Method and apparatus for efficient and deterministic group alerting
DCFirst Claim
1. A method of alerting a group of recipients over a wireless network and providing acknowledged group messaging, each recipient comprising at least one mobile device capable of transmitting and receiving data, the method comprising the steps of:
- storing data relating to recipients, groups and group members, in a memory device, the data comprising a recipient identifier for each of a plurality of recipients, one or more group identifiers corresponding to each of respective groups of recipients, the groups each comprising selected ones of the plurality of recipients, and group membership data comprising the recipient identifiers of the selected recipients corresponding to each of the group identifiers;
providing the mobile device corresponding to each of the plurality of recipients with at least a subset of the data stored in the memory device, the subset of the data being stored in the mobile device and comprising its corresponding recipient identifier and the group identifier of each group to which that recipient belongs as a group member;
wirelessly transmitting a group message to the mobile device corresponding to each recipient in a selected group of recipients, each of the mobile devices being configured to receive the group message and send a response when the group message is determined to be for a group to which that recipient belongs as a group member;
monitoring for responses to the group message from the group members; and
storing acknowledgement data in the memory device for each of the group members, the acknowledgement data comprising a listing of each of the group members and an indication of response for each of the group members, the indication of response comprising at least one of an indication of no response when that group member has not yet responded to the group message, and an indication of response when a response sent by the mobile device of that group member has been received.
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Litigations
1 Petition
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for reliable, wireless group alerting in a system having a database, switch, wireless network, and a plurality of intelligent mobile receivers, and preferably employing a modified two-way paging based on ReFLEX™ protocol information service (IS) messages and a novel ALOHA command for multicast acknowledgement from mobile receivers. An encrypted message is broadcast to and received by a selected number of the mobile receivers. The network replies to the sender with detailed information about the individual members in the alert group. Each of the mobile receivers in the group then acknowledges the common message back to the system, decrypts the message, displays it to the user, and allows the user to respond. The system employs centralized management to simplify the roles of the mobile users and administrators, minimizing configuration and operational human errors that would otherwise result in confusion or lost messages.
28 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method of alerting a group of recipients over a wireless network and providing acknowledged group messaging, each recipient comprising at least one mobile device capable of transmitting and receiving data, the method comprising the steps of:
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storing data relating to recipients, groups and group members, in a memory device, the data comprising a recipient identifier for each of a plurality of recipients, one or more group identifiers corresponding to each of respective groups of recipients, the groups each comprising selected ones of the plurality of recipients, and group membership data comprising the recipient identifiers of the selected recipients corresponding to each of the group identifiers; providing the mobile device corresponding to each of the plurality of recipients with at least a subset of the data stored in the memory device, the subset of the data being stored in the mobile device and comprising its corresponding recipient identifier and the group identifier of each group to which that recipient belongs as a group member; wirelessly transmitting a group message to the mobile device corresponding to each recipient in a selected group of recipients, each of the mobile devices being configured to receive the group message and send a response when the group message is determined to be for a group to which that recipient belongs as a group member; monitoring for responses to the group message from the group members; and storing acknowledgement data in the memory device for each of the group members, the acknowledgement data comprising a listing of each of the group members and an indication of response for each of the group members, the indication of response comprising at least one of an indication of no response when that group member has not yet responded to the group message, and an indication of response when a response sent by the mobile device of that group member has been received. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A deterministic group messaging system providing acknowledged group messaging comprising:
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a memory device configured to store a recipient identifier for each of a plurality of recipients, a group identifier corresponding to each of respective groups of recipients, the groups each comprising selected ones of the plurality of recipients, and group membership data comprising the recipient identifiers of the selected recipient corresponding to each of the group identifiers, wherein at least one mobile device corresponding to each of the plurality of recipients is provided with at least a subset of the data stored in the memory device, the subset of data being stored in the mobile device and comprising its corresponding recipient identifier and the group identifier of each group to which that recipient belongs as a group member; and a control module comprising at least one processing device that is configured to access the memory device and is programmed to wirelessly transmit a group message corresponding to one of the groups of recipients, each of the mobile devices being configured to receive the group message and send a response when the group message is determined to be for a group to which that recipient belongs as a group member, monitor for responses to the group message, and store acknowledgement data in the memory device for each of the group members, the acknowledgement data comprising a listing of each of the group members and an indication of response for each of the group members, the indication of response comprising at least one of an indication of no response when that group member has not yet responded to the group message, and an indication of response when a response sent by the recipient device of that group member has been received. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification