Process and equipment for broadcasting messages to mobile radio communication stations

• US 5,878,033 A
• Filed: 12/06/1996
• Issued: 03/02/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Nortel Matra Cellular
• Inventors: Mouly, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOM, SHICK C
• Application Number:
  US08/714,108
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/312, 370/330, 370/335, 370/336, 370/337, 370/342, 370/347, 370/349, 370/329, 370/345, 455/33.1, 455/38.3, 455/517, 455/561
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/16 Arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/33 by plural channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/13 radio data system/radio broadcast data system [RDS/RBDS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/09 Arrangements for receiving desired information automatically according to timetables
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/06 Arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/15 on receiving information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/46 for recognising users' preferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1215 for collaboration of different radio technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/40 for selective distribution or broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

The messages are broadcast successively and at regular intervals to mobile stations on a particular radio channel of the TDMA network. They comprise service messages and schedule messages respectively associated with successive schedule periods, each schedule message including information about the distribution of the service messages which will be broadcast during the associated schedule period. For each service message which will be broadcast during a schedule period, the associated schedule message includes a cue indicating whether this service message has been broadcast during the preceding schedule period. The schedule message furthermore indicates, as the case may be, the broadcasts of service messages which are repetitions of service messages already broadcast during the period. Use in particular in cellular radio telephone networks.

Claims

1. Process for transmitting messages from an infrastructure of a time division multiple access radio communication network to mobile stations, said messages being broadcast successively and at regular intervals to the mobile stations on a particular radio channel, and comprising service messages and schedule messages respectively associated with successive schedule periods, each schedule message including information about a distribution of the service messages which will be broadcast during the associated schedule period, wherein for each service message which will be broadcast during a schedule period, the associated schedule message includes a cue indicating whether said service message has been broadcast during the preceding schedule period.

2. Process according to claim 1, wherein, certain ones of at least the service messages may be broadcast several times during one schedule period, and the schedule message associated with said one schedule period includes further cues indicating, as the case may be, the broadcasts of service messages which are repetitions of service messages already broadcast during said one schedule period.

3. Process according to claim 2, wherein the schedule message includes a header comprising an indication of a number of broadcasts of messages during the associated schedule period followed by, for each of said broadcasts during the associated schedule period which relates to a service message, a bit whose value indicates whether the service message has been broadcast during the preceding schedule period, a bit whose value indicates whether the broadcast is a repetition of a service message already broadcast during said associated schedule period, and a category cue representing a type of service message, the sequence of said bits and of said category cues in the schedule message being determined from the sequence in which the broadcasts will occur during said associated schedule period.

4. Process according to claim 2, wherein, when the schedule message includes one of said further cues indicating that the broadcast of one of said service messages is a repetition of said one of said service messages already broadcast during the associated schedule period, it furthermore includes, in respect of said repetition, a sequence number of an earlier broadcast of said one of said service messages during said associated schedule period.

5. Process according to claim 4, wherein the schedule message includes a header comprising an indication of the number of broadcasts of messages during the associated schedule period followed by, for each of said broadcasts during the associated, schedule period which relates to one of said service messages, a first bit whose value indicates whether said one of said service messages has been broadcast during the preceding schedule period, a second bit whose value indicates whether the broadcast is a repetition of said one of said service messages already broadcast during said associated schedule period, and another cue consisting either of a category cue representing a type of service message if the broadcast is not a repetition of said one of said service messages already broadcast during said associated schedule period, or otherwise of a sequence number of an earlier broadcast of said one of said service messages during said associated schedule period,

and wherein the sequence of said first and second bits, of said category cue and of said sequence number in the schedule message is determined from the sequence in which the broadcasts will occur during said associated schedule period.

6. Process according to claim 1, wherein each schedule message is divided into several blocks broadcast successively on the radio channel and being receivable independently of one another by the mobile stations, wherein the first block of the schedule message includes a header comprising an indication of the number of broadcasts of messages during the associated schedule period, and a new broadcast-indicating field comprising a succession of bits each indicating, in respect of one of the broadcasts enumerated in the header, whether said one of the broadcasts is the first broadcast, during said associated schedule period, of a service message which has not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period, and wherein the schedule message includes, after the header and the new broadcast-indicating field, information relating to the first broadcasts, during said associated schedule period, of service messages which have not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period, and then information relating to the other broadcasts to occur during said associated schedule period.

7. Process according to claim 6, wherein said information relating to the first broadcasts, during said associated schedule period, of service messages which have not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period comprises category cues representing types of service messages forming the subject of said first broadcasts.

8. Process according to claim 6, wherein the schedule message includes, after said information relating to the first broadcasts, during said associated schedule period, of service messages which have not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period, information relating to the broadcasts which are repetitions of service messages already broadcast during said associated schedule period and which have not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period, and then information relating to the broadcasts other than broadcasts of service messages which have not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period.

9. Process according to claim 8, wherein said information relating to the broadcasts which are repetitions of service messages already broadcast during said associated schedule period and which have not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period comprises, in respect of each of said broadcasts which are repetitions, at least one bit whose value indicates that the service message of said broadcast has already been broadcast during said associated schedule period, a first sequence number relating to an earlier broadcast of said service message during said associated schedule period, and a second sequence number relating to said repetition.

10. Process according to claim 1, wherein each schedule message is divided into several blocks broadcast successively on the radio channel and receivable independently of one another by the mobile stations, wherein the first block of the schedule message includes a header comprising an indication of the number of broadcasts of messages during the associated schedule period, and a new broadcast-indicating field comprising a succession of bits each indicating, in respect of one of the broadcasts enumerated in the header, whether the service message of said one of the broadcasts has already been broadcast during the preceding schedule period, and wherein the schedule message includes, after the header and the new broadcast-indicating field, information relating to the broadcasts of service messages which have not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period, and then information relating to the broadcasts other than broadcasts of service messages which have not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period.

11. Process according to claim 10, wherein said information relating to the broadcasts of service messages which have not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period comprises, in respect of each one of said broadcasts ordered in a sequence determined from the sequence in which they will occur during said associated schedule period, a bit whose value indicates whether the service message of said one of said broadcasts has already been broadcast during said associated schedule period, and another cue consisting either of a category cue representing a type of service message if the service message of said one of said broadcasts has not already been broadcast during said associated schedule period, or otherwise of a sequence number of an earlier broadcast of said service message during said associated schedule period.

12. Process according to claim 8, wherein said information relating to the broadcasts other than broadcasts of service messages which have not been broadcast during the preceding schedule period comprises, for each one of said other broadcasts relating to one of said service messages, ordered in a sequence determined from the sequence in which said other broadcasts will occur during said associated schedule period, a bit whose value indicates whether said one of said other broadcasts is a repetition of said one of said service messages already broadcast during said associated schedule period, and another cue consisting either of a category cue representing a type of service message if said one of said one of said service messages has not already been broadcast during said associated schedule period, or otherwise of the sequence number of an earlier broadcast of said one of said service messages during said associated schedule period.

13. Process for transmitting messages from an infrastructure of a time division multiple access radio communication network to mobile stations, said messages being broadcast successively and at regular intervals to the mobile stations on a particular radio channel, and comprising service messages and schedule messages respectively associated with successive schedule periods, each schedule message including information about a distribution of the service messages which will be broadcast during the associated schedule period, wherein certain ones of at least the service messages may be broadcast several times during one schedule period, and the schedule message associated with said one schedule period includes cues indicating, as the case may be, the broadcasts of service messages which are repetitions of service messages already broadcast during said one schedule period, and wherein, when the schedule message includes a cue indicating that the broadcast of one of said service messages is a repetition of said one of said service messages already broadcast during the associated schedule period, it furthermore includes, in respect of said repetition, a sequence number of an earlier broadcast of said one of said service messages during said associated schedule period.

14. Base station for a time division multiple access cellular radio communication network, comprising radio transmission and reception means for communicating with mobile stations on several radio channels, and means for forming a succession of messages broadcast at regular intervals on one of the radio channels, said messages comprising service messages and schedule messages respectively associated with successive schedule periods, each schedule message including information about a distribution of the service messages which will be broadcast during the associated schedule period, wherein for each service message which will be broadcast during a schedule period, the associated schedule message includes a cue indicating whether said service message has been broadcast during the preceding schedule period.

15. Time division multiple access mobile radio communication station comprising transmission and reception means for communicating with a base station of a cellular radio communication network broadcasting at regular intervals on a particular radio channel service messages and schedule messages respectively associated with successive schedule periods, each schedule message including information about a distribution of the service messages which will be broadcast during the associated schedule period, wherein for each service message which will be broadcast during a scheduled period, the associated schedule message includes a cue indicating whether said service message has been broadcast during the preceding schedule period, the mobile station further comprising means for receiving and interpreting said messages operating when the mobile station is not communicating, and means for analyzing schedule messages in order to interrupt the operation of the receiving and interpreting means at moments in each schedule period, which are determined on the basis of the associated schedule message, at which the base station will rebroadcast one of said service messages already broadcast during the preceding schedule period and which the mobile station has already received during the preceding schedule period or previously.

16. Base station for a time division multiple access cellular radio communication network, comprising radio transmission and reception means for communicating with mobile stations on several radio channels, and means for forming a succession of messages broadcast at regular intervals on one of the radio channels, said messages comprising service messages and schedule messages respectively associated with successive schedule periods, each schedule message including information about a distribution of the service messages which will be broadcast during the associated schedule period, wherein certain ones of at least the service messages may be broadcast several times during one schedule period, the schedule messages associated with said one schedule period includes cues indicating, as the case may be, the broadcasts of service messages which are repetitions of service messages already broadcast during said one schedule period, and wherein when the schedule message includes a cue indicating that the broadcast of one of said service messages is a repetition of said one of said service messages already broadcast during the associated schedule period, it furthermore includes, in respect of said repetition, a sequence number of an earlier broadcast of said one of said service messages during said associated period.

17. Time division multiple access mobile radio communication station comprising transmission and reception means for communicating with a base station of a cellular radio communication network broadcasting at regular intervals on a particular radio channel service messages and schedule messages respectively associated with successive schedule periods, each schedule message including information about a distribution of the service messages which will be broadcast during the associated schedule period, wherein certain ones of at least the service messages may be broadcast several times during one schedule period, the schedule messages associated with said one schedule period includes cues indicating, as the case may be, the broadcasts of service messages which are repetitions of service messages already broadcast during said one schedule period, and wherein when the schedule message includes a cue indicating that the broadcast of one of said service messages is a repetition of said one of said service messages already broadcast during the associated schedule period, it furthermore includes, in respect of said repetition, a sequence number of an earlier broadcast of said one of said service messages during said associated period,

the mobile station further comprising means for receiving and interpreting said messages operating when the mobile station is not communicating, and means for analyzing schedule messages in order to interrupt the operation of the receiving and interpreting means at moments in each schedule period, which are determined on the basis of the associated schedule message, at which the base station will rebroadcast one of said service messages already broadcast during the preceding schedule period and which the mobile station has already received during the preceding schedule period or previously.