Two-way pager and method for communicating preset messages over the global system for mobile communications (GSM/GPRS) network

Abstract

The present invention provides a communication system for transmitting messages from one or more dispatcher stations to and from one or more stand-alone, two-way pagers via a radio frequency communication channel, namely, the short message service (SMS) of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM / GPRS) cellular telephone network. The paging system of the present invention utilizes a communications protocol which allows a dispatcher station and a pager of the paging system to communicate over the GSM / GPRS network in a predetermined manner. When the dispatcher station sends a message to a pager of the present invention, the message may contain steering codes which inform the pager of the manner in which the message is to be treated. For example, if the message is time-critical, the pager is notified by the steering code that a response to the message must be transmitted within a predetermined time integral. If the pager does not transmit a response within the predetermined time interval, the pager is not allowed to respond to the message. The steering codes may also require that the user can respond with a preprogrammed answer which has been previously stored in the memory of the pager. The two-way pager allows the central station to determine the geographical location of the pager.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10 / 845,623, entitled, “A TWO-WAY PAGER FOR PROVIDING TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION OF ALPHANUMERIC MESSAGES OVER THE GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS (GSM / GPRS / GPRS) NETWORK,” filed on May 3, 2004, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference and is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. utility application having Ser. No. 09 / 262,423, filed on Mar. 4, 1999, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference, which in turn claims priority to U.S. provisional application entitled, “MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM HAVING PAGERS FOR PROVIDING TWO-WAY SHORT ALPHANUMERIC MESSAGES BETWEEN PAGERS VIA THE GSM NETWORK,” having Ser. No. 60 / 077,080, filed on Mar. 6, 1998, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Technical Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates in general to a mobile communications system which has pagers and bas...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

Enables cost-effective, efficient two-way communication over a wide area using existing GSM / GPRS infrastructure, reducing the need for repeaters and frequencies, and allowing for location tracking and secure messaging in emergency situations, while providing a standalone solution for alphanumeric messaging without the need for cellular telephones.

Problems solved by technology

There is no confirmation to the sender that a message has actually reached the pager, nor does the user have any means of sending an answer via his pager.

This is a very expensive outlay needed to obtain a two-way data communication channel.

In addition, a multi-repeater setup requires many different radio frequencies which are becoming more difficult to obtain from the FCC.

Therefore, there has been no motivation or desire to provide stand-alone pagers for the GSM / GPRS network.

In areas in which the number of available frequency bands is very limited, the typical pagers described above and the systems in which they operate are unsuitable due to the large number of frequency bands needed for their operation.

For example, in small countries, such as Switzerland, these typical paging systems are unsuitable because the number of frequency bands required for their use is not available.

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