Imminent change warning
First Claim
1. A method of notifying a user of a digital cellular telephone during digital cellular communication of an imminent digital communication disconnection, said method comprising the steps of:
- generating a condition indication representative of a digital communication condition, including generating a transmitter output power level indication, andanalyzing the condition indication to determine whether a digital communication disconnection is imminent, including determining whether the transmitter output power level indication is less than a predefined low power threshold level; and
notifying the user that a digital communication disconnection is imminent responsive to determining a digital communication disconnection is imminent.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A cellular telephone, in its most preferred embodiment, performs a method for notifying a digital cellular telephone user of an imminent communication disconnection. The preferred method includes, at least, generating at least one condition indication representative of at least one communication condition, analyzing the condition indication, determining whether a communication disconnection is imminent, enhancing quality of received communication signals when possible, and notifying the user of an imminent communication disconnection. Exemplary condition indications include, at least, continuous count and rate indications of frame checksum errors, insufficient quality frames, symbol errors, and chip errors, output power level indication, received signal strength indication, soft handoff status indication, other pilot signal indication, and current pilot signal strength indication. One exemplary analysis technique of determining when a communication disconnection is imminent includes evaluating whether any of a set of condition indications violates a predefined threshold indication, while other exemplary analysis techniques include evaluating whether fixed or historically adaptive combinations of condition indications violate run predefined thresholds, and evaluating combinations of condition indications weighted according to the degree of threshold violation. The process further uses a memory flag in a delayed redundant comparison before enabling a warning, examples of which include visual, sensory, and audible notification methods, including adding generated noise to the received audio signal. Alternate methods of the invention include notifying a user of an imminent inter-system handoff or an imminent change in communication mode.
112 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method of notifying a user of a digital cellular telephone during digital cellular communication of an imminent digital communication disconnection, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a condition indication representative of a digital communication condition, including generating a transmitter output power level indication, and analyzing the condition indication to determine whether a digital communication disconnection is imminent, including determining whether the transmitter output power level indication is less than a predefined low power threshold level; and notifying the user that a digital communication disconnection is imminent responsive to determining a digital communication disconnection is imminent.
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2. A method of notifying a user of a digital cellular telephone during digital cellular communication of an imminent digital communication disconnection, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a condition indication representative of a digital communication condition; analyzing the condition indication to determine whether a digital communication disconnection is imminent; notifying the user that a digital communication disconnection is imminent responsive to determining a digital communication disconnection is imminent; and continually repeating the generating and analyzing steps during a telephone call, wherein the generating a condition indication step includes, at least, the steps of evaluating current frame validity, including, at least, the steps of calculating a current frame checksum, and comparing the calculated frame checksum to a predefined frame checksum, generating a frame checksum error responsive to the calculated frame checksum differing from the predefined frame checksum, and generating a count of continuous frame checksum errors indication. - View Dependent Claims (3)
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4. A method of notifying a user of a digital cellular telephone during digital cellular communication of an imminent digital communication disconnection, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a condition indication representative of a digital communication condition; analyzing the condition indication to determine whether a digital communication disconnection is imminent; notifying the user that a digital communication disconnection is imminent responsive to determining a digital communication disconnection is imminent; continually repeating the generating and analyzing steps during a telephone call, wherein the generating a condition indication step includes, at least, the steps of evaluating current frame quality to determine whether the current frame is of insufficient quality, generating a current insufficient quality frame error responsive to determining the current frame is of insufficient quality, and generating a count of continuous insufficient quality frame errors indication. - View Dependent Claims (5)
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6. A method of notifying a user of a digital cellular telephone during digital cellular communication of an imminent digital communication disconnection, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a condition indication representative of a digital communication condition; analyzing the condition indication to determine whether a digital communication disconnection is imminent; notifying the user that a digital communication disconnection is imminent responsive to determining a digital communication disconnection is imminent; continually repeating the generating and analyzing steps during a telephone call, wherein the generating a condition indication step includes, at least, the steps of evaluating current symbol quality to determine whether the current symbol is of insufficient quality, generating a current insufficient quality symbol error responsive to determining the current symbol is of insufficient quality, and generating a count of continuous insufficient quality symbol errors indication. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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8. A method of notifying a user of a digital cellular telephone during digital cellular communication of an imminent digital communication disconnection, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a condition indication representative of a digital communication condition; analyzing the condition indication to determine whether a digital communication disconnection is imminent; notifying the user that a digital communication disconnection is imminent responsive to determining a digital communication disconnection is imminent; continually repeating the generating and analyzing steps during a telephone call, wherein the generating a condition indication step includes, at least, the steps of evaluating current chip quality to determine whether the current chip is of insufficient quality, generating a current insufficient quality chip error responsive to determining the current chip is of insufficient quality, and generating a count of continuous insufficient quality chip errors indication. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A method of notifying a user of a digital cellular telephone during digital cellular communication of an imminent digital communication disconnection, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a condition indication representative of a digital communication condition, including generating a transmitter output power level indication; analyzing the condition indication to determine whether a digital communication disconnection is imminent, including determining whether the transmitter output power level indication is greater than a predefined high power threshold level; and notifying the user that a digital communication disconnection is imminent responsive to determining a digital communication disconnection is imminent.
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11. A method of notifying a user of a digital cellular telephone during digital cellular communication of an imminent digital communication disconnection, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a condition indication representative of a digital communication condition; analyzing the condition indication to determine whether a digital communication disconnection is imminent; notifying the user that a digital communication disconnection is imminent responsive to determining a digital communication disconnection is imminent; and enhancing received communication signal quality responsive to determining a digital communication disconnection is imminent. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A cellular telephone apparatus comprising:
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a user interface; and a control system, coupled to said user interface, including means for controlling said user interface, means for storing programming information for directing operation of said apparatus, means for generating, at said apparatus, a first condition indication representative of a first received signal communication condition, means for generating, at said apparatus, a second condition indication representative of a second received signal communication condition, wherein the first communication condition and the second communication condition are distinct and different types of received signal communication conditions, means for analyzing both the first condition indication and the second condition indication to determine, at said apparatus, whether a communication mode change is imminent, and means for notifying a user of said apparatus that the communication mode change is imminent responsive to determining the communication mode change is imminent. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. In a communication system in which a user of a cellular telephone is notified of an imminent communication mode change, said system comprising
means for generating a first condition indication, at said cellular telephone, representative of a first communication condition during a first period; -
means for comparing, at said cellular telephone, the first condition indication to a first predefined condition threshold; means for initiating a delayed redundant comparison responsive to results of said first condition comparing means;
means for generating a second condition indication, at said cellular telephone, representative of a second communication condition during a second period;means for comparing, at said cellular telephone, the second condition indication to a second predefined condition threshold; means for analyzing, at said cellular telephone, results of said initiating means and results of said second condition comparing means to determine whether a communication mode change is imminent; and means for notifying said user that the communication mode change is imminent responsive to determining that the communication mode change is imminent. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A digital cellular telephone apparatus for communicating in a digital communication mode, said apparatus comprising:
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means for generating a condition indication representative of a digital communication condition; means for analyzing the condition indication to determine whether a digital communication disconnection is imminent; means for notifying a user of said digital cellular telephone that the digital communication disconnection is imminent responsive to determining the digital communication disconnection is imminent; and means for adaptively enhancing received communication signal quality responsive to determining the digital communication disconnection is imminent. - View Dependent Claims (38)
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Specification