching a call of said portable telephone through said radio base stations in accordance with the position information of said portable telephone registered and managed in said network service point, a position registration method comprising the steps of:

in said portable telephone, repeatedly receiving a reception state of electromagnetic waves from each of said radio base stations for a predetermined period of time;

determining a change in the reception state of electromagnetic waves collected for each period of time;

determining an area in which said portable telephone is positioned, when the determined change in reception state is smaller than a predetermined reference amount; and

requesting, from said network service point through a radio base station located in a corresponding area as said portable telephone, registration of position information representing the determined area, when the determined area is different from an area determined in the previous period of time.

11. In a portable telephone system comprising a plurality of radio base stations, each of said radio base stations installed in a respective area, a portable telephone connected to said radio base stations through radio transmission paths, a network service point for registering and managing position information representing an area to which said portable telephone belongs, and a switching system connected to said radio base stations through transmission paths for switching a call of said portable telephone through said radio base stations in accordance with the position information of said portable telephone registered and managed in said network service point, a position registration method comprising the steps of:

assigning each of said plurality of radio base stations to a respective area;

in said portable telephone, repeatedly receiving a reception state of electromagnetic waves from each of said radio base stations for a predetermined period of time;

determining a change in the reception state of electromagnetic waves collected from said radio base stations for each passing period of time;

determining an area in which said portable telephone is positioned, when the determined change in reception state is smaller than a predetermined reference amount;

requesting, from said network service point, through a particular one of said radio base stations at which reception sensitivity is most satisfactory according to the collected reception state of electromagnetic waves, registration of position information representing the determined area, when the determined area is different from an area determined in the previous period of time; and

in said switching system, exchanging a call made to said portable telephone to a plurality of said radio base stations which belong to the area in which the called portable telephone is positioned, in accordance with the position information of the called portable telephone registered and managed in said network service point.

12. A portable telephone system, comprising:

a switching system;

a plurality of first radio base stations respectively connected to said switching system through transmission paths in respective areas and located on public transportation vehicles;

a plurality of second radio base stations installed in said vehicle and connected to one of said plurality of first base stations through radio transmission lines; and

a portable telephone connected to said second radio base stations through radio transmission paths.

13. A portable system as set forth in claim 12, further comprising a conversation booth having a base station connected thereto, via said switching system through a radio transmission path, disposed in the moving bodies.

14. A portable telephone system as set forth in claim 13, wherein said conversation booth includes a display indicating an incoming call.

15. A portable telephone system, comprising:

a switching system;

a plurality of radio base stations, each installed in a respective area and connected to said switching system through duplicate optical fibers;

a portable telephone connected to said radio base stations through corresponding radio transmission paths;

wherein

each of said plurality of radio base stations is connected to an optical branch device which is disposed in the respective radio base station area or in the vicinity thereof to branch signals from said duplicate optical fibers which are connected to a switching system; and

means for allocating an arbitrary number of time slots on said optical fibers to each of said radio base stations and for remotely changing the allocation of the time slots to each of said radio base stations.