Global mobile paging system

• US 6,128,487 A
• Filed: 01/07/1998
• Issued: 10/03/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Globalstar Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Globalstar Incorporated
• Inventors: Wiedeman, Robert A
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, NGUYEN THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/003,845
• Time in Patent Office: 1,000 Days
• Field of Search: 455/12.1, 455/13.1, 455/426, 455/427, 455/428, 455/430, 455/445, 455/458, 455/31.3, 455/38.1, 455/31.2, 455/510
• US Class Current: 455/426.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18556 using a location database
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18567 Arrangements for providing additional services to the basic mobile satellite telephony service
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18578 Satellite systems for providing broadband data service to individual earth stations for selecting H04W; provisions for broadband connection, H04Q11/0478

Abstract

A communications system (10) includes at least one satellite (105), at least one terrestrial gateway (103) capable of being bidirectionally coupled to the at least one satellite, at least one terrestrial paging system (109), and at least one user unit (106) capable of being wirelessly coupled to the terrestrial gateway, through the at least one satellite, or to the terrestrial paging system. The gateway includes a paging system (300) for receiving a page message for the user unit, for storing the received page message, and for selectively delivering the received page message to the user unit through the satellite system or through the terrestrial paging system. The gateway is bidirectionally coupled to the terrestrial paging system through the at least one satellite, a virtual gateway (107), and a pager interface unit (108). The pager interface unit includes a pager message and retrieval system (108a) for storing a page message until it is determined that the page message can be one of successfully delivered or not successfully delivered to the user unit via the terrestrial paging system. Stored page messages can be later recalled and delivered to the user.

Claims

1. A communications system, comprising:

a satellite system component that includes at least one satellite; and

at least one terrestrial gateway that comprises a transmitter and a receiver for being bidirectionally coupled to said at least one satellite;

said communications system further comprising at least one terrestrial paging system; and

at least one user unit for being wirelessly coupled to said at least one terrestrial gateway, through said at least one satellite, or to said at least one terrestrial paging system;

wherein

said at least one gateway comprises a paging system for receiving a page message for said at least one user unit, for storing said received page message, and for attempting to selectively deliver said received page message to said user unit through one of said at least one satellite or through said terrestrial paging system; and

further comprising at least one virtual gateway that is bidirectionally coupled to said terrestrial paging system and to said at least one gateway through said at least one satellite, said virtual gateway being responsive to an assignment of satellite system component resources from said at least one gateway through said at least one satellite for using the assigned satellite system component resources for receiving a page message for said at least one user unit, and for inputting the received page message into said terrestrial paging system.

2. A communications system as in claim 1, wherein said at least one gateway is bidirectionally coupled to said at least one terrestrial paging system through said at least one satellite, said virtual gateway, and a pager interface unit.

3. A communications system as in claim 2, wherein said pager interface unit is comprised of a pager message and retrieval system for storing a page message until it is determined that the page message can be one of successfully delivered or not successfully delivered to the user unit via the terrestrial paging system.

4. A communications system as in claim 2, wherein said pager interface unit is further comprised of means, responsive to an acknowledgement of page message delivery through said at least one terrestrial paging system, for storing an indication of the delivery of the page message and for transmitting the stored indication to said at least one gateway through said virtual gateway and said at least one satellite.

5. A communications system as in claim 1, wherein said at least one gateway selectively delivers said received page message based on a content of at least one of a Home Location Register or a Visitor Location Register.

6. A communications system as in claim 1, wherein said at least one gateway selectively delivers said stored page message using at least one retry through an originally selected page message delivery route or through an alternate page message delivery route.

7. A communications system as in claim 1, wherein said system is further comprised of means, responsive to an acknowledgement of page message delivery, for recording the delivery of the page message for billing purposes.

8. A communications system as in claim 1, wherein said system is responsive to a case where the attempted delivery of the page message is unsuccessful for, at some future time, informing a user of the user unit of the existence of the stored page message and, in response to a request from the user, retrieving and delivering the stored page message.

9. A communications system, comprising:

a satellite system component comprised of at least one satellite; and

at least one terrestrial gateway that comprises a transmitter and a receiver for being bidirectionally coupled to said at least one satellite;

said communications system further comprising at least one terrestrial paging system; and

at least one user unit for being wirelessly coupled to said at least one terrestrial paging system;

wherein

said at least one gateway comprises a paging system for receiving a page message for said at least one user unit, for storing said received page message, and for delivering said received page message to said user unit through said terrestrial paging system through said at least one satellite, a virtual gateway, and a pager interface unit; and

wherein said virtual gateway is bidirectionally coupled to said terrestrial paging system and to said at least one gateway through said at least one satellite, said virtual gateway being responsive to an assignment of satellite system component resources from said at least one gateway through said at least one satellite for using the assigned satellite system component resources for receiving a page message for said at least one user unit, and for inputting the received page message into said terrestrial paging system.

10. A communications system as in claim 9, wherein said pager interface unit is comprised of a pager message and retrieval system for storing a page message until it is determined that the page message can be one of successfully delivered or not successfully delivered to the user unit via the terrestrial paging system.

11. A communications system as in claim 9, wherein said at least one gateway selects a virtual gateway and terrestrial paging system based on a content of at least one of a Home Location Register or a Visitor Location Register.

12. A communications system as in claim 9, wherein said system is further comprised of means, responsive to an acknowledgement of page message delivery, for recording the delivery of the page message for billing purposes.

13. A communications system as in claim 9, wherein said pager interface unit is further comprised of means, responsive to an acknowledgement of page message delivery through said at least one terrestrial paging system, for storing an indication of the delivery of the page message and for transmitting the stored indication to said at least one gateway through said virtual gateway and said at least one satellite.

14. A method for delivering a page massage to a user unit, comprising the steps of:

receiving and storing a page message at a terrestrial gateway that forms, in conjunction with at least one satellite, a satellite communication system component;

determining a last known location of the user unit;

selecting, at least partially in accordance with the last known location, one of a page message satellite delivery method or a page message terrestrial paging system delivery method; and

attempting to deliver the stored page message to the user unit using the selected method, wherein if the selected method is the page message terrestrial paging system delivery method, further comprising steps of making a temporary assignment of satellite system component resources to a selected virtual gateway, and then delivering the stored page message to a terrestrial paging system via said selected virtual gateway using the assigned satellite system component resources.

15. A method as in claim 14, wherein if the attempted delivery is not successful using the selected method, further comprising the step of attempting to deliver the page message using the other method.

16. A method as in claim 14, and further comprising a step of transmitting a page message delivered acknowledgement signal to a home gateway of the user unit.

17. A method as in claim 16, wherein the page message delivered acknowledgement signal originates at the user unit.

18. A method as in claim 16, wherein the page message delivered acknowledgement signal originates at the terrestrial paging system.

19. A method as in claim 16, wherein the page message delivered acknowledgement signal originates at the gateway.

20. A method as in claim 14, and for a case where the attempted delivery of the page message is unsuccessful, further comprising steps of:

at some future time, informing a user of the user unit of the existence of the stored page message; and

in response to a request from the user, retrieving and delivering the stored page message.

21. A method as in claim 14, wherein the page message is first received at a first gateway, and is routed to a second gateway for delivery to the user unit.

22. A method as in claim 21, wherein the page message is routed at least partially through a terrestrial communications network.

23. A method as in claim 21, wherein the page message is routed at least partially through a satellite communications network.

24. A method as in claim 23, wherein the page message is temporarily stored aboard at least one satellite when being routed at least partially through the satellite communications network.

25. A method for delivering a page massage to a user unit, comprising the steps of:

receiving a page message at a first terrestrial gateway that forms, in conjunction with at least one satellite and at least one second terrestrial gateway, a satellite communication system component;

determining a last known location of the user unit;

routing the page message to the second terrestrial gateway based on the last known location and storing the page message at the second terrestrial gateway;

selecting, at the second terrestrial gateway, one of a page message satellite delivery method or a page message terrestrial paging system delivery method; and

attempting to deliver the stored page message from the second terrestrial gateway to the user unit using the selected method, wherein if the selected method is the page message terrestrial paging system delivery method, further comprising steps of making a temporary assignment of satellite system component resources to a selected virtual gateway, and then delivering the stored page message to a terrestrial paging system via said selected virtual gateway using the assigned satellite system component resources.

26. A method as in claim 25, wherein if the attempted delivery is not successful using the selected method, further comprising the step of attempting to deliver the page message using the other method.

27. A method as in claim 25, and further comprising a step of transmitting a page message delivered acknowledgement signal to the first terrestrial gateway.

28. A method as in claim 27, wherein the page message delivered acknowledgement signal originates at the user unit.

29. A method as in claim 27, wherein the page message delivered acknowledgement signal originates at the terrestrial paging system.

30. A method as in claim 27, wherein the page message delivered acknowledgement signal originates at the second terrestrial gateway.

31. A method as in claim 25, and for a case where the attempted delivery of the page message is unsuccessful, further comprising steps of:

at some future time, informing a user of the user unit of the existence of the stored page message; and

in response to a request from the user, retrieving and delivering the stored page message.

32. A method as in claim 25, wherein the step of routing occurs at least partially through a terrestrial communications network.

33. A method as in claim 25, wherein the step of routing occurs at least partially through a satellite communications network.

34. A method as in claim 33, wherein the page message is temporarily stored aboard at least one satellite when being routed at least partially through the satellite communications network.

35. A communications system, comprising:

a non-geosynchronous constellation of satellites disposed in a Walker orbital configuration;

at least one terrestrial gateway comprising at least one first RF transceiver for bidirectionally coupling said gateway to at least one satellite of said constellation of satellites, said gateway also being bidirectionally coupled to a terrestrial telecommunications system; and

a plurality of user terminals each comprising at least one second RF transceiver for being wirelessly coupled to said at least one terrestrial gateway, through said at least one satellite, or to a terrestrial paging system;

wherein

said at least one gateway comprises a paging system for receiving page messages for individual ones of said plurality of user terminals and for attempting to selectively deliver received page messages to appropriate ones of said plurality of user terminals through said constellation of satellites or through said terrestrial paging system; and

further comprising at least one virtual gateway that is bidirectionally coupled to said terrestrial paging system and also to said at least one gateway through said at least one satellite, said virtual gateway being responsive to an assignment of at least one satellite channel from said at least one gateway for using the assigned satellite channel for receiving a page message for one of said user terminals, and for forwarding the received page message to said terrestrial paging system.