Method for creating a dynamic talk group
First Claim
1. A method for dynamically creating talk groups in a communications system, comprising defining a dynamic talk group by a user of a first subscriber station, said group having at least two group members including said user, sending a group definition message from said first subscriber station to subscriber stations of other members in said group, said group definition message containing group definition information which includes at least a group identifier, storing said group definition information in said subscriber stations for subsequent use.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to dynamically creating talk groups in a communications system. A new dynamic group is created by a user who defines a group definition message in his subscriber station. This group definition message uniquely identifies the new group in the system, and can be distributed to the intended group members using the usual messaging facilities available in the specific communications system. The recipients of the group definition message can store the message in their subscriber stations for subsequent use. Thus, group creation and membership management are handled at user level without interacting with the system. The role of the system is restricted to establishing a means for communication in the group whenever there are users who have activated the group for communication.
88 Citations
30 Claims
-
1. A method for dynamically creating talk groups in a communications system, comprising
defining a dynamic talk group by a user of a first subscriber station, said group having at least two group members including said user, sending a group definition message from said first subscriber station to subscriber stations of other members in said group, said group definition message containing group definition information which includes at least a group identifier, storing said group definition information in said subscriber stations for subsequent use.
-
2. A method for dynamically creating talk groups in a communications system, comprising
defining a dynamic talk group by a user of a first subscriber station, said group having at least two group members, sending a group definition message from said first subscriber station to subscriber stations of other members in said group, said group definition message containing group definition information which includes at least a group identifier, storing said group definition information in said subscriber stations for subsequent use, establishing said dynamic talk group in the communications system by sending a group activation message from one of said members in said group to the communications system, said group activation message containing at least said group identifier and optionally additional information from said stored group definition information.
-
11. A method for dynamically creating talk groups in a communications system, comprising
creating a dynamic talk group by a first subscriber, communicating group definition information on said dynamic talk group from said first subscriber to one or more other subscribers who are intended members of said dynamic talk group in addition to said first subscriber, storing said group definition information in subscriber stations of said subscribers, establishing said dynamic talk group on a network side of said communications system only when at least one of said subscribers registers as an active member in said group by sending a group activation message to the network side, said group activation message containing at least some of said group definition information stored in said subscriber stations of said subscribers, de-establishing said dynamic talk group established on the network side of said communications system when none of said subscribers is no longer registered as an active member of said dynamic talk group on the network side, while still storing said group definition information in said subscriber stations for enabling possible re-establishment of said dynamic talk group.
-
12. A communications system, comprising
a communication network, a plurality of subscriber stations, at least some of said subscriber stations comprising i) user-operated means for defining a dynamic talk group including a user of the respective subscriber station, ii) means for sending a group definition message to subscriber stations of the intended other members in said defined dynamic talk group over said communication network, said group definition message containing group definition information which includes at least a group identifier, iii) means for storing said group definition information and possible other group definition information on one or more other talk groups received from any other subscriber station, for subsequent use.
-
20. A subscriber station for a communications system, comprising
user-operated means for defining a dynamic talk group including a user of the subscriber station, means for sending a group definition message to subscriber stations of intended other members of said defined dynamic talk group over a communication network, said group definition message containing group definition information which includes at least a group identifier, means for storing said group definition information and possible other group definition information on one or more other talk groups received from any other subscriber station, for subsequent use.
-
24. A talk group communication service system for a communications system, comprising
means for receiving a group activation message from a subscriber station, said group activation message containing at least a group identifier and optionally additional group definition information, means for checking whether a dynamic talk group corresponding to said group identifier is already established, means responsive to said dynamic talk group not yet established for establishing said dynamic talk group on the basis of said received group definition information and registering a user of said subscriber station as an active member of said dynamic talk group, means responsive to said dynamic talk group already established for registering a user of said subscriber station as an active member of said dynamic talk group.
Specification