Method and apparatus for adapting omnidirectional synchronous wireless communications protocol to sectorial environments
First Claim
1. A method for operating a pager network that transmits to a plurality of pager receivers, wherein each pager receiver is accessible in at least one of a plurality of sectors by a selected one of a plurality of channels, wherein each said sector corresponds to one of said channels, and wherein each pager receiver is switchable between an active state and an inactive state, said method comprising the steps of:
- a) developing a schedule of transmissions addressed to various pager receivers of said plurality of pager receivers, said schedule taking account of which of said sectors can be accessed simultaneously and which cannot be accessed simultaneously due to interference; and
b) transmitting, to said plurality of sectors via all of said plurality of channels within a time interval, a simulcast message commanding each of said various pager receivers to switch to said active state in accordance with said schedule so that each of said various pager receivers is in said active state to receive its transmission and in said inactive state when there is nothing to receive.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pager protocol that permits individual pagers to operate in an inactive mode when not being addressed to save power but nonetheless also accommodates high capacity transmission schemes that require non-continuous illumination of sectors occupied by individual pagers. Capabilities of a conventional omnidirectional paging protocol such as one of the FLEX™ family may be exploited to facilitate operation in the context of non-continous illumination. A pager transmitter transmits a simulcast transmission where all pagers in all sectors receive the same message. This message includes schedule information about future transmissions to individual pagers. Pagers then plan their switching between the active and inactive states in accordance with the schedule which takes into account a timetable for illuminating sectors.
49 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for operating a pager network that transmits to a plurality of pager receivers, wherein each pager receiver is accessible in at least one of a plurality of sectors by a selected one of a plurality of channels, wherein each said sector corresponds to one of said channels, and wherein each pager receiver is switchable between an active state and an inactive state, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) developing a schedule of transmissions addressed to various pager receivers of said plurality of pager receivers, said schedule taking account of which of said sectors can be accessed simultaneously and which cannot be accessed simultaneously due to interference; and b) transmitting, to said plurality of sectors via all of said plurality of channels within a time interval, a simulcast message commanding each of said various pager receivers to switch to said active state in accordance with said schedule so that each of said various pager receivers is in said active state to receive its transmission and in said inactive state when there is nothing to receive. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for operating a pager network that transmits to a plurality of pager receivers, wherein each pager receiver is accessible in at least one of a plurality of sectors by a selected one of a plurality of channels, wherein each said sector corresponds to one of said channels, and wherein each pager receiver is switchable between an active state and an inactive state, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) developing a list of pager receivers to be addressed with individually targeted messages within a predetermined time interval, said list taking account of which of said sectors can be accessed simultaneously and which cannot be accessed simultaneously due to interference; and b) transmitting to said plurality of sectors via all of said plurality of channels near the beginning of said predetermined time interval, a message commanding each pager receiver on said list to be in an active state for the remainder of said predetermined time interval. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. In a pager network including a pager transmitter and a plurality of pager receivers, wherein each said pager receiver is accessible by said pager transmitter in at least one of a plurality of sectors, a method for operating a particular pager receiver of said plurality of pager receivers, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) activating selected components of said particular pager receiver at a scheduled simulcast transmission time; b) receiving a simulcast message from said pager transmitter at said scheduled simulcast transmission time, said simulcast message comprising a list of pager receivers to be accessed prior to a next simulcast message, based upon which of said sectors can be accessed simultaneously and which cannot be accessed simultaneously due to interference; and c) if said particular pager receiver is not on said list, deactivating said selected components until said next simulcast message. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. In a pager network including a plurality of pager receivers, wherein each pager receiver is accessible in at least one of a plurality of sectors by a pager transmitter, a method for operating a particular pager receiver of said plurality of pager receivers, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) activating selected components of said particular pager receiver at a scheduled simulcast transmission time; b) receiving a simulcast message from said pager transmitter at said scheduled transmission time, said simulcast message comprising transmission times of messages directed to individual ones of said pager receivers based upon which of said sectors can be accessed simultaneously and which cannot be accessed simultaneously due to interference; and c) de-activating said selected components of said particular pager receiver until a transmission time of a message directed to said particular pager receiver as indicated in said simulcast message. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. In a pager network including a pager transmitter and a plurality of pager receivers, wherein each said pager receiver is accessible by said pager transmitter in at least one of a plurality of sectors, a method for operating a particular pager receiver of said plurality of pager receivers, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) activating selected components of said particular pager receiver at a scheduled simulcast transmission time; b) receiving a simulcast message from said pager transmitter at said scheduled transmission time, said simulcast message giving information about future transmissions directed to specific selected ones of said plurality of pager receivers based upon which of said sectors can be accessed simultaneously and which cannot be accessed simultaneously due to interference; and c) activating and/or deactivating said selected components of said particular pager receiver in accordance with anticipated transmissions to said particular pager receiver as given in said simulcast message.
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Specification