Melodic alerts for communications device

• US 6,337,972 B1
• Filed: 12/18/1998
• Issued: 01/08/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Uniloc 2017 LLC (FIG LLC (d/b/a Fortress Investment Group LLC))
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Tracey, David R., Jones, Richard H., Hardwick, Paul Simon, Dod, Ian
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Nay
• Assistant Examiner(s): CONTEE, JOY KIMBERLY
• Application Number:
  US09/216,261
• Time in Patent Office: 1,117 Days
• Field of Search: 455/38.5, 455/38.2, 455/38.1, 455/414, 455/550, 455/575, 455/567, 340/825.44, 340/311.1, 340/825.48, 340/7.57, 340/7.62, 340/7.43, 340/7.44, 368/72, 846/09, 84/75.8, 453/401
• US Class Current: 340/7.57
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/1025 Paging receivers with audible signalling details

Abstract

A point-to-point communications device (SS) which is capable of generating melodic alerts, each alert being generated using numeric data in a received message. The device includes a controller (36) programmed with an algorithm for dividing the digits in a decoded message into one or two digit fields. One digit fields are used respectively to determine the tempo (t) and the number of times (p) a sequence of notes is played and two digit fields are used to select notes.

Claims

1. A point-to-point communications device comprising receiving means for receiving a message, control means for determining if a received message is destined for the communications device and alerting means for producing an alerting signal, the alerting signal being determined from the received message, wherein the control means divides the received message into a plurality of predesignated fields, one of which fields is used by the control means to determine tempo and other of said fields are used by the control means to determine notes, and wherein each note is represented by a double character field and in that the control means in response to ascertaining that there is an odd number of characters in the message adds a character to a predetermined single character to provide a double character field representative of a note.

2. A communications device as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the alerting signal is an audible melodic signal.

3. A communications device as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the audible melodic signal is derived from a numeric message received by the receiving means.

4. A communications device as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the control means divides the received message into a plurality of predesignated fields, one of which fields is used by the control means to determine tempo, another of which fields is used by the control means to determine the number of plays of the melodic signal and further ones of said fields are used by the control means to determine notes.

5. A method of generating a melody in a point-to-point communications device, comprising receiving and decoding a message, and generating a melody using decoded message data, wherein the decoded message is divided into a plurality of predesignated fields, one of which fields is used to determine tempo and other of said fields are used to determine notes, and wherein a note is represented by a double character field and in that in response to ascertaining that there is an odd number of characters, a predetermined character is added to a predetermined single character to provide a double character representative of a note.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, characterised by dividing the decoded message data into a plurality of predesignated fields, one of which fields is used to determine tempo, another of which fields is used to determine the number of plays of the melody signal and further ones of said fields are used to determine notes.