Abstract:
A computer system consisting of a server or host computer and at least two client computers that provide input and output services for the server or host computer, the system of server/client computers are connected in a configuration and that follow a protocol that increases the likelihood of successful transmission of pairing or emergency messages.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of U.S. provisional applications Nos. 61/842462, 61/842502, 61/842506, and 61/842509, all filed on Jul. 3, 2013. Each of these applications is herein incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention is in the field of telecommunications; more particularly the present invention is in the area of communication and control between host and client computers, pairing algorithms and emergency messaging. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    Existing communications devices employ a single radio transmission device to relay a message to a base or master control center. In the event the radio channel is compromised the message may not be sent, and pairing of host and client devices may not be achieved. 
         [0006]    Senior citizens typically have a pendant with a call button on it that relays an emergency message to a central control unit. They use this system if they are in distress. This system relies on a successful transmission of the emergency message over a communications channel. Failure of the channel results in unsuccessful emergency message transmission 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]    The system comprises consists of an input device, an output device and a server. The input device and the output device must establish a unique pairing to ensure that the users input controls the correct output device. 
         [0008]    In accordance with the present invention a system comprising multiple communications protocols and channels to increase the probability of a successful message transmission is presented. The proposed system comprises at least two computer units that act as the input and output devices in a server hosted system. These devices pass information to a remote server via a wireless local area network connected to a wide area network and communicate between each other using a second but different wireless local area network. Information sent over the primary wireless data communication network by one device, e.g, a tablet computer or smartphone, is retransmitted to the second device, e.g., an internet connected TV, etc, via the second wireless data network. The second device then retransmits the information over the primary wireless communications network. This maximizes the successful transmission probability of a message. 
         [0009]    The primary and secondary wireless local area networks may connect to wide area networks via cellular telephone, paging or land line networks. In this way the system may use the cellular phone network, the wireless paging network, the land line network, wide area data networks or any combination of them to ensure the transmitted signal is received. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  shows a setup connecting a server of host computer to at least two different client computers. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  shows the data flow between the server and user input and output devices. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  shows the method of pairing up the user input and output devices. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    Referring now to the invention in more detail, a typical setup of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 1  there is shown a typical communication setup for a single user. A server or host computer  101  connects to a wide area network gateway  103 . The gateway  103  provides a primary bi-directional wired or wireless communication channel  109  to a user input device  105  such as tablet PC, or smart phone. The gateway  103  also provides a primary bi-directional wired or wireless communication channel  111  to a user output device  107 . User input device  105  and user output device  107  are connected to each other over a secondary bi-directional communication channel  113  (e.g., bluetooth). A protocol is used to transmit data between gateway  103 , the user input device  105 , and the user output device  107  via the primary and secondary communications links  109 ,  111 , and  113 . 
       Operation 
       [0014]    The system of  FIG. 1  may be operated in emergency messaging context, By way of example, the user causes the system to issue an emergency message on the user input device  105 , e.g, by using special software application installed in the input device, voice activated commands, commands received by and recognized as such by the sensors of the input device (such as gyroscope, acceleration sensor, microphone, position sensor, etc), using dedicated buttons of the device, etc. The user input device  105  transmits the information about the emergency message (e.g., a text message, a voice message, a voice call, a video call, etc) to the gateway  103  via the primary communication channel  109 . The gateway  103  transmits the information about the emergency message to the server  101 . The user input device  105  transmits the same emergency message information to the user output device  107  via the secondary communication channel  113 . The user output device  107  then also transmits the emergency call information to the gateway  103  and then to the server device  101  via the primary communication channel  111 . The aforementioned procedure allows the gateway  103 , the user input device  105 , and the user output device  107  to share the same information about the emergency message. In addition, the user input device  105  may transmit the information about the emergency message directly to the output device  107  using the secondary communication channel  113 . This allows the emergency message to be transmitted twice over two independent communications channels. These channels can be realized using cellular wide area networks and or Ethernet based wide area networks. 
         [0015]    Referring now to  FIG. 2  there is shown the computer server  101 , the client input device  105  and the client output device  107  from  FIG. 1 . The computer server receives data such as emergency messages from the client input device  105  via an uplink channel  21 . The computer server  101  may send data to the client input device  105  via a downlink channel  23 . The computer server  101  may also send data to the client output device  107  via a downlink channel  25 . 
         [0016]    Referring now to the invention in more detail, in  FIG. 3 , process  301  run on a computer server  101  generates a unique identification number.. Process  35  downloads and stores the number on output device  107 . Output device  107  displays the number to the user. Output device  107  prompts the user to enter the number on input device  105 . When the user enters the correct number on input device  105 , process  33  stores the same number on the input device  105 . This process pairs a specific output device  107  with a specific input device  105 . Subsequently, each message sent from the input device  107  to the server  101  via gateway  103  using uplink channel  21  carries the number as a signature. The server uses the signature to verify the origin and authenticity of the message. The server uses the verified signature to send display messages to the correctly paired output device  107  using downlink channel  25 . The server also uses the verified signature to send display messages to the correctly paired input device  105  using downlink channel  23 . 
         [0017]    Accordingly, the reader will see that the communication system of this invention can be used to enable a robust communication protocol for a configuration with a server or host computer and at least two client devices. 
         [0018]    Furthermore, the described communication system has the additional advantages in that 
         [0019]    (a) it uses multiple communication protocols to increase the possibility of the successful transmission of a pairing or emergency message; 
         [0020]    (b) it uses multiple communication channels to increase the possibility of the successful transmission of a pairing or emergency message; 
         [0021]    (c) it passes information from the client devices to the server via independent local area networks; 
         [0022]    (d) it uses the second client device and its network connection to retransmit the message sent by the first client device. 
         [0023]    Further advantages are the usage of at least one wide area network on top of the local area networks to transmit the message. 
         [0024]    Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred implementations of this invention. For example, the input devices can be of different nature, such as touch-less sensors; the computer server can be split into several devices, etc. 
         [0025]    Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 
       REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS 
       [0026]      101 —Server or host computer 
         [0027]      103 —Gateway to wide area network 
         [0028]      105 —User input device 
         [0029]      107 —User output device 
         [0030]      109 —Communication link between gateway and user input device 
         [0031]      111 —Communication link between gateway and user output device 
         [0032]      113 —Communication link between user input device and user output device 
         [0033]      21 —Uplink between user input device and computer server 
         [0034]      23 —Downlink between computer server and user input device 
         [0035]      25 —Downlink between computer server and user output device 
         [0036]      31 —Generation of a set of unique identification numbers 
         [0037]      33 —Assignment of an identification number to an input device 
         [0038]      35 —Assignment of an identification number to an output device