Mobile station, mobile communication system, and program

• US 7,620,411 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2004
• Issued: 11/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Shiga, Noritake
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Nay A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wendell; Andrew
• Application Number:
  US10/895,725
• Publication Number:
  US 20050043024A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,945 Days
• Field of Search: 455/428, 455518-519
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/005 Transmission of information for alerting of incoming communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/08 Trunked mobile radio systems

Abstract

A mobile station 100 monitors, in Slotted mode, a Paging Channel Slot in a monitor cycle. The mobile station 100 includes: a user interface 53 which receives a PTT setting operation from a user for setting a PTT (Push to Talk) mode; a PTT communication control unit 51 which transmits an allocation request to the radio base station when the PTT setting operation is received; a slot cycle switching unit 52 which switches, when the PTT setting operation is received, the monitor cycle to a predetermined short cycle which is shorter than a cycle at the time of receiving the PTT setting operation; and a voice signal processing unit 40 which receives a voice packet after a PTT CALL is detected in a message transmitted from the radio base station to the mobile station, and reproduces a voice based on the voice packet.

Claims

1. A mobile station which (i) monitors, in a monitor cycle, a paging channel slot which stores a message therein and is transmitted by a radio base station in a transmission cycle, and (ii) performs a process according to the message, comprising:

a PTT setting reception unit for displaying on a display on the mobile station that the mobile station is in a normal idle mode for performing a communication with use of circuit switching for determining when a voice packet communication for the normal idle mode is available, and for receiving a PTT setting instruction for setting a PTT (Push to Talk) mode in which a voice packet communication for the PTT mode is available, the PTT mode operating, at the same time as the normal idle mode, for allowing the determination of when the voice packet communication for the normal idle mode is available while the mobile station is in the PTT mode;

a monitor cycle switching unit for switching, when the PTT setting reception unit receives the PTT setting instruction, the monitor cycle to a predetermined short cycle which is for the PTT mode, the predetermined short cycle being shorter than cycles for other modes; and

a voice reproduction unit for receiving a voice packet which is transmitted from the radio base station after a PTT CALL is detected in the message, and for reproducing a voice based on the voice packet, the PTT CALL being a request for the voice packet communication for the PTT mode.

2. The mobile station of claim 1, further comprising:

a sign-in unit operable to transmit an allocation request to the radio base station when the PTT setting reception unit receives the PTT setting operation, the allocation request being for allocating, to the mobile station, an IP address which is required for the voice packet communication.

3. The mobile station of claim 2, wherein

the sign-in unit transmits, to the radio base station, slot cycle index information when the PTT setting reception unit receives the PTT setting operation, the slot cycle index information specifying the transmission cycle.

4. The mobile station of claim 3, further comprising:

a cycle selection reception unit operable to receive a cycle selection by a user, the cycle selection specifying a cycle which is to be applied as the monitor cycle for the PTT mode, the cycle being shorter than the cycles for other modes, wherein

the slot cycle index information indicates the cycle specified by the cycle selection, and

the monitor cycle switching unit switches the monitor cycle to the cycle specified by the cycle selection when the PTT setting reception unit receives the PTT setting operation.

5. The mobile station of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmission request reception unit operable to receive, from the user, a transmission request which specifies a transmission destination and instructs the mobile station to transmit a voice packet to the transmission destination; and

a voice packet transmission unit operable to transmit a voice packet according to a voice inputted by the user.

6. The mobile station of claim 2, further comprising:

a PTT cancel reception unit operable to receive a PTT cancel operation from the user for canceling the PTT mode; and

a sign-out unit operable to transmit a release request to the radio base station when the PTT cancel reception unit receives the PTT cancel operation, the release request being for releasing the IP address allocated to the mobile station, wherein

the monitor cycle switching unit switches the monitor cycle to a predetermined long cycle which is longer than a cycle at a time of receiving the PTT cancel operation.

7. The mobile station of claim 1, wherein the monitor cycle switching unit switches the monitor cycle from the predetermined short cycle to the cycles for other modes when a battery charge of the mobile station is less than a predetermined value.

8. A mobile communication system including:

(i) a radio base station which transmits, in a transmission cycle, a paging channel slot which stores a message therein; and

(ii) a mobile station which monitors the paging channel slot in a monitor cycle and performs a process according to the message,

the mobile station comprising;

a PTT setting reception unit for displaying on a display on the mobile station that the mobile station is in a normal idle mode for performing a communication with use of circuit switching for determining when a voice packet communication for the normal idle mode is available, and for receiving a PTT setting instruction for setting a PTT (Push to Talk) mode in which a voice packet communication for the PTT mode is available, the PTT mode operating, at the same time as the normal idle mode, for allowing the determination of when the voice packet communication for the normal idle mode is available while the mobile station is in the PTT mode;

a monitor cycle switching unit for switching, when the PTT setting reception unit receives the PTT setting instruction, the monitor cycle to a predetermined short cycle which is for the PTT mode, the predetermined short cycle being shorter than cycles for other modes; and

a voice reproduction unit for receiving a voice packet which is transmitted from the radio base station after a PTT CALL is detected in the message, and for reproducing a voice based on the voice packet, the PTT CALL being a request for the voice packet communication for the PTT mode,

the radio base station comprising;

a transmission cycle switching unit for switching, when the PTT mode is applied to the mobile station, the transmission cycle to a predetermined short cycle which is for the PTT mode and shorter than the cycles for other modes; and

a PTT CALL transmission unit for transmitting, to the mobile station, the paging channel slot which stores therein a message which indicates the PTT CALL.

9. The mobile station of claim 8, wherein the monitor cycle switching unit switches the monitor cycle from the predetermined short cycle to the cycles for other modes when a battery charge of the mobile station is less than a predetermined value.

10. The mobile station of claim 9, wherein the mobile station uses CDMA.

11. The mobile station of claim 10, wherein the cycles for other modes is an even multiple of the predetermined short cycle.

12. The mobile station of claim 11, wherein the cycles for other modes is four times the predetermined short cycle.

13. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for instructing a mobile station to execute a communication process with use of a PTT (Push to Talk) mode, the mobile station (i) monitoring, in a monitor cycle, a paging channel slot which stores a message therein and is transmitted by a radio base station in a transmission cycle and (ii) performing a process according to the message, wherein

the communication process includes:

a PTT setting reception step for displaying on a display on the mobile station that the mobile station is in a normal idle mode for performing a communication with use of circuit switching for determining when a voice packet communication for the normal idle mode is available, and for receiving a PTT setting instruction for setting the PTT mode in which a voice packet communication for the PTT mode is available, the PTT mode operating, at the same time as the normal idle mode, for allowing the determination of when the voice packet communication for the normal mode is available while the mobile station is in the PTT mode;

a monitor cycle switching step for switching, when the PTT setting instruction is received, the monitor cycle to a predetermined short cycle which is for the PTT mode, the predetermined short cycle being shorter than cycles for other modes; and

a voice reproduction step for receiving a voice packet which is transmitted from the radio base station after a PTT CALL is detected in the message, and for reproducing a voice based on the voice packet, the PTT CALL being a request for the voice packet communication for the PTT mode.