Paging system

• US 9,456,322 B1
• Filed: 12/30/2015
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: C21 Patents LLC
• Original Assignee: C21 Patents LLC
• Inventors: Charugundla, Kent S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhang, Edward
• Application Number:
  US14/985,082
• Time in Patent Office: 272 Days
• Field of Search: 455/575, 455/426.1, 455/458
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• 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 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/005 Transmission of information for alerting of incoming communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/022 One-way selective calling networks, e.g. wide area paging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A paging system that allows a paging device to page a pager via a signaling channel of a communication network to which the pager is coupled. An alerting server that is part of the paging system receives a paging request from the paging device and converts the paging request to a paging message that is then transmitted over the signaling channel to the pager device. In response to the paging message, the pager device transmits a contact message indicating reception of the paging message and starts a timer for a defined time period during which the pager device is to transmit an acknowledgment message over the signaling channel to the alerting server which informs the paging device that the page has been properly received.

Claims

1. A server of a paging system, the server comprises:

a processor;

transmitter and receiver circuitry coupled to the processor where under the control of the processor a proper paging request received by the receiver circuitry is converted to a paging message comprising a telephone number of a paging device from which the paging request was received, where the processor controls the transmitter to transmit the paging message over a signaling channel of a communication network to which the server is coupled; and

an IVR system and a text processing and protocol module coupled to and controlled by the processor configured to inform a paging device, using synthesized voice generated by the IVR system or using a text message generated by the processing and protocol module, that in response to the page request an acknowledgement message was received from a pager device indicating a successful page.

2. The server of claim 1 further comprising an antenna coupled to the transmitter and receiver circuitry where said antenna is configured to communicate with a satellite communication network.

3. The server of claim 1 where the text processing and protocol module is coupled to the processor for processing incoming and outgoing text signals and formatting such signals in accordance with a protocol being followed by the signaling channel.

4. The server of claim 1 further comprising a Memory coupled to the processor, the Memory has stored therein pre-defined messages and protocols used by the server to communicate in text or voice with user devices and other communication networks.

5. The server of claim 1 where the IVR system coupled to the processor is used for communicating with a paging device during a paging request.

6. The server of claim 1 where the IVR system coupled to the processor is used to report status of a pager device to a paging device after a paging request was sent by the paging device.

7. The server of claim 1 where the IVR system coupled to the processor is used to generate synthesized voice prompts to direct entry of a code associated with a pager device.

8. A method performed by a server of a paging system, the method comprising

converting, by a processor of the server, a proper page request received from a paging device to a paging message comprising a telephone number of the paging device, where the processor of the server causes the paging message to be transmitted over a signaling channel of a communication network to which the server is coupled;

and

informing the paging device, using synthesized voice generated by an IVR system of the server or using a text message generated by a text processing and protocol module, that in response to the page request an acknowledgement message was received from a pager device indicating a successful page.

9. The method of claim 8 where the IVR system confirms the telephone number of the paging device generating the page request and confirms correct voice entry of an N-digit code for the pager device, where N is an integer equal to 2 or greater.

10. The method of claim 8 where the text processing and protocol module confirms the telephone number of the paging device generating the page request and confirms correct entry in text format of the N-digit code for the pager device, where N is an integer equal to 2 or greater.

11. The method of claim 8 where the signaling channel operates in accordance with a USSD protocol.

12. The method of claim 8 where the signaling channel operates in accordance with an SMPP protocol.