Pager broadcast system

• US 6,060,996 A
• Filed: 09/17/1997
• Issued: 05/09/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CUE Network Corporation
• Original Assignee: CUE Network Corporation
• Inventors: Kaiser, Gordon E., Davis, Steven J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Howard L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): JEANGLAUDE, JEAN BRUNER
• Application Number:
  US08/931,450
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: 455/38.4, 455/38.2, 455/38.1, 455/62.1, 455/12.1, 455/13.2, 455/552, 455/126, 455/127, 455/575, 370/373, 370/314, 370/329, 370/343, 340/825.44, 340/825.47, 340/825.48, 340/825.49, 340/825.52, 342/357.07, 342/386, 342/457
• US Class Current: 340/7.28
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18576 Satellite systems for providing narrowband data service to fixed or mobile stations, e.g. using a minisatellite, a microsatellite for selecting H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/022 One-way selective calling networks, e.g. wide area paging
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Paging network distributes a paging messages through a satellite uplink and a low power satellite transceiver which receives a satellite signal and rebroadcasts it at low power to nearby pages. The pagers are adapted to detect the low power retransmissions and to switch to FM broadcast band transmissions if the low power transmission is not detected.

Claims

1. A paging network for distributing page messages, comprising:

a page server;

a satellite uplink coupled to receive pages from the page server;

a ground-based satellite transceiver adapted to receive pages broadcast from a satellite that is retransmitting the pages received from the satellite uplink;

a transmitter, within the satellite transceiver for retransmitting at least some of the pages at low power in a local area; and

a pager for receiving the pages transmitted by the transmitter when the pager is in the local area.

2. The paging network of claim 1, wherein the pager further comprises circuitry to receive pages from FM broadcast stations when the pager is outside the local area of the transmitter.

3. The paging network of claim 1, wherein the pager is assigned to a subscriber and is one of a plurality of pagers each assigned to a subscriber.

4. The paging network of claim 1, wherein the satellite transceiver includes a filter for filtering received pages to selectively retransmit pages addressed to a pager associated with that satellite transceiver.

5. The paging network of claim 1, wherein the satellite transceiver includes an uplink transmitter for transmitting messages to the satellite.

6. The paging network of claim 1, wherein a page comprises at least one of a numeric page, a voice page, an alphanumeric page:

a data block page, and a navigation page.

7. The paging network of claim 1, wherein the pager includes a receiver for receiving signals in an FM broadcast band and outside the FM broadcast band.

8. The paging network of claim 1, wherein the satellite transceiver comprises circuitry to transmit outside the FM band and the pager comprises circuitry to scan the FM band when a signal from the satellite transceiver is not received.

9. The paging network of claim 1, wherein the pager includes a scanner for scanning the FM broadcast band when outside the local area and a tuner for selecting a high bandwidth channel when the high bandwidth channel is defected and for selecting a low bandwidth channel otherwise.

10. A pager for receiving broadcasted pages, comprising:

a first detector for detecting a presence of a high capacity transmission;

a second detector for detecting a presence of a low capacity transmission, wherein said low capacity transmission comprises data transmitted at a lower bit rate than in said high capacity transmission; and

switching means for switching to the high capacity transmission when the first detector detects the high capacity transmission and for switching to the low capacity transmission when the first detector does not detect the high capacity transmission and the second detector detects the low capacity transmission.

11. The pager of claim 10, wherein the high capacity transmission is transmitted over one subcarrier of an FM broadcast signal and the low capacity transmission is transmitted over a second subcarrier of the FM broadcast signal.