Cellular phone/PDA communication system

• US 7,031,728 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2004
• Issued: 04/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AGIS Software Development LLC (AGIS Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Advanced Ground Information Systems, Inc. (AGIS Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Beyer, JR., Malcolm K.
• Primary Examiner(s): MOE, AUNG SOE
• Application Number:
  US10/711,490
• Publication Number:
  US 20060063539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 574 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.3, 455/418, 455/456.1, 455/419, 455/556.2, 455/420, 455/88, 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/416, 455/414.4, 4554122-4121, 455/415, 455/457, 455/404.2, 455/442.1, 455/427, 455/431, 455/500, 455/517, 455/518, 455/519, 455/516, 455/564, 455/458, 455/463
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27475 using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72418 for supporting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72466 with selection means, e.g. keys, having functions defined by the mode or the status of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/62 user interface aspects of conference calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/563 User guidance or feature selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A cellular PDA communication system for allowing a plurality of cellular phone users to monitor each others'"'"' location and status, to initiate cellular phone calls by touching a symbol on the display screen with a stylus or finger which can also include conferencing calling. The system also provides for remote activation of a cellular phone by an initiator causing the remote cellular phone to annunciate audio announcements, to call another phone number, to increase the volume of the speaker, to vibrate or to display images or videos. All this is accomplished with a conventional cellular phone PDA that includes GPS navigation with an enhanced improved software program.

Claims

1. A method of providing a cellular phone communication network for designated participating users, each having a similarly equipped cellular phone that includes a CPU, GPS navigational system and a touch screen display comprising the steps of:

a) providing for the selective polling of position and status information from one user among all of the other users equipped with cellular phone/PDA/GPS system and its associated software;

b1) providing for the entering of other entities of interest into the cellular phone CPU and assigning the other entities of interest a category;

b2) providing the latitude and longitude of the entities of interest along with their categories being automatically sent on the communications network;

c) providing rapid voice call initiation to one or more locations whose phone number is available in a geographical referenced database using the touch screen;

d) providing rapid voice call initiation to the users of the cellular phone/PDA/GPS network system using the touch screen;

e) providing rapid transmission of free, operator selected text messages, photographs, and video to another cellular phone using the touch screen;

f) providing rapid conference calling multiple phones that are contained within the geographical referenced data base; and

g) providing remote control from one cellular phone/PDA/GPS system to any of the other cellular phone/PDA/GPS system phones, including the ability to control remote cellular phones to make verbal announcements, display images, place return calls, place calls to another phone number, vibrate, change sound intensity and process and display pre-stored data, images and stored video.

2. The method of providing a communication network as in claim 1 including the step of:

providing in each of the cellular phones a remotely activatable software program for turning the cellular phone on and off and that initiates a signal from the remote cellular phone displaying a pre-stored message and to call the initiating cellular phone; and

providing software that activates the remote cellular phone causing the remote cellular phone to generate said pre-stored message to the remote cellular phone user.

3. A communication system to provide a cellular phone network for a group of participants, each of the participants having an individual portable cellular phone that includes voice communication, free and operator selected text messages, photographs and video, a CPU and a GPS navigational system that can accurately determine the location of each cellular phone, each of the cellular phones in the communications net of participants containing:

said CPU and memory;

a touch screen display;

symbol generator in said CPU that can generate symbols that represent each of the participants'"'"' cell phones in the communication network on the display screen;

a database that stores the individual telephone numbers related to each of the symbols each of which represents a participant in the communication network;

cellular phone call initiating software in said CPU connected to the telephone number database and the touch screen and the symbols on the touch screen whereby touching an individual symbol will automatically initiate a cellular phone telephone call to the user represented by the symbol that includes said voice communication, free and operator selected text messages, photographs and video; and

said display including databases that display geographical information that includes showing the geographical location of each of the symbols representing participants in the communication network, fixed locations, and entered items of interest.

4. A communication network that includes said participants, as in claim 3 further comprising:

said software for automatically initiating a cellular phone call to a user represented by a symbol includes initiating a conference call to two or more of the participants from a base phone by touching the specific symbols of those participants that will be participating in a conference call by touching the symbol of each of those users and providing a software switch to initiate the conference call by touching the screen whereby each of the initiated conference participants will be called by the base phone to establish a conference call.

5. A communication network as in claim 4 whereby the communication network can include a large number of participants in a conference call comprising:

conference call initiating software in said CPU that is made by sending a digital message to the remote cellular phones from said phone, by touching the symbol of each of the participants, of an 800 number and a participant code that cause each of the participants to call the 800 number and to enter a participant code to establish the conference call with the said phone.

6. A communication network as in claim 3 comprising:

said CPU including a software program to initiate a call to one of the participants represented by a symbol on said touch screen in conjunction with a software switch displayed on said touch screen and software to initiate the cellular phone call automatically that turns the remote cellular phone on or off and generates in the receiving remote cellular phone a pre-stored message that alerts the remote cellular phone user to call the initiator.

7. A method of establishing a cellular phone communication network for designated participants, each having a similarly equipped cellular phone that includes voice communication, free and operator selected text messages, photograph and video, a CPU, a GPS navigation system and a touch screen display comprising the steps of:

a) generating one or more symbols on the touch display screen, each representing a different participant that has a cellular phone that includes said voice communication, free and operator selected text messages, photograph and video, a CPU, said GPS system and a touch screen display;

b) providing and storing in each of the participant cellular phones one or more cellular phone telephone numbers, each cellular phone number of which relates to a different symbol of each of the participants in the communication network;

c) providing initiating cellular phone calling software in each cellular phone that is activated by touching a symbol on the touch display that automatically initiates a cellular phone call using the stored cellular phone number to the participant represented by the symbol; and

d) generating a geographical location chart on said display screen to show the geographical location of each of the symbols representing the participants in the communication network by latitude and longitude.

8. The method of establishing a communication network as in claim 7 comprising the additional step of:

e) providing conference call initiating software that allows each of the participants to initiate a conference call to other participants by touching each of the symbols on the touch screen representing participants who will participate in the conference call.

9. A method of establishing a communication network as in claim 7 including the step of:

f) providing conference call initiating software for a large number of participants represented by the symbols on the touch screen in which each of the proposed conference call participants are established by touching the participant'"'"'s symbol on the screen which causes the cellular phone initiating the conference call to transmit messages to each of the users represented by the touched symbols that tells each of the called participants through their cellular phones to call a particular 800 number to establish the conference call.

10. A cellular phone for use in a communication network for a plurality of participants comprising:

a cellular phone transmitter and receiver for transmitting and receiving voice communication, free and operator selected text messages, photographs, and video;

a small hand held portable housing containing said cellular phone transmitter and receiver;

a touch display screen mounted in said housing;

a modem connected to said cellular phone transmitter and receiver;

a CPU connected to said cellular phone transmitter and receiver;

a GPS navigation system connected to said CPU and to said cellular phone transmitter and receiver on said touch screen;

a database connected to said CPU that includes of a list of telephone numbers that relate to specific symbols;

a symbol generator connected to said CPU and said database for generating symbols on said touch display screen;

CPU software for selectively polling other participants with a cellular phone;

call initiating software connected through said CPU and said telephone database and said symbol generator whereby when a user touches the symbol displayed on a said touch display screen the cellular phone call is automatically initiated to the cellular phone represented by the symbol; and

a geographical database connected to said CPU to provide a geographical display on said touch screen representing a defined geographical area that also displays symbols representing each of the participants by latitude and longitude.

11. A cellular phone as in claim 10, including:

conference call initiating software connected to said CPU that allows the cellular phone user to initiate a conference call to a plurality of participants represented by symbols by touching each of the symbols and initiating a conference call software switch.

12. A cellular phone as in claim 10, including:

conference call initiating software for large number of conference call participants that allows the user of the cellular phone to initiate a conference call to the cellular phone users represented by the symbols on the screen by touching each of the symbols representing a participant in the conference call which initiates an automatic cellular phone call to the remote cellular phone users represented by the symbols displaying a text message to call a particular 800 number to establish the conference call.

13. A cellular phone as in claim 12, including:

providing the ability to pre-establish phone conferencing nets by touching the said touch display screen at a symbolic representation of the person(s) location or by selecting the parties from a list appearing on the touch display screen and assigning them to a software drawn switch made to appear on a touch display screen; and

providing the ability to conference the participants previously assigned to a net by using a software drawn switch(es) for a conference call, whereby the user touches the net software switch to initiate the call to all of the participants on the net.

14. A layered set of software drawn switches as in claim 13, including:

a matrix of layered software drawn switches so that each switch that when activated on the touch display screen overlays the previously drawn matrix of switches, the matrix level of which is noted in one of the switch locations, thus providing the operator a large choice of switches in the same physical space on the touch display screen and informing the operator of the level of switches that are displayed.

15. A cellular phone as in claim 10, including:

an emergency call initiating software connected to said CPU that includes a remote cellular phone activating signal for causing a remote cellular phone that is called by touching a symbol representing the cellular phone to be called to generate and play an audio message telling the remote cellular phone user that there is an emergency and to call the cellular phone initiator.