Communique system with noncontiguous communique coverage areas in cellular communication networks

• US 6,687,498 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2001
• Issued: 02/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Vesuvius, Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: McKenna, Daniel B., Graziano, James M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ferguson, Keith
• Application Number:
  US09/756,057
• Publication Number:
  US 20020037733A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• Field of Search: 455/445, 455/3.04, 455/422.1, 455/433, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/517, 455/403, 455/2.01, 455/3.03, 455/435, 455/446, 455/454, 455/456.1, 455/456.3, 455/3.01, 455/457, 455/550.1, 455/552, 455/503, 455/500, 455/426.1, 455/466, 340/825.22, 340/825.26, 340/825.27, 340/7.46, 340/7.48, 340/7.47
• US Class Current: 455/422.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/40 for selective distribution or broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

The communique system for cellular communication networks that operates with existing cellular communication networks to provide communique communication services to subscribers. The Communique can be unidirectional (broadcast) or bidirectional (interactive) in nature and the extent of the Communique can be network-wide broadcast or narrowcast, where cells and/or cell sectors are grouped to cover a predetermined geographic area or demographic population or subscriber interest group to transmit information to subscribers who populate the target audience for the narrowcast transmissions. The grouping of cells to form the communique coverage area for the narrowcast transmissions need not be contiguous and can comprise dynamic combinations of contiguous and non-contiguous cells as well as combinations of in-building wireless coverage areas, standard terrestrial cells, non-terrestrial cells, orchestrated in a hierarchical manner. The content of these transmissions can be multi-media in nature and comprising a combination of various forms of media: audio, video, graphics, text, data and the like. The subscriber terminal devices used to communicate with the communique system for cellular communication networks are typically full function communication devices that include: WAP enabled cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, Palm Pilots, personal computers, and the like or special communique only communication devices that are specific to communique reception; or MP3 audio players (essentially a radio receiver or communique radio); or an MPEG4 video receiver (communique TV); or other such specialized communication device.

Claims

1. A communique system for providing a communique, constituting program content concurrently delivered to a plurality of subscribers who are equipped with wireless subscriber devices, via a cellular communication network that includes a plurality of cell sites, each of which provides a plurality of wireless communication channels in a cell that covers a predetermined volume of space around a cell site transmitting antenna comprising:

processor means for selecting a plurality of cells, at least one of which fails to be contiguous with any of the remaining ones of said selected plurality of cells, to provide a communique to a plurality of subscribers; and

router means for routing data, constituting said communique, from a selected program source to cell sites associated with said selected at least one of said plurality of cells for transmission via a one of said plurality of wireless communication channels to a plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cells, in at least one of said selected cell sites said transmission to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices being effected concurrently to more than one of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices via a one of said plurality of wireless communication channels.

2. The communique system of claim 1 further comprising:

content manager means for identifying a plurality of cell sites adapted to serve said subscribers; and

content migration means for establishing communication connections from said communique system to said cell sites associated with said selected at least one of said plurality of cells.

3. The communique system of claim 2 wherein at least one of said cell sites comprises an in-building wireless communication system, said content migration means comprises:

wireline communication means for establishing a wireline communication connection from said communique system to said in-building wireless communication system to transmit data comprising said communique.

4. The communique system of claim 3 wherein said content migration means further comprises:

communique means for terminating said wireline communication connection from said communique system to said in-building wireless communication system upon completion of transmission of data comprising said communique.

5. The communique system of claim 2 wherein at least one of said cell sites comprises an in-building wireless communication system operating asynchronously with respect to others of said cell sites, said content migration means comprises:

communique generation means for asynchronously transmitting data, comprising said communiqué

, from said communique system to said in-building wireless communication system via said established communication connections.

6. The communique system of claim 2 wherein at least one of said cell sites comprises a dynamically configured wireless network operating asynchronously with respect to others of said cell sites, said content migration means comprises:

communique generation means for asynchronously transmitting data, comprising said communiqué

, from said communique system to said dynamically configured wireless network via said established communication connections.

7. The communique system of claim 2 wherein said data, comprising said communiqué

comprise bursty data transmissions, said content migration means comprises;

cellular communication means for establishing a communication connection from said communique system to said cell sites associated with said selected at least one of said plurality of cells of duration sufficient to transmit date comprising said communique.

8. The communique system of claim 7 wherein said content migration means further comprises:

control means for terminating said communication connection from said communique system to said cell sites associated with said selected at least one of said plurality of cells upon completion of transmission of data, comprising said communiqué

.

9. The communique system of claim 1 further comprising:

authorization means for enabling each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices to receive said information via said one of said plurality of wireless communication channels.

10. The communique system of claim 9 wherein said authorization means comprises:

subscriber identification means for identifying each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices via a communique address assigned to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices to enable the cell sites to recognize each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices, whose communique address constitutes an identity that is common to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices.

11. The communique system of claim 10 wherein said subscriber identification means comprises:

subscriber address means for assigning a common MIN as said communique address assigned to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices to enable the cell sites to recognize each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices, whose communique address constitutes an identity that is common to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices.

12. The communique system of claim 9 wherein said authorization means comprises:

registration means for registering at least one of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices to uniquely identify said at least one wireless subscriber device; and

channel assigning means for authorizing said at least one wireless subscriber device to receive a subscriber selected communique.

13. The communique system of claim 1 wherein said router means operates in at least one information distribution mode selected from the class of information distribution modes including:

push, pull, and combinations of push/pull information distribution modes.

14. The communique system of claim 1 wherein said processor means comprises:

coverage manager means for creating an extent of said communique in the content domain in space and time.

15. The communique system of claim 14 wherein said processor means further comprises:

program manager means for defining program segments for a plurality of communiques that are excerpted from a program stream in at least one of said plurality of cell sites.

16. The communique system of claim 15 further comprising:

content migration means for transmitting a program stream to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cell sites; and

content parsing means for transmitting program stream parsing control signals to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cell sites to define at least one communique that is excerpted from said program stream.

17. The communique system of claim 16 further comprising:

control means, located in said plurality of cell sites, for generating a plurality of subframes from said received program stream and said program stream parsing control signals for transmission to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cell sites.

18. The communique system of claim 17 further comprising:

control means, located in said plurality of cell sites, for generating program stream subframe parsing control signals to define at least one communique that is excerpted from a subframe of said program stream; and

transmitter means for transmitting said received program stream subframe and said program stream subframe parsing control signals to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cell sites.

19. The communique system of claim 15 further comprising:

content migration means for transmitting a program stream to a plurality of cell sites; and

content parsing means for transmitting program stream parsing control signals to said at least one of said plurality of cell sites to define at least one communique that is excerpted from a program stream in said at least one of said plurality of cell sites.

20. The communique system of claim 19 further comprising:

control means, located in said plurality of cell sites, for generating a plurality of communiques from said received program stream and said program stream parsing control signals; and

transmitter means for transmitting said plurality of communiques to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cell sites.

21. A method of operating a communique system for providing a communique, constituting program content concurrently delivered to a plurality of subscribers who are equipped with wireless subscriber devices, via a communication system in a cellular communication network that includes a plurality of cell sites, each of which provides a plurality of wireless communication channels in a cell that covers a predetermined volume of space around a cell site transmitting antenna, comprising:

selecting a plurality of cells, at least one of which fails to be contiguous with any of the remaining ones of said selected plurality of cells, to provide a communiqué

; and

routing data, constituting said communique, from a selected program source to cell sites associated with said selected at least one of said plurality of cells for transmission via a one of said plurality of wireless communication channels to a plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cells, in at least one of said selected cell sites said transmission to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices being effected concurrently to more than one of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices via a one of said plurality of wireless communication channels.

22. The method of operating a communique system of claim 21 further comprising:

identifying a plurality of cell sites adapted to serve said subscribers; and

establishing communication connections from said communique system to said cell sites associated with said selected at least one of said plurality of cells.

23. The method of operating a communique system of claim 22 wherein at least one of said cell sites comprises an in-building wireless communication system, said step of establishing communication connections comprises:

establishing a wireline communication connection from said communique system to said in-building wireless communication system to transmit data comprising said communique.

24. The method of operating a communique system of claim 23 wherein said step of establishing communication connections further comprises:

terminating said wireline communication connection from said communique system to said in-building wireless communication system upon completion of transmission of data comprising said communique.

25. The method of operating a communique system of claim 22 wherein at least one of said cell sites comprises an in-building wireless communication system operating asynchronously with respect to others of said cell sites, said step of establishing communication connections comprises:

asynchronously transmitting communiques, comprising said communique communication service, from said communique system to said in-building wireless communication system via said established communication connections.

26. The method of operating a communique system of claim 22 wherein at least one of said cell sites comprises a dynamically configured wireless network operating asynchronously with respect to others of said cell sites, said step of establishing communication connections comprises:

asynchronously transmitting data, comprising said communique, from said communique system to said dynamically configured wireless network via said established communication connections.

27. The method of operating a communique system of claim 22 wherein said data comprising said communique comprise bursty data transmissions, said step of establishing communication connections comprises:

establishing a communication connection from said communique system to said cell sites associated with said selected at least one of said plurality of cells of duration sufficient to transmit data comprising said communique.

28. The method of operating a communique system of claim 27 wherein said step of establishing communication connections further comprises:

terminating said communication connection from said communique system to said cell sites associated with said selected at least one of said plurality of cells upon completion of transmission of data comprising said communique.

29. The method of operating a communique system of claim 21 further comprising:

enabling each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices to receive said information via said one of said plurality of wireless communication channels.

30. The method of operating a communique system of claim 29 wherein said step of enabling comprises:

identifying each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices via a communique address assigned to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices to enable the cell sites to recognize each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices, whose communique address constitutes an identity that is common to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices.

31. The method of operating a communique system of claim 30 wherein said step of identifying comprises:

assigning a common MIN as said communique address assigned to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices to enable the cell sites to recognize each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices, whose communique address constitutes an identity that is common to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices.

32. The method of operating a communique system of claim 29 wherein said step of enabling comprises:

registering at least one of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices to uniquely identify said at least one wireless subscriber device; and

authorizing said at least one wireless subscriber device to receive a subscriber selected communique.

33. The method of operating a communique system of claim 21 wherein said step of routing operates in at least one information distribution mode selected from the class of information distribution modes including:

push, pull, and combinations of push/pull information distribution modes.

34. The method of operating a communique system of claim 21 wherein said step of selecting comprises:

creating an extent of said communique in the content domain in space and time.

35. The method of operating a communique system of claim 34 wherein said step of creating temporal and spatial extent comprises:

defining program segments for a plurality of communiques that are excerpted from a program stream in at least one of said plurality of cell sites.

36. The method of operating a communique system of claim 35 further comprising:

transmitting a program stream to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cell sites; and

transmitting program stream parsing control signals to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cell sites to define at least one communique that is excerpted from said program stream.

37. The method of operating a communique system of claim 36 further comprising:

transmitting a program stream to a plurality of cell sites; and

transmitting program stream parsing control signals to said at least one of said plurality of cell sites to define at least one communique that is excerpted from a program stream in said at least one of said plurality of cell sites.

38. The method of operating a communique system of claim 37 further comprising:

generating a plurality of communiques from said received program stream and said program stream parsing control signals; and

transmitting said plurality of communiques to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cell sites.

39. The method of operating a communique system of claim 36 further comprising:

generating a plurality of subframes from said received program stream and said program stream parsing control signals for transmission to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cell sites.

40. The method of operating a communique system of claim 39 further comprising:

generating program stream subframe parsing control signals to define at least one communique that is excerpted from a subframe of said program stream; and

transmitting said received program stream subframe and said program stream subframe parsing control signals to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said selected at least one of said plurality of cell sites.