Method and apparatus for adjusting a communication strategy in a radio communication system using location

• US 5,831,545 A
• Filed: 08/25/1995
• Issued: 11/03/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cheraso, Gregory Paul, Murray, Bradley Arlice
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILSON JR, WILLIAM HALL
• Application Number:
  US08/519,677
• Time in Patent Office: 1,166 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.49, 340/825.44, 340/825.47, 340/825.52, 340/825.69, 340/311.1, 455/185.1, 455/426, 455/31.1, 455/31.2, 455/31.3, 455/32.1, 455/67.3, 455/69, 370/310, 370/312, 370/313, 371/5.5, 342/357
• US Class Current: 340/7.27
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18532 Arrangements for managing transmission, i.e. for transporting data or a signalling message
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18552 using a telephonic control signal and a second ranging satellite determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location G01S5/14

Abstract

An acknowledge back portable selective call radio (10) for use in a selective call signal radio system (100) and method for determining selective call radio location (200-300), wherein the selective call radio (10) comprises a transceiver (14) for receiving selective call signals and transmitting acknowledge back signals, a processor (24) for monitoring and processing received selective call signals to monitor errors in the selective call signal, a global positioning system receiver (12) activated by the processor (24) when the number of errors exceeds a predetermined threshold, wherein the global positioning system receiver (12) receives satellite transmitted signals for triangulating the position of the selective call radio (10), and wherein the geographic location determined by the processor (24) is transmitted in the acknowledge back signal to the selective call signal transceiver station (110) where a transmission strategy is selected in accordance with the location of the selective call radio (10).

Claims

1. A selective call radio that is capable of initiating a request for a re-transmission of a first selective call signal, said selective call radio comprising:

radio location determination means for determining a geographic location of said selective call radio;

a transceiver for receiving selective call signals including said first selective call signal, and for selectively transmitting the request for the re-transmission of said first selective call signal with said geographic location; and

processing means, in electrical communication with said transceiver and said radio location determination means, for processing received selective call signals and for initiating a transmission of the request for the re-transmission of said first selective call signal in response to said processing means detecting an unacceptable level of errors in said first selective call signal, and for implementing an adaptively selected communication strategy which is based on said geographic location of said selective call radio, in response to an indication which is received by said transceiver which identifies said adaptively selected communication strategy.

2. A selective call radio as recited in claim 1, wherein said indication is received at the beginning of the re-transmission of said first selective call signal.

3. A selective call radio as recited in claim 1, wherein said indication is received in an alert message transmitted in response to the request and prior to the re-transmission of said first selective call signal.

4. A selective call radio according to claim 1, wherein said radio location determination means comprises:

satellite signal receiving means, in electrical communication with said processing means, for receiving a plurality of positioning signals from orbiting satellites; and

a medium of instructions readable by said processing means for determining geographic location of said selective call radio from said positioning signals.

5. A selective call radio as recited in claim 4, wherein said processing means further comprises:

error detection means, in communication with said transceiver, for detecting errors in received selective call signals and for initiating said request for re-transmission when said unacceptable level of errors are detected.

6. A selective call radio as recited in claim 5, wherein said error detection means further comprises:

enabling means, in communication with said radio location determination means and said processing means, for activating a satellite signals receiving means to receive positioning signals.

7. A selective call radio as recited in claim 1, wherein said adaptively selected communication strategy comprises adjustments of at least one of a group of transmission parameters consisting of baud rate, frequency channel, transmit power, and interleaving levels.

8. A selective call signal control device for transmitting selective call signals to a selective call radio with improved reliability, said selective call signal control device comprising:

a transmitter for transmitting selective call signals to selective call radios using selectable transmission strategies;

a receiver for receiving selective call re-transmission requests comprising a request to re-transmit a first selective call signal, said request including a geographic location corresponding to said selective call radio;

processor means, in communication with said receiver, for processing said request received from said receiver and for determining a selected communication strategy according to said geographic location; and

an adjustable transmission means, in communication with said transmitter, for automatically activating said selected communication strategy corresponding to said geographic location, wherein said adjustable transmission means transmits to said selective call radio an indication of said selected communication strategy prior to re-transmitting said first selective call signal using said selected communication strategy.

9. A selective call signal control device according to claim 8, wherein said adjustable transmission means comprises:

comparing means, in communication with said receiver, for comparing said geographic location with pre-identified interference determinations, said adjustable transmission means automatically activating said selected communication strategy corresponding to said geographic location in response to one of said pre-identified interference determinations.

10. A selective call signal control device according to claim 9, wherein said adjustable transmission means further comprises:

selection means, in communication with said comparing means, for selecting a communication strategy corresponding to said geographic location.

11. A selective call signal control device as recited in claim 10, wherein said processing means further comprises:

transmission activating means, in communication with said transmitter, for automatically activating said selected communication strategy, said transmitter re-transmitting said identifiable selective call signal in accordance with said selected communication strategy.

12. A selective call signal control device as recited in claim 11, wherein said adjustable transmission means comprises:

a processor readable medium of instructions for deriving and selecting said transmission strategies.

13. A selective call signal control device as recited in claim 9, wherein said adjustable transmission means comprises:

interference monitoring means, in communication with said comparing means, for storing a processor readable medium of instructions including a plurality of signal interference determinations corresponding to identifiable geographic locations relative to said transmitter means.

14. A selective call signal control device as recited in claim 13, wherein said adjustable transmission means further comprises:

a preconfigured processor readable medium of instructions including a plurality of selective call signal transmission strategies directly corresponding to said identifiable geographic locations.

15. A selective call signal control device as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

memory means, in communication with said processor means and said adjustable transmission means, for storing said selective call signal request, said identifiable geographic locations, said signal interference determinations, and said plurality of selective call signal transmission strategies.

16. A selective call signal control device as recited in claim 8, wherein said indication is transmitted at the beginning of the re-transmission of said first selective call signal.

17. A selective call signal control device as recited in claim 8, wherein said indication is transmitted in an alert message transmitted prior to the re-transmission of said first selective call signal.

18. A selective call signal control device as recited in claim 8, wherein said selected communication strategy comprises adjustments of at least one of a group of transmission parameters consisting of baud rate, frequency channel, transmit power, and interleaving levels.

19. A method used in a selective call radio for requesting re-transmission of a first selective call signal from a selective call signal transmission station to the selective call radio using an adaptively selected communication strategy based on a geographic location of said selective call radio, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving the first selective call signal from said selective call transmission station;

(b) detecting an unacceptable level of errors in said first selective call signal;

(c) determining a geographic location of said selective call radio in response to step (b);

(d) transmitting a selective call signal request in response to step (b) from said selective call radio, including a request to re-transmit said first selective call signal, said request including said geographic location; and

(e) implementing said adaptively selected communication strategy in said selective call radio in response to an indication of said adaptively selected communication strategy received by said selective call radio.

20. A method as recited in claim 19, further comprising before the step of determining said geographic location, the step of:

activating a geographic location receiver in said selective call radio for receiving satellite transmitted signals and processing said satellite transmitted signals received so as to determine said geographic location.

21. A method used in a selective call signal communication system including at least one selective call radio and at least one selective call signal transceiver station, said transceiver station for transmitting selective call signals to said selective call radio and for receiving transmission requests from said selective call radio, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting a first selective call signal to said selective call radio;

(b) receiving by said transceiver station a re-transmission request from said selective call radio as a result of an unacceptable level of errors detected by said selective call radio in said first selective call signal, said re-transmission request including a geographic location of said selective call radio;

(c) selecting a new communication strategy corresponding to said geographic location so as to overcome the unacceptable level of errors in a re-transmission of said first selective call signal;

(d) transmitting to said selective call radio an indication of said selected communication strategy; and

(e) re-transmitting said first selective call signal to said selective call radio using said selected communication strategy.

22. A method as recited in claim 21, comprising after the steps of transmitting the first selective call signal, the step of:

determining the geographic location of said selective call radio; and

activating a geographic location receiver in said selective call radio for receiving satellite transmitted signals and processing said satellite transmitted signals received so as to determine said geographic location.

23. A method as recited in claim 22, further comprising after the step of determining the geographic location, the step of:

comparing said geographic location with a plurality of transmission strategies corresponding to pre-identified geographic locations so as to select said new communication strategy corresponding to said geographic location to overcome the unacceptable level of errors.

24. A selective call radio that is capable of initiating transmission of a first selective call signal, said selective call radio comprising:

radio location determination means for determining a geographic location of said selective call radio;

a transceiver for receiving selective call signals and for selectively transmitting a request for transmission of said first selective call signal; and

processing means, in electrical communication with said transceiver and said radio location determination means, for processing received selective call signals and for initiating transmission of said request in response to a prior selective call signal that indicates the first selective call signal is available at a control station and that indicates a message length of the first selective call signal, and for generating said request including said geographic location when the message length of said first selective call signal exceeds a predetermined value and for implementing an adaptively selected communication strategy which is based on said geographic location of said selective call radio.

25. A selective call radio as recited in claim 24, wherein said processing means implements said adaptively selected communication strategy in said transceiver in response to a selection of said adaptively selected communication strategy determined by a comparison of said geographic location with locations, listed in the selective call radio, having preselected communication strategies known to overcome interference.

26. A selective call radio as recited in claim 24, wherein said processing means implements said adaptively selected communication strategy in said transceiver in response to an indication of said adaptively selected communication strategy received by said transceiver.

27. A selective call radio as recited in claim 26, wherein said indication of said adaptively selected communication strategy is received at the beginning of transmission of said first selective call signal.

28. A selective call radio as recited in claim 26, wherein said indication of said adaptively selected communication strategy is received in an alert message transmitted in response to said request and prior to transmission of said first selective call signal.

29. A selective call signal control device for transmitting selective call signals to a selective call radio with improved reliability, said selective call signal control device comprising:

a transmitter for transmitting selective call signals to selective call radios, wherein the transmitter transmits a message length of a first selective call signal using a default communication strategy;

a receiver for receiving selective call transmission requests comprising a request to transmit said first selective call signal, said request including a geographic location corresponding to said selective call radio;

processor means, in communication with said receiver, for processing said request received from said receiver and for determining a selected communication strategy according to said geographic location; and

an adjustable transmission means, in communication with said transmitter, for automatically activating said selected communication strategy corresponding to said geographic location, wherein said adjustable transmission means transmits to said selective call radio an indication of said selected communication strategy prior to transmitting said first selective call signal using said selected communication strategy.

30. A selective call radio that is capable of initiating re-transmission of a first selective call signal, said selective call radio comprising:

radio location determination means for determining a geographic location of said selective call radio;

a transceiver for receiving selective call signals including said first selective call signal and for selectively transmitting a request for re-transmission of said first selective call signal, said request including said geographic location; and

processing means, in electrical communication with said transceiver and said radio location determination means, for processing received selective call signals and for initiating transmission of said request in response to said processing means detecting an unacceptable level of errors in said first selective call signal, and for implementing an adaptively selected communication strategy in said transceiver in response to a selection of said adaptively selected communication strategy determined by a comparison of said geographic location with geographic locations listed in the selective call radio having preselected communication strategies known to overcome interference.

31. A selective call radio that is capable of initiating re-transmission of a first selective call signal, said selective call radio comprising:

radio location determination means for determining a geographic location of said selective call radio;

a transceiver for receiving selective call signals including said first selective call signal and for selectively transmitting a request for re-transmission of said first selective call signal, said request including an indication of said adaptively selected communication strategy; and

processing means, in electrical communication with said transceiver and said radio location determination means, for processing received selective call signals and for initiating transmission of said request in response to said processing means detecting an unacceptable level of errors in said first selective call signal, and for implementing an adaptively selected communication strategy in said transceiver in response to a selection of said adaptively selected communication strategy determined by a comparison of said geographic location with locations listed in the selective call radio having preselected communication strategies known to overcome interference.

32. A method used in a selective call radio for requesting transmission of a first selective call signal from a selective call signal transmission station to the selective call radio using an adaptively selected communication strategy based on a geographic location of said selective call radio, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a message length of a first selective call signal from said transmission station using a default communication strategy;

(b) detecting said message length as exceeding a predetermined length;

(c) determining a geographic location of said selective call radio in response to step (b);

(d) transmitting a selective call signal request in response to step (b) from said selective call radio, including a request to transmit said first selective call signal, said request including said geographic location; and

(e) implementing said adaptively selected communication strategy which is based on said geographic location of said selective call radio.

33. The method as recited in claim 32, wherein in said step of implementing, said adaptively selected communication strategy is implemented in response to a selection of said adaptively selected communication strategy determined by a comparison of said geographic location with locations, listed in the selective call radio, having preselected communication strategies known to overcome interference.

34. The method as recited in claim 32, wherein in said step of implementing, said adaptively selected communication strategy is implemented in response to an indication of said adaptively selected communication strategy received by said transceiver.

35. A method used in a selective call radio for requesting re-transmission of a first selective call signal from a selective call signal transmission station to the selective call radio using an adaptively selected communication strategy based on a geographic location of said selective call radio, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving said first selective call signal from said transmission station;

(b) detecting an unacceptable level of errors in said first selective call signal;

(c) determining a geographic location of said selective call radio in response to step (b);

(d) transmitting a selective call signal request in response to step (b) from said selective call radio, including a request to re-transmit said first selective call signal, said request including said geographic location; and

(e) selecting said adaptively selected communication strategy by comparing said geographic location with geographic locations listed in the selective call radio having preselected communication strategies known to overcome interference; and

(f) implementing said adaptively selected communication strategy in said selective call radio in response to step (e).

36. A method used in a selective call radio for requesting re-transmission of a first selective call signal from a selective call signal transmission station to the selective call radio using an adaptively selected communication strategy based on a geographic location of said selective call radio, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving said first selective call signal from said transmission station;

(b) detecting an unacceptable level of errors in said first selective call signal;

(c) determining a geographic location of said selective call radio in response to step (b);

(d) selecting said adaptively selected communication strategy by comparing said geographic location with geographic locations listed in the selective call radio having preselected communication strategies known to overcome interference (e) transmitting a selective call signal request in response to step (b) from said selective call radio, including a request to re-transmit said first selective call signal, said request including an indication of said adaptively selected communication strategy; and

(f) implementing said adaptively selected communication strategy in said selective call radio in response to a selective call signal received from the selective call signal transmission station.