AUTOMATIC REMOTE COMMUNICATION USING NETWORK TELEPHONY

• US 20150050909A1
• Filed: 10/30/2014
• Published: 02/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Rockstar Consortium US LP (Rockstar Consortium Inc.)
• Inventors: ZONOUN, Mohammad R.
• Application Number:
  US14/528,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20150050909A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

The present invention is a method and apparatus to provide remote communication using network telephony. In a transmitter, an activation message is decoded to generate an activation command. The activation message is sent from an activator via a communication medium in response to a telephony call. An information message is transmitted, responsive to the activation command, to a receiver using a communication protocol. In a receiver, an activation message is decoded to generate an activation command. The activation message is sent in response to a telephone call. An information message is received, responsive to the activation command. The information message is sent from a transmitter according to a communication protocol via a communication medium.

Claims

1. A method of operating a communication system, the method comprising:

receiving an activation request at a location-aware component of the communication system, the activation request indicating occurrence of an activation event;

in response to the activation request, sending a signal indicating a location of the location-aware component to a networking component of the communication system;

receiving the signal indicating the location of the location-aware component at the networking component; and

sending a signal indicating the location of the location-aware component into a communication network toward at least one network server communicatively coupled to the communication network.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a signal indicating the activation event with the signal indicating the location of the location-aware component sent from the location-aware component to the networking component; and

sending a signal indicating the activation event with the signal indicating the location of the location-aware component sent from the networking component toward the at least one network server.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising sending the activation request from an activation component of the communication system to the location-aware component in response to the activation event.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the communication system includes a plurality of location-aware components, distributed at respective geographically spaced locations; and

sending the activation request from an activation component of the communication system to the location-aware component in response to the activation event comprises sending a local activation request signal from the activation component for detection only by at least one location-aware component located near to the activation component.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the activation component includes at least one sensor; and

the activation event comprises at least one sensor reading.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the signals indicating the activation event comprise signals indicating the at least one sensor reading, and the method further comprises:

receiving the signal indicating the at least one sensor reading and the signal indicating the location of the location-aware component at the at least one network server; and

processing the at least one sensor reading and the location at the at least one network server.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the activation event comprises a commercial transaction.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the signals indicating the activation event comprise signals information pertaining to the commercial transaction, and the method further comprises:

receiving the signal comprising information pertaining to the commercial transaction and the signal indicating the location of the location-aware component at the at least one network server; and

processing the information pertaining to the commercial transaction and the location at the at least one network server.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the activation event comprises initiation of a communication session by a component of the communication system located near the location-aware component of the communication system.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the communication session is an emergency communication session.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the activation request comprises receiving the activation request from a mobile communication device in response to initiation of the emergency communication session.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the emergency communication is a 911 call.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the activation request comprises receiving the activation request from a mobile telephony device in response to initiation of the 911 call.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a current location of the location-aware component.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the location-aware component includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver; and

determining a current location of the location-aware component comprises determining the current location using GPS.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the location-aware component includes a receiver; and

determining a current location of the location-aware component comprises determine the current location based on signals received from ground-based transmitters having known locations.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the location-aware component has a known fixed location.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the signal indicating the location of the location-aware component into the communication network toward the at least one network server communicatively coupled to the communication network comprises broadcasting the signal indicating the location of the location-aware component onto the communication network.

19. The method of claim 2, wherein sending the signal indicating the activation event with the signal indicating the location of the location-aware component into the communication network toward the at least one network server comprises broadcasting the signal indicating the activation event with the signal indicating the location of the location-aware component onto the communication network.