Patent Application
20140364159
The present disclosure is directed to machine-to-machine communications using private number routing, and more particularly to a system for sending traditional SMS messages from a mobile device to an M2M device using a private number.
Many of today's electronic devices, sensors, monitors, and other similar equipment are designed to communicate with other devices or a central monitoring center or network. Often these communications rely on the cellular network since the devices are normally not near wired connections or are mobile. It is common in these machine-to-machine (M2M) deployments to assign private, non-dialable phone numbers to such cellular subscriptions to reduce reliance on a finite, limited set of available dialable phone numbers, and also for added security to prevent un-desired short-message-service (SMS) messages, commonly referred to as SPAM, being sent to M2M devices from unknown or undesired senders. In order to send SMS or other messaging protocol to devices with private phone numbers, it is required that a system or mechanism connect to the specific carrier via a direct, private programmatic interface (web service or SMPP).
The Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) is an open, industry standard protocol designed to provide a flexible data communication interface for the transfer of short message data between External Short Messaging Entities (ESME), Routing Entities (RE), Message Centers. These interfaces are not directly available to consumer handsets so there is no method to send an SMS message directly from a handset to an M2M device using private numbers.
According to the concepts described herein, a preferred embodiment of a method of sending a message to a remote cellular device having a non-dialable number is described. The method includes associating a user handset with one or more remote cellular devices having a non-dialable number, and receiving a message from the handset intended for one of the remote cellular devices at a private routing mechanism. The method then verifies the association of the handset with the intended one of the remote cellular devices, and routes the message to the intended one of the remote cellular devices using the association between the handset and the remote cellular device using the private phone number.
In another preferred embodiment a private routing mechanism for sending a message to a remote cellular device having a non-dialable number is described. The private routing mechanism includes a device mapping database storing associations between a user handset and one or more remote cellular devices each having a non-dialable number. The private routing mechanism is operable to receive a message from the handset intended for one of the remote cellular devices at a private routing mechanism and verify the handset for the intended one of the remote cellular devices. The private routing mechanism then routes the message to the intended one of the remote cellular devices using the association between the handset and the remote cellular device using the private phone number.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The concepts described herein provides a system and method to allow consumer handsets to send an SMS to an SMS Private Routing mechanism which will then forward the message to the private, non-PSTN routable phone number assigned to cellular subscription using the direct, private programmatic interfaces for that service provider. The invention combines the use of a standard cellular short code with a concept of associating the consumer handset with one or more M2M cellular subscriptions/devices to enable this capability. The consumer handset sends an SMS to a short code which is delivered to the SMS Private Routing mechanism which then uses a pre-assigned association between the handset and the M2M device to route the SMS to the M2M cellular device using the private phone number.
It has not been possible to send an SMS directly to a device using an M2M cellular subscription from a consumer cellular handset if the M2M cellular subscription was assigned a non-dialable, private phone number (i.e. 555-xxx-xxxx type number). Many M2M service providers and integrators use SMS from handsets to communicate with their M2M devices for diagnostics, or feature capability (i.e. arm/disarm a security panel via SMS). This required customers to develop backend data or web service interfaces to a service provider instead of using the standard SMS capability in a public network which is not economically feasible for many M2M service providers. With this mechanism, any consumer, public handset can send an SMS over the public SMS network using a short code and have it delivered to a device using a private, non-dialable phone number. This allows M2M service providers to use SMS to communicate directly with the M2M devices but retain the security and independence on a limited set of dialable phone numbers.
Referring now to
Since the mobile units 101a through 101e use private numbers, they are not accessible from a traditional handset using a normal provider network 104 using SMS or any other traditional handset protocol. In order to allow users 108 to send and receive messages with the mobile units 101a through 101e, the present invention allows the users 108 to use a SMS Private Routing Mechanism 105 to communicate with the mobile units. Private Routing Mechanism 105 takes traditional SMS messages or messages using other protocols and converts them into messages routable on the private or SMPP network 103. Private Routing Mechanism controls access to the mobile units 101a-101e by mapping user devices to particular mobile units using device mapping database 106. Device mapping database 106 acts as an allowed-to-communicate filter preventing random or unauthorized devices from communicating with the mobile units. Private Routing Mechanism 105 also may include a message translation function to translate SMS or other messages into a format receivable by the mobile units and vise versa. The translation function could also take place elsewhere in the network.
The protocols used in preferred embodiments of the system are agnostic to technical details of the specific devices and can be used across a spectrum of devices and technologies. While a particular number of mobile units are represented in
Referring now to
Sensors 209, 210 can be embedded in or connected to the device to collect data, detect motion, detect the presence of another object, or any other type of data or environmental information. Such information can be collected and reported to the data center or can also be used to trigger actions by the mobile device. Reed switch 207 is an electrical switch that is activated by a magnetic field and can be used to enable or disable the device. While unit 200 is shown with a particular combination of sensors and communication elements, the specific configuration of each device can vary according to its intended use and may include a particular sensor or array of sensors, may include one communications system or multiple communications systems, and may include any of a variety of location determination modules or none at all.
Referring now to
Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/832,557, filed Jun. 7, 2013, titled, “System and Method for SMS Private Number Routing”, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61832557 | Jun 2013 | US |
