Broadcast data and event triggers over a digital cellular network

• US 8,219,121 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2009
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aeris Communications Inc.
• Original Assignee: Aeris Communications Inc.
• Inventors: Sim, Byung Hoon, Hosain, Syed Zaeem, Fultz, Robert B., Kim, Dae Seong
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): CORBIN, KENNETH B
• Application Number:
  US12/408,620
• Publication Number:
  US 20090239555A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• Field of Search: 455/458, 455/509, 455/517, 455/519, 455/435, 709/223, 370/355, 370/431, 370/353, 370/380, 370/400, 370/230, 370/328, 370/329, 711/118, 711/152, 711/163
• US Class Current: 455/458
• 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 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/186 Processing of subscriber group data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/027 providing paging services

Abstract

A system and method for enabling a service provider to select one or more digital cellular markets to receive a broadcast page, wherein each digital cellular market provides wireless communication services to a geographic region. The service provider to generate a broadcast page indicating a Virtual Device Identifier, the Virtual Device Identifier associated with a plurality of remote devices in each of the digital cellular markets selected, and wherein each of the remote devices includes a Primary Device Identifier uniquely identifying the remote device within the digital cellular markets, and wherein each of the remote devices further includes the Virtual Device Identifier associated with the plurality of remote devices. The service provider to further send the broadcast page to each digital cellular market selected, for transmission to the remote devices to send a message to remote devices having the Virtual Device Identifier.

Claims

1. A method at a service provider comprising:

selecting one or more digital cellular markets to receive a broadcast page, each digital cellular market providing wireless communication services to a geographic region;

generating the broadcast page at the service provider, the broadcast page indicating a Virtual Device Identifier associated with a plurality of remote devices in each of the digital cellular markets selected, wherein each of the remote devices comprises a Primary Device Identifier uniquely identifying the remote device within the digital cellular markets and the Virtual Device Identifier associated with the plurality of remote devices; and

sending the broadcast page to each digital cellular market selected, for transmission to the remote devices to send a message to remote devices having the Virtual Device Identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of remote devices in each of the digital cellular markets selected comprise one of:

a plurality of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) compatible devices operating in a CDMA compatible network; and

a plurality of Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) compatible devices operating in a GSM compatible network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each Primary Device Identifier is registered with a Visitor Location Register (VLR) database associated with the digital cellular market in which the remote device associated with the Primary Device Identifier operates.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the Virtual Device Identifier is not registered with, or recognized by, the VLR database.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the Virtual Device Identifier of the broadcast page is detected by all remote devices operating within the one or more digital cellular markets sent the broadcast page, and wherein the Virtual Device Identifier triggers a remote device event at each of the plurality of remote devices associated with the Virtual Device Identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each digital cellular market comprises a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) communicably interfaced with a plurality of base stations, each base station communicably interfaced with at least a portion of the remote devices in the digital cellular market.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each digital cellular market comprises a group of Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) associated with a geographic area, each MSC communicably interfaced with a plurality of base stations, each base station communicably interfaced with at least a portion of the remote devices in the digital cellular market.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a broadcast page request from a service subscriber, wherein the broadcast page request comprises a request message and one or more Mobile Switching Center Identifications (MSC-Ls) describing the one or more digital cellular markets to receive the broadcast page.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the request message comprises message content selected from the group comprising:

the Virtual Device Identifier to be sent with the broadcast page;

a remote device event to be triggered at each remote device associated with the Virtual Device Identifier;

a local event code describing an event at the service subscriber; and

data from the service subscriber to be sent to all the remote devices associated with the Virtual Device Identifier.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

selecting at the service provider, the Virtual Device Identifier to send with the broadcast page based on the request message from the service subscriber.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the broadcast page to each of the digital cellular markets selected comprises:

communicating the broadcast page comprising the Virtual Device Identifier to one or more Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) identified by the digital cellular markets selected, wherein the broadcast page is communicated to each of the MSCs individually.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the MSCs to further transmit the broadcast page to the plurality of remote devices selected via one of:

one or more timeslots in a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) paging channel monitored by the plurality of remote devices selected; and

one or more channel slots in a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) paging channel monitored by the plurality of remote devices selected.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein each of the MSCs identified communicates the broadcast page having the Virtual Device Identifier to each of a plurality of base stations communicably attached with the MSC and wherein each base station to broadcast the Virtual Device Identifier to all remote devices operating within communication range of the base station.

14. A system comprising:

means for selecting one or more digital cellular markets to receive a broadcast page, each digital cellular market providing wireless communication services to a geographic region;

means for generating the broadcast page, the broadcast page identifying a Virtual Device Identifier associated with a plurality of remote devices in each of the digital cellular markets selected, wherein each of the remote devices comprises a dedicated Primary Device Identifier uniquely identifying the remote device within the digital cellular markets and the Virtual Device Identifier associated with the plurality of remote devices; and

means for sending the broadcast page to each digital cellular market selected, for transmission to the remote devices to send a message to remote devices having the Virtual Device Identifier.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

means for sending a Virtual Device Identifier update message to a remote device uniquely identified within the one or more digital cellular markets via the dedicated Primary Device Identifier assigned to the remote device, wherein the Virtual Device Identifier update message comprises;

an action indicating an update, addition, or deletion of one of a plurality of index locations at the remote device, each index location storing a Virtual Device Identifier and a remote device event to be performed when the Virtual Device Identifier of the index location is received via a broadcast page;

an index location identifier indicating the index location to which the action applies; and

a Virtual Device Identifier to be updated, added to, or deleted from the index location as specified by the action and based further upon the index location identifier.

16. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

means for receiving a broadcast page request from a service subscriber, wherein the broadcast page request comprises;

a broadcast page request message indicating a service subscriber event to use in selecting the Virtual Device Identifier for transmission with the broadcast page, and

one or more digital cellular market selections describing the one or more digital cellular markets to receive the broadcast page; and

wherein the system further comprises means for selecting the Virtual Device Identifier to be identified by the broadcast page.

17. A remote device comprising:

a radio receiver to monitor for a broadcast page from a digital cellular network, wherein the broadcast page indicates a Virtual Device Identifier associated with a plurality of remote devices in the digital cellular network including the remote device;

a Primary Device Identifier to uniquely identify the remote device among all remote devices communicably attached with the digital cellular network;

an index comprising one or more index locations, each index location to map the Virtual Device Identifier to a remote device event, wherein the remote device event describes an operation to be initiated by the remote device responsive to the broadcast page indicating the Virtual Device Identifier associated with the plurality of remote devices in the digital cellular network including the remote device; and

logic to trigger the remote device event when a mapped Virtual Device Identifier is monitored at the remote device within the broadcast page.

18. The remote device of claim 17, wherein the index comprising the one or more index locations comprises a table having a Virtual Device Identifier column and a remote device event column and wherein each of the one or more index locations corresponds with a row in the table, each row associating one of a plurality of Virtual Device Identifiers with one of a plurality of remote device events.

19. The remote device of claim 17, wherein the remote device event is selected from the group comprising:

altering the energy consumption rate of an electrical appliance via an electronic signal or by electromechanical means;

altering a current state in a state machine communicably attached with the remote device;

prompting a user with content information via a display device connected with the remote device;

activating or deactivating a machine communicably attached with the remote device;

altering a configuration of a system communicably attached with the remote device;

transmitting an emergency warning message to a public announcement system communicably attached with the remote device;

displaying an emergency warning message to a personal computing device communicably attached with the remote device; and

initiating communication with the service provider responsive to the broadcast page.

20. The remote device of claim 17, further comprising:

a Virtual Device Identifier update module to;

receive a Virtual Device Identifier update message from a service provider via the radio receiver; and

update the index based on the Virtual Device Identifier update message.

21. The remote device of claim 20, wherein the Virtual Device Identifier update message comprises:

an action indicating a change, addition, or deletion of one of the plurality of index locations;

an index location identifier indicating to index location to which the action applies; and

a Virtual Device Identifier to be changed, added, or deleted from the index location indicated based on the action indicated.

22. The remote device of claim 21, wherein the Virtual Device Identifier update message is received at the remote device in accordance with a communication protocol selected from the group comprising:

a Short Message Service (SMS) communications protocol;

an Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA-DM) communication protocol;

a wireless IP data session communication protocol; and

a MicroBurst compatible communication protocol.

23. The remote device of claim 17, wherein the radio receiver monitors all broadcast pages in communication range of the remote device from the digital cellular network and wherein the logic of the remote device further to:

compare a Device Identifier associated with each broadcast page sent against the Primary Device Identifier associated of the remote device and accept the broadcast page when the Device Identifier matches the Primary Device Identifier;

compare the Device Identifier associated with each broadcast page against each index location and accept the broadcast page when any one of the index locations have a Virtual Device Identifier matching the Device Identifier of the broadcast page; and

ignore the broadcast page when neither the Primary Device Identifier nor any Virtual Device Identifier in the index matches the Device Identifier of the broadcast page.