Abstract:
The invention provides a network paging system that includes a method and apparatus for sending messages to a subscriber. When one party attempts to contact another party, via a page message for example, the system may determine if the paged party is logged onto the network system. If the paged party is logged onto the network, the page message may be sent to the paged party&#39;s personal computer. If the paged party is not logged onto the network, the page message may be sent to the paged party&#39;s pager. Advantageously, the invention eliminates the need or expense of sending a message both via the Internet and a pager.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     This invention relates to a method and apparatus for sending paging messages to a subscriber. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The use of wireless communication systems and services has become widespread in the business and home environments. For example, one of the most common methods used today for staying in contact with the home or office is paging. Paging systems are a convenient way to contact a person (or to be contacted) when that person is not close to a telephone or at a location where the telephone number is not known. 
     However, when a paging system subscriber is in his or her own office environment, receiving pages may become impractical or difficult due to reception problems, etc. In addition, some paging subscribers turn off or do not carry their pagers when in the office, making it difficult to contact them. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides a network paging system that includes a method and apparatus for sending messages to a subscriber. When one party attempts to contact another party, via a page message for example, the system may determine if the paged party is logged onto the network system. If the paged party is logged onto the network, the page message may be sent to the paged party&#39;s personal computer. If the paged party is not logged onto the network, the page message may be sent to the paged party&#39;s pager. Advantageously, the invention eliminates the need or expense to send a message both via the Internet and a pager. 
     These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in or are apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention is described in detail with reference to the following drawings, wherein like numerals represent like elements, and wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary network paging system; 
     FIG. 2 is a specific example of the network paging system shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the network paging device; 
     FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating sample subscriber profile information for the network paging device; 
     FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the log-on process for a network paging device subscriber; 
     FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the network paging device process; and 
     FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the log-off process for a network paging device subscriber. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a network paging system  100  that includes a communications network  130  connected to several communication terminals  140 ,  150 ,  160  and  170 . The communication terminals  140 ,  150 ,  160  and  170  may represent telephone stations, personal computers, or any other device which may send and receive communications. The communications network  130  is also coupled to a network paging device  110 . When distributed, servers of the communications network  130  interface with the terminals  140 ,  150 ,  160  and  170  and serve as control units of the network paging device  110 , performing all of its functions. For the following description, the network paging device  110  is assumed to be centralized for ease of discussion. 
     The network paging device  110  is connected to a database  120 . The database  120  can be stored on any memory device internal or external to the network paging device  110 . The network paging device  110  is coupled to a wireless communications tower, such as pager tower  180  or a mobile base station for cellular phones, which provides broadcasting capabilities to wirelessly communicate with portable communication devices, such as a pager  190 . The pager  190  may represent any wireless communication device that receives paging messages, such as a pager, cellular telephone, facsimile machine, portable computer, etc. 
     A first party uses the terminal  160  in an attempt to contact (or page) a second party at the pager  190  through the communications network  130 , the network paging device  110  and the pager tower  180 , for example. The network paging device  110  queries the database  120  to determine whether the second party is a subscriber. If the second party is not a subscriber, the network paging device  110  pages the second party at the pager  190 , for example. If the second party is a subscriber, the network paging device  110  checks to see if the subscriber (second party) is logged onto a network within or connected to the communications network  130 . If the subscriber is logged on, say at terminal  170 , the network paging device  110  retrieves the subscriber&#39;s IP address and password from the database  120 , which was sent to the network paging device  110  from the subscriber&#39;s terminal at the time the subscriber logged on. Using the subscriber&#39;s IP address, the network paging device  110  then notifies the subscriber at the terminal  170  that a page has been received and queries the subscriber for a password. Once the subscriber enters the correct password, the network paging device  110  delivers the page message to the subscriber. 
     If the network paging device  110  determines that subscriber is not logged onto a network, the network paging device  110  pages the subscriber via pager  190  through paging tower  180 , for example. 
     FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the network paging system  100  shown in FIG.  1 . The communications network  250 —in this example, the Internet—is connected to personal computers (PCs)  160  and  170  through servers  240  and  260 , respectively. While the Internet  250  is used here for ease of discussion, it is to be understood that the communications network may be any other type of data network used for communication and data transfer, including local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and the like. The Internet  250  is also coupled to the network paging device  110 . 
     The network paging device  110  is connected to a database  120  and is also coupled to a wireless communications tower, such as pager tower  180 , or a mobile base station which provides broadcasting capabilities to wirelessly communicate with portable communication devices, such as a pager  190 . The network paging device  110  is further connected to the telephone network  220 . Telephone network  220  is connected to telephone stations  140  and  150  via local exchange carriers  210  and  230 , respectively. 
     When a subscriber logs onto the Internet  250  at PC  170 , for example, the subscriber&#39;s server  260  sends the subscriber&#39;s IP address, for example, to the network paging device  110  through the Internet  250 . The network paging device  110  stores the subscriber&#39;s IP address in the database  120 . 
     When a first party, using the telephone station  140 , for example, pages a subscriber, the page is routed to the network paging device  110  through the local exchange carrier  210 . For alphanumeric pagers, the first party usually reaches a live operator who keys in the text of the page, and the page is then routed to the network paging device  110 . The network paging device  110  receives the page and checks the database  120  to see if the subscriber is logged onto the Internet  250 . 
     If the network paging device  110  determines that the subscriber is logged onto the Internet  250 , the network paging device  110  retrieves the subscriber&#39;s IP address and password from the database  120 . The network paging device  110  also initiates and decrements a timer to ensure that the paging message is authenticated by the subscriber within a predetermined time. The network paging device  110  then notifies the subscriber at PC  170  that a page has been received and then queries the subscriber for a password. If the subscriber enters the correct password before the timer expires, the network paging device  110  sends the page to the subscriber at PC  170 . 
     If the subscriber is logged onto the Internet  250  but is temporarily away from the PC  170 , the subscriber may receive a page notification from the network paging device  110  but not be able to respond to the authentication query before the predetermined time. In this instance, if the timer expires, the network paging device  110  contacts the subscriber at pager  190  via paging tower  180 , for example. 
     Alternatively, if the network paging device  110  determines that the subscriber is not logged onto the Internet  250 , the network paging device  110  pages the subscriber at the pager  190 . 
     The network paging device  110  may forward a variety of paging information to the subscriber. For example, the network paging device  110  may record and send multimedia messages, such as text, audio, or video. Furthermore, the caller&#39;s number may be recognized by the network paging device  110  via the caller ID feature, such as Automatic Name Identification (ANI), and the caller&#39;s name, phone number, etc. may be forwarded to the subscriber. The subscriber may also be paged by the first party using the PC  160  through server  240  and the network paging device  110 . 
     When the subscriber logs off from the Internet  250 , the subscriber&#39;s PC server  260  notifies the network paging device  110 . The network paging device  110  then removes the subscriber&#39;s IP address from the database  120  so that all incoming pages will be forwarded to the subscriber&#39;s pager  190 , for example. 
     As an alternative embodiment, when a subscriber logs onto the Internet  250  at PC  170 , the subscriber enters a password which is sent to the network paging device  110  for comparison with the password stored with the subscriber&#39;s profile information stored in the database  120 . Once the subscriber is authenticated with the proper password, the network paging device  110  will forward a page received for the subscriber without waiting for a proper password. The subscriber only has to acknowledge receipt of the message and is not bothered with having to enter a password each time a page is received. 
     Alternatively, the subscriber may enter the password once at log-on, and the PC  170  may store the password and send it to the network paging device  110  automatically for each page notification received. This embodiment would also relieve the subscriber from repeatedly entering a password in order to receive a page. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the network paging device  110 . The network paging device  110  may include a controller  330 , a memory  320 , a telephone network interface  340 , an Internet interface  350 , a paging system interface  310 , a database interface  360 , and a PC interface  370 . The above elements of the network paging device  110  may found as part of a single standalone unit or may be distributed as a part of a local exchange carrier or server, for example. 
     When a subscriber is logged onto a communications network, such as the Internet  250 , the subscriber is connected to controller  330 . The controller  330  authenticates the identity of the subscriber with subscriber profiles in memory  320  (or external database  120  via the database interface  360 ). The controller  330  then receives the subscriber&#39;s IP address via Internet interface  350 . After receiving the subscriber&#39;s IP address, the controller  330  stores the subscriber&#39;s IP address in the memory  320 . 
     When a first party pages a subscriber, the page is received by the controller  330  through the Internet interface  350 , for example. The controller  330  checks the memory  320  to determine whether the subscriber is logged onto the Internet  250 . If the controller  330  determines that the subscriber is not logged onto the Internet  250 , the controller  330  pages the subscriber at pager  190  via the paging system interface  310 . 
     However, if the controller  330  determines that the subscriber is logged onto the Internet  250 , the controller retrieves the subscriber&#39;s IP address, password and any subscriber profile information from the memory  320 . The controller  330  then digitizes and temporarily stores the page and any related message in the memory  320 . Prior to storing the page, however, the controller  330  secures the page with the subscriber&#39;s password, so that other parties may not improperly intercept and view the page message in an open office area, for example. 
     The controller  330  then sets a counter to a given period of time for the subscriber to acknowledge receipt. The controller  330  notifies the subscriber at PC  170  via Internet interface  350  (or through PC interface  370 ) that a page has been received. The controller  330  then periodically decrements the counter and waits to receive the correct password from the subscriber. If the subscriber does not properly authenticate the page within the predetermined time (i.e., the subscriber is not at the PC  170  and the counter times out), the controller  330  pages the subscriber at pager  190  via the paging system interface  310 . 
     However, if the controller  330  receives the correct subscriber password via the Internet interface  350 , the controller  330  forwards the page to the subscriber&#39;s PC  170  via the Internet interface  350  and server  260 . 
     When a subscriber logs off from the Internet  250 , the controller  330  receives a message from the subscriber&#39;s server  260  via the Internet  250  and Internet interface  350  to remove the subscriber&#39;s IP address from the memory  320 . Upon receipt of the message, the controller  330  removes the subscriber&#39;s IP address from the memory  320 . 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a sample of the subscriber profile information  400  which may be stored in database  120 . For example, the subscriber profile  400  may include the subscriber&#39;s ID number  402 , and a number of subscriber options, including a time limit  406  to notify the subscriber at the subscriber&#39;s PC such as PC  170 , and a password  408 . 
     As discussed above, if the subscriber is logged onto the Internet  250 , the controller  330  will set and decrement a counter to wait for an authentication from a subscriber from the subscriber&#39;s PC  170 . If the subscriber does not acknowledge receipt within the subscriber&#39;s predetermined time limit  406 , the controller  330  will determine that the subscriber is not at the PC  170  and will send the page message to the subscriber&#39;s pager  190 , for example. 
     In addition, the subscriber profile  400  may include personalized passwords  408  to secure a page message for authentication purposes. Therefore, when a subscriber is paged at the PC  170 , the subscriber may enter the personalized password to obtain the page message. Thus, the subscriber may have the freedom to select passwords that are easy to remember. While these specific options are shown in FIG. 4, many other options may be provided to customize the network paging device  110  to suit the needs of subscribers. 
     FIGS. 5-7 are flowcharts describing the network paging process. FIG. 5 illustrates the log-on process for a network paging device subscriber. The log-on process may use a dedicated software package such that, when a subscriber logs onto the Internet, the software to receive page messages is automatically started on the subscriber&#39;s PC  170  and the PC  170  notifies the network paging device controller  330  that the user is logged on through server  260 . For example, beginning with step  510 , the controller  330  receives an indication that a subscriber is logged on and goes to step  520 . At step  520 , the controller  330  authenticates the subscriber and proceeds to step  530 . At step  530 , the controller  330  receives and stores the subscriber&#39;s IP address in the memory  320 , and goes to step  540  and ends. 
     In FIG. 6, beginning with step  605 , the controller  330  receives a page from the first party for the subscriber and goes to step  610 . At step  610 , the controller  330  determines if the subscriber is logged onto the Internet  250 . If the subscriber is logged onto the Internet  250 , the controller  330  goes to step  615 . Otherwise, the controller  330  goes to step  650 . At step  650 , the controller  330  sends the page message to the subscriber&#39;s pager  190 , and goes to step  655  and ends. 
     At step  615 , the controller  330  retrieves the subscriber&#39;s IP address, password, and subscriber profile information, and goes to step  620 . At step  620 , the controller  330  sets a counter to a predetermined time T, from the subscriber profile, for example. At step  625 , the controller  330  decrements the counter and goes to step  630 . At step  630 , the controller  330  determines if the counter has reached zero. If the counter has reached zero, the process jumps to step  650 , where the controller  330  sends the page to the subscriber&#39;s pager  190 . 
     If the counter has not reached zero, the process goes to step  635  where the controller notifies the subscriber that a page has been received and queries the subscriber for the correct authentication (or password), and goes to step  640 . At step  640 , the controller  330  determines whether the subscriber has returned the proper authenticating password. If the subscriber has not been successfully authenticated, the controller  330  jumps to step  650  and pages the subscriber via pager  190 . If the controller  330  determines that the subscriber has returned the proper authentication, the process goes to step  645  where the controller  330  sends the page message to the PC  170 . The process then goes to step  655  and ends. 
     FIG. 7 illustrates the log-off process for a network paging device subscriber. Beginning with step  710 , the controller  330  receives an indication from PC  170  through server  260  that the subscriber has logged off from the Internet  250  and goes to step  720 . At step  720 , the controller  330  removes the IP address from the memory  320  and proceeds to step  730  and ends. 
     The network paging device  110  may be implemented on a programmed general purpose computer. However, the network paging device  110  may also be implemented on a special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit elements, and Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) or other integrated circuits, a hardwired electronic or logic circuit, such as a discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device such as a PLD, PLA, FGPA, or PAL, or the like. Furthermore, the functions of the network paging device  110  may be performed by a standalone unit or distributed throughout the communications network  130 . In general, any device with a finite state machine capable of performing the functions of a network paging device  110 , as described herein, can be implemented. 
     While this invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, preferred embodiments of the invention as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.