Wireless event notification system and methods for use therein

• US 8,655,382 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2008
• Issued: 02/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Helvick, Richard Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Nimesh
• Application Number:
  US12/082,267
• Publication Number:
  US 20090258636A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,140 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.3, 455/414.2, 455/466, 455/404.01, 455/567, 455/521, 709/206, 709/207
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

A wireless event notification system that selectively notifies members of events based on their location and/or interests, and devices and method for use therein. The wireless event notification system provides single or multifactor filtering based on one or more of proximity to an event, membership in a subgroup to which an event pertains and/or desire to receive events at the severity level of an event. Superfluous notifications are thereby reduced. Location-based filtering may be done by a notification server device to which member locations are reported or, to enhance member privacy, by wireless client devices using unreported member locations. Additionally, in some embodiments, wireless client devices are distributed by a system administrator to members after the system administrator has registered the members with the system to remove device acquisition, device compatibility and member registration hurdles that can present obstacles to universal participation in the system.

Claims

1. A notification server system for a wireless event notification system, comprising:

a network interface;

a memory configured to store member profiles for members of the notification system wherein individual member profiles identify one or more vocational, academic or social interest subgroups in which individual members are registered, wherein each of the member profiles is uniquely associated with a member of the notification system and a wireless client device, and wherein each of the member profiles is created in the memory before the wireless client device associated with the member profile is distributed to the member; and

a processor communicatively coupled with the network interface and the memory, wherein the server system is configured to receive via the network interface global positioning system (GPS) locations reported by wireless client devices associated with the members and store the GPS locations in the member profiles, wherein in response to an event descriptor identifying a location of a non-emergency event and one or more vocational, academic or social interest subgroups to which the event pertains and under control of the processor the server system is configured to identify using the member profiles a subset of the members to receive notification of the event based at least in part on a determination that the members in the subset are both registered in one or more interest subgroups identified in the event descriptor and associated with a wireless client device whose last reported GPS location is within a notification zone delimited in the event descriptor and transmit via the network interface event notification messages addressed to wireless client devices associated with the subset of the members.

2. The server system of claim 1, wherein message text in the event notification messages varies based on proximity between a location of the event and reported GPS locations.

3. The server system of claim 1, wherein the event notification messages comprise Short Message Service (SMS) messages.

4. The server system of claim 1, wherein the event notification messages comprise Multimedia Message Service (MMS) messages.

5. The server system of claim 1, wherein the event notification messages are carried in Internet Protocol (IP) packets.

6. The server system of claim 1, wherein the one or more interest subgroups to which the event pertains comprises a vocational subgroup.

7. The server system of claim 1, wherein the one or more interest subgroups to which the event pertains comprises an academic subgroup.

8. The server system of claim 1, wherein the one or more interest subgroups to which the event pertains comprises a social subgroup.

9. The server system of claim 1, wherein the notification zone is delimited by an event location and notification radius in the event descriptor.

10. A wireless client device for use in a wireless event notification system, comprising:

a user interface;

one or more wireless interfaces; and

a processor communicatively coupled with the user interface and the wireless interfaces, wherein under control of the processor the client device acquires global positioning system (GPS) locations of the client device based at least in part on information received via at least one of the wireless interfaces and regulates display on the user interface of message text in a remotely generated event notification message for a non-emergency event based at least in part on a determination of whether the client device is both associated with a member of the notification system who is registered in one or more vocational, academic or social interest subgroups identified in an event descriptor of the event notification message and has a GPS location within a notification zone delimited in the event descriptor, wherein the client device is uniquely associated with a member of the notification system in a member profile created on a notification server system before the client device is distributed to the member, and wherein the client device regulates display of the message text at least in part by transmitting under control of the processor to the server system via at least one of the wireless interfaces a location report having the GPS location, whereby the server system makes the determination and selectively inhibits transmission of the event notification message to the client device based at least in part on the determination.

11. The wireless client device of claim 10, wherein the one or more interest subgroups to which the event pertains comprises a vocational subgroup.

12. The wireless client device of claim 10, wherein the one or more interest subgroups to which the event pertains comprises an academic subgroup.

13. The wireless client device of claim 10, wherein the one or more interest subgroups to which the event pertains comprises a social subgroup.

14. The wireless client device of claim 10, wherein the notification zone is delimited by an event location and notification radius in the event descriptor.