Patent US5881060A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5881060A
Expired / Lapsed
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Integrated cellular voice and digital packet data telecommunications systems and methods for their operation
Assignee: Apple Inc
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Filing: 1996-05-30
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Granted: 1999-03-09
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Expires: 2016-05-30
Abstract
Abstract An integrated voice and packet data telecommunications system has at least one dual mode channel. The system comprises a plurality of transceivers, at least one transceiver being operable to transmit and receive voice traffic on the dual mode channel, and at least one transceiver being operable to transmit and receive packet data traffic on the dual mode channel. The system further comprises a controller for controlling the transceivers so as to allocate the dual mode channel either to voice communications or to packet data communications. The controller responds to changing demand for voice channels and packet data channels by changing dynamically the allocation of the dual mode channel. The system is particularly useful for providing Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) services.
Inventors
- 👤 Glenn Charles Morrow
- 👤 Emad Abdel-Lateef Qaddoura
- 👤 Charles James Derrick
- 👤 Kenneth W. Pecot
- 👤 Nivedan Thadasina
- 👤 Nikhil Jain
- 👤 Patricia Ann Landgren
- 👤 Bradley A. Fink
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 21:24
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04W; H04W16/00; H04W16/14; H04W28/00; H04W28/02; H04W28/10; H04W28/14; H04W84/00; H04W84/02; H04W84/04; H04W84/042
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
158 words
An integrated voice and data packet telecommunications system having a plurality of dual mode channels, the system comprising: a plurality of transceivers, at least some of the transceivers being operable to transmit and receive voice traffic on at least one of the dual mode channels, and at least some of the transceivers being operable to transmit and receive packet data traffic on at least one of the dual mode channels; and a controller for controlling the plurality of transceivers so as to allocate the dual mode channels to voice communications and packet data communications, the controller being operable (i) to maintain a dual mode queue of dual mode channels not allocated to voice communications, (ii) to select a dual mode channel according to its position in the dual mode queue in response to a demand for a voice channel, and (iii) to allocate to packet data communications any dual mode channel not selected for allocation to voice communications.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
158 words
An integrated voice and data packet telecommunications system having a plurality of dual mode channels, the system comprising: a plurality of transceivers, at least some of the transceivers being operable to transmit and receive voice traffic on at least one of the dual mode channels, and at least some of the transceivers being operable to transmit and receive packet data traffic on at least one of the dual mode channels; and a controller for controlling the plurality of transceivers so as to allocate the dual mode channels to voice communications and packet data communications, the controller being operable (i) to maintain a dual mode queue of dual mode channels not allocated to voice communications, (ii) to select a dual mode channel according to its position in the dual mode queue in response to a demand for a voice channel, and (iii) to allocate to packet data communications any dual mode channel not selected for allocation to voice communications.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
47 words
A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the controller is operable in response to release of a dual mode channel allocated to voice communications to return the dual mode channel to the dual mode queue and to reallocate the dual mode channel to packet data communications.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
A system as defined in claim 2, wherein the controller operates the dual mode queue as a Last In, First Out (LIFO) queue.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
112 words
A system as defined in claim 2, wherein: the system has a plurality of voice channels in addition to the plurality of dual mode channels, the voice channels being dedicated to voice communications; the controller is operable to maintain a voice queue of idle voice channels; the controller is operable, in response to a request for a voice channel when at least one voice channel is present in the voice queue, to select a channel from the voice queue; and the controller is operable, in response to a request for a voice channel when no voice channel is present in the voice queue, to demand a channel from the dual mode queue.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
79 words
A system as defined in claim 4, wherein the controller is operable in response to release of a voice channel when the dual mode queue is empty (i) to select a dual mode channel, (ii) to hand off a voice call served by the selected dual mode channel to the released voice channel, (iii) to return the selected dual mode channel to the dual mode queue, and (iv) to reallocate the selected dual mode channel to packet data communications.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
90 words
A system as defined in claim 4, wherein the controller is operable in response to release of a voice channel when at least one dual mode channel is allocated to voice communications (i) to select a dual mode channel which is allocated to voice communications, (ii) to hand off a voice call served by the selected dual mode channel to the released voice channel, (iii) to return the selected dual mode channel to the dual mode queue, and (iv) to reallocate the selected dual mode channel to packet data communications.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
166 words
A system as defined in claim 4, wherein: the controller is configurable in a first hand off mode in which the controller responds to release of a voice channel when the dual mode queue is empty by selecting a dual mode channel, handing off a voice call served by the selected dual mode channel to the released voice channel, returning the selected dual mode channel to the dual mode queue, and reallocating the selected dual mode channel to packet data communications; and the controller is configurable in a second hand off mode in which the controller responds to release of a voice channel when at least one dual mode channel is allocated to voice communications by selecting a dual mode channel which is allocated to voice communications, handing off a voice call served by the selected dual mode channel to the released voice channel, returning the selected dual mode channel to the dual mode queue, and reallocating the selected dual mode channel to packet data communications.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
42 words
A system as defined in claim 4, having a plurality of cells, a respective subset of the plurality of voice channels being assigned to each cell and a respective subset of the plurality of dual mode channels being assigned to each cell.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
A system as defined in claim 2, having at least one packet data channel in addition to the plurality of dual mode channels, the packet data channel being dedicated to packet data communications.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
59 words
A system as defined in claim 9, having at least one packet data channel in addition to the plurality of dual mode channels, the packet data channel being dedicated to packet data communications, wherein the controller is configurable such that the first and second handoff modes are disabled with the at least one packet data channel is in operation.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
73 words
A system as defined in claim 1, wherein: at least one transceiver of the plurality of transceivers is a dual mode transceiver which is operable in a voice mode to transmit and receive voice traffic and operable in a packet data mode to transmit and receive packet data traffic; and the controller is operable to switch the dual mode transceiver between the voice mode of operation and the packet data mode of operation.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
87 words
A method of operating an integrated voice and data telecommunications system, the system having a plurality of dual mode channels each operable in a voice mode for voice communications and in a packet data mode for packet data communications, the method comprising: maintaining a dual mode queue of dual mode channels allocated to packet data communications; selecting, in response to a demand for a voice channel, a dual mode channel according to its position in the dual mode queue; and allocating the selected channel to voice communications.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
87 words
A method of operating an integrated voice and data telecommunications system, the system having a plurality of dual mode channels each operable in a voice mode for voice communications and in a packet data mode for packet data communications, the method comprising: maintaining a dual mode queue of dual mode channels allocated to packet data communications; selecting, in response to a demand for a voice channel, a dual mode channel according to its position in the dual mode queue; and allocating the selected channel to voice communications.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
38 words
A method as defined in claim 12, further comprising, in response to release of the demanded voice channel, returning the dual mode channel to the dual mode queue and reallocating the dual mode channel to packet data communications.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as defined in claim 13, comprising operating the dual mode queue as a Last In, First Out (LIFO) queue.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
99 words
A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the system has a plurality of voice channels in addition to plurality of dual mode channels, the voice channels being dedicated to voice communications, the method further comprising: maintaining a voice queue of idle voice channels; in response to a request for a voice channel when at least one voice channel is present in the voice queue, selecting a channel from the voice queue; in response to a request for a voice channel when no voice channel is present in the voice queue, demanding a channel from the dual mode queue.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
68 words
A method as defined in claim 15, further comprising, in response to the dual mode queue being empty and a voice channel being released: selecting a dual mode channel; handing off a voice call served by the selected dual mode channel to the released voice channel; returning the selected dual mode channel to the dual mode queue; and reallocating the selected dual mode channel to packet data communications.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
73 words
A method as defined in claim 15, further comprising, in response to at least one dual mode channel being allocated to voice communications and a voice channel being released: selecting a dual mode channel; handing off a voice call served by the selected dual mode channel to the released voice channel; returning the selected dual mode channel to the dual mode queue; and reallocating the selected deal mode channel to packet data communications.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
57 words
A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the system comprises radio transceivers for voice communications and radio transceivers for packet data communications located at a common base station site, the method further comprising multiplexing voice traffic with packet data traffic for transmission to and from the common base station site on a shared multiplexed transmission link.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-03-08 | 2002-09-07 | 2003-03-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-03-08 | 2006-09-07 | 2007-03-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-03-08 | 2010-09-07 | 2011-03-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |