Portable radio communication terminal and call center apparatus

• US 20040029610A1
• Filed: 05/02/2003
• Published: 02/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Asahi Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ihira, Yasuhisa, Shoji, Takemasa, Yamane, Kazuyasu, Masuda, Hirokazu, Yamamoto, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 7,076,236 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/550.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/006 Alarm destination chosen according to type of event, e.g. in case of fire phone the fire service, in case of medical emergency phone the ambulance
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/667 Preventing unauthorised calls from a telephone set H04M1/677 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6775 by providing access to preprogrammed keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72418 for supporting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72421 with automatic activation of emergency service functions, e.g. upon sensing an alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

A portable radio communication terminal is provided comprising: a radio transmitter/receiver for transmitting and receiving signals over a public mobile communications network, a microphone unit and a loudspeaker unit for entering and releasing the communication signals to be transmitted and received by the radio transmitter/receiver, a light emitter for emitting light to indicate details of an action, an operation entering unit, and a controller. When the normal mode is selected with the operation entering unit, the controller turns the microphone unit, the loudspeaker unit, and the light emitter on to start the communication via the radio transmitter/receiver to a predetermined emergency call station. When the static mode is selected with the operation entering unit, the controller turns the loudspeaker unit and the light emitter off while holding the microphone turned on to start the access via the radio transmitter/receiver to the emergency call station. Accordingly, even if the user is under an unfavorable condition for producing an emergency call, it can provide the emergency call station with a data about its difficult condition.

Claims

1. A portable radio communication terminal comprising:

a radio transmitter/receiver for transmitting and receiving signals over a public mobile communications network;

a voice input unit and a voice output unit for entering and releasing the communication signals to be transmitted and received by the radio transmitter/receiver;

a light emitter for emitting light to indicate details of an action;

an operation entering unit; and

a mode selecting controller for, when a normal emergency call mode (referred to as a normal mode) of the action is selected with the operation entering unit, shifting the action to the normal mode where the voice input unit, the voice output unit, and the light emitter are turned on and the access via the radio transmitter/receiver to a predetermined emergency call station is connected or, when a static emergency call mode (referred to as a static mode) of the action is selected with the operation entering unit, shifting the action to the static mode where the voice input unit remains turned on while the voice output unit and the light emitter are turned off and the access via the radio transmitter/receiver to the predetermined emergency call station is connected.

2. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

the operation entering unit includes a normal mode switch and a static mode switch, and

the mode selecting controller is arranged for, when the normal mode switch is turned on, shifting the action to the normal mode or, when the static mode switch is turned on, shifting the action to the static mode.

3. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

the operation entering unit includes two or more normal mode switches, and

the mode selecting controller is arranged for, when one of the normal mode switches is turned on, shifting the action to the normal mode or, when the normal mode switches all are turned on at one time, shifting the action to the static mode.

4. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

the operation entering unit includes a normal mode switch and two or more static mode switches, and

the mode selecting controller is arranged for, when the normal mode switch is turned on, shifting the action to the normal mode or, when the static mode switches all are turned on at one time, shifting the action to the static mode.

5. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising an external entry unit and an interface for connecting to the external entry unit, wherein

the mode selecting controller is arranged for, when the external entry unit remains connected by the interface and is operated, shifting the action to the static mode.

6. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a setting data storage, wherein

the mode selecting controller is arranged for, when receiving at the radio transmitter/receiver from a given call center a setting data for assigning the operation entering unit with a specific procedure for selecting between the normal mode and the static mode, storing the setting data in the setting data storage and notifying of setting with the specific procedure for selecting between the normal mode and the static mode with the use of a setting modifying means and, when the operation entering unit is operated, examining on the basis of the setting data stored in the setting data storage whether the normal mode or the static mode is selected and performing a controlling action of the selected mode.

7. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 6, wherein the setting modifying means is at least either the voice output unit or the light emitter which can notify of setting with the specific procedure for selecting between the normal mode and the static mode.

8. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising an external setting unit and an interface for connecting to the external setting unit, wherein

the mode selecting controller is arranged for, when receiving via the interface from the external setting unit a setting data for assigning the operation entering unit with a specific procedure for selecting between the normal mode and the static mode, storing the setting data in the setting data storage and, when the operation entering unit is operated, examining on the basis of the setting data stored in the setting data storage whether the normal mode or the static mode is selected and performing a controlling action of the selected mode.

9. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a GPS receiver and a current position determining unit for calculating the current position of the terminal from a GPS signal received by the GPS receiver, wherein

the mode selecting controller is arranged for, when the action is in the static mode, transmitting a signal of the current position calculated by the current position determining unit to a desired emergency call station which has been predetermined with the radio transmitter/receiver.

10. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 9, wherein

the emergency call station is a given call center and

the mode selecting controller is arranged for, when receiving a request command from the emergency call station, transmitting the signal of the current position via the radio transmitter/receiver to the emergency call station.

11. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a voice data storage for storing an inherent voice data of the user which has been registered, and a judging unit for judging whether or not a voice signal received from the voice input unit is equal to the inherent voice data of the user stored in the voice data storage, wherein

the mode selecting controller is arranged for, when the action is in the static mode and the judging unit confirms the presence of the user, transmitting a signal of the presence of the user to the emergency call station.

12. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a voice data storage for storing at least the frequency band and waveform of a psychological voice data of the user when having a fear, the frequency band and waveform of a psychological voice data of the user when having a tension, and the frequency band and waveform of a psychological voice data of the user when having an anger, and a judging unit for judging whether or not the voice signal received from the voice input unit is equal to one of the psychological voice data of the user stored in the voice data storage, wherein

the mode selecting unit is arranged for, when the action is in the static mode, transmitting a signal of the psychological voice data judged by the judging unit to the emergency call station.

13. A portable radio communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a voice data storage for storing the voice data of keywords of the user which have been registered, a corresponding information storage for storing information about the keywords of the user, and a judging unit for judging whether or not a voice signal received from the voice input unit includes the voice data of any keyword of the user stored in the voice data storage, wherein

the mode selecting controller is arranged for, when the action is in the static mode and the judging unit confirms that the voice signal includes the voice data of a particular keyword, reading a piece of information about the keyword from the corresponding information storage and transferring its signal to the emergency call station.

14. A call center acting as an emergency call station preliminarily assigned to the portable radio communication terminal defined in claim 1, comprising:

a transmitter/receiver for transmitting and receiving signals over a public communications network;

a voice data storage for storing an inherent voice data of a user to be communicated between the transmitter/receiver and the radio transmitter/receiver of the portable radio communication terminal; and

a judging means for judging whether or not a voice signal received from the transmitter/receiver is equal to the inherent voice data of the user stored in the voice data storage.

15. A call center acting as an emergency call station preliminarily assigned to the portable radio communication terminal defined in claim 1, comprising:

a transmitter/receiver for transmitting and receiving signals over a public communications network;

a voice data storage for storing at least the frequency band and waveform of a psychological voice data of a user when having a fear, the frequency band and waveform of a psychological voice data of the user when having a tension, and the frequency band and waveform of a psychological voice data of the user when having an anger, the user being to be communicated between the transmitter/receiver and the radio transmitter/receiver of the portable radio communication terminal; and

a judging means for judging whether or not a voice signal received from the transmitter/receiver is equal to any of the psychological voice data of the user stored in the voice data storage.

16. A call center acting as an emergency call station preliminarily assigned to the portable radio communication terminal defined in claim 1, comprising:

a transmitter/receiver for transmitting and receiving signals over a public communications network;

a voice data storage for storing the voice data of keywords of a user to be communicated between the transmitter/receiver and the radio transmitter/receiver of the portable radio communication terminal;

a corresponding information storage for storing information about the keywords of the user; and

a judging means for judging whether or not a voice signal received from the transmitter/receiver includes the voice data of any keyword stored in the voice data storage, wherein when the judging unit judges that the voice signal includes the voice data of a keyword, the information about the keyword is read out from the corresponding information storage.