MOBILE RADIO SYSTEMS HAVING GROUPS WITH DYNAMIC LABELS

1 . A method of grouping radio units in a radio communication system, including:

selecting one or more radio units in the system to form a group,

selecting an identification code for the group,

determining an alphanumeric label for the group,

sending a new group message to each of the selected radios, containing the identification code and the label, and

storing the code and the label at each of the selected radios.

2 . A method according to claim 1 further including:

determining a new alphanumeric label for the group,

sending an update message to the radios in the group, containing the identification code and the new label, and

updating the label stored at each radio in the group.

3 . A method according to claim 1 further including:

initiating a call to the group, and

displaying the label at one or more of the units during the call.

4 . A dispatcher terminal for a radio communication system, including:

a processor, and

a memory coupled to the processor for storing instructions which when executed enable the processor to:

indicate radio units available for a new group in the communication system,

receive a selection of one or more radio units from the available units,

indicate available group identification codes for the new group,

receive a selection of a code from the available identification codes,

display an input area for an alphanumeric label for the new group,

receive an alphanumeric label from the input area,

create a data record representing the new group in the memory, and

send a regrouping message to each of the selected radio units in the new group, containing the group code and the alphanumeric label.

5 . A terminal according to claim 4 wherein the instructions further enable the processor to:

indicate existing groups in the communication system,

receive a selection of a group from the existing groups,

display an input area for a new alphanumeric label for the selected group,

receive an alphanumeric label from the input area,

update a data record representing the group in the memory with the received label, and

send an update message to each radio in the group, containing the group identification code and the new alphanumeric label for the group.

6 . A terminal according to claim 4 wherein the instructions further enable the processor to:

indicate existing groups in the communication system,

represent each existing group with an identification code and an alphanumeric label,

receive a selection of a group from the existing groups, and

initiate a group call to the selected group.

7 . A radio unit for a radio communication system, including:

a processor, and

a memory coupled to the processor for storing instructions which when executed enable the processor to:

receive a regrouping message from a dispatcher terminal, containing a group identification code and an alphanumeric label for a new group, and

create a data record in the memory representing the new group.

8 . A radio unit according to claim 7 wherein the instructions further enable the processor to:

receive an update message containing a group identification code and a new alphanumeric label for a group,

access a data record in the memory for a group identified by the code, and

update the data record with the new alphanumeric label.

9 . A radio unit according to claim 7 wherein the instructions further enable the processor to:

receive a group call message containing a group identification code,

access a data record in the memory for a group identified by the code,

display an alphanumeric label for the group from the data record, and

join a group call involving other radio units in the group.