The present invention relates in general to wireless communication units and wireless networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for individualizing a universal notifier with a custom indicator.
A universal notifier may be generated when, for example, a push-to-talk dispatch (direct connect) call is received on an integrated digital enhanced network communications device, such as a cellular phone. Such universal notifiers include, for example, well-known private call receive tone, such as for communications devices from Nextel Corporation. Other communications service and device providers may be associated with their own universal notifiers.
With this popularity, it may not be unusual to have many users with the same universal notifier in a particular area. It may be difficult for users to immediately discern whose unit is receiving a call, for example, when a direct connect call is received by one of these users having a communication device, for example, from Nextel corporation. The user typically must refer to the display of their unit to determine if they are being signaled. Indeed, many of the users in earshot of a universal notifier will reach for and check the display of their units to determine whether their unit that is receiving the call.
Therefore, to address the above described problems and other problems, what is needed is a method and apparatus for individualizing the universal notifier.
The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements and which together with the detailed description below are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to further illustrate a preferred embodiment and to explain various principles and advantages in accordance with the present invention.
In overview, the present disclosure concerns wireless communications devices or units, often referred to as communication units, such as cellular phone or two-way radios, pagers, walkie talkies, other wireless communication devices, and the like, associated with a communication system such as an Enterprise Network, a cellular Radio Access Network, a dispatch network, unit-to-unit communications, or the like. Such communication systems may further provide services such as voice and data communications services to the communication units. The term communication unit may be used interchangeably herein with subscriber unit, wireless subscriber unit, phone, wireless subscriber device or the like. Each of these terms denotes a device ordinarily associated with a user and typically a wireless mobile device that may be used with a dispatch network, a public network, for example in accordance with a service agreement, unit-to-unit, or within a private network such as an enterprise network.
The instant disclosure is provided to further explain in an enabling fashion the best modes of performing one or more embodiments of the present invention. The disclosure is further offered to enhance an understanding and appreciation for the inventive principles and advantages thereof, rather than to limit in any manner the invention. The invention is defined solely by the appended claims including any amendments made during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of those claims as issued.
It is further understood that relational terms such as first and second, and the like, if any, are used solely to distinguish one from another entity, item, or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities, items or actions.
Much of the inventive functionality and many of the inventive principles when implemented are best supported with or in software or integrated circuits (ICs), such as a processor or digital signal processor and software therefore or application specific ICs. It is expected that one of ordinary skill, notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choices motivated by, for example, available time, current technology, and economic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principles disclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such software instructions or ICs with minimal experimentation. Therefore, in the interest of brevity and minimization of any risk of obscuring the principles and concepts according to the present invention, further discussion of such software and ICs, if any, will be limited to the essentials with respect to the principles and concepts used by the preferred embodiments.
The communication systems and communication units of particular interest are those providing or facilitating voice communications services or data messaging services over dispatch networks, such as talk-around dispatch systems, cellular wide area networks (WANs), such as conventional two way systems and devices, various cellular phone systems including analog and digital cellular, CDMA (code division multiple access) and variants thereof, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), GPRS (General Packet Radio System), 2.5G and 3G systems such as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication Service) systems, Internet Protocol (IP) Wireless Wide Area Networks like 802.16, or 802.20, integrated digital enhanced networks, quadrature amplitude modulation systems (Quad QAM), unit-to-unit communications systems, and variants or evolutions thereof. Furthermore the wireless communication units or devices of interest may have short range wireless communications capability, or may be any type of a direct connect capable communication device.
Typically, the tone or other alert, referred to herein as a universal notifier, may be, for example, a push-to-talk tone or dispatch tone that may be intended to identify and/or may be associated with a service provider or manufacturer of the communication device. This universal notifier is generally not customizable, although certain devices allow the user to select at registration a particular one from several pre-defined universal notifiers stored in the communication device corresponding to the service provider.
A universal notifier is often generated when, for example, a private call, direct connect call, or page request, is received, for example, on an integrated digital enhanced network unit. One type of universal notifier may be referred to as a talk permission alert (e.g., push-to-talk tone or dispatch tone), which, for example, may notify the recipient and may inform the user that the channel may be clear to talk.
As another example, many integrated digital enhanced network units provided by or available from a company, such as Nextel Corporation, typically have the same pre-defined private call receive alert or tone. Units available from Nextel Corporation, for example, have a tone or alert that in one embodiment is the three tone sequence:
As further discussed herein, various inventive principles and combinations thereof are advantageously employed to individualize the push-to-talk tone or dispatch tone or similar notifiers that can be used by a large number of communications devices for similar indications.
One or more embodiments provide for generating the existing private call receive tone or other universal notifier, and appending the custom indicator afterward. The well-known sound or alert that signals, for example, the direct connect call, is thereby preserved, while adding a custom or individualized indicator that an individual user can readily identify.
The custom indicator could be, for example, a repetitive ring tone, a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) file, a wave file, a voice recording, a particular vibratory alert pattern, and/or other unique indicator, or a combination of one or more of the foregoing.
Variations of the exemplary embodiments may be utilized. As a first example, a custom indicator that is unique to a given user or class of user can be used. Consider, for example, a user inside a restaurant or another busy area with multiple direct connect users. A unique recipient indicator may be appended to the standard private call receive tone, to notify a particular user of a private call. The recipient of such an individualized call, identified or individualized by both the universal indicator and the custom indicator, can readily identify by virtue of the custom indicator which call is theirs.
As a second example, a custom indicator corresponding to a priority of a call may be used. Such an indicator could be set based on the caller or group, e.g., to distinguish a direct connect call from a co-worker, management or a family member. As a third example, a custom indicator can be used to indicate the severity of the call. In this instance, the direct connect initiator or the system sets the severity, such as during a homeland security issue and/or national disaster.
The tag, e.g., TAG 1, TAG 2, TAG 3 associated with a particular call may comprise both an indication from the call itself, and the associated custom indicator that should be generated by the communication device receiving the call. The indication from the call itself, that is, that the call may be associated with a custom indicator, may be a part of the call, or may be deduced from the caller or the recipient identification. The custom indicator associated with the call, which may be generated by the communication device receiving the call, in some embodiments may be selected by the recipient at his/her own communication device, and/or may be selected by the call originator and/or Fixed Network Equipment (FNE). In a situation where the custom indicator is not selected at the recipient's communication device, the custom indicator may be transmitted to the recipient communication device as part of a separate communication, or as part of the call itself.
A fourth exemplary embodiment can allow the originator of a call in a group call to generate and send a unique custom indicator to all users in a call, to a selected user, or to as many users as desired. For example, if three people are in a group call, the originator of the call may send three individually unique tones to be used as custom indicators by the respective recipients.
For example, the custom indicator to be associated with a particular call may be sent over the air by the originator of the call. Considering the example of a group call, the call originator may generate a unique “tag” to be sent to each recipient in the group call. If three people are in a group call, the originator can send a unique tag to each recipient or only to selected recipients. Advantageously, the custom indicator may be specified at the time the call is placed, so that the call originator can send the same custom indicator for the group call to all recipients, or unique custom indicators to particular users, and combinations thereof.
This exemplary embodiment may be accomplished using, for example, a selective dynamic group call (SDGC) feature. Accordingly, the handset may upload, to the fixed network equipment (FNE), the private identifiers of every user in the group. This may be implemented, for example, via the same or similar mechanism as may be used to upload the voice and/or tag which may be delivered to the user upon paging.
Optionally, a communication device may provide a user with the ability to turn on or off the playing of custom indicators.
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One or more embodiments provides for selectable custom indicators. Because the custom indicator can be specified at the time the call is placed, the call originator may send the same custom indicator to all users, send unique custom indicators to particular users, or combinations thereof.
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Certain embodiments can provide for a user to transmit a custom indicator to the network, e.g., a group call indicator for a group of listed users, a severity indicator, a unique caller indicator, and/or a unique recipient indicator. The transmitted custom indicator can be used later by the FNE.
According to one or more embodiments, the severity and status messages can be implemented as call alerts with a status ID other than zero. Currently, in an integrated digital enhanced radio system, a universal call notifier can be implemented as a “STATUS” with ID=0. The status identifiers can be provisioned in the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). In order to send an emergency alert, or homeland security status, the handset can send a status with a predefined status identifier other than “0”.
The processor 1109 may comprise one or more microprocessors and/or one or more digital signal processors. The memory 1111 may be coupled to the processor 1109 and may comprise some combination of read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM), and the like. The memory 1111 includes multiple memory locations for storing, inter alia, an operating system, data and variables 1113 for programs executed by the processor 1109; computer programs for causing the processor to operate in connection with various functions such as a call generation function 1115, a universal notifier function 1117, a call transmit function 1119, a call receive function 1121, a unique indicator function 1123, and/or other call processing 1125; a database 1127 of various custom indicators; and a database 1129 for other information used by the processor 1109. The computer programs may be stored, for example, in ROM or PROM and may direct the processor 1109 in controlling the operation of the communication device 1101.
The processor 1109 can be programmed to alert the user of the communication device 1101 of the device's receipt of a call, by way of the speaker 1131, display 1136 or other alerting device 1137. The user alert can utilize a conventional vibration or audible alerting mechanism, visual alert, and/or other alert, or a combination thereof. The user may invoke functions accessible through the user input device 1135. The user input device 1135 may comprise one or more of various known input devices, such as a keypad, a computer mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a trackball, and/or a keyboard.
Responsive to signaling from the user input device 1135, in accordance with instructions stored in memory 1111, or automatically upon receipt of certain information via the transceiver 1105, the processor 1109 may direct the stored information or received information, such as a unique alert, as applicable, to be used to generate an alert. The display may present information to the user by way of a conventional liquid crystal display (LCD) or other visual display. The alert can be provided by way of a conventional audible device (e.g., the speaker 1131) for reproducing audible messages.
Accordingly a long standing problem has been advantageously solved, provided the concepts and principles described and discussed above are followed. In one or more of the above noted embodiments a widely recognized notifier or alert can still be employed to indicate a call or service availability or other circumstance using a notifier or alert and yet this notifier can be customized or individualized with an additional custom alert such that a user of the alert can distinguish the composite notifier or alert at their device from an alert for the same circumstances at other devices. Advantageously service providers or device suppliers can still reap the benefits of the good will associated with the widely recognized notifier, while the user enjoys a customized readily recognizable alert for the particular situation. This is in stark contrast to the teachings of prior art devices, where if the alert was allowed to be changed, the recognition provided by the standard alert for the service provider or goods supplier was given up.
This disclosure is intended to explain how to fashion and use various embodiments in accordance with the invention rather than to limit the true, intended, and fair scope and spirit thereof. The invention is defined solely by the appended claims, as they may be amended during the pendency of this application for patent, and all equivalents thereof. The foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment(s) was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application, and to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims, as may be amended, and all equivalents thereof, when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.