# US 11,444,823 B1 · Hierarchical, multifactor alert routing system and method

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- Number: US 11,444,823 B1
- Document ID: US11444823B1
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B1
- Application number: 16/714,018
- Filed: 2019-12-13
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2015-11-19
- Assignees: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
- Applicants: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
- Inventors: Andrew J. Garner, IV; Nick A. Maiorana; Rajib Roy; Daniel David
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11444823B1

## CPC

- H04L 41/065: {involving logical or physical relationship, e.g. grouping and hierarchies}
- H04L 41/0686: Additional information in the notification, e.g. enhancement of specific meta-data
- H04L 41/0806: for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
- H04L 67/303: Terminal profiles
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)

## Abstract

Alert routing system and methods are described. Alerts are received and aggregated from disparate internet-of-things devices. Alerts may be prioritized based on any combination of: source device-related factors, such as device purpose; subscriber-related factors, such as age, preferences, and restrictions; and subscriber device-related factors, such as ability to receive information in particular formats. In some instances, alerts are further prioritized based on the location of the system's components. Additionally, in some instances, alerts are queued for batch processing based, for example, on subscriber schedule and preferences.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An alert routing system comprising:
a device database storing associations between a plurality of internet-of-things devices and a plurality of subscriber profiles;
a network interface configured to receive information from the plurality of internet-of-things devices related to conditions monitored by the plurality of internet-of-things devices, wherein the plurality of internet-of-things devices are associated with an alert location; and
at least one processor and memory, the memory having instructions stored therein that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
determine an alert recipient hierarchy comprising at least one subscriber from the plurality of subscriber profiles as a first-in-line recipient, wherein the first-in-line recipient is selected from the plurality of subscriber profiles based on a geographical location of a particular subscriber, comprising operations to:
based on location information of a first user device associated with a first subscriber, determine whether the first subscriber is within a threshold distance of the alert location;
if the first subscriber is within the threshold distance, then set the first subscriber as the first-in-line recipient in the alert recipient hierarchy;
if the first subscriber is not within the threshold distance, then:
if a threshold distance override is associated with the first subscriber, set the first subscriber as the first-in-line recipient, and
if no threshold distance override is associated with the first subscriber, then, based on second location information of a second user device associated with a second subscriber, determine whether the second subscriber is within the threshold distance, and, if the second subscriber is within the threshold distance, set the second subscriber as the first-in-line recipient;
based on first information from a first internet-of-things device relating to a first condition monitored by the first internet-of-things device, generate a first alert, wherein the first internet-of-things device is associated with the first-in-line recipient;
based on second information from a second internet-of-things device relating to a second condition monitored by the second internet-of-things device, generate a second alert, wherein the second internet-of-things device is associated with the first-in-line recipient;
generate a batch alert comprising the first alert and the second alert; and
transmit the batch alert to at least one computing device associated with the first-in-line recipient from the alert recipient hierarchy.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the first-in-line recipient is a group of recipients, and wherein the memory further includes instructions that cause the at least one processor to:
based on an alert timing, select the group of recipients from a plurality of groups to be a first-in-line group of recipients.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further includes instructions that cause the at least one processor to:
access an electronic schedule associated with the first-in-line recipient;
based on the electronic schedule, determine an alert delivery time for the first-in-line recipient; and
transmit the batch alert to the at least one computing device associated with the first-in-line recipient at the alert delivery time.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further includes instructions that cause the at least one processor to:
if no response was received to the batch alert during a predetermined response period of time,
based on updated information from a corresponding device in the plurality of internet-of-things devices, determine that an alert condition has not been resolved; and
if the alert condition has not been resolved, transmit the batch alert to a second computing device associated with a next-in-line recipient from the alert recipient hierarchy.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further includes instructions that cause the at least one processor to:
receive a response to the batch alert, the response comprising a control command related to at least one device in the plurality of internet-of-things devices; and
for each of the at least one device, based on the response, transmit a signal to a component of the at least one device to operate the at least one device according to the control command.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further includes instructions that cause the at least one processor to:
receive a response to the batch alert, the response comprising a request to initiate a service or purchase transaction for a set of devices from the plurality of internet-of-things devices;
based on the response, generate an electronic transaction request comprising a single service or purchase request related to each of the set of devices from the plurality of internet-of-things devices; and
transmit the electronic transaction request to a supplier computing system.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The system of claim 6, wherein the memory further includes instructions that cause the at least one processor to:
determine the supplier computing system, comprising instructions that cause the at least one processor to:
perform an Internet query comprising a request to identify a plurality of suppliers that service the alert location; and
select, from the plurality of suppliers, a supplier associated with the supplier computing system.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The system of claim 7, wherein the supplier is selected based on at least one of information received from the at least one computing device and a comparison of a rating of the supplier to a threshold rating.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, further comprising causing a mobile client application on the at least one computing device to display a push notification comprising the batch alert, the push notification comprising an interactive list of suggested corrective actions displayed on the at least one computing device via an interface control.

### Claim 10

A method for routing alerts from a plurality of internet-of-things devices, comprising:
determining an alert recipient hierarchy comprising at least one subscriber from a plurality of subscriber profiles as a first-in-line recipient, wherein the first-in-line recipient is selected from the plurality of subscriber profiles based on a geographical location of a particular subscriber relative to an alert location, comprising operations to:
based on location information of a first user device associated with a first subscriber, determining whether the first subscriber is within a threshold distance of the alert location;
if the first subscriber is within the threshold distance, then setting the first subscriber as the first-in-line recipient in the alert recipient hierarchy;
if the first subscriber is not within the threshold distance, then:
if a threshold distance override is associated with the first subscriber, setting the first subscriber as the first-in-line recipient, and
if no threshold distance override is associated with the first subscriber, then, based on second location information of a second user device associated with a second subscriber, determining whether the second subscriber is within the threshold distance, and, if the second subscriber is within the threshold distance, setting the second subscriber as the first-in-line recipient;
based on first information from a first internet-of-things device from the plurality of internet-of-things devices associated with the alert location, the first information relating to a first condition monitored by the first internet-of-things device, generating a first alert for the first-in-line recipient;
based on second information from a second internet-of-things device relating to a second condition monitored by the second internet-of-things device, generating a second alert for the first-in-line recipient;
generating a batch alert comprising the first alert and the second alert; and
transmitting the batch alert to at least one computing device associated with the first-in-line recipient.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein the first-in-line recipient is a group of recipients, the method further comprising:
based on an alert timing, selecting the group of recipients from a plurality of groups to be a first-in-line group of recipients.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising:
accessing an electronic schedule associated with the first-in-line recipient;
based on a notification condition determined based on the electronic schedule, determining an alert delivery time; and
transmitting the batch alert to the at least one computing device associated with the first-in-line recipient at the alert delivery time.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising:
if no response was received to the batch alert during a predetermined response period of time, transmitting the batch alert to a second computing device associated with a next-in-line recipient from the alert recipient hierarchy,
wherein the response comprises one of:
a confirmation of receipt received from the at least one computing device associated with the first-in-line recipient, and
updated information from a corresponding device in the plurality of internet-of-things devices.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising:
receiving a response to the batch alert, the response comprising a control command related to at least one device in the plurality of internet-of-things devices; and
for each of the at least one device, based on the response, transmitting a signal to a component of the at least one device to operate the at least one device according to the control command.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising:
receiving a response to the batch alert, the response comprising a request to initiate a service or purchase transaction for a set of devices from the plurality of internet-of-things devices;
based on the response, determining a supplier, comprising:
performing an Internet query comprising a request to identify a plurality of suppliers that service the alert location;
selecting, from the plurality of suppliers, the supplier based on at least one of information received from the at least one computing device and a comparison of a rating of the supplier to a threshold rating;
generating an electronic transaction request comprising a single service or purchase request related to each of the set of devices from the plurality of internet-of-things devices; and
transmitting the electronic transaction request to a supplier computing system associated with the supplier.

### Claim 16 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising causing a mobile client application on the at least one computing device to display a push notification comprising the batch alert.

### Claim 17

Non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
determining an alert recipient hierarchy comprising at least one subscriber from a plurality of subscriber profiles as a first-in-line recipient, wherein the first-in-line recipient is selected from the plurality of subscriber profiles based on a geographical location of a particular subscriber relative to an alert location, comprising the operations to:
based on location information of a first user device associated with a first subscriber, determining whether the first subscriber is within a threshold distance of the alert location;
if the first subscriber is within the threshold distance, then setting the first subscriber as the first-in-line recipient in the alert recipient hierarchy;
if the first subscriber is not within the threshold distance, then:
if a threshold distance override is associated with the first subscriber, setting the first subscriber as the first-in-line recipient, and
if no threshold distance override is associated with the subscriber, then, based on second location information of a second user device associated with a second subscriber, determining whether the second subscriber is within the threshold distance, and, if the second subscriber is within the threshold distance, setting the second subscriber as the first-in-line recipient;
based on first information from a first internet-of-things device from a plurality of internet-of-things devices associated with the alert location, the first information relating to a first condition monitored by the first internet-of-things device, generating a first alert for the first-in-line recipient;
based on second information from a second internet-of-things device relating to a second condition monitored by the second internet-of-things device, generating a second alert for the first-in-line recipient;
generating a batch alert comprising the first alert and the second alert; and
transmitting the batch alert to at least one computing device associated with the first-in-line recipient.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The computer-readable media of claim 17, wherein the first-in-line recipient is a group of recipients, the instructions further comprising:
based on alert timing, selecting the group of recipients from a plurality of groups to be a first-in-line group of recipients.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The computer-readable media of claim 17, the instructions further comprising:
receiving a response to the batch alert, the response comprising a request to initiate a service or purchase transaction for a set of devices from the plurality of internet-of-things devices;
based on the response, determining a supplier, comprising:
performing an Internet query comprising a request to identify a plurality of suppliers that service the alert location;
selecting, from the plurality of suppliers, the supplier based on at least one of information received from the at least one computing device and a comparison of a rating of the supplier to a threshold rating;
generating an electronic transaction request comprising a single service or purchase request related to each of the set of devices from the plurality of internet-of-things devices; and
transmitting the electronic transaction request to a supplier computing system associated with the supplier.