System, method and apparatus for handling high-power notification messages

• US 6,088,589 A
• Filed: 12/11/1997
• Issued: 07/11/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Rains, Kenneth, Valentine, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WASHINGTON, ERIKA ALISE
• Application Number:
  US08/989,088
• Time in Patent Office: 943 Days
• Field of Search: 455/433, 455/415, 455/458, 455/459, 455/12.1, 455/456, 455/466, 455/412, 455/427
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18567 Arrangements for providing additional services to the basic mobile satellite telephony service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel

Abstract

A system, method and mobile station in a telecommunications system for handling communication requests in the form of call attempts and attempts to send text messages from a requesting party to the mobile station where the mobile station is unreachable via a normal-power-level page signal. After the mobile station has failed to respond to at least one normal-strength, first page signal, a subscriber database is consulted to determine if the mobile station is attached to the telecommunications system. If the mobile station is attached, an identifier associated with the requesting party is compared with the contents of a communication screening list associated with the mobile station to determine whether a second, higher-power page signal, called a High-Power Notification (HPN) page, may be sent to the mobile station. If so, the mobile station is paged through the HPN page signal, either via a terrestrially-based part of the telecommunications system or through a satellite-based part of the telecommunications system.

Claims

1. In a telecommunications system, a method for handling a mobile-terminated communication request from a requesting party, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving an incoming communication request from the requesting party, the incoming communication request being directed to a mobile station within the telecommunications system;

accessing a subscriber database for the telecommunications system to retrieve attachment information on whether the mobile station is attached to the telecommunications system;

if the mobile station is attached to the telecommunications system, sending, by the telecommunications system, a first page signal to the mobile station;

waiting, by the telecommunications system, a first predetermined time interval for the mobile station to respond to the first page signal;

if the first predetermined time interval elapses without the mobile station responding, determining if the mobile station has access to high power paging services;

if the mobile has access to high power paging services, accessing a high power screening list associated with the mobile station;

comparing an identifier associated with the requesting party to a plurality of identifiers within the high power screening list; and

if said high power screening list permits said requesting party to make a second page signal to the mobile station, sending the second page signal to the mobile station, said second page signal having a higher power level than the first page signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, after said step of sending the second page signal, the steps of:

waiting, by the telecommunications system, a second predetermined time interval for the mobile station to respond to the second page signal; and

if the second predetermined time interval elapses without the mobile station responding, setting a detached status flag within the subscriber database corresponding to the mobile station.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of:

if the detached status flag for the mobile station is set when the incoming communication request is received, forwarding the incoming communication request to a predetermined communication failure routine prior to accessing the subscriber database.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of:

if the incoming communication request is a text message, storing the text message in a message store.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the step of forwarding the incoming text message to a predetermined communication failure routine comprises re-transmitting the text message when said subscriber database indicates that the mobile station is attached to the telecommunications system.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the step of forwarding the incoming text message to a predetermined communication failure routine comprises re-transmitting the text message after a third predetermined time interval has elapsed.

7. The method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of:

if the mobile station responds to the first page signal before the first predetermined time interval has elapsed, the incoming text message is delivered to the mobile station.

8. The method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of:

if the mobile station responds to the second page signal before the second predetermined time interval has elapsed, the incoming text message is delivered to the mobile station.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, after said step of sending the second page signal, the steps of:

waiting, by the telecommunications system, a second predetermined time interval for the mobile station to respond to the second page signal; and

if the second predetermined time interval elapses without the mobile station responding, repeating said step of sending the second page signal a plurality of times over a different time interval.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

if the incoming communication request is a call, and if the mobile station responds to the first page signal before the first predetermined time interval has elapsed, establishing a connection between the requesting party and the mobile station.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

if the incoming communication request is a call, and if the mobile station responds to the second page signal before the second predetermined time interval has elapsed, establishing a connection between the requesting party and the mobile station.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

if the requesting party identifier is not included in the high power screening list, forwarding the incoming communication request to a predefined communication failure routine.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein if the incoming communication request is a call, the step of forwarding the incoming communication request to the predefined communication failure routine comprises forwarding the incoming communication request to a voice mail service associated with the mobile station.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein if the incoming communication request is a call, the step of forwarding the incoming communication request to the predefined communication failure routine comprises announcing to the requesting party that the mobile station is currently unreachable.

15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

if the identifier of the requesting party is included in the high power screening list, forwarding the incoming communication request to a pre-defined communication failure routine.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein if the incoming communication request is a call, the step of forwarding the incoming communication request to the pre-defined communication failure routine comprises forwarding the incoming communication request to a voice mail service associated with the mobile station.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein if the incoming communication request is a call, the step of forwarding the incoming communication request to the pre-defined communication failure routine comprises announcing to the requesting party that the mobile station is currently unreachable.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second page signal is a high-power notification message.

19. A telecommunications system for handling a mobile-terminated communication request from a requesting party to a mobile station, the telecommunications system, comprising:

a first mobile services switching center (MSC), the communication request from the requesting party being received by the first MSC, the first MSC routing an information request to a home location register (HLR) having a plurality of subscribers, one of the subscribers being associated with the mobile station, said HLR identifying a location within the telecommunications system for the mobile station;

a second MSC, said second MSC being identified by the HLR as the location of the mobile station within the telecommunications system;

a first paging means for paging the mobile station, the first paging means transmitting a first page signal to the mobile station;

a subscriber database, for exchanging information with the second MSC, the subscriber database comprising;

a connection status flag associated with the mobile station, said connection status flag indicating whether the mobile station is attached to the telecommunications system;

a high power screening list associated with the mobile station, an identifier associated with the requesting party being compared to each identifier within the high power screening list; and

a second paging means for paging the mobile station, the second paging means transmitting a second page signal to the mobile station if the mobile station, pursuant to the value of the connection status flag, is attached to the telecommunications system, and if the requesting party identifier is permitted to reach the mobile station via the second page, pursuant to the high power screening list, said second page signal having a higher power level than the first page signal.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the first paging means comprises a base station subsystem (BSS) being associated with the second MSC.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein the second paging means comprises a BSS, and wherein, if the mobile station fails to respond to the first page signal within a first predetermined time interval, if the connection status flag associated with the mobile station indicates that the mobile station is attached to the telecommunications system, and if the requesting party identifier is permitted to reach the mobile station via the second page signal, the BSS transmits the second page signal to the mobile station.

22. The system according to claim 19, wherein the second paging means comprises a satellite base station subsystem (SBS), and wherein, if the mobile station fails to respond to the first page signal within a first predetermined time interval, if the connection status flag associated with the mobile station indicates that the mobile station is attached to the telecommunications system, and if the requesting party identifier is permitted to reach the mobile station via the second page signal, the SBS transmits the second page signal to the mobile station.

23. The system according to claim 19, further comprising:

a High-Power Notification (HPN) node for controlling the second paging means, the HPN node being associated with the second MSC.

24. The system according to claim 21, further comprising:

an intelligent network (IN) services unit, with a Service Data Point (SDP), for carrying out IN services and holding the subscriber database.

25. A mobile station in a telecommunications system for receiving incoming communication requests, the mobile station comprising:

a first paging transceiver means for receiving a first page signal and responding thereto, the first page signal being sent to the mobile station if a connection status flag in a subscriber database within the telecommunications system indicates that the mobile station is attached to the telecommunications system; and

a second paging transceiver means for receiving a second page signal and responding thereto, the second page signal having a higher power level than the first page signal, the second page signal being sent to the mobile station if the mobile station is attached to the telecommunications system and if an identifier associated with the requesting party is permitted to reach the mobile station via the second page signal, pursuant to a high power screening list, within the telecommunications system, the high power screening list being associated with the mobile station.

26. The mobile station according to claim 25, further comprising:

a measuring and control means for receiving broadcast signals transmitted from the telecommunications system, and for measuring and determining therefrom an estimate of a communication coverage at a current location of said mobile station; and

an alerting means for alerting a user of the mobile station when said measuring and control means determines that the communication coverage is insufficient for establishing communication between the telecommunications system and the mobile station.

27. The mobile station according to claim 26, wherein said page signals are transmitted from a base station subsystem.

28. The mobile station according to claim 26, wherein said page signals are transmitted from a satellite base station subsystem.