Cell broadcasting service system and method

• US 7,415,281 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2002
• Issued: 08/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Ahn, Kye Hyuk
• Primary Examiner(s): RAMPURIA, SHARAD K
• Application Number:
  US10/188,135
• Publication Number:
  US 20030013466A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,239 Days
• Field of Search: 455/455, 455/466, 455/458, 455/412.1, 455517-518, 455502-503, 455/426.1, 455/566, 340/7.1, 340/7.2, 340/7.27, 340/7.43
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/40 for selective distribution or broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/24 between backbone network devices

Abstract

A cell broadcasting service system includes: a terminal for generating a short message service (SMS) type message and a cell broadcasting service (CBS) type message; an SMS center for transmitting a CBS type message to a CB center when receiving the CBS type message from the terminal; and a CB center for broadcasting a received message to a corresponding range area by referring to broadcast range information of the message when receiving the message from the SMS center. By assigning a CB ID to a specific subscriber group (a small circles or a local group), a general subscriber can broadcast a short message in the position of the CB entity. In addition, various get-together information and local information can be easily provided to subscribers of a group located within a broadcast range, and more efficient and substantial information can be provided at a low cost.

Claims

1. A cell broadcasting service system comprising:

a mobile communication terminal for generating a message and for inserting a cell broadcasting (CB) identification (ID) and a geographical scope information to the generated message, the terminal including a message converter for converting the generated message including the CB ID and the geographical scope information into a cell broadcast service (CBS) type message that includes the CB ID in an identifier field and the geographical scope information in a geographical scope field that is different and separate from the identifier field;

a short message service (SMS) center for transmitting the CBS type message to a CB center when receiving the CBS type message from the terminal; and

the CB center for broadcasting a received message to terminals assigned the CB ID in the geographical scope information by referring to the geographical scope field of the CBS type message when receiving the CBS type message from the SMS center, wherein the geographical scope field indicates a geographical scope to broadcast the CBS type message and that indicates a message display mode to be performed at a receiving terminal upon receiving the CBS type message.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the CB center is connected to the SMS center by an interface of a same type as an interface with a CB entity.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the terminal comprises:

a controller for generating a data burst message according to a determined processing routine after a message data is generated by a key input unit and the transmission method of the generated data is determined;

the CB message converter for converting a form of a certain message carried on the data burst message into the CBS type message; and

a radio module for processing the CBS type message so as to be wirelessly transmitted and transmitting the processed CBS type message to a base station.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the terminal registers its address in the SMS center for a CBS authentication.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographical scope includes one of a cell wide scope to broadcast to a cell area where the mobile communication terminal is located, a location area wide scope to broadcast to a cell where the mobile communication terminal is located and to a plurality of neighboring cells and a network wide scope to broadcast to an entire network.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographical scope field comprises a 2 bit field.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the message converter converts the generated message into the CBS type message if a broadcast range is selected.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the message display mode comprises one of “

immediate”

or “

normal,”

wherein “

immediate”

relates to informing a user of the receiving terminal that a message has been received and immediately displaying the message on a screen of the receiving terminal, and “

normal”

relates to informing the user of the receiving terminal that the message has been received without immediately displaying the message on the screen of the receiving terminal.

6. A cell broadcasting service method comprising:

generating a message including a cell broadcast (CB) identification (ID) and a geographical scope information at a mobile communication terminal;

converting the message in the mobile communication terminal into a cell broadcast service (CBS) type message that includes the CB ID in a first field and the geographical scope information in a second field that is separate from the first field;

transmitting the converted message from the mobile communication terminal to a CB center;

checking a broadcast range of the message transmitted to the CB center by reading the geographical scop information of the converted message, wherein the second field is a 2 bit field that indicates the broadcast range for broadcasting the CBS type message and a message display mode to be performed by a terminal upon receiving the CBS type message; and

broadcasting the converted message to terminals in a corresponding range area.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein generating the message at the mobile communication terminal includes:

inputting a message content to the mobile communication terminal;

storing the inputted message in a memory;

determining a message transfer method; and

inputting the CB ID and caller information and selecting a message broadcast range,

wherein the converting includes converting the message form stored in the memory into the CBS type if the broadcast range is selected; and

wherein the transmitting includes transmitting the converted message to a base station.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the broadcast range is classified into a cell wide to broadcast to a cell area where the mobile communication terminal is located, a location area wide to broadcast to a cell where the mobile communication terminal is located and to a plurality of neighboring cells and a network wide to broadcast to an entire network.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the terminal is assigned the CB ID.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising registering the mobile communication terminal'"'"'s address in a short message service (SMS) center for CBS authentication.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein a CB center is connected to a short message service (SMS) center by an interface of a same type as the interface with a CB entity.

17. The method of claim 6, wherein the geographical scope information comprises a geographical scope range.

19. The method of claim 6, wherein the message is converted into the CBS type message if a broadcast range is selected.

21. The method of claim 6, wherein the message display mode comprises one of “

immediate”

or “

normal,”

wherein “

immediate”

relates to informing a user of the receiving terminal that a message has been received and displaying the message on a screen of the receiving terminal that a message has been received and displaying the message on a screen of the receiving terminal, and “

normal”

relates to informing the user of the receiving terminal that the message has been received without immediately displaying the message on the screen of the receiving terminal.

12. A cell broadcasting service system comprising:

a transmitting mobile terminal configured to input a cell broadcasting service (CBS) message and to input a broadcast range that the CBS message is to be broadcasted to; and

a receiving terminal configured to receive the broadcasted CBS message and to immediately display the CBS message upon receipt of the broadcasted CBS message when the broadcast range of the CBS message indicates the CBS message is to be immediately displayed and the receiving terminal to avoid immediately displaying the CBS message when the broadcast range of the CBS message indicates the CBS message is not to be immediately displayed, wherein the broadcasting range is provided in a 2 bit field that indicates the broadcast rand of the CBS message and that indicates a display mode of the receiving terminal for displaying the received CBS message.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the receiving terminal informs a user of the receiving terminal that the CBS message has been received but does not immediately display the CBS message when the broadcast range indicates that the CBS message is to display in a normal mode.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the transmitting mobile terminal is configured to input a short message service (SMS) message and to transmit the SMS message.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

an SMS center for controlling the transmission of the SMS message;

a cell broadcast (CB) center for controlling the broadcasting of the CBS message; and

an interface connecting the SMS center and the CB center such that when the transmitting mobile terminal inputs the CBS message, the transmitting mobile terminal transmits the CBS message to the SMS center, the SMS center transmits the CBS message to the CB center via the interface, and the CB center then controls the broadcasting of the CBS message.