Commercial mobile alerting system and method for broadcasting messages to geo-fenced target areas

• US 8,155,671 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2010
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Envisionit LLC A Delaware Limited Liability Company
• Original Assignee: envisionIT
• Inventors: Wood, Mark Andrew, Preston, Kevin Russell, Weiser, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Zewdu, Meless
• Application Number:
  US12/885,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20110230202A1
• Time in Patent Office: 571 Days
• Field of Search: 455/2.01, 455 301- 302, 455/59, 455/63.2, 455/63.4, 455410-411, 455/414.1, 455/414.3, 455/418, 455/422.1, 4554041-4042, 455/445, 455/449, 455/456.1, 455/456.3, 45545655-4566, 455/458, 455/466, 455502-503, 455/514, 455520-521, 455524-525, 455560-561, 455/412.2, 455/557, 713/179, 713/181, 713/185, 713/160, 713162-166, 713/168, 713/170, 711216-218
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling 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 commercial mobile alert system and method for processing a broadcast message from a broadcast message originator for delivery to a broadcast target area served by a wireless mobile network using point to multipoint cell broadcasting capability of the wireless mobile telephone network. The system including a broadcast message interface for receiving a broadcast message record. The broadcast message record including the broadcast target area defined as geographical information, the broadcast message as created by the broadcast message originator, a message type as defined by the broadcast message originator, and broadcast message originator identifier uniquely identifying the broadcast message originator of the broadcast message. A broadcast control module having an processor, memory, computer executable instructions, an input interface, an output interface, a validating subsystem and a broadcast message routing subsystem. The validating subsystem is for validating the broadcast message record as a function of the broadcast message originator identifier and the broadcast target and for creating a validated broadcast message record. The broadcast message routing subsystem is for receiving the validated broadcast message record, identifying two or more message broadcasting network systems, and transmitting the validated broadcast message record over the output interface to one or more of the identified public service message broadcasting network systems.

Claims

1. A commercial mobile alert system for processing a broadcast message from a broadcast message originator for delivery to a broadcast target area served by a wireless mobile network using point to multipoint cell broadcasting capability of the wireless mobile telephone network, the system comprising:

a broadcast message interface for receiving a broadcast message record including the broadcast target area defined as geographical information, the broadcast message as created by the broadcast message originator, a message type as defined by the broadcast message originator, and broadcast message originator identifier uniquely identifying the broadcast message originator of the broadcast message; and

a broadcast control module having a processor, a memory, computer executable instructions, an input interface, an output interface, a validating subsystem and a broadcast message routing subsystem, the input interface communicatively coupled to the broadcast message interface for receiving the broadcast message record, the validating subsystem for validating the broadcast message record as a function of the broadcast message originator identifier and the broadcast target area and for creating a validated broadcast message record, the broadcast message routing subsystem for receiving the validated broadcast message record, identifying two or more message broadcasting network systems, each of which provides wireless mobile point to multipoint broadcast message data transmission service to a geographically defined wireless serving area that includes at least a portion of the broadcast target area, and transmitting the validated broadcast message record over the output interface to one or more of the identified two or more message broadcasting network systems.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the broadcast message interface is configured to receive a plurality of broadcast message records from a plurality of broadcast message originators, and verify the identity of the broadcast message originator for the received broadcast message record as defined by the broadcast message originator identifier.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the broadcast message interface is configured to identify a cell broadcast channel code associated with the message type and add a cell broadcast channel code number to the received broadcast message record.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the validating subsystem of the broadcast control module is configured for verifying an authority of the broadcast message originator as identified by the broadcast message originator identifier to transmit the broadcast message to the particular broadcast target area.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the broadcast control module is configured to identify a cell broadcast channel associated with the message type of the broadcast message record, and includes a cell broadcast channel number of the identified cell broadcast channel in the created validated broadcast message record.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the broadcast message interface is configured to receive common alerting protocol (CAP) and wherein the broadcast message record is compliant with the CAP protocol and wherein the output interface is configured to transmit the common alerting protocol (CAP) and wherein the validated broadcast message record is compliant with the CAP protocol.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the geographic information defining the broadcast target area includes one or more area polygons in World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84) coordinates.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the broadcast control module identifies each of the two or more message broadcasting network systems as a function of the one or more area polygons defining the broadcast target area including at least one cell within each of the identified two or more message broadcast network systems.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the broadcast message control module determines a network facility identifier uniquely associated with each of the identified two or more message broadcasting network systems and transmits the broadcast message record to each of the two or more message broadcasting network systems as a function of the determined network facility identifier.

10. A commercial mobile alert method for managing a submission and a transmission of a broadcast message to at least one geographically distinct geo-fenced public service message broadcast system comprising:

in a broadcast message interface;

receiving the broadcast message from a broadcast message originator;

receiving an identification of an area to which the received broadcast message is to be sent;

identifying a broadcast target area as geographic information corresponding to the received identified area;

receiving an input defining a message type of the received broadcast message;

identifying a broadcast message originator identifier that uniquely identifies the broadcast message originator;

generating a broadcast message record including the broadcast message, the broadcast target area, the message type and the broadcast message originator identifier;

in a broadcast control module having an input interface, an output interface interface, a validating subsystem and a message routing subsystem;

receiving the generated broadcast message record;

validating the broadcast message record as a function of the broadcast message originator identifier and the broadcast target area, and said validating verifying that the broadcast message originator is authorized to transmit the broadcast message to the broadcast target area;

creating a validated broadcast message record following the validating;

identifying two or more message broadcasting network systems for providing point to multipoint wireless mobile data broadcast message transmission services to a geographically defined wireless serving area that includes at least a portion of the broadcast target area; and

transmitting the validated broadcast message record over the output interface to at least one of the two or more identified message broadcasting network systems.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein broadcast message interface is further configured for performing the processes of receiving a plurality of broadcast message records from a plurality of broadcast message originators and verifying the identity of the broadcast message originator for the received broadcast message record as defined by the broadcast message originator identifier.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein broadcast message interface further performs the process of identifying a cell broadcast channel code associated with the message type and adding a cell broadcast channel code number to the received broadcast message record.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein validating subsystem of the broadcast control module includes said validating including performing the process of verifying an authority of a broadcast message originator as identified by the broadcast message originator identifier to transmit the broadcast message to the particular broadcast target area.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein broadcast control module further performs the process of identifying a cell broadcast channel associated with the message type of the broadcast message record, and wherein the process of creating the validated broadcast message record includes adding a cell broadcast channel number of the identified cell broadcast channel to the broadcast message record to create the validated broadcast message record.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the validating subsystem of the broadcast control module, further performs the process of verifying an authority of a broadcast message originator as identified by the broadcast message originator identifier to transmit the broadcast message to the particular broadcast target area.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein broadcast control module further performs the process of identifying a cell broadcast channel associated with the message type of the broadcast message record, and adding a cell broadcast channel number associated with the identified cell broadcast channel in the creating of the validated broadcast message record.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein the broadcast message interface that is configured for performing the process of receiving the broadcast message including receiving the broadcast message record in common alerting protocol (CAP) format;

and wherein the output interface that is configured to transmit performs the process of transmitting the common alerting protocol (CAP) and the process of creating of the validated broadcast message record includes creating the validated broadcast record in CAP protocol format.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein the process of identifying the broadcast message area as geographic information includes defining the broadcast target area as one or more area polygons in the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84) coordinates.

19. The method of claim 10 wherein broadcast message control module further performs the process of identifying each of the two or more message broadcasting network systems as a function of one or more area polygons defining the broadcast target area including at least one cell within the message broadcast network system.

20. The method of claim 10 wherein in the broadcast message control module further performs the process of determining a network facility identifier uniquely associated with each of the identified two or more message broadcasting network systems, wherein the transmitting includes transmitting the validated broadcast message record to each of the two or more message broadcasting network systems as a function of the determined network facility identifier.