Machine-to-Machine Rules Management Methods and Systems

• US 20140143395A1
• Filed: 11/19/2012
• Published: 05/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.), Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Geltner, David, Umapathy, Mohanraj, Kennedy, Ryan, Hui, Hon Man Hammond, Yang, Yonghong
• Granted Patent: US 9,167,374 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Abstract

An exemplary method includes a machine-to-machine (“M2M”) rules management system associated with an M2M platform 1) processing a plurality of events associated with one or more M2M objects in substantially real-time as the events occur over a period of time, 2) receiving, while the events are being processed in substantially real-time, data representative of a rule created by a user associated with the M2M platform, and 3) dynamically applying, in response to receiving the data representative of the rule, the rule to the substantially real-time processing of the events. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

processing, by a machine-to-machine (“

M2M”

) rules management system associated with an M2M platform, a plurality of events associated with one or more M2M objects in substantially real-time as the events occur over a period of time;

receiving, by the M2M rules management system while the events are being processed in substantially real-time, data representative of a rule created by a user associated with the M2M platform; and

dynamically applying, by the M2M rules management system in response to receiving the data representative of the rule, the rule to the substantially real-time processing of the events.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamically applying of the rule to the substantially real-time processing of the events comprises processing one or more events that occur after the data representative of the rule is received in accordance with the rule.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the processing of the one or more events in accordance with the rule comprises:

determining, in accordance with the rule, that one or more conditions associated with the one or more events are met; and

performing, in accordance with the rule and in response to the determining that the one or more conditions are met, one or more actions based on the occurrence of the one or more events.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the performing of the one or more actions comprises performing the one or more actions in substantially real time as the one or more events occur.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the performing of the one or more actions comprises notifying at least one of the user and another user of the occurrence of the one or more events.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing of the plurality of events as the events occur comprises:

determining that a particular event has occurred;

dynamically determining, in accordance with a predefined rule and in response to the determining that the particular event has occurred, that one or more conditions associated with the particular event are met; and

performing, in accordance with the predefined rule and in response to the dynamically determining that the one or more conditions are met, one or more actions based on the occurrence of the particular event.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the performing of the one or more actions comprises performing the one or more actions in substantially real time as the particular event occurs.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing, by the M2M rules management system, a portal for use by the user and configured to facilitate creation of the rule;

wherein the receiving of the data representative of the rule created by the user comprises receiving the data by way of the portal.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule created by the user is a new rule not already being applied to the substantially real-time processing of the events at a time that the rule is created by the user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule created by the user is a modified version of a rule already being applied to the substantially real-time processing of the events at a time that the rule is created by the user.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the dynamically applying of the rule to the substantially real-time processing of the events comprises dynamically replacing the rule already being applied to the substantially real-time processing of the events with the modified version of the rule.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more M2M objects comprise at least one of a device utilizing the M2M platform and an entity utilizing the M2M platform.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the M2M rules management system, data representative of the events from one or more M2M clients that detect the events as the events occur, the one or more M2M clients configured to operate in accordance with the M2M platform.

14. The method of claim 1, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

15. A method comprising:

receiving, by a machine-to-machine (“

M2M”

) rules management system, data representative of an event from an M2M client that detects the event as the event occurs;

dynamically determining, by the M2M rules management system in accordance with a predefined rule and in response to the receiving of the data representative of the event, that one or more conditions associated with the event are met; and

performing, by the M2M rules management system in accordance with the predefined rule and in response to the dynamically determining that the one or more conditions are met, one or more actions based on the occurrence of the event;

wherein the receiving, determining, and performing are performed in substantially real-time as the event occurs.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the performing of the one or more actions comprises notifying a user of the occurrence of the event.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing, by the M2M rules management system, a portal for use by a user and configured to facilitate creation of the predefined rule; and

receiving, by the M2M rules management system, data representative of the predefined rule from the user by way of the portal.

18. The method of claim 15, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

19. A system comprising:

an event processing facility that processes a plurality of events associated with one or more machine-to-machine (“

M2M”

) objects associated with an M2M platform in substantially real-time as the events occur over a period of time; and

a rules management facility communicatively coupled to the event processing facility and that

receives, while the events are being processed in substantially real-time, data representative of a rule created by a user associated with the M2M platform, and

dynamically applies, in response to receiving the data representative of the rule, the rule to the substantially real-time processing of the events.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the event processing facility processes the events as the events occur by:

determining that a particular event has occurred;

dynamically determining, in accordance with a predefined rule and in response to the determining that the particular event has occurred, that one or more conditions associated with the particular event are met; and

performing, in accordance with the predefined rule and in response to the dynamically determining that the one or more conditions are met, one or more actions based on the occurrence of the particular event.