Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02196083 2000-02-04
PT01517U
1
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING ALERTS BASED
UPON CONTENT OF MESSAGES RECEIVED BY A RADIO RECEIVER
Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to radio receivers having alerts,
and more specifically to a radio receiver for generating an alert based upon
message content.
Background of the Invention
Portable radio receivers, such as pagers, are typically carried by users
for the purpose of receiving messages when away from a computer or
telephone. Generally, a portable receiver includes an alert mechanism for
generating an alert to announce reception of a message to the user. In
response to receiving the message, the receiver may then display the
message to the user automatically, or the message may be displayed in
response to manipulation of controls by the user. In some situations, the
user could be inconvenienced by having to read the message immediately
in order to determine its content. Therefore, some portable receivers
generate different alerts to announce reception of different types of
messages such that the user can determine the message type from hearing
the alert.
In many communication systems, common messages are often
transmitted to multiple portable receivers. Some communication systems,
for instance, transmit sports information to service subscribers who carry
portable receivers so that the subscribers can receive current information
about a sport or even a particular event. Using conventional paging
technology, a portable receiver carried by such a subscriber could, for
example, be alerted to the message type, e.g., "sports", of the received
message. Although the user could determine the message type from the
alert, he could not, however, determine message content from the alert.
As a result, the user would have to read each received message to
determine whether the current message was of interest to him.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus for generating
alerts based upon message content.
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Summary of the Invention
A method, in a radio receiver, for generating alerts based upon
message content comprises the steps of receiving a message comprising at
least first and second recipient identifications (IDs) and at least first and
second alert codes, determining which of the at least first and second
recipient IDs is a recipient ID associated with the radio receiver, and
selecting one of the at least first and second alert codes indicated by the
recipient ID associated with the radio receiver. An alert associated with the
one of the at least first and second alert codes is then generated.
A communication system comprises a terminal which transmits
messages and a radio receiver which receives the messages. A method for
generating alerts based on message content in the communication system
comprises the steps of the terminal transmitting a message comprising at
I5 least first and second recipient identifications (IDs) and at least first
and
second alert codes associated with the at least first and second recipient
identifications, and the radio receiver receiving the message and
determining which of the at least first and second recipient IDs is a
recipient ID associated with the radio receiver. The radio receiver selects
one of the at least first and second alert codes indicated by the recipient ID
associated with the radio receiver and generates an alert associated with
the one of the at least first and second alert codes.
A radio receiver for generating alerts based upon content of received
messages comprises a receiving circuit for receiving a message comprising
at least first and second recipient identifications (IDs) and at least first
and
second alert codes. The radio receiver further comprises an ID locator
element coupled to the receiuing circuit for monitoring the message to
determine whether an ID associated with the radio receiver is equivalent
to one of the at least first and second recipient IDs and, when the ID
associated with the radio receiver is equivalent to one of the at least first
and second recipient IDs, for determining a location of the one of the at
least first and second recipient IDs within the message. An alert code
locator element coupled to the ID locator element utilizes the location of
the one of the at least first and second recipient IDs tolook up a location
associated with one of the at least first and second alert codes, and a sound
locator element coupled to the alert code locator element utilizes the one
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of the at least first and second alert codes to look up alert information
associated therewith.
A communication system for alerting a user based upon contents of
messages transmitted to the user comprises a terminal for generating and
transmitting a message comprising at least first and second recipient
identifications (IDs) and at least first and second alert codes. A radio
receiver receives the message and determines that the first recipient ID is
equivalent to an ID associated with the radio receiver. The radio receiver
then selects one of the at least first and second alert codes based upon a
location of the first recipient ID within the message and generates an alert
associated with the one of the at least first and second alert codes.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. I is an electrical block diagram of a communication system in
accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a signal diagram of a message transmitted by a terminal
included within the communication system of FIG. 1 to a radio receiver
included within the communication system of FIG. 1 in accordance with
the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an electrical block diagram of the terminal included within
the communication system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present
invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the operation of a processing unit included
within the terminal of FIG. 3 in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an electrical block diagram of the radio receiver included
within the communication system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present
invention.
FIG. 6 is a-flowchart of the operation of a controller included within
the radio receiver of FIG. 5 in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an identification
locator element included within the radio receiver of FIG. 5 in accordance
with the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting the operation of an alert code locator
element included within the radio receiver of FIG. 5 in accordance with
the present invention.
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FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the operation of a sound locator element
included within the radio receiver of FIG. 5 in accordance with the present
invention.
Desarpdon of a Preferred Embodiment
FIG. 1 is an electrical block diagram of a communication system 100
comprising a terminal 105 for transmitting messages to a plurality of radio
receivers 110, such as portable pagers or transceivers, over the air. The
messages received by the radio receivers 110 preferably include message
information for display to the user in addition to alert codes from which a
receiver 110 can determine which of several predetermined alerts should
be generated to announce reception of the message.
According to the present invention, the radio receivers 1I0-receive.
common messages about events, such as sports events, on the same paging
address. By way of example, when the radio receivers 110 are to receive
information about baseball or football, each radio receiver 110 is associated
with a particular sports team by means of a stored recipient identification
(ID) indicative of that team. A radio receiver I10 preferably receives a
sports message and scans the message to determine whether or not its
"team ID" is included in that message to indicate that the message is of
interest to the user. It will be appreciated that, when the communication
system 100 provides information messages of other types, the receiver 110 -
would scan a received message to locate another type of unit ID. In ~ports-
specific situations, when the team ID associated with the radio receiver 110
is included in the message, the radio receiver 110 proceeds to locate an alert
code included within the message to determine which of the
predetermined alerts is to be generated. When, for instance, the message
information indicates that the sports team associated-with the receiver 110
has scored a run or a touchdown, an alert code within the message can
prompt the receiver 110 to generate-a "cheer" or "yea" noise to inform the
user of a favorable occurrence. As mentioned, the same message is
provided to all of the receivers I10. When the same message is received by
a receiver 1I0 associated with the opposing team, a different alert code
within the message can result in the generation of a "boo", "sigh", or other
unfavorable noise by that receiver 110. -
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In this manner, a common message can be sent to different groups
of receivers 110, and each group can conveniently extract different sets of
data from the common message based upon a subaddress, e.g., the recipient
lDs. Additionally, the common message can include common data that is
5 intended for reception by all of the different groups of receivers 110.
Therefore, a single transmitted message can conveniently include
common data for reception by all of the receivers 110 and at least two
different sets of data, each intended for reception by a different receiver
group. Conventionally, in order to provide different information to two
different paging groups, two different messages, each sent with a unique
paging address, are transmitted over the air. As a result, in a conventional
sports service context, each group of pagers associated with a different
sports team would have a unique address. Messages conventionally
transmitted to home team pagers would include the home team address
I5 and message information, e.g., alert code, intended therefor, and separate
messages transmitted to visitor team pagers would include the visitor
team address and the message information intended for reception by the
visitor team pagers. According to the present-invention, however, only
half as many messages are required be transmitted because the receivers
110 for each different group can advantageously determine from the
common message which of the information is intended for reception and
which is not and can further recover common information intended for
all receivers 110. As a result, paging channels are utilized more efficiently
in the communication system 100.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a message that can be transmitted
from the terminal 105 to the receivers 110 to update users of the receivers
110 on a particular sporting event, such as baseball. Preferably, the message
comprises recipient, or team, IDs 205, 210 located in predetermined
locations within the message to indicate which two baseball teams are
currently playing a baseball game that is the subject of the message. The
team IDs 205, 210 can, for example, each consume eight bits of the message.
~ According to the present invention, the team IDs 205, 210 indicate by their
locations which of the two teams is the home team and which of the two
teams is the visitor team. In this example, the ID 205 for the visitor team is
included first in the message and is followed by the home team ID 210.
The message further comprises a visitor alert code 2i5 and a home alert
code 220, each located in different predetermined locations. Additionally,
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the message can include game information 225 to inform the user of the
current game status. Such game information 225 can, for example, include
details about which team is at bat, the inning of the game, the number of
outs for the team at bat, and the score of the game.
In accordance with the present invention, a radio receiver 110
associated with one of the team IDs 205, 210 can determine, from the
location of its ID within the message, whether its team is the home team
or the visitor team. Thereafter, the radio receiver 110 can advantageously
determine the location of the appropriate alert code within the message
such that an alert is generated to indicate whether the latest game event is
favorable or unfavorable to the team associated with the receiver 110.
It will be appreciated that the message of FIG. 2 is depicted for
example purposes only and that the placement of the team IDs 205, 210 and
the alert codes 215, 220 can vary as long as the placement is predetermined
and recognizable by the receiver 110. It will be further appreciated that the
number of team IDs and alert codes can vary depending upon the sport
with which the radio receiver 110 is associated. If, for example,
information about a horse race is to be transmitted to the receivers 110, the
number ofteam IDs and alert codes would be equal to the number of
entries in the race.
Referring next to FIG. 3, an electrical block diagram of the terminal
105 is depicted. The terminal 105 preferably comprises a data entry device
310, such as a keyboard, for entering the game information, the alert codes
far the different teams, and information about which teams are involved
in the sports event. Additionally, at the beginning of a sporting event, the
data entry device 310 can be utilized to enter information indicative of
which team is the home team and which team is the visitor team. The
information provided by the data entry device 310 is received by a central
processing unit (CPU) 315 coupled thereto for controlling the operation of
the terminal 105. The CPU 315 stores the information provided by the data
entry device 310 in a memory, such as a random access memory (RAM)
320. The terminal 105 further comprises a database 325 for storing a list of
all of the teams and the team IDs associated therewith. The team ID can be,
if sufficient space is available within the message, the name of the team.
Alternatively, the team ID could be an abbreviated form of the team name
or any other information by which the team can be identified.
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The terminal 105 also includes an encoder 330 coupled to the CPU
315 for encoding the team IDs, the alert codes, and the game information
' into a message in a conventional manner. By way of example, the message
could be encoded using the POCSAG (Post Office Code Standardization
Advisory Group) signalling format or the GSC (Golay Sequential Code)
signalling format. The encoded message is provided to a transmitter 335
for transmitting the message as a radio frequency signal.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the terminal CPU
3I5 in accordance with the present invention. Preferably, the CPU 315
receives, at step 405, the information, e.g., the game information, alert
codes, and visitor and home team information, from the data entry device
310 and stores, at step 410, the information in the RAM 320. Thereafter,
the CPU 315 references, at step 415, the team ID database 325 to determine
the team IDs fox the visitor and home teams involved in the current
I5 event. The team IDs, alert codes, and game information are then, at step
420, provided to the encoder 330 for encoding into a message having the
appropriate signalling format. According to the present invention, the
message includes the team IDs and alert codes in the appropriate
predetermined locations. By way of example, the CPU 315 can provide the
visitor team ID to the encoder 330 as the first eight bits of the message
when the first eight bits of the message are the predetermined location for
the visitor team ID. When bits nine through sixteen are the
predetermined location for the home team ID, the CPU 315 can provide
the home team ID to the encoder 330 as the next eight bits of the message.
This procedure is preferably also followed for placement of the visitor and
home team alert codes in predetermined locations of the message. After
the message is encoded, it is provided, at step 425, to the transmitter 335
for
transmission to the receivers 110.
As described above, the alert codes are entered into the terminal 105
via the data entry device 310. It will be appreciated, however, that other
methods for determining the alert codes to be sent to the home and visitor
team receivers 110 could be utilized as well. For instance, the data entry
device 310 could simply be used for entering the game information and
' information by which the teams are identified. A subroutine within the
terminal 105 could be followed to determine how the current game
information differs from previous game information and then whether
the latest event in the game is favorable or unfavorable for each of the
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teams. If, for example, the current game information indicates that the
home team has scored a run since reception of the previous game
information, the terminal 105 could reference a database (not shown) to
determine which alert code should be provided in that instance for the
home team and which alert code should be pro-vided for the visitor team.
In this alternate embodiment of the present invention, each alert code still
requires placement in a predetermined location within the message.
Referring next to FIG. 5, an electrical block diagram of the radio
receiver 110 is shown. The radio receiver 110 preferably includes an
antenna 505-forreceiving a radio frequency signal transmitted by the
terminal 105 (FIG. 1). A receiving circuit 510 coupled to the antenna 505
recovers the message from the radio frequency signal in a manner well
known to one of ordinary skill in the art and provides the message to a
controller 515, which confrols the operation of the radio receiver 110. The
radio receiver I10 further comprises a memory, such as a RAM 520, for
storing the message and a location memory 525 for storing parameters
including the predetermined locations within each message for the visitor
team 117, home team ID, visitor alert code, and home alert code. An alert
database 530 preferably stores a listing of alert codes that can be received
in
the messages transmitted by the terminal 105 and a listing of alert
information corresponding thereto.
The radio receiver 110 further comprises an alert mechanism 535 for
generating an alert based upon the alert information stored in the alert
database 530 and a display 540 for displaying the game information
included in the message to the user. A memory, such as a read only
memory (ROM) 545, stores firmware elements used in processing a
received message. According to the present invention, such firmware
elements include an ID locator element 550 for monitoring the message to
find a team ID associated with the receiver 110 and determining the
location thereof within the message. An alert code locator element 555
utilizes the team ID location to locate the appropriate alert code in the
message, and a sound locator element 560 looks up the alert code in the
alert database 530 to find alert information used in generating an alert to be
heard by the user.
The alert information can be, for example, an alert pattern used to
drive the alert mechanism 535 when the alert mechanism 535 comprises a
transducer. Alternatively, the alert information can comprise location
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information indicating where a~ recorded sound is located
in a sound
- memory 570. This recorded sound can be used to drive the
alert
mechanism 535 when the alert mechanism 535 comprises a speaker.
In
some embodiments of the present invention, both a transducer
and a
speaker could be included to provide for the generation of
a large variety of
sounds and recorded messages. For instance, the recorded
sounds could
include messages such as "way to go!" or "pops". In embodiments
that
include recorded sounds, it is envisioned that such sounds
could be
customized by the user to provide for greater personalization
of alerts.
According to the present invention,-the radio receiver 110
can
advantageously determine which of several alert codes within
a message is
an alert code intended for use by that receiver 110. Therefore,
different
receivers 110 taxi receive an identical message and select
different alert
codes from the identical message to generate different sounds.
Air space is
mare efficiently utilized, as a result, because the terminal
105 can send out
the same message for transmission to receivers 110 associated
with both
the home team and the visitor team. In prior art communication
systems,
on the other hand, different messages must be transmitted
to each receiver
110 according to the alert code to be provided thereto. As
a result, a
different message would have to be provided to the home team
receivers
110-than that provided to the visitor team receivers 110,
and twice as many
messages would have to be transmitted over the air, thereby
clogging the
airwaves.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting the operation of the radio
receiver
controller 515 (FIG. 5) in accordance with the present invention.
At steps
605, 610, the controller 515 receives the message from the
receiving circuit
510 and stores the message in the RAM 520. Thereafter, the
controller 515
provides, at step 615, the message to the ID locator element
550. When, at
step 620, the team ID associated with the receiver 110 is
included within
the message, the location of the ID is provided by the ID
locator element
550 to the controller 515, at step 625_ Next, at step 630,
the ID location is
- provided to the alert code locator element 555, which determines
which of
the alert codes included in the message is the alert code
to be used by the
. receiver 110. When, at step 635, the controller 515 receives
the alert code
from the alert code locator element 555, the alert code is
provided, at step
640, to the sound locator element 560 for looking up alert
information
WO 96103724 ~ PCTIUS95108984
associated with the alert code. The alert information is received, at step
645, by the controller 515. -
As mentioned above, the alert information can comprise an alert
pattern or a location of a recorded sound, depending upon the type of alert
5 mechanism 535 (FIG. 5), e.g., transducer or speaker, utilized by the
receiver
110. At step 650, when the alert mechanism 535 is a transducer, the
controller 515 utilizes, at step 655, the alert pattern provided by the sound
locator element 560 to drive the transducer. When, at step 650, the alert
mechanism 535 is a speaker, the controller 515 drives the speaker with the
10 recorded sound located by the sound locator element 560, at step 660.
Additionally, at step 665, the controller 515 provides the game information
to the display 540 for presentation to the user.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the operation of the ID locator element 550
(FIG. 5) in accordance with the present invention. At step 705, the ID
locator element 550 receives the message from the controller 515. -
Thereafter, the message is monitored, at step 710, to determine whether
the team ID associated with the receiver 110 is included in the message.
When the team ID is found, the location of the team ID is determined, at
step 715. Next, the ID location is provided, at step 720, to the controller
515.
This location can be, for example, indicated by the numbers of the message
bits, e.g., bits nine through sixteen, in which the team ID is included.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the operation of the alert code locator
element 555 (FIG. 5)_ According to the present invention, the alert code -
locator element 555 receives, at step 730, the ID location from the controller
515. The alert code locator element 555 compares, at step 735, the received
location to team ID locations stored in the location memory 525 to
determine whether the team ID location is indicative of the home team or
the visitor team. By way of example, the location memory 525 can indicate
that bits nine through sixteen store the ID for the home team, in which
situation the alert code locator element 555 can determine that the team
associated with the receiver is currently the home team if the ID location
specifies bits nine through sixteen of the message-as including the team ID.
When, at step 740, the receiver-110 is associated with the home
team, the location for the home team alert code is looked up, at step 745, in
the location memory 525. For example, the home team alert code location
could be specified as bits twenty-one through twenty-four of the message.
When the receiver 110 is associated with the visitor team, the location for
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the visitor team alert code is determined, at step 750. Thereafter, the
location indicated in the location memory 525 is utilized, at step 755, to
retrieve from the message the alert code having that location in the
message. When, for instance, the receiver 110 is currently associated with
the home team and the home team alert code location is specified as bits
Twenty-one through twenty-four, the alert code locator element 555
reirieves the information included in those bits of the message to retrieve
the appropriate, alert code. The alert code selected from the message is
provided, at step 760, to the controller 515.
Referring next to FIG. 9, the operation of the sound locator element
560 (FIG. 5) is depicted. At step 770, the sound Locator element 560 receives
the alert code from the controller 515. The sound locator element 560, at
step 775, looks up the alert code in the alert database 530 to find the
corresponding alert information. As described above, the alert
information can be, for example, an alert pattern for driving a transducer
or a location in which a recorded sound is stored. Next, at step 780, the
sound locator element 560 provides the alert information to the controller
515.
It will be appreciated that, although the messages transmitted within
the communication system 100 have been primarily described as sports
messages concerning sports events, other types of messages can be
transmitted as well. By way of example, the radio receiver 110 can be
affiliated with a geographic area, rather than a sports team, and the unit
IDs provided within the message can be associated with different
geographic areas. In such a system, the messages can further include traffic
information or other information pertinent to the areas along with alert
codes that are content-specific for different unit IDs included within the
message. To reiterate, other embodiments of the present invention are
envisioned in which the messages transmitted to the radio receivers 110
include unit IDs specific to a group of receivers 110, alert codes intended
for
use by the different groups as specified by the unit IDs, and message
information, the content of which is determinative of the alert codes
provided within the messages.
- In summary, the communication system as described above
includes a tenninaI for transmitting identifications (IDs) for both home
and visitor teams in predetermined locations within a message.
Additionally, the terminal transmits an alert code for use by receivers
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associated with the home team and an alert code for use by receivers
associated with the visitor team, each in a predetermined location. A
receiver included in the communication system receives the message and,
when one of the recipient IDs is equivalent to a team ID assoclated with
the receiver, determines the location of the reclpient ID in the message.
This location is, in accordance with the present invention, utilized by the
receiver to look up a location in which one of the alert codes is Located.
1n this manner, the receiver can advantageously choose the correct
alert code for generating an alert from two or more Transmitted alert codes
included in the same message. As a result, the same message can be
provided to receivers assoclated with opposing teams, and the receivers
can, after selection of the appropriate alert code, generate different alerts
indicating to the user whether his team has performed favorably or
unfavorably. Therefore, the airwaves are utilized efficiently because,
according to the present invention, a single message is provided to inform
all users interested in a sports event of updates to the event.
In conventional communication systems, on the other hand, receivers are
unable to determine from message content which of several alerts should
be generated. As a result, in conventional systems, a different message
would have to be sent to fans of one team than that sent to fans of the
opposing team in order to indicate different alerts fox receivers carried by
the different fans. Sending two messages would increase not only the time
in which messages could be transmitted, but also less efficiently utilize the
airwaves over which the messages are transmitted.
It will be appreciated by now that there has been provided a method
and apparatus for generating alerts based upon message content.
