US 9,959,244 B2 · Public wireless network performance management system with mobile device data collection agents

Public wireless network performance management system with mobile device data collection agents

AssigneeNetmotion Wireless Holdings, Inc.

InventorsChristian E. Hofstaedter, Reyes Canales, III, Edward Goziker, James S. Simpkins, Fernando Garcia-Duarte, Julia Renouard, Joseph T. Savarese, Mark V. Kimmerly, Zhenwu Wang, John Dangov, Paul L. Hoover, Michael L. Snyder

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Estimating the term…

Abstract

Controller coupled to a mobile communications environment including at least one of a public and a private network and method of controlling a mobile device in the mobile communications environment. The controller includes a receiver that receives data about network operating parameters at specific locations within the at least one of a public and private network, a processor that evaluates the data about the network operating parameters at the specific locations based upon rules for the mobile device, and a transmitter that sends advisories to a mobile device located within a predetermined proximity to one of the specific locations about the network operating parameters.

Drawings

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Drawings

Claims23

Dependent claims

An advisory system coupled to a mobile communications environment comprising multiple networks that include at least one of a public and private network, the advisory system comprising:

a receiver that receives data from mobile devices, each mobile device being coupled to a plurality of the multiple networks, the data being respective global positioning locations of the mobile devices and network operating parameters for each of the plurality of coupled multiple networks at the respective global positioning locations of the mobile devices within the mobile communications environment;
a processor that processes the received data about the network operating parameters for each of the plurality of coupled multiple networks at the respective global positioning locations for the mobile device and evaluates network operating parameters for each of the mobile devices in each of the plurality of the multiple networks,
wherein the processor further evaluates whether the evaluated network operating parameters for each of the mobile devices are improvable over the evaluated network operating parameters of current networks to which each of the mobile devices are currently coupled for transmitting data and prepares advisories for certain ones of the mobile devices to alert users of the certain ones of mobile devices of at least one of projected problems and solutions to projected problems;
and
a transmitter that transmits the advisories to the certain ones of the mobile devices in order to automatically alert the users of the at least one of projected problems and solutions to projected problems to improve the evaluated network operating parameters of the certain ones of the mobile devices over the evaluated network parameters of the current networks to which the certain ones of the mobile devices are currently coupled for transmitting data, wherein the advisories are based upon rules for the at least one mobile device, a current global positioning location of the at least one mobile device and the evaluated network operating parameters for each of the mobile devices in a predetermined proximity of a current global positioning location of the certain ones of the mobile devices.

2 more elements

A method for advising a mobile device coupled to a mobile communications environment comprising multiple networks that include at least one of a public and private network, the method comprising:

receiving data from mobile devices that are each coupled to a plurality of the multiple networks, the data being respective global positioning locations of the mobile devices and network operating parameters for each of the plurality of coupled networks at respective global positioning global positioning locations of the mobile devices within the mobile communications environment;
processing the received data about the network operating parameters for each of the plurality of coupled networks at the respective global positioning global positioning locations for the mobile device;
evaluating network operating parameters for each of the mobile devices in each of the plurality of the multiple networks;
evaluating whether the evaluated network operating parameters for each of the mobile devices are improvable over the evaluated network operating parameters of current networks to which each of the mobile devices are currently coupled for transmitting data;
preparing advisories for certain ones of the mobile devices to alert users of the certain ones of mobile devices of at least one of projected problems and solutions to projected problems;
and
transmitting the advisories to the certain ones of the mobile devices in order to automatically alert the users of the at least one of projected problems and solutions to projected problems to improve the evaluated network operating parameters of the certain ones of the mobile devices over the evaluated network parameters of the current networks to which the certain ones of the mobile devices are currently coupled for transmitting data, wherein the advisories are based upon rules for the at least one mobile device, a current global positioning location of the at least one mobile device and the evaluated network operating parameters for each of the mobile devices in a predetermined proximity of a current global positioning location of the certain ones of the mobile devices.

4 more elements

An advisory system coupled to a mobile communications environment that includes multiple networks with at least one public and/or private network, the advisory system comprising:

a receiver that receives data from at least one mobile device about operating parameters for all of a plurality of multiple networks that are coupled to the at least one mobile device at several respective global positioning locations of the at least one mobile device as the at least one mobile device moves within the plurality of networks;
a processor that processes the received data to evaluate the operating parameters for each of the networks coupled to the at least one mobile device at the several respective global positioning locations, to evaluate whether the evaluated operating parameters for each of the networks coupled to the at least one mobile device are improvable over the evaluated operating parameters of a current network to which the at least one mobile device is currently coupled for transmitting data and to prepare an advisory for the at least one mobile device to alert a user of the at least one mobile device of at least one of projected problems and solutions to projected problems;
and
a transmitter that transmits the advisory to at least one mobile device in order to automatically alert the user of at least one of projected problems and solutions to projected problems to improve the evaluated operating parameters of the at least one mobile device over the evaluated parameters of the current network, wherein the advisory includes at least one suggestion to the user to improve performance of the at least one mobile device at a current global positioning location, which is based upon rules for the at least one mobile device, the current global positioning location of the at least one mobile device and the evaluated operating parameters for each of the networks coupled to the at least one mobile device in a predetermined proximity of the current global positioning location of the at least one mobile device.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Description11,684 words

Summary3,320 words

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to the combined practices of Network Performance Management and Mobile Device Management. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to one or more mobile hosts monitoring one or more data measurements of one or more public wireless networks from one or more terminal nodes of a network, locally storing the collected data, processing the data through an artificial intelligence engine, and periodically communicating the collected data back to a centralized data collection server where it may again be processed through an artificial intelligence engine and stored into a database so it can be viewed with a graphical and analytical front-end user interface.

#2. Discussion of Background Information

Brief description of the drawings18 figures

#The present invention is further described in the detailed description which follows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way of non-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in which like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:

#FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the various components of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the data collection agent component of the present invention;

Detailed description7,841 words

#The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the present invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the present invention in more detail than is necessary for the fundamental understanding of the present invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the present invention may be embodied in practice.

#The present invention is a distributed network performance management system. As such, it is composed of data collection agents located on the terminal nodes of the system and a central server comprised of a web server, a database, and an artificial intelligence engine 8. FIG. 1 shows an overall system component diagram with Mobile Devices 1 on which the data collection agents reside, Wireless Networks 4, 5 of which multiple networks may be simultaneously in use, a Web Server 6 that both receives collected data and provides access to the reports based on that data, a Database 7 that provides the historical data storage for the system, and an Artificial Intelligence Engine 8 that receives incoming data from the Mobile Devices 1 and reads historical data from the Database 7 to evaluate rules and take actions as warranted.

#By way of example, Mobile Devices 1 can include laptops, netbooks, smartphones, handheld devices, workstations, PDAs, IPADs, tablet computers, etc. Further, wireless networks 4, 5 can include WiFi, cellular networks technologies such as WiMax, 3G, 4G and Long Term Evolution (LTE), as well as other radio networks. Web server 6 can include Internet Information Service (IIS), APACHE TOMCAT, ORACLE HTTP Server and others. Database 7 can include MySQL, SQL Server, dBASE, MICROSOFT ACCESS, etc. Artificial Intelligence Engine 8 can include automatic system-generated notifications and alerts, policy enforcement, conditional system responses based on the nature and content of collected information.

Facts

Application

13/549,884Filed 16 Jul 2012 · continuation

Priority

1 Feb 2010

Published

US 2012/0282933 A18 Nov 2012

Granted

1 May 2018

Term ends

31 Jan 2031

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.

Classification14 codes

H04L 41/12
Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks: discovery or management…
H04W 12/082
Access security: using revocation of authorisation
G06F 15/173
Interprocessor communication: using an interconnection network, e.g. matrix, shuffle, pyramid, star, snowflake
H04L 41/22
Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks: comprising specially…

Family

Application61/300,291Us provisional application · filed 1 Feb 2010

Application13/017,751Parent of this continuation · filed 31 Jan 2011

US 2012/0282933 A1Pre-grant publication · published 8 Nov 2012

US 10,031,885 B2Related patent

US 2011/0191465 A1Published application

US 9,959,244 B2This patent

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

Timeline

1 Feb 2010Priority claimedParent application 61/300,291
16 Jul 2012Application filedUS 13/549,884
14 Sep 2012Assigned to Wells Fargo Bank, National Associationpatent security agreement
8 Nov 2012PublishedUS 2012/0282933 A1
22 Jun 2016Assigned to Netmotion Wireless, Inc.assignment of assignor's interest
7 Oct 2016Assigned to Golub Capital LLC, AS Administrative Agentsecurity interest
20 Oct 2016Assigned to Netmotion Wireless Holdings, Inc., Netmotion Wireless, Inc.release of security interests in patents
27 Oct 2016Assigned to Netmotion Wireless Holdings, Inc., Netmotion Wireless, Inc.release of security interest
1 May 2018GrantedUS 9,959,244 B2
14 Aug 2020Assigned to Netmotion Wireless, Inc., Netmotion Wireless Holdings, Inc.release of security interest
15 Aug 2020Assigned to Mufg Union Bank, N.A., AS Collateral Agentsecurity interest
26 Aug 2020Assigned to Netmotion Software, Inc.change of name
1 Jul 2021Assigned to Mobile Sonic Intermediate, Inc., Netmotion Wireless Holdings, Inc., Netmotion Software, Inc.release of security interest
23 Jul 2021Assigned to Bsp Agency, LLC, AS Collateral Agentsecurity interest
18 Oct 2022Assigned to Mobile Sonic, Inc.merger
18 Oct 2022Assigned to Mobile Sonic Intermediate, Inc.merger
18 Oct 2022Assigned to Netmotion Wireless Holdings, Inc.merger
28 Jul 2023Assigned to Netmotion Software, Inc., Netmotion Wireless Holdings, Inc.release of security interest
31 Jul 2023Assigned to Ares Capital Corporation, AS Collateral Agentsecurity interest
12 Oct 2026TodayWithin its term
31 Jan 2031Term endsEstimated