Communique system for multicasting in cellular communication networks

• US 7,286,827 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2004
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: McKenna, Daniel B., Graziano, James M.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DANH C
• Application Number:
  US10/775,539
• Publication Number:
  US 20040185856A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,351 Days
• Field of Search: 455/445, 455/452.1, 455/456.3, 455/449, 370/330, 370/341
• US Class Current: 455/445
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• 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 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• 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 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 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

The communiqué system for cellular communication networks operates with existing cellular communication networks to provide communiqué communication services to subscribers. The communiqué can be unidirectional (broadcast) or bidirectional (interactive) in nature and the extent of the communiqué can be network-wide broadcast or narrowcast, where one or more 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.

Claims

1. A method of providing communiqué

communication services to subscribers, each of whom is equipped with a wireless subscriber device, 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;

identifying subscribers, whose wireless subscriber devices are active in a cell of said cellular communication network; and

routing data, constituting said communiqué

, from a selected program source to said cell for concurrent transmission to wireless subscriber devices of subscribers who are authorized to receive said communiqué and

who are served by said cell, 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 method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

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

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said step of enabling comprises:

identifying each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices via a communiqué

address assigned to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices to enable the cell site to recognize each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices, whose communiqué

address constitutes an identity that is common to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said step of identifying comprises:

assigning a common MIN as said communiqué

address assigned to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices to enable the cell site to recognize each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices, whose communiqué

address constitutes an identity that is common to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices.

5. The method of claim 2 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 communiqué

.

6. The method of claim 1 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.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of selecting comprises:

defining a set of said cells to provide a communiqué

to at least one of;

a predetermined geographic area, a demographic population, and a subscriber interest group.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said step of defining comprises:

identifying, in response to occurrence of an event, a temporal and spatial extent of said communiqué

; and

translating said identified temporal and spatial extent into said set of said cells.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said step of defining further comprises:

dynamically updating said temporal and spatial extent.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of selecting comprises:

activating said cell site to transmit said communiqué

, using the same frequency of transmission for said communiqué

as an adjacent cell site.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of selecting comprises:

creating temporal and spatial extent of narrowcast in the content domain.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said step of creating temporal and spatial extent comprises:

defining program segments for a plurality of communiqué

s that are excerpted from a program stream in said cell site.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the steps of:

transmitting a program stream to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said cell site; and

transmitting program stream parsing control signals to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said cell site to define at least one communiqué

that is excerpted from said program stream.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the steps of:

transmitting a program stream to said cell site; and

transmitting program stream parsing control signals to said cell site to define at least one communiqué

that is excerpted from a program stream in said cell site.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

generating in said cell site, a plurality of communiqué

s from said received program stream and said program stream parsing control signals; and

transmitting said plurality of communiqué

s to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said cell site.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of:

generating in said cell site, 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 cell site.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

generating in said cell site, program stream subframe parsing control signals to define at least one communiqué

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 cell site.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of selecting comprises:

receiving program content from a plurality of program sources; and

combining said received program content into a plurality of program streams which comprise a combination of various forms of media including at least one of;

audio, video, graphics, text, data.

19. A communiqué

system for providing a communiqué

, 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 identifying subscribers, whose wireless subscriber devices are active in a cell of said cellular communication network; and

router means for routing data, constituting said communiqué

, from a selected program source to said cell for concurrent transmission to wireless subscriber devices of subscribers who are authorized to receive said communiqué and

who are served by said cell, 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.

20. The communiqué

system of claim 19 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.

21. The communiqué

system of claim 20 wherein said authorization means comprises;

subscriber identification means for identifying each of said plurality of wireless subscriber devices via a communiqué

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 communiqué

address constitutes an identity that is common to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices.

22. The communiqué

system of claim 21 wherein said subscriber identification means comprises;

subscriber address means for assigning a common MIN as said communiqué

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 communiqué

address constitutes an identity that is common to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices.

23. The communiqué

system of claim 20 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 communiqué

.

24. The communiqué

system of claim 19 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.

25. The communiqué

system of claim 19 wherein said processor means comprises;

spatial temporal communiqué

manager means for defining a set of said cells to provide a communiqué

to at least one of;

a predetermined geographic area, a demographic population, and a subscriber interest group.

26. The communiqué

system of claim 25 wherein said spatial temporal communiqué

manager means comprises;

means, responsive to occurrence of an event, for identifying a temporal and spatial extent of said communiqué

; and

means for translating said identified temporal and spatial extent into said set of said cells.

27. The communiqué

system of claim 26 wherein said spatial temporal communiqué

manager means further comprises;

means for dynamically updating said temporal and spatial extent.

28. The communiqué

system of claim 19 wherein said processor means comprises;

means for activating said at least one of said plurality of cell sites to transmit a communiqué

, with each of said at least one of said plurality of cell sites using the same frequency of transmission for said communiqué

.

29. The communiqué

system of claim 19 wherein said processor means comprises;

program database means for creating a temporal and spatial extent narrowcast in the content domain.

30. The communiqué

system of claim 29 wherein said program database means comprises;

database data means for defining program segments for a plurality of communiqué

s that are excerpted from a program stream in said cell-site.

31. The communiqué

system of claim 30 further comprising;

network interface means for transmitting a program stream to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said cell site; and

control signal means for transmitting program stream parsing control signals to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said cell site to define at least one communiqué

that is excerpted from said program stream.

32. The communiqué

system of claim 30 further comprising;

network interface means for transmitting a program stream to said cell site; and

control signal means for transmitting program stream parsing control signals to said cell site to define at least one communiqué

that is excerpted from a program stream in said cell site.

33. The communiqué

system of claim 31 further comprising;

router means, located in said cell site, for generating a plurality of communiqué

s from said received program stream and said program stream parsing control signals; and

base station transceiver means for transmitting said plurality of communiqué

s to said plurality of wireless subscriber devices served by said cell site.

34. The communiqué

system of claim 32 further comprising;

router means, located in said cell site, 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 cell site.

35. The communiqué

system of claim 34 further comprising;

content parsing means, located in said cell site, for generating program stream subframe parsing control signals to define at least one communiqué

that is excerpted from a subframe of said program stream; and

base station transceiver 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 cell site.

36. The communiqué

system of claim 19 wherein said router means comprises;

interface means for receiving program content from a plurality of program sources; and

content scheduling means for combining said received program content into a plurality of program streams, each of which comprises at least one media from the class of media including;

audio, video, graphics, text, data.