Apparatus and method for saving battery power of a paging receiver

• US 6,215,980 B1
• Filed: 06/01/1998
• Issued: 04/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Jae-Bin
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WASHINGTON, ERIKA ALISE
• Application Number:
  US09/088,172
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: 455/38.3, 455/32.1, 455/343, 340/825.2, 340/825.52, 340/825.44, 340/825.14
• US Class Current: 455/91
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0238 where the received signal is an unwanted signal, e.g. interference or idle signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/022 Selective call receivers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An apparatus and method for saving a battery of a paging receiver. The apparatus includes a paging terminal for sequentially assigning time slots by the unit of a POCSAG code, and generating the first batch following a preamble as a header batch with respect to each POCSAG code, and the paging receiver for receiving the POCSAG code transmitted from the paging terminal to detect the header batch, and turning off a power source of a radio frequency unit when time slot information contained in the header batch does not correspond to the time slot of the paging receiver.

Claims

1. An apparatus for saving battery power of a paging receiver having a radio frequency unit, comprising:

a paging receiver having a battery saving controller connected to the radio frequency unit for controlling a supply of power to the radio frequency unit;

a paging terminal for receiving a paging message, generating a POCSAG code in accordance with said paging message and sequentially assigning a corresponding time slot for transmission of said POCSAG, said POCSAG code having preamble data, a header batch and at least one data batch following said preamble, said header batch having time slot information associated with said paging receiver, said header batch includes traffic information to indicate one of the presence and absence of said data batches in said POCSAG code, whereby said battery saving controller turns off the power source of the radio frequency unit during a next time slot from the data batch of a corresponding time slot if the time slot information of the header batch is identical to its own time slot information and the traffic information indicates that there is no data batch, whereby said paging receiver receives said POCSAG code transmitted from said paging terminal and detects said header batch, said paging receiver controlling said battery power of said radio frequency unit in accordance with said time slot information contained in said header batch.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

switching means, operatively connected to said paging terminal, for providing said paging terminal with said paging message;

a global positioning system, operatively connected to said paging terminal, for providing said paging terminal with information to determine said corresponding time slot for transmission of said POCSAG code of said paging message; and

a base station unit, operatively connected to said paging terminal, for receiving said transmitted POCSAG code of said paging message from said paging terminal and sending said POCSAG code to said paging receiver during said corresponding time slot associated with said time slot information.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said paging terminal includes a page queue for temporarily storing a paging message in a standby state to be transmitted during said corresponding time slot.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said paging receiver comprises:

a pattern detector for sequentially detecting said preamble, said header batch and data batches from said POCSAG code of said paging message transmitted from said paging terminal;

a controller having a timer, for sensing the state of a time slot repeated with constant time length in accordance with said timer, and generating a decoder hold signal when said time slot information of said detected header batch is not identical to said time slot information associated with said paging receiver; and

a decoder for generating a signal to cause said battery saving controller to cut off the power supplied to said radio frequency unit upon an input of said decoder hold signal.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, whereby said controller of said paging receiver sets a decoder hold timer when said decoder hold signal is generated, and said controller generates a decoder hold release signal so as to receive the POCSAG code of the next time slot if said setting time of said timer elapses.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said POCSAG code is transmitted in one of an even-numbered time slot and an odd numbered time slot, said POCSAG code of said even-numbered time slot having said header batch with address and message data conveyed in even frames and said POCSAG code of said odd-numbered time slots having said header batch with address and message data conveyed in odd frames.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said header batch includes one of time slot information, traffic information, hour information received from said global positioning system, a checksum value and a combination thereof.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said paging receiver determines whether said message data is effective by comparing more significant bits constituting said message data with said checksum value.

9. An apparatus for saving a battery in a paging receiver of a POCSAG type having a radio frequency unit for communicating with a paging terminal through a combined channel, said apparatus comprising:

a battery saving controller for controlling power supplied to said radio frequency unit;

an external clock for providing time information to said paging terminal;

switching means for providing said paging terminal with a paging message;

a pattern detector for sequentially detecting a preamble, a header batch having time slot data, and a data batch in a signal transmitted from said paging terminal;

a controller for determining whether said data batch is data of the POCSAG type based on said time slot data contained in said header batch, and causing said battery saving controller to turn off the power source of said radio frequency unit when said time slot data of said header batch does not correspond to data of said POCSAG type, said controller includes a timer for sensing a state of said time slot repeated with constant time length in accordance with said external clock, and said controller senses a transmission time of FLEX data according to said time slot number of the detected header batch, and generates a decoder hold signal during said transmission time and prevents said decoder hold signal during transmission time of said POCSAG data; and

a base station unit, wherein said paging terminal converts said paging message received from said switching means into one of a FLEX and POCSAG code according to a combined channel operation type, determines an accurate time slot for transmission of said paging message by using said time information received from said external clock, and transmits said FLEX or POCSAG code to said paging receiver through said base station unit during said corresponding time slot.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a decoder for generating a signal to cause said battery saving controller to cut off the power source supplied to said radio frequency unit upon an input of said decoder hold signal.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said controller sets a decoder hold timer when said decoder hold signal is generated, whereby said controller generates a decoder hold release signal so as to receive the POCSAG code of the next time slot if said setting time of said timer elapses.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said header batch includes data for determining a combined channel operation type.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said external clock for providing time information to said paging terminal is a global positioning system.

14. A method for saving a battery in a paging receiver having a decoder for decoding frame data to an original paging message, determining whether a data batch is POCSAG data based on a time slot number contained in a header batch, and means for communicating with a paging terminal through a combined channel, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) supplying a power source to a radio frequency unit, and assigning a header address for receiving the header batch and a data address for receiving the data batch to said decoder;

(b) determining whether one of the header address and the data address is detected;

(c) holding said decoder and setting a time of a decoder hold timer if only the header address is detected, said holding step further comprising the steps of;

(1) checking the header message to see if a current time slot is the last if the header address is detected;

(2) setting a time of a decoder hold reservation timer if the current time slot is the last;

(3) determining if said setting time of said decoder hold reservation timer elapses, and if one of the current time slot is not the last and the setting time of said decoder hold reservation timer does not elapse, returning to said step (b); and

(4) if the setting time of said decoder hold reservation timer elapses, turning to said step (c), and

(d) checking the time of said decoder hold timer, and if the setting time of said decoder hold timer elapses, releasing a hold state of said decoder and returning to step (b).

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising the step of, if the data address is detected and the current time slot is the last, receiving the data message from said decoder, processing and displaying the received data message, and returning to step (3).