Method of disconnecting an established communication connection in a mobile radio system

Claim 3

The method of claim 1, wherein the second signal includes an erroneous characterizing color code for the mobile station, the erroneous characterizing color code being different from a color code stored in the mobile station, thereby preventing the time monitoring process from stopping.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1, wherein the second signal includes an error correcting code that causes the mobile station to indicate an excessively high bit error content in the received second signal, thereby preventing the time monitoring process from stopping.

Claim 5

A method according to claim 1, wherein when the time monitoring process reaches a predetermined period of time, the mobile station relinquishes control the allocated communications channel.

Claim 6

In a mobile radio system comprising a plurality of mobile stations and a mobile radio network which signals to the mobile stations to set up connections over allocated communications channels and to disconnect such connections when the allocated channels become degraded, a mobile station comprising: a transmitter unit; a receiver unit comprising: means for detecting signals from the mobile radio network, the detecting means including means for detecting and correcting errors, and a processor unit comprising a time monitoring unit activated upon receipt of synchronizing signals from the network and set to a synchronizing signal time limit which shall not be exceeded if a communications channel allocated to the mobile station is to be retained, wherein when the receiver unit detects a first synchronizing signal correctly, the processor unit activates the time monitoring unit, thereby initiating a time measuring process, and causes the transmitter unit to send an acknowledgement signal to the network; and when the receiver unit detects a second synchronizing signal that is subsequently sent from the network and that cannot be detected correctly by the mobile station, the time monitoring unit remains activated, whereby the mobile station relinquishes the allocated communications channel when the synchronizing signal time limit is exceeded and sends a second acknowledgement signal responsive to the relinquish from the mobile station to the network in order to inform the network about the relinquished communications channel.

Claim 7

In a mobile radio system comprising a plurality of mobile stations and a mobile radio network which signals to the mobile stations to set up connections over allocated communications channels and to disconnect such connections when the allocated channels become degraded, a mobile station comprising: a transmitter unit; a receiver unit comprising: means for detecting signals from the mobile radio network, the detecting means including means for detecting and correcting errors, and a processor unit comprising a time monitoring unit activated upon receipt of synchronizing signals from the network and set to a synchronizing signal time limit which shall not be exceeded if a communications channel allocated to the mobile station is to be retained, wherein when the receiver unit detects a first synchronizing signal correctly, the processor unit activates the time monitoring unit, thereby initiating a time measuring process, and causes the transmitter unit to send an acknowledgement signal to the network; and when the receiver unit detects a second synchronizing signal that is subsequently sent from the network and that cannot be detected correctly by the mobile station, the time monitoring unit remains activated, whereby the mobile station relinquishes the allocated communications channel when the synchronizing signal time limit is exceeded and sends a second acknowledgement signal responsive to the relinquish from the mobile station to the network in order to inform the network about the relinquished communications channel.

Claim 8

The mobile station of claim 5, wherein the processor unit includes a second time monitoring unit which initiates another time measuring process in response to the second synchronizing signal, the time measuring process initiated by the second time monitoring unit being terminable by the mobile station's receipt of a stop signal, and causes the transmitter unit to send a second acknowledgement signal to the network after receipt of the second synchronizing signal; and the allocated communications channel is retained when the stop signal is received before the second time monitoring unit measures a predetermined time period.