PRIVATE MOBILE MESSAGING AND DATA COMMUNICATIONS APPARATUS AND METHOD OF MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL MESSAGING

• US 20120047214A1
• Filed: 08/22/2011
• Published: 02/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Heyhq Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Maxxess Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: DALY, KEVIN C., Dauderman, Nicholas J., Slutsky, Joel, Matuchniak, Tadeusz Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,812,607 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A private mobile data communications apparatus and methods of managing organizational data flow and coordinate a secure messaging infrastructure allow organizations to communicate with and monitor one or more mobile users each having at least one mobile device with which they communicate. The apparatus includes a server component, system client, a mobile client, and multiple application programming interface modules configured to manage information flow and correspond with external systems as needed.

Claims

1. A private mobile data communications apparatus comprising:

a system client configured to manage interaction with a system user and including at least one system client database and a system client user interface controlled by an application server;

a mobile client configured to manage interaction with a mobile user having one or more mobile devices assigned to the mobile user;

a secure messaging server configured to manage interaction between the system client and the mobile client and with one or more external systems providing supportive services to either of the system client or the mobile client, the secure messaging server including an application server component and a database server component each performing messaging functions in the interaction between the system client and the mobile client and with one or more external system;

a messaging protocol executed by a system event push service module and a mobile push messaging service module, and configured to initiate events from the secure messaging server and manage communication of event data between the secure messaging server and the system client, the mobile client, and the one or more external systems, the event data including information determined from initiated events among the messaging functions that is distributed to and collected from any of the system client, the mobile client, and the one or more external systems, the messaging functions including executing instructions to send structured messages from the system client and receiving structured responses from the mobile client related to one or more initiated events;

a first application programming interface module configured to respond to calls initiated for exchange of the event data between the secure messaging server and the system client to enable communication with the mobile user; and

a second application programming interface module configured to respond to calls initiated for exchange of the event data between the secure messaging server to and the mobile client to enable communication with the system user.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein first application programming interface module manages push messaging that communicates the structured messages and the structured responses to and from the mobile user.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the initiated events include mobile registration, mobile duress, mobile support, and system survey responses.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the information determined from initiated events among the messaging functions includes information contained at known locations in messages.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the information contained at known locations in messages includes at least mobile unit identifiers, times, message identifiers, message types, and geo-location information.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one identifier assignment module configured to issue one or more identifiers to an initiated event and one or more identifiers to a physical device.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein each of the system client and the mobile client includes an identifier assignment module for assigning unique identifiers.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the second application programming interface module initiates the identifier assignment module to register at least one of a mobile application or a mobile device and generates a mobile unit identifier.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one external system is a third party application programming interface call.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the a messaging protocol executed by a system event push service module and a mobile push messaging service module is configured to initiate events from the secure messaging server and manage communication of event data between the secure messaging server and the system client, the mobile client, and the one or more external systems on a mobile data network.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the a messaging protocol executed by a system event push service module and a mobile push messaging service module is configured to initiate events from the secure messaging server and manage communication of the event data between the secure messaging server and the system client, the mobile client, and the one or more external systems via a representational state transfer protocol.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the a messaging protocol executed by a system event push service module and a mobile push messaging service module is configured to initiate events from the secure messaging server and manage communication of the event data between the secure messaging server and the system client, the mobile client, and the one or more external systems over a hypertext transfer protocol.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the system client user interface includes a user administration interface and a message administration interface both managed by an administration portal through which the system client manages system users and messaging functions involving communication with mobile users, and an event portal through which the system client interacts to perform analytics and reporting on the event data, the administration portal and the event portal resident on the system client.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the system client database includes a plurality of database modules, the plurality of database modules including a user administration database storing data regarding system permissions and system users, a message administration database storing message types and response types, and an event sync database storing pushed structured messages and structured responses.

15. A method of managing private communications with one or more mobile users within an organization comprising:

connecting an organizational system user with one or more mobile users in the organization via a secure messaging server configured to manage a system client for communicating with the organizational system user and a mobile client for communicating with the one or more mobile users;

creating a structured request for information communicative of an event in response to an event initiation call from the secure messaging server via a messaging protocol executed by a system event push service module and a mobile push messaging service module;

pushing the structured request from a system client to the one or more mobile users, and a structured response having information responsive to the structured request to the secure messaging server, the structured request and the structured response allowing the organizational system user to interpret and excecute a course of action related to the event initiation call.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the structured request for information communicative of an event and the structured response having information responsive to the event are messages that include messaging information contained at known locations in the messages.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the messaging information includes at least mobile unit identifiers, times, message identifier, message types, and geo-location information.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the pushing the structured request from a system client to the one or more mobile users is managed by the system event push service module and performed by a first application interface module configured for communicating messages to the one or mobile users and receiving the structured response.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the pushing the structured response having information responsive to the structured request to the secure messaging server is managed by the mobile push messaging service module and performed by a second application interface module configured for communicating messages from the one or more mobile users including the structured response.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising assigning one or more unique identifiers to the event and one or more identifiers to a device, the assigning one or more unique identifiers performed by an identifier assignment module initiated by creating the structured request for information communicative of an event.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the creating a structured request for information communicative of an event in response to an event initiation call from the secure messaging server to the one or more mobile users includes initiating communication with one or more external systems.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the creating a structured request for information communicative of an event in response to an event initiation call and the pushing the structured request from a system client to the one or more mobile users, and a structured response having information responsive to the structured request to the secure messaging server include communicating information over a mobile data network.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein the creating a structured request for information communicative of an event in response to an event initiation call and the pushing the structured request from a system client to the one or more mobile users, and a structured response having information responsive to the structured request to the secure messaging server include communicating information via a representational state transfer protocol.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein the creating a structured request for information communicative of an event in response to an event initiation call and the pushing the structured request from a system client to the one or more mobile users, and a structured response having information responsive to the structured request to the secure messaging server include communicating information over a hypertext transfer protocol.

25. A method of coordinating a private mobile messaging infrastructure, comprising integrating a set of defined interface protocols that execute one or more messaging functions and facilitate communications between a system user and mobile users, the set of defined interface protocols including a messaging protocol configured execute events instructive of the one or more messaging functions, a system protocol configured to carry out messaging functions directed to the mobile users that include sending structured messages to and interpreting structured responses from the mobile users, and a mobile protocol configured to carry out messaging functions directed to the system user that including sending structured messages to and responding to structured messages from the system user via a mobile device.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the communications between a system user and mobile users include structured messages representative of an event relayed by the messaging protocol for mobile registration.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the communications between a system user and mobile users include structured messages representative of an event relayed by the messaging protocol for mobile duress.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the communications between a system user and mobile users include structured messages representative of an event relayed by the messaging protocol for mobile support.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein the communications between a system user and mobile users include structured messages representative of an event relayed by the messaging protocol for system survey response.

30. The method of claim 25, wherein the integrating a set of defined interface protocols further comprises integrating an identifier assignment module within the relay protocol for assigning one or more unique identifiers to an event and one or more identifiers to a device.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein the integrating a set of defined interface protocols further comprises integrating messaging information contained at known locations in messages, including at least a mobile unit identifier, a time, a message identifier, a message type, and geo-location information.

32. The method of claim 25, wherein the integrating a set of defined interface protocols further comprises facilitating communications across a mobile data network.

33. The method of claim 25, wherein the integrating a set of defined interface protocols further comprises facilitating communications via a representational state transfer protocol.

34. The method of claim 25, wherein the integrating a set of defined interface protocols further comprises facilitating communications over a hypertext transfer protocol.