Method and apparatus for automatically grouping communication units in a communication system

• US 6,477,387 B1
• Filed: 10/08/1999
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fumarolo, Arthur L., Jackson, Brett A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Legree, Tracy
• Assistant Examiner(s): CONTEE, JOY KIMBERLY
• Application Number:
  US09/415,175
• Time in Patent Office: 1,124 Days
• Field of Search: 455/518, 455/519, 455/520, 455/456, 455/457, 455/566, 455/416, 455/450, 455/452, 455/509, 455/414, 455/426, 455/575, 455/508, 701/208, 701/117, 370/327, 345/329, 345/349
• US Class Current: 455/519
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/08 Trunked mobile radio systems

Abstract

A display-based terminal (101) employs a method and apparatus for dynamically grouping (719, 723, 819, 823) communication units in a communication system. The terminal displays a map (703, 803) to the terminal user that indicates locations of communication units in at least a portion of the communication system. The terminal receives (705, 805) an indication of a geographic area on the map. After the area has been indicated and the talkgroup identified, the terminal automatically groups (719, 723, 819, 823) communication units that are in or have entered the selected area into the identified talkgroup. If a regrouped unit exits the selected area, the terminal automatically removes the exiting unit from the talkgroup. The terminal user may further input criteria to limit which units entering and leaving the indicated area are actually grouped or ungrouped.

Claims

1. A method for a display-based terminal to dynamically group communication units in a dispatch communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a map to a user of the display-based terminal indicating locations of a plurality of communication units;

receiving an indication of at least one geographic area on the map to produce at least one indicated geographic area;

receiving, from the user, an identification of at least one talkgroup;

determining that a communication unit of the plurality of communication units is in the at least one geographic area; and

automatically grouping the communication unit into the at least one talkgroup based on the communication unit being located within the at least one geographic area; and

determining that the communication unit has exited the at least one geographic area; and

automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup such that the communication unit rejoins a talkgroup that included the communication unit prior to the communication unit being automatically grouped into the at least one talkgroup.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining further comprises the step of determining when a communication unit has entered the at least one geographic area, and when the communication unit has entered the at least one geographic area, grouping the communication unit into the at least one talkgroup.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of automatically removing comprises the steps of:

accessing a communication resource; and

sending an ungroup command to the communication unit over the communication resource, wherein the ungroup command includes the identification of the at least one talkgroup.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving, from the user, at least one criterion for excluding the communication unit from being removed from the at least one talkgroup, wherein the step of automatically removing the communication unit comprises the step of automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup when the communication unit does not satisfy the at least one criterion.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one criterion comprises at least one of an individual identification, a talkgroup identification, and a status.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of receiving at least one criterion comprises the step of receiving, from the user, a selection of the communication unit from the map.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving, from the user, at least one criterion for including the communication unit in the at least one talkgroup, wherein the step of automatically grouping the communication unit comprises the step of automatically grouping the communication unit into the at least one talkgroup only when the communication unit satisfies the at least one criterion.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving, from the user, a selection of the communication unit from the map; and

automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup responsive to the selection of the communication unit.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of automatically grouping comprises the steps of:

accessing a communication resource; and

sending a group command to the communication unit over the communication resource, the group command including grouping information related to the at least one talkgroup and instructing the communication unit to reconfigure based on the grouping information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the grouping information comprises at least one of the identification of the at least one talkgroup and an encryption key.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving an identification of at least one talkgroup comprises the step of receiving a sequence of keystrokes that identify the at least one talkgroup.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving an identification of at least one talkgroup comprises the steps of:

displaying a list of talkgroup identifications to the user; and

receiving, from the user, a selection of at least one talkgroup identification from the list of talkgroup identifications.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of receiving an identification of at least one talkgroup further comprises the steps of:

receiving, from the user, a request for the list of talkgroup identifications; and

retrieving the list of talkgroup identifications from memory.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving, from the user, at least one criterion for excluding the communication unit from being grouped into the at least one talkgroup, and wherein the step of automatically grouping the communication unit comprises the step of automatically grouping the communication unit into the at least one talkgroup when the communication unit does not satisfy the at least one criterion.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one criterion comprises at least one of an individual identification, a talkgroup identification, and a status.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of receiving at least one criterion comprises the step of receiving, from the user, a selection of the communication unit from the map.

17. A method for a display-based terminal to dynamically ungroup communication units in a dispatch communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a map to a user of the display-based terminal indicating locations of a plurality of communication units;

receiving an indication of at least one geographic area on the map to produce at least one geographic area;

receiving, from the user, an identification of at least one talkgroup;

determining that a communication unit of the plurality of communication units is in the at least one geographic area; and

automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup based on the communication unit being located within the at least one geographic area such that the communication unit rejoins a talkgroup that included the communication unit prior to the communication unit being automatically grouped into the at least one talkgroup.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of determining further comprises the step of determining when a communication unit has entered the at least one geographic area, and when the communication unit has entered the at least one geographic area, removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of automatically removing comprises the steps of:

accessing a communication resource; and

sending an ungroup command to the communication unit over the communication resource, the ungroup command including the identification of the at least one talkgroup.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of receiving, from the user, a first criterion, and wherein the step of automatically removing the communication unit comprises the step of automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup when the communication unit does not satisfy the first criterion.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the first criterion comprises at least one of an individual identification, a talkgroup identification, and a status.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of receiving, from the user, a first criterion, and wherein the step of automatically removing the communication unit comprises the step of automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup when the communication unit satisfies the first criterion.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

receiving, from the user, a selection from the map of the communication unit; and

automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

determining that the communication unit has exited the at least one geographic area; and

automatically grouping the communication unit into the at least one talkgroup.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of automatically grouping comprises the steps of:

accessing a communication resource; and

sending a group command to the communication unit over the communication resource, the group command including grouping information related to the at least one talkgroup and instructing the communication unit to reconfigure based on the grouping information.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the grouping information comprises at least one of the identification of the at least one talkgroup and an encryption key.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of receiving, from the user, a second criterion, and wherein the step of automatically grouping the communication unit comprises the step of automatically grouping the communication unit into the at least one talkgroup when the communication unit does not satisfy the second criterion.

28. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of receiving, from the user, a second criterion, and wherein the step of automatically grouping the communication unit comprises the step of automatically grouping the communication unit into the at least one talkgroup when the communication unit satisfies the second criterion.

31. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of receiving, from the user, at least one criterion, and wherein the step of automatically removing the communication unit comprises the step of automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup when the communication unit does not satisfy the at least one criterion.

32. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of receiving, from the user, at least one criterion, and wherein the step of automatically removing the communication unit comprises the step of automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup when the communication unit satisfies the at least one criterion.

29. A method for a display-based terminal to dynamically ungroup communication units in a dispatch communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a map to a user of the display-based terminal indicating locations of a plurality of communication units;

receiving an indication of at least one geographic area on the map to produce at least one indicated geographic area;

receiving, from the user, an identification of at least one talkgroup and at least one criterion;

determining that a communication unit of the plurality of communication units has entered the at least one geographic area; and

automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup based on the communication unit entering the at least one geographic area and whether or not the communication unit satisfies the at least one criterion.

30. A method for a display-based terminal to dynamically group communication units in a dispatch communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a map to a user of the display-based terminal indicating locations of a plurality of communication units;

receiving an indication of at least one geographic area on the map to produce at least one indicated geographic area;

receiving, from the user, an identification of at least one talkgroup;

determining that a communication unit of the plurality of communication units has been grouped into the at least one talkgroup based on the communication unit being located within the at least one geographic area;

determining that the communication unit has exited the at least one geographic area; and

automatically removing the communication unit from the at least one talkgroup based on the communication unit having exited the at least one geographic area such that the communication unit rejoins a talkgroup that included the communication unit prior to the communication unit being grouped into the at least one talkgroup.

33. A method comprising the steps of:

displaying a map of a geographic area on a display-based terminal, wherein the map contains a plurality of communication units in their associated locations within the geographic area;

accepting, by the display-based terminal, an indication of at least one region within the geographic area;

accepting, from the user, a talkgroup identification of a talkgroup;

when a communication unit enters the at least one region, grouping the communication unit into the talkgroup;

when the communication unit exits the at least one region, removing the communication unit from the talkgroup;

checking an outbound filter for an identification associated with the communication unit; and

when an identification associated with the communication unit is found in the outbound filter, excluding the communication unit from the removing step.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the identification associated with the communication unit is an individual identification or a talkgroup identification.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

accepting a selected criterion for an outbound filter; and

when the communication unit meets the criterion, excluding the communication unit from the removing step.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the criterion is based on at least one of an individual identification, a talkgroup identification, and a communication unit status.

37. The method of claim 33, wherein the step of grouping comprises the steps of:

storing the communication unit'"'"'s talkgroup identification immediately before the grouping step, yielding a previous talkgroup identification for a previous talkgroup; and

when the communication unit exits the at least one region, grouping the communication unit into the previous talkgroup.

38. The method of claim 33, wherein the talkgroup identification is typed into the display-based terminal by the user.

39. The method of claim 33, wherein the talkgroup identification is chosen, by the user, from a list displayed on the display-based terminal.

40. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

accepting a request from the user for a list of talkgroup identifications;

obtaining the list of talkgroup identifications from a database; and

displaying the list of talkgroup identifications on the display-based terminal.

41. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

checking an inbound filter for an identification associated with the communication unit; and

when an identification associated with the communication unit is found in the inbound filter, excluding the communication unit from the grouping step.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the identification associated with the communication unit is an individual identification or a talkgroup identification.

43. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

accepting a selected criterion for an inbound filter; and

when the communication unit meets the criterion, excluding the communication unit from the grouping step.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the criterion is based on at least one of an individual identification, a talkgroup identification, and a communication unit status.

45. A method comprising the steps of:

displaying a map of a geographic area on a display-based terminal, wherein the map contains a plurality of communication units in their associated locations within the geographic area;

accepting, by the display-based terminal, an indication of at least one region within the geographic area;

accepting, from the user, a talkgroup identification of a first talkgroup;

accepting a criterion for a first filter;

when a communication unit enters the at least one region, determining if the communication unit meets the criterion; and

when the communication unit meets the criterion, grouping the communication unit into the first talkgroup; and

when the communication unit exits the at least one region, removing the communication unit from the talkgroup.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the step of grouping further comprises the step of storing a talkgroup identification of a second talkgroup associated with the communication unit prior to grouping the communication unit into the talkgroup.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising the step of, when the communication unit exits the at least one region, grouping the communication unit into the second talkgroup.

48. The method of claim 45, further comprising the steps of:

checking an outbound filter for an identification associated with the communication unit; and

when an identification associated with the communication unit is found in the outbound filter, excluding the communication unit from the removing step.

49. The method of claim 45, wherein the criterion is based on at least one of an individual identification, a talkgroup identification, and a communication unit status.

50. A display-based terminal comprising:

a graphical user interface arranged and constructed to display, to a user of the display-based terminal, a map indicating locations of a plurality of wireless communication units;

a selection device for use by the user of the display-based terminal, arranged and constructed to select from the map at least one geographic area on the map to produce at least one selected geographic area and to identify at least one talkgroup;

a processor coupled to the graphical user interface and the selection device, the processor, responsive to the selection device, arranged and constructed to automatically group a wireless communication unit of the plurality of wireless communication units into the at least one talkgroup after the wireless communication unit enters the at least one selected geographic area; and

wherein the selection device is further arranged and constructed to input at least one criterion for including at least some wireless communication units of the plurality of wireless communication units in the at least one talkgroup, and wherein the processor is further arranged and constructed to automatically group and ungroup a wireless communication unit of the plurality of wireless communication units into and out of the at least one talkgroup after the wireless communication unit enters or leaves the at least one selected geographic area when the wireless communication unit satisfies the at least one criterion.

51. The display-based terminal of claim 50, further comprising a memory device, coupled to the graphical user interface and the processor, arranged and constructed to store therein a list of talkgroup identifications and, responsive to the processor, to provide the list of talkgroup identifications to the graphical user interface to enable the user to identify the at least one talkgroup from the list.

52. The display-based terminal of claim 50, wherein the selection device comprises a t least one of a computer mouse, a keyboard, a touchscreen portion of the graphical user interface, and a voice recognition device.

53. The display-based terminal of claim 50, wherein the display-based terminal is part of a dispatch communication system that includes a wireless infrastructure, wherein the display-based terminal is located remotely from the wireless infrastructure, and wherein the display-based terminal further comprises a radio transceiver, coupled to the processor, for exchanging information with the wireless infrastructure.

54. The method of claim 50, wherein the at least one criterion comprises at least one of an individual identification, a talkgroup identification, and a status.