Unified Group Management XML Architecture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional communication networks manage group communications in a siloed manner, requiring users to learn different interfaces for various applications and lacking unified management across different communication services, which hinders the adoption of additional communication services and complicates features like charging, policy, and membership rules.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of systems and methods that support group communications across multiple communication applications using XML documents, enabling unified management, opt-in/opt-out functionality, and address translation, with architectures based on XML document management standards and push notifications to facilitate group management and distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate databases are used for different communication services (dispatch group calls, MMS), then each application can manage its own group data independently, but users must learn different interfaces for each application and group definitions must be recreated separately
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges separate group management databases into a unified group management structure that serves multiple communication services (dispatch group calls, MMS, etc.). Instead of maintaining separate databases for each service, a single group management system stores group definitions that can be accessed and utilized by different applications, eliminating the need for users to learn multiple interfaces and avoiding redundant group creation.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified group management system provides universal group management capabilities that serve multiple communication services simultaneously. The group definitions stored in the unified database can be used across different applications (dispatch, MMS, etc.), making the group management functionality universal and multi-functional rather than service-specific.
2Ease of operation
If a unified group management system is implemented across multiple communication services, then users experience a simplified interface and groups can be shared across services, but the system complexity increases due to integration requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication system into distinct functional modules: a unified group management module that handles group definition and storage, and service-specific modules (dispatch, MMS, etc.) that consume the group data. This segmentation allows the unified interface benefit while managing system complexity through clear module boundaries and defined interfaces between components.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified group management system acts as an intermediary layer between users and multiple communication services. It provides a standardized interface for group management and translates requests into service-specific formats, mediating between the simplified user experience and the underlying complexity of multiple services without requiring direct integration between all service components.
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate group definitions are maintained for each communication application, then charging and policy management can be application-specific, but the overall system requires multiple databases and increases maintenance burden
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by allowing service-specific charging and policy rules to be applied at the point of service consumption while using a unified group management backend. Each communication service (dispatch, MMS, etc.) can have its own charging algorithms and policy enforcement mechanisms, but these operate on top of the shared group definitions, maintaining implementation simplicity while enabling application-specific customization.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for supporting group communications are provided. A group list management server (GLMS) stores communications group definitions in documents, such as extensible mark-up language (XML) documents. The communications group can include communication addresses for different types of communication applications, including electronic mail, voice telephone, data, instant messaging, voice dispatch, short messaging service (SMS), and multimedia service (MMS). Various methods for managing communications groups and features provided for communications groups are provided.