Programming secondary communication groups to devices arranged in a hierarchy of groups

• US 9,232,362 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2012
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Bekiares, Tyrone D., Miller, Trent J., Mueller, Bruce D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Safaipour, Bobbak
• Application Number:
  US13/730,918
• Publication Number:
  US 20140187280A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,102 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

Primary and/or secondary communication groups can be assigned to users with communication devices arranged in a hierarchy (FIG. 4). A set of humans are assigned to a role in a role-based hierarchy. A communication device (404) is assigned to the set of humans for communication over a network. One or more secondary communication groups are determined for the communication device (120). The one or more determined secondary communication groups are primary communication groups of other devices used by one or more other humans assigned roles in the role-based hierarchy. Secondary communication group settings are programmed for the communication device (124), where the group settings are consistent with the determined secondary communication groups.

Claims

1. A method for programming communication devices associated with groups of users arranged into a hierarchy comprising:

determining a group of users having a similar role within an organizational hierarchy;

assigning a primary communication group to the users having the similar role within the organizational hierarchy;

determining a communication device assigned to a user in the group of users;

assigning the primary communication group to the communication device said communication device associated with the user for communication using a network;

determining a secondary communication group for the communication device based on the user'"'"'s status as a superior, peer, or subordinate within the hierarchy, wherein the secondary communication group is a primary communication group for at least one other user within the hierarchy; and

programming the communication device with the determined primary and secondary communication groups.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the hierarchy is a role-based hierarchy established for incident response, wherein the user is a responder for incident, wherein the group of users having the similar role is determined by the user'"'"'s role in the incident, wherein the communication device is a responder device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining a group of users having the similar role for a user enrolled in a hierarchy further comprises a command device, assigned to a human, assigning users to group of users having the similar roles within the hierarchy.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining a group of users having the similar role for a user enrolled in a hierarchy further comprises determining a group of users having the similar role comprised of users sharing a common attribute.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the common attribute is role.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication network is a Project 25 compliant network, wherein the primary and secondary communication groups are Project 25 compliant talkgroups.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication network is a broadband network, wherein the primary and secondary communication groups are Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC) groups.

8. The method of claim 1, where communication on the secondary communication group is restricted based on user role.

9. The method of claim 7, where the restriction is receive-only.

10. The method of claim 1, where the programming of a secondary communication group comprises configuring a communication device to scan a talkgroup.