Multimedia emergency services
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring the vicinity of a user requesting emergency help, said method comprising:
- receiving an emergency help request from the user; and
remotely controlling one or more monitoring devices in the user'"'"'s vicinity in response to the emergency help request from the user.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for remotely controlling one or more monitoring devices in a user'"'"'s household in the event of emergency so as to more productively monitor the emergency situation on a real-time basis. The monitoring devices may include a number of multimedia instruments such as a telephone with an answering machine, a computer with a built-in digital camera, a video recording device, a cellular phone with an integrated digital camera, etc. An emergency service provider may remotely activate the monitoring devices in the user'"'"'s vicinity upon receiving an emergency help request from the user, and receive the information sent by the monitoring devices to enable the service personnel to plan appropriate response to the emergency at hand. Such an arrangement allows for better monitoring of the user'"'"'s vicinity in an emergency situation without the need for prolonged user participation in narrating or describing the emergency situation. Further, the emergency service provider may obtain a better picture of the emergency and its impact by controlling appropriate monitoring devices available in the user'"'"'s vicinity. The remote activation and control of a monitoring device may be accomplished via the Internet.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring the vicinity of a user requesting emergency help, said method comprising:
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receiving an emergency help request from the user; and
remotely controlling one or more monitoring devices in the user'"'"'s vicinity in response to the emergency help request from the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26)
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13. A method of providing emergency services comprising:
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offering a fee-based emergency monitoring service (EMS);
receiving an emergency help request from a subscriber of the EMS; and
remotely controlling one or more monitoring devices in the subscriber'"'"'s vicinity in response to the emergency help request from the subscriber.
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19. A system for monitoring the vicinity of a user requesting emergency help, said system comprising:
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one or more monitoring devices installed in the vicinity of the user, wherein at least one of said one or more monitoring devices is configured to transmit an emergency help request from the user; and
an EMS (emergency monitoring service) provider in communication with said one or more monitoring devices, wherein the EMS provider is configured to receive the emergency help request and to remotely control said one or more monitoring devices in response thereto.
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23. A system for monitoring the vicinity of a user requesting emergency help, said system comprising:
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monitoring means installed in the vicinity of the user, wherein at least one of said monitoring means is configured to transmit an emergency help request from the user; and
emergency servicing means in communication with said monitoring means, wherein the emergency servicing means is configured to receive the emergency help request and to remotely control said monitoring means in response thereto.
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Specification