Network identification information placement architecture for messaging system having roaming capability

• US 5,610,919 A
• Filed: 03/30/1995
• Issued: 03/11/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Eaton, Eric T., Laflin, Barbara D., Willard, David F.
• Primary Examiner(s): MARCELO, MELVIN C
• Application Number:
  US08/413,642
• Time in Patent Office: 712 Days
• Field of Search: 370/92, 370/94.1, 340/825.44, 455/33.1-33.4, 455/38.1-38.3
• US Class Current: 370/336
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/022 One-way selective calling networks, e.g. wide area paging

Abstract

Network roaming information (NRI), which comprises identifies a network (200) and a service area (210) within the network (200), a receiver address, is transmitted in a network (200) during a predetermined number of time slots of a signal, whereby the signal is transmitted in consecutive cycles, each cycle comprising a plurality of consecutive time slots. The placement of the NRI in the transmitted signal is made to be predicted by a receiver so that the receiver can compute an expected time slot location of a NRI to be compared with a stored NRI. The placement of the NRI is made according to an algebraic relationship between moduloN of the transmission frequency of the signal, moduloN of the order of the cycle, and moduloN of a portion of the NRI, wherein N is an integer.

Claims

1. A method for communicating messages to a plurality of addressable receivers, the method comprising steps of:

dividing a network into a plurality of service areas, each service area comprising at least one zone;

assigning to each network a network roaming identifier which comprises at least a network identifier and a service area identifier such that the network identifier is common throughout a network, the service area identifier for identifying a service area within a network;

storing in at least one receiver subscribed for receiving messages in at least one particular network a network roaming identifier associated with the at least one particular network;

generating a signal for transmission in each zone, the signal including at least one network roaming identifier corresponding to a network that includes a service area corresponding to that zone, the signal comprising a plurality of consecutive time cycles, each time cycle comprising a plurality of consecutive time slots, the network roaming identifier being located in an ordered time slot based on an algebraic relationship between a transmission frequency of the signal, an order of a time cycle, and a binary representation of at least a portion of the network roaming identifier; and

transmitting the signal in each zone.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating comprises locating all network roaming identifiers within a first predetermined number of time slots in a cycle for each transmission frequency of a signal transmitted in a zone.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a signal for transmission comprises locating the network roaming identifier in a particular one of N time slots, where N is equal to a predetermined integer representing a predetermined number of time slots, the particular one of N time slots being determined by a modulo N mathematical operation of a sum of a cycle number representing the order of the time cycle, modulo N of an integer representation of the transmission frequency of the signal and modulo N of a predetermined number of least significant bits of the binary representation of the network roaming identifier.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein N is equal to 8.

5. The method of claim 1, and comprising the steps in a receiver of determining an expected time slot of a network roaming identifier in the signal transmitted in the zone by an algebraic relationship between the transmission frequency of the signal transmitted in the zone, an order of a time cycle, and a binary representation of at least a portion of the network roaming identifier stored in the at least one receiver.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the network roaming identifier stored in the at least one receiver comprises an address associated with the at least one receiver.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of generating comprises generating at least one message associated with the address in the signal, and wherein the at least one receiver compares the at least one network roaming identifier stored therein with the network roaming identifier in the signal transmitted in the zone in order to receive messages which are associated with the address in the signal.

8. A method for communicating messages to a plurality of addressable receivers, the method comprising steps of:

dividing a coverage area into a plurality of zones;

assigning to each coverage area a coverage area identifier which comprises at least a local area identifier and a zone identifier such that the local area identifier is common throughout a coverage area, the zone identifier for identifying a zone within a coverage area;

storing in at least one receiver subscribed for receiving messages in at least one particular network a coverage area identifier associated with at least one particular coverage area;

generating a signal for transmission in each zone, the signal including at least one coverage area identifier corresponding to a zone within a coverage area, the signal comprising a plurality of consecutive time cycles, each time cycle comprising a plurality of consecutive time slots, the coverage area identifier being located in first predetermined number of time slots of the signal; and

transmitting the signal in each zone.

9. A method for communicating messages to a plurality of addressable receivers, the method comprising steps of:

dividing a network into a plurality of service areas, each service area comprising at least one coverage area, and each coverage area comprising at least one zone;

assigning to each network a network roaming identifier which comprises at least a network identifier and a service area identifier such that the network identifier is common throughout a network, the service area identifier for identifying a service area within a network;

assigning to each coverage area a coverage area identifier which comprises at least a local area identifier and a zone identifier such that the local area identifier is common throughout a coverage area, the zone identifier for identifying a zone within a coverage area;

storing in at least one receiver subscribed for receiving messages in at least one particular network a particular network roaming identifier associated with the at least one particular network;

storing in at least one receiver subscribed for receiving messages in at least one particular coverage area at least one particular coverage area identifier associated with the at least one particular coverage area;

generating a signal for transmission in each zone, the signal including at least one network roaming identifier corresponding to a network that includes a service area corresponding to that zone, and the signal including a coverage area identifier corresponding to a coverage area that includes that zone, the signal comprising a plurality of consecutive time cycles, each time cycle comprising a plurality of consecutive time slots, the network roaming identifier being located in an ordered time slot based on an algebraic relationship between a transmission frequency of the signal, an order of a time cycle, and a binary representation of at least a portion of the network roaming identifier, and the coverage area identifier being located in at least a first predetermined number of ordered time slots of each time cycle; and

transmitting the signal in each zone.

10. A method for communicating messages to a plurality of receivers, the method comprising steps of:

dividing a network into a plurality of service areas, each service area comprising at least one zone;

assigning to each network a network roaming identifier which comprises at least a network identifier and a service area identifier such that the network identifier is common throughout a network, the service area identifier for identifying a service area within a network;

generating a signal for transmission in each zone, the signal including at least one network roaming identifier corresponding to a network that includes a service area corresponding to that zone, the signal comprising a plurality of consecutive time cycles, each time cycle comprising a plurality of consecutive time slots, the network roaming identifier being located in an ordered time slot based on an algebraic relationship between a transmission frequency of the signal, an order of a time cycle, and a binary representation of at least a portion of the network roaming identifier; and

transmitting the signal in each zone.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of generating comprises locating all network roaming identifiers within a first predetermined number of time slots in a cycle for each transmission frequency of a signal transmitted in a zone.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of generating a signal for transmission comprises locating the network roaming identifier in a particular one of N time slots, where N is equal to a predetermined integer representing a predetermined number of time slots, the particular one of N time slots being determined by a modulo N mathematical operation of a sum of a cycle number representing the order of the time cycle, modulo N of an integer representation of the transmission frequency of the signal and modulo N of a predetermined number of least significant bits of the binary representation of the network roaming identifier.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein N is equal to 8.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein each service area comprises at least one coverage area, and each coverage area comprises at least one zone, the step of assigning further comprising assigning to each coverage area a coverage area identifier which comprises at least a local area identifier and a zone identifer such that the local area identifier is common throughout a coverage area, the zone identifier for identifying a zone within a coverage area;

and

the step of generating a signal for transmission further comprising locating a coverage area identifier corresponding to a zone within a coverage area in at least a first predetermined number of ordered time slots of each time cycle.

15. A selective call receiver comprising:

a receiver circuit for receiving a transmitted signal and generating output signals, the transmitted signal including a network roaming identifier and comprised of a plurality of consecutive time cycles, each time cycle comprising a plurality of consecutive time slots;

a control circuit coupled to the receiver circuit and responsive to the output signals of receiver, the control circuit comprising a memory for storing a particular network roaming identifier associated with at least one particular network in which the selective call receiver is subscribed to receive messages, the particular network roaming identifier further comprising an address associated with the selective call receiver for designating messages for the selective call receiver, a processor circuit for decoding the output signals from the receiver circuit in accordance with a control program, the processor circuit being programmed by the control program for;

determining an order of a time cycle of the transmitted signal received by the receiver circuit;

determining an expected time slot of the particular network roaming identifier in the transmitted signal by an algebraic relationship between a transmission frequency of the transmitted signal received by the receiver circuit, an order of a time cycle of the transmitted signal receive by the receiver circuit, and a binary representation of at least a portion of the particular network roaming identifier stored in memory of the control circuit; and

decoding the particular network roaming identifier in the expected time slot of the transmitted signal and recovering a message in the transmitted signal associated with the address of the selective call receiver.

16. The selective call receiver of claim 15, and further comprising a frequency synthesizer circuit coupled to the receiver circuit for changing a tuning frequency of the receiver circuit, wherein the processor is further programmed by the control program to respond to traffic splitting flags in the transmitted signal to cause the frequency synthesizer to change the tuning frequency of the receiver circuit so that the selective call receiver receives messages carried by a transmitted signal on a different transmission frequency.