US 8,478,317 B2 · System for SMS based ticket number service over femtocell access point

Abstract

A Femtocell Access Point (FAP) is used to provision a ticket number service. Customers approach the FAP and are given a ticket number indicating their place in the queue through an SMS message. Follow up SMS messages are sent updating the customer of their current position in line, as well as when it is their turn. Statistics may be generated from information gathered at the FAP and sent to an external client module.

Drawings

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Drawings

Claims8

Dependent claims

A Femtocell Access Point (FAP), said FAP comprising:

a short range wireless interface that allows communication with a subscriber user equipment;
a backhaul network interface that allows communication with a core network;
a Short Message Service (SMS) module that can generate a short term ticket number indicative of said subscriber's place in a queue for service in response to an attach request from said subscriber user equipment, and send an initial SMS message comprising said short term ticket number to said subscriber;
wherein said SMS module periodically checks to see when said subscriber has moved up in said queue for service and sends an update SMS message comprising an indication of an updated position of the subscriber in said queue for service;
wherein said SMS module sends a final update SMS message when said subscriber has moved up to a first position of said queue for service;
wherein said SMS module removes said short term ticket number from said queue for service when the subscriber notifies said FAP;
said short term ticket number also being removed from said queue for service after said final update SMS message is sent.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Description3,462 words

Summary794 words

#1. Field of Invention

#The present invention relates to the field of wireless telecommunication networks. In particular, this invention relates to ticket number services offered in a femtocell base station.

#2. Discussion of Related Art

Brief description of the drawings3 figures

#FIG. 1 illustrates a network system including a femtocell access point.

#FIG. 2 illustrates a general block diagram of a femtocell access point.

#FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of the providing ticket number service with a femtocell access point.

Detailed description2,629 words

#FIG. 1 illustrates the overall telecommunications system including a femtocell access point. User 102 typically uses subscriber equipment 104, such as a mobile telephone, to communicate over core network 130 to telecommunications service 120. Telecommunications service 120 routes the user communication as needed. External client modules may reside on telecommunications service 120 to provide additional processing of communications as directed by external clients. In the preferred embodiment, core network 130 is a cellular telephone network.

#Femtocell access point (FAP) 106 connects to modem 108 in order to communicate through Internet 110 to telecommunications service 120. In addition to connecting through core network 130, subscriber equipment 104 can use (FAP) 106 to communicate to telecommunications service 120.

#The proposed system modifies a femtocell 106 with modules presented in FIG. 2. Femtocell 106 hosts the functionalities to perform services defined by the standards, including wireless interface 210 and backhaul network interface 230. SMS module 220 can create or terminate SMS messages from scratch. SMS module 220 also relays the outgoing SMS messages to telecommunications service 120. Termination of SMS messages in femtocell may be performed with the capability of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) module 260.

Facts

Application

13/604,767Filed 6 Sep 2012 · division

Priority

15 Jun 2009

Published

US 2012/0329492 A127 Dec 2012

Granted

2 Jul 2013

Term ends

14 Jun 2030

Estimated · how

20 years from earliest known nonprovisional domestic filing plus recorded patent term adjustment. Maintenance-fee lapses, terminal disclaimers and statutory extensions have not been checked. The continuity chain may be incomplete; this is not an enforceability determination.

Classification6 codes

H04W 4/00
Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks
H04L 67/12
Protocols: specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in…
H04W 4/14
Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements: short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
H04W 84/045
Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems: using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B

Family

Application61/268,592Us provisional application · filed 15 Jun 2009

Application12/814,934Parent of this division · filed 14 Jun 2010

US 2012/0329492 A1Pre-grant publication · published 27 Dec 2012

US 8,275,400 B2Parent of this division

US 2010/0317380 A1Published application

US 8,478,317 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Timeline

15 Jun 2009Priority claimedParent application 61/268,592
6 Sep 2012Application filedUS 13/604,767
27 Dec 2012PublishedUS 2012/0329492 A1
2 Jul 2013GrantedUS 8,478,317 B2
4 May 2017Assigned to Netsia, Inc.change of name
12 Oct 2026TodayWithin its term
14 Jun 2030Term endsEstimated

System for SMS based ticket number service over femtocell access point

Life of this patent

System for SMS based ticket number service over femtocell access point

Life of this patent

Life of this patent

Abstract

Drawings

Drawings

Claims8

Description3,462 words

Drawings

Classification6 codes

Life of this patent

Description3,462 words