PUBLISH-SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORMS FOR ALERT MESSAGES AND RELATED METHODS AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS

• US 20080147737A1
• Filed: 09/20/2007
• Published: 06/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Glasgow, Jay, Dodgen, Jeff David, Branam, Michael Glenn, Hart, Charles Frederick
• Granted Patent: US 8,914,433 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/104.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/005 with transmission via computer network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

An alert delivery system includes a publish-subscription platform that is configured to receive alert messages from one or more sources. The publish-subscription platform is further configured to publish the alert messages to client devices based on matches between geographic locations respectively associated with ones of the alert messages and geographic locations respectively associated with ones of the client devices.

Claims

1. An alert delivery system, comprising:

a publish-subscription platform that is configured to receive alert messages from at least one alert source and to publish the alert messages to client devices based on matches between geographic locations respectively associated with ones of the alert messages and geographic locations respectively associated with ones of the client devices.

2. The alert delivery system of claim 1, wherein the publish subscription platform comprises:

a publish-subscription message platform that is configured to receive the alert messages from the at least one alert source and to publish the alert messages to the client devices; and

a Web server that is communicatively coupled to the publish-subscription message platform and is configured to compare the geographic locations associated with the alert messages with the geographic locations associated with the client devices to determine which ones of the alert messages are published to which ones of the client devices.

3. The alert delivery system of claim 2, further comprising:

a gateway that is configured to facilitate communication between Internet Protocol (IP) client devices and the publish-subscription message platform and/or the Web server.

4. The alert delivery system of claim 3, wherein the gateway is configured to translate between Web Services Description Language (WSDL) messages and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages.

5. The alert delivery system of claim 2, further comprising:

an authentication server that is communicatively coupled to the Web server and is configured to authenticate the client devices and to obtain the geographic locations associated with the client devices therefrom.

6. The alert delivery system of claim 5, further comprising:

a home subscriber server (HSS) database that is communicatively coupled to the authentication server and is a repository for IP address information roaming information, and/or telephony services information associated with the client devices;

a home location register (HLR) that is communicatively coupled to the authentication server and is a repository for registration information, call settings, subscribed features, location information directory information, mobility management information, and/or identification information associated with the client devices; and

a customer identify store (CIS) that is communicatively coupled to the authentication server and is a repository for the geographic location information associated with the client devices.

7. The alert delivery system of claim 5, wherein the authentication server is further configured to convert the geographic locations obtained from the client devices into Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) codes and to store the FIPS codes associated with the client devices in the CIS.

8. The alert delivery system of claim 5, wherein the authentication server is further configured to authenticate customers of Web services and to store authentication information associated with the Web services customers in the HSS, HLR, and/or CIS.

9. The alert delivery system of claim 8, wherein the authentication server is further configured to provide the Web services customers authentication information to Web services providers that have leased the authentication information.

10. The alert delivery system of claim 2, wherein the publish-subscription message platform is further configured to publish the alert messages to the client devices using Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

11. The alert delivery system of claim 1, further comprising:

a decoder that is communicatively coupled to the publish-subscription platform and is configured to convert analog alert messages to digital alert messages, the publish-subscription platform being configured to receive the digital alert messages.

20. A computer program product comprising computer-readable program code embodied on a computer-readable medium, the computer readable program code being configured to carry out the method of claim 1.

12. A method of delivering alerts in a communication network, comprising:

receiving alert messages from at least one alert source; and

publishing the alert messages to client devices based on matches between geographic locations respectively associated with ones of the alert messages and geographic locations respectively associated with ones of the client devices.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the publishing the alert messages comprises:

comparing the geographic locations associated with the alert messages with the geographic locations associated with the client devices;

publishing the alert messages to the client devices based on the comparison of geographic locations associated with the alert messages with the geographic locations associated with the client devices.

14. The method of claim 13, further wherein publishing the alert messages to the client devices comprises:

translating between Web Services Description Language (WSDL) messages and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

authenticating the client devices to obtain the geographic locations associated with the client devices therefrom.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein authenticating the client devices comprises:

converting the geographic locations obtained from the client devices into Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) codes; and

storing the FIPS codes associated with the client devices in an information repository.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein authenticating the client devices comprises:

authenticating customers of Web services; and

storing authentication information associated with the Web services customers in an information repository.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein authenticating the client devices comprises:

providing the Web services customers authentication information to Web services providers that have leased the authentication information.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein publishing the alert messages comprises:

publishing the alert messages to the client devices using Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).