Communications system
First Claim
1. A message distribution system for distributing a message via a telecommunications network to a plurality of telephone terminals, comprising:
- a message unit for contacting each of said terminals and sending said message to each;
storage means storing a geographical information database which comprises a plurality of geographical element data linking geographical features of a portion of the Earth with location data which define the position of those features, and dial numbers for a plurality of terminals and associated location data defining the position of said terminals;
input means for allowing input of input location data, comprising a display control device operable to permit a user thereof to freely select an area of a display as said input location data by any one or more of multiple methods all of which are available to the user, the multiple methods comprising permitting the user to enter a central point and radius of said area, permitting the user to select one or more graphics representing geographical features and permitting the user to manually select the perimeter of the area;
area designating means comprising a display device for displaying said geographical features of a portion of the Earth, coupled to said input means and said storage means, for designating a geographical area within said portion of the Earth based on said input location data, and generating a range of delineating map parameters for that area;
terminal derivation means coupled to the store means, for outputting the dial numbers of terminals recorded as being geographically within the area as determined by said delineating map parameters and supplying the numbers for use by the message unit.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A message distribution system for distributing a message via a telecommunications network to a plurality of communications terminals comprises: a message unit for contacting each of the terminals and sending the message, memory for storing, for a plurality of said terminals, corresponding terminal address data, and storing also a plurality of geographical element data linking geographical features of a portion of the Earth with location data; input for accepting an input control signal to initiate message distribution; area designation unit to designate a geographical area within the portion of the Earth; terminal derivation unit for outputting the terminal address data of terminals for outputting the terminal address data of terminals recorded as being geographically within the area and supplying the addresses for use by the message unit.
21 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A message distribution system for distributing a message via a telecommunications network to a plurality of telephone terminals, comprising:
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a message unit for contacting each of said terminals and sending said message to each;
storage means storing a geographical information database which comprises a plurality of geographical element data linking geographical features of a portion of the Earth with location data which define the position of those features, and dial numbers for a plurality of terminals and associated location data defining the position of said terminals;
input means for allowing input of input location data, comprising a display control device operable to permit a user thereof to freely select an area of a display as said input location data by any one or more of multiple methods all of which are available to the user, the multiple methods comprising permitting the user to enter a central point and radius of said area, permitting the user to select one or more graphics representing geographical features and permitting the user to manually select the perimeter of the area;
area designating means comprising a display device for displaying said geographical features of a portion of the Earth, coupled to said input means and said storage means, for designating a geographical area within said portion of the Earth based on said input location data, and generating a range of delineating map parameters for that area;
terminal derivation means coupled to the store means, for outputting the dial numbers of terminals recorded as being geographically within the area as determined by said delineating map parameters and supplying the numbers for use by the message unit.
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2. A message distribution system for distributing a message via a telecommunications network to a plurality of telephone terminals, comprising:
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a message unit for contacting each of said terminals and sending said message to each;
store means comprising a geographical information database, storing a plurality of geographical element data linking geographical features of a portion of the Earth with location data which define the position of those features, dial numbers for a plurality of terminals and associated location data defining the position of the terminals;
input means for allowing input of input location data and environmental condition data;
area designation means coupled to the input means and the store means, for designating automatically a geographical area within the portion of the Earth based on the input location data and the environmental condition data, and generating a range of delineating map parameters for that area; and
terminal derivation means coupled to the store means, for outputting the dial numbers of terminals recorded as being geographically within the area as determined by the generated range of delineating map parameters and supplying the numbers for use by the message unit. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A message distribution system for distributing a message via a telecommunications network to a plurality of communications terminals, comprising:
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a message unit for contacting each of said terminals and sending said message to each;
storage means storing a geographical information database which comprises a plurality of geographical element data linking geographical features of a portion of the Earth with location data which define the position of those features, and contact addresses for a plurality of terminals and associated location data defining the position of said terminals;
input means for allowing input of input location data, comprising a display control device operable to permit a user thereof to freely select an area of a display as said input location data by any one or more of multiple methods all of which are available to the user, the multiple methods comprising permitting the user to enter a central point and radius of said area, permitting the user to select one or more graphics representing geographical features and permitting the user to manually select the perimeter of the area;
area designating means comprising a display device for displaying said geographical features of a portion of the Earth, coupled to said input means and said storage means, for designating a geographical area within said portion of the Earth based on said input location data, and generating a range of delineating map parameters for that area; and
terminal derivation means coupled to the storage means, for outputting the respective contact addresses of terminals recorded as being located within the area as determined by said delineating map parameters and supplying the contact addresses for use by the message unit. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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8. A message distribution system for distributing a message via a telecommunications network to a plurality of communications terminals, comprising:
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a message unit for contacting each of said terminals and sending said message to each;
storage means storing a geographical information database which comprises a plurality of geographical element data linking geographical features of a portion of the Earth with location data which define the position of those features, and contact addresses for a plurality of terminals and associated location data defining the position of said terminals;
input means for allowing input of input location data and environmental condition data;
area designating means coupled to the input means and the storage means, for designating automatically a geographical area within the portion of the Earth based on the input location data and the environmental condition data, and generating a range of delineating map parameters for that area; and
terminal derivation means coupled to the storage means, for outputting the respective contact addresses of terminals recorded as being located within the area as determined by the generated range of delineating map parameters and supplying the contact addresses for use by the message unit.
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34. A method of distributing a message via a telecommunications network to a plurality of communications terminals, comprising:
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contacting each of said terminals and sending said message to each;
storing a geographical information database which comprises a plurality of geographical element data linking geographical features of a portion of the Earth with location data which define the position of those features, and contact addresses for a plurality of terminals and associated location data defining the position of said terminals;
allowing input of input location data, including permitting a user thereof to freely select an area of a display as said input location data by any one or more of multiple methods all of which are available to the user, the multiple methods comprising permitting the user to enter a central point and radius of said area, permitting the user to select one or more graphics representing geographical features and permitting the user to manually select the perimeter of the area;
displaying on a display device said geographical features of a portion of the Earth, designating a geographical area within said portion of the Earth based on said input location data, and generating a range of delineating map parameters for that area; and
outputting the respective contact addresses of terminals recorded as being located within the geographic area as determined by the delineating map parameters and supplying the contact addresses for use by the message unit.
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35. A method of distributing a message via a telecommunications network to a plurality of communications terminals, comprising:
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contacting each of said terminals and sending said message to each;
storing a geographical information database which comprises a plurality of geographical element data linking geographical features of a portion of the Earth with location data which define the position of those features, and contact addresses for a plurality of terminals and associated location data defining the position of said terminals;
receiving input of input location data and environmental condition data;
designating automatically a geographical area within the portion of the Earth based on the input location data and the environmental condition data, and generating a range of delineating map parameters for that area; and
outputting the respective contact addresses of terminals recorded as being located within the area as determined by the generated range of delineating map parameters and supplying the contact addresses for use by the message unit. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification