Method and apparatus for acknowledge back signaling using a radio telephone system
First Claim
1. A combination radio/telephone for receiving a selective call signal from a terminal, the combination radio/telephone comprising:
- a decoder for decoding the selective call signal to recover a message intended for reception by the combination radio/telephone, wherein messages corresponding to addresses that are not associated with the combination radio/telephone are not decoded;
determining means for determining whether an acknowledge back signal is requested for the message;
radio telephone means coupled to the determining means and the decoder for coupling to a radio telephone system; and
control means coupled to the radio telephone means for coupling the radio telephone means to the radio telephone system to communicate the acknowledge back signal via the radio telephone system to the terminal in response to the determining means determining that the message requests the acknowledge back signal, and for storing and processing the message without acknowledgment in response to the determining means determining that the message does not request the acknowledge back signal.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A combination radio/telephone transceiver (40) receives a selective call signal over a selective call channel and searches for its assigned address (415). When the assigned address (415) is found, a message (405) associated therewith is decoded and stored, and the signal is further examined to determine whether the message (405) has been flagged for acknowledgment, such as by appending a predetermined ackback flag (425) or a predetermined ack address to the address (415) assigned to the combination radio/telephone transceiver (40). When no acknowledgment is requested, i.e., when the message (405) has not been flagged for acknowledgment, the combination radio/telephone transceiver (40) does not acknowledge reception of the message (405). When the message (405) is flagged for acknowledgment, the combination radio/telephone transceiver (40) acknowledges reception of the message (405) via a telephone network rather than over the selective call channel.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A combination radio/telephone for receiving a selective call signal from a terminal, the combination radio/telephone comprising:
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a decoder for decoding the selective call signal to recover a message intended for reception by the combination radio/telephone, wherein messages corresponding to addresses that are not associated with the combination radio/telephone are not decoded; determining means for determining whether an acknowledge back signal is requested for the message; radio telephone means coupled to the determining means and the decoder for coupling to a radio telephone system; and control means coupled to the radio telephone means for coupling the radio telephone means to the radio telephone system to communicate the acknowledge back signal via the radio telephone system to the terminal in response to the determining means determining that the message requests the acknowledge back signal, and for storing and processing the message without acknowledgment in response to the determining means determining that the message does not request the acknowledge back signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A selective call receiver within a combination radio/telephone, comprising:
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a radio frequency (RF) receiver for receiving selective call signals transmitted from a terminal; a decoder coupled to the RF receiver for decoding the selective call signals to recover a message intended for reception by the selective call receiver; a message processor for determining whether the message is a flagged message requesting an acknowledge back; and a controller for coupling a telephone section of the combination radio/telephone to the terminal via a radio telephone system and for transmitting an acknowledge back signal to the terminal in response to the message processor determining that the message is a flagged message, wherein the controller stores and processes the message without acknowledgment in response to the message processor determining that the message is not a flagged message. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A messaging system for transmitting a selective call signal, comprising:
a selective call terminal for receiving a message and determining, from data entered by a message originator, whether message reception is to be acknowledged, the selective call terminal comprising; a flagger for generating an acknowledgment request flag in response to determining that message reception is to be acknowledged; and a transmitter coupled to the flagger for transmitting the message, an address associated with a combination radio/telephone, and, when message reception is to be acknowledged, the acknowledgment request flag, which is distinct from the address of the combination radio/telephone. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A method for selectively generating acknowledgment signals in a combination radio/telephone including a receiver for receiving a selective call signal and a controller for transmitting signals, the method comprising the steps of:
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decoding the selective call signal to recover a message intended for reception by the combination radio/telephone; determining whether the selective call signal further includes an acknowledgment request flag that is associated with the message and that requests acknowledgment of message reception by the combination radio/telephone; storing and processing the message without transmitting an acknowledgment signal in response to determining that no acknowledgment request flag is associated with the message; and transmitting the acknowledgment signal to indicate that the combination radio/telephone has received the message in response to determining that the acknowledgment request flag associated with the message is included in the selective call signal.
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Specification