Method and apparatus for providing broadcast messages in a communications network

• US 20060099979A1
• Filed: 12/07/2005
• Published: 05/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Tiedemann, Edward G. Jr., Williamson, Paul Thatcher, Collins, David Noel, Quick, Frank
• Granted Patent: US 8,315,659 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 72/121 for groups of terminals or users
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

The present invention is a novel and improved method for providing broadcast short message services (SMS) in a communication network. It is an objective of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus that insures the successful transmission of the broadcast message while minimizing the impact of providing the short messaging service on overall system capacity. It is further the objective of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for receiving broadcast messages without depriving the receiver of the benefits of slotted paging, that being the savings in power consumption.

Claims

1. An apparatus for transmitting a broadcast message over a network comprising a plurality of receivers for reception thereby, in which network data is transmitted in a plurality of paging channels during slot positions in a predetermined slot cycle, the apparatus comprising:

a broadcast message buffer (24) for buffering data defining a message to be broadcast;

a transmit controller (34) for providing a timing signal indicative of a slot position in the predetermined slot cycle;

a modulator (26) for modulating data from the broadcast message buffer into one or more of the paging channels during the slot position defined by the timing signal from the transmit controller; and

a transmitter (28) for broadcasting a paging signal indicative of the slot position and the one or more paging channels in which the message will be broadcast, and for broadcasting the modulated message data in the slot position and the one or more paging channels.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a broadcast page buffer (22) for buffering data defining the paging signal to be broadcast, and wherein the modulator (26) is arranged to modulate data from the broadcast page buffer (22) onto one or more of the paging channels during one or more slot positions defined by a signal from the transmit controller (34), whereby the paging signal is broadcast in one or more slot positions in one or more paging channels of the network.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the modulator (26) is arranged to modulate the data from the broadcast message buffer (24) onto all paging channels during the one slot position defined by the signal from the transmit controller (34), whereby a message is broadcast in one slot position in all paging channels of the network.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transmit controller (34) is arranged to provide a timing signal indicative of all slot positions, and the modulator (26) is arranged to modulate the data from the broadcast page buffer (22) onto all paging channels during all the slot positions defined by the signal from the transmit controller (34), whereby the paging signal is broadcast in all slot positions in all paging channels of the network.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transmit controller (34) is arranged to provide a timing signal indicative of one slot position, and the modulator (26) is arranged to modulate the data from the broadcast page buffer (22) onto all paging channels during the one slot position defined by the signal from the transmit controller (34), whereby the paging signal is broadcast in one slot position in all paging channels of the network.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transmit controller (34) is arranged to provide a timing signal indicative of one slot position and the modulator (26) is arranged to modulate the data from the broadcast page buffer (22) onto one paging channel during the slot position defined by the signal from the transmit controller (34) and to modulate the data from the broadcast message buffer (24) on to one paging channel during one slot position defined by the signal from the transmit controller (34), whereby the paging signal is broadcast in one slot position in one paging channel of the network and a message is broadcast in one slot position in one paging channel of the network.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the message is transmitted in the same slot position and the same paging channel as the paging signal.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus is arranged to transmit a new page indicator in each of the plurality of channels during all slot positions in the predetermined slot cycle, the new page indicator being indicative of whether or not a subsequent paging signal is to be broadcast.

9. An apparatus for receiving a broadcast message transmitted as a signal over a network comprising a plurality of such apparatus, in which network data signals are transmitted in a plurality of paging channels during slot positions in a predetermined slot cycle, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver (52) for receiving a signal transmitted in a designated slot position in a designated paging channel;

a demodulator (54) for demodulating the signal received by the receiver;

a decoder (56) for decoding the demodulated signal; and

a page receive controller (62) for providing to the receiver a message timing signal indicative of a slot position in the predetermined slot cycle, wherein the page receive controller (62) is adapted to respond to reception of a paging signal indicative of a slot position in one or more paging channels in which a data signal will be broadcast, to control the receiver to receive the broadcast message in the slot position in a paging channel indicated by the paging signal.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the page receive controller (62) is arranged to provide a page timing control signal indicative of a slot position in the predetermined slot cycle, the demodulator (54) is arranged to demodulate the received paging signal from the one or more paging channels during the slot position defined by the page timing signal from the receive controller (62), and the decoder (56) is arranged to decode the demodulated signal to obtain a broadcast page, and to provide the broadcast page to the page receive controller (62), and the receive controller (62) is arranged to provide the message timing signal depending on the broadcast page.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the page receiver controller (62) is arranged to provide the message timing signal in accordance with a pre determined set of user preferences.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the apparatus is arranged to receive a new page indicator indicative of whether or not a subsequent paging signal is to be received, and to determine from a received new page indicator not to monitor for the subsequent paging signal.

13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the paging signal defines a broadcast page, the broadcast page comprising:

a broadcast handle specifying the nature of the broadcast message;

and a delivery vector indicating how the broadcast message is to be received.

14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the broadcast handle comprises a source address identifying the sender of the broadcast message.

15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the broadcast handle comprises a function code indicating the subject matter of the broadcast message.

16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the broadcast handle comprises a sequence number identifying the version of the broadcast message to enable the receiving apparatus to avoid receiving the same broadcast message twice in the case where the broadcast message is broadcast redundantly.

17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the broadcast handle comprises a language indicator indicating the language in which the broadcast message is provided.

18. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the delivery vector comprises a frequency band sub-field specifying in which frequency subband the broadcast message will be transmitted.

19. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the delivery vector comprises a channel sub-field specifying the channel in which the broadcast message will be transmitted.

20. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the delivery vector comprises a slot subfield specifying the time slot in which the broadcast message will be provided.