Regrouping wireless devices

• US 20070225004A1
• Filed: 03/27/2006
• Published: 09/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Quah, Tee, Khoo, Kean, Tang, Song
• Granted Patent: US 8,095,140 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/450
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/18 Comparators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42357 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/186 Processing of subscriber group data

Abstract

The present invention provides a method of switching a number of wireless devices to a common channel. The method comprises automatically broadcasting location coordinates for an initiator wireless devices to the other wireless devices in response to receiving an initiate switching message comprising the location coordinates from the initiator wireless device; automatically determining the distance between each of the other wireless device and the initiator wireless device in response to receiving respective location based information from the other wireless devices; and transmitting an instruction to switch to the common channel to the initiator wireless device and the other wireless devices within a predetermined distance of the initiator wireless device.

Claims

1. A method of operating an initiator wireless device in order to initiate switching of the initiator wireless device and a number of other wireless devices to a common channel, the method comprising:

automatically transmitting to a radio control manager an initiate switching message comprising location coordinates for the initiator wireless device in response to receiving a corresponding user initiated input; and

automatically switching the initiator wireless device to the common channel in response to receiving an instruction to switch to the common channel from the radio control manager.

2. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the common channel is a professional mobile radio (PMR) radio channel, and wherein communications with the radio control manager use a cellular network.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the location coordinates are global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, and wherein communications with the radio control manager uses short message service (SMS) messages.

4. A method of switching a number of wireless devices to a common channel, the method comprising:

in response to receiving an initiate switching message comprising location coordinates from an initiator wireless device, automatically broadcasting the location coordinates for the initiator wireless devices to other wireless devices;

automatically determining the other wireless devices which are within a predetermined distance of the initiator wireless device in response to receiving respective location based information from the other wireless devices; and

transmitting an instruction to switch to the common channel to the initiator wireless device and the other wireless devices within the predetermined distance of the initiator wireless device.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the location based information are the respective distances from each of the other wireless devices to the initiator wireless device.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the common channel is a professional mobile radio (PMR) radio channel, and wherein communications with the other wireless devices use a cellular network.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the location coordinates are global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, and wherein communications with the other wireless devices use short message service (SMS) messages.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the broadcast is limited to the other wireless devices using the same or adjacent cell as the initiator wireless device.

9. A method of operating a wireless device in order to switch to a channel, the method comprising:

receiving a broadcast of location coordinates of an initiator wireless device from a radio control manager; and

automatically switching to the channel in response to determining that the wireless device is within a predetermined distance of the initiator wireless device.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising automatically transmitting location based information dependent on location coordinates for the wireless device to the radio control manager in response to receiving the broadcast of the location coordinates of the initiator wireless device,

wherein automatically switching to the channel is in response to receiving an instruction to switch to the channel from the radio control manager.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10 further comprising calculating the distance between the wireless device and the initiator wireless device, wherein the location based information being the calculated distance.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the location based information are the location coordinates for the wireless device.

13. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the channel is a professional mobile radio (PMR) radio channel, and wherein communications with the radio control manager are over a cellular network.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the location coordinates are global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, and wherein communications with the radio control manager use short message service (SMS) messages.

15. A method of switching a number of wireless devices to a common channel, the method comprising:

in response to receiving an initiate switching message comprising location based information from an initiator wireless device, automatically broadcasting a request for location coordinates message to other wireless devices;

automatically determining a distance between each of the other wireless devices and the initiator wireless device in response to receiving respective location coordinates from the other wireless devices; and

transmitting an instruction to switch to the common channel to the initiator wireless device and the other wireless devices within a predetermined distance of the initiator wireless device.

16. A method of operating a wireless device in order to switch to a channel, the method comprising:

automatically transmitting location coordinates for the wireless device to a radio control manager in response to receiving a broadcast request for location coordinates message from a radio control manager; and

automatically switching to the channel in response to receiving an instruction to switch to the common channel from the radio control manager.