Method that Enables the User of a Wireless Telephone Terminal to Establish an Emergency Connection in a Local Network, and Terminal and Server for Carrying Out this Method

• US 20070254624A1
• Filed: 04/13/2005
• Published: 11/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Gass, Raymond, Le Creff, Michel
• Granted Patent: US 9,002,314 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/162 at the data link layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

This method enables the user of a wireless telephone terminal (T1) to establish an emergency connection in a wireless network involving the use of an authentication server (AS) even when this user does not have the right to access this local network. The method consists, when the user dials an emergency telephone number, of:

• recognizing this number as an emergency number and then sending (21) a start-up message from the terminal (T1) to a radio access point (AP1) of the network;
• sending (22) a message, which requests the identity of the terminal, from an access point (AP1) of the network to the terminal (T1) in response to the start-up message;
• sending (23) a message, which contains the identity of the terminal and an indication indicating that it is an emergency call, from the terminal (T1) of the radio access point (AP1) of the network;
• transmitting (24) this message from the access point (AP1) to the authentication server (AS);
• recognizing (25), in the authentication server (AS), that this message contains an indication indicating that it is an emergency call, and sending an acceptance message to the terminal (T1) via the access point (AP1), and;
• validating a port of the access point (AP1) permitting the terminal (T1) to establish an emergency connection over the local network.

Claims

1. Method enabling the user of a wireless telephone terminal (T1) to establish an emergency connection in a local network (IPN), including an authentication server (AS) even when this user does not have the right to access this local network, characterized in that it consists, when the user has entered an emergency telephone number, in:

recognizing this number as an emergency number and then sending (21) a start-up message from the terminal (T1) to a radio access point (AP1) of the network;

sending (22) a message, which requests the identity of the terminal, from an access point (AP1) to the terminal (T1) in response to the start-up message;

then sending (23) a message which contains the identity of the terminal and an indication signifying that it is an emergency call, from the terminal (T1) to the radio access point (AP1) of the network;

transmitting (24) a message containing said identity information and an indication signifying that it is an emergency call from the access point (AP1) to the authentication server (AS);

recognizing (25), in the authentication server (AS), that this message contains an indication signifying that it is an emergency call, and then sending an acceptance message to the terminal (T1) via the access point (AP1), and;

recognizing (26) this acceptance message when in transit via the access point (AP1) and then validating a port of the access point (AP1) enabling the terminal (T1) to establish an emergency connection over the local network.

2. Wireless telephone terminal (T1) enabling its user to establish an emergency connection in a wireless local network (IPN), characterized in that it includes means for:

recognizing a number as an emergency number when the user has entered an emergency telephone number and then sending (21) a start-up message from the terminal (T1) to a radio access point (AP1) of the network;

receiving (22) from the access point (AP1) of the network a response message requesting its identity of the terminal;

then sending (23) from the terminal (T1) to the access point (AP1) a message containing the identity of the terminal and an indication signifying that this is an emergency call, this message being intended for an authentication server (AS);

receiving (26) an acceptance message sent by the authentication server (AS) via this access point (AP1) and intended to validate conventionally a port of an access point (AP1) in order to enable the terminal (T1) to establish an emergency connection across the local network; and

then sending (27) to this access point (AP1) a message requesting establishing of an emergency connection over the local network.

3. Authentication server (AS) enabling the user of a wireless telephone terminal (T1) to set up an emergency connection in a local network, characterized in that it includes means for:

receiving (24) via a radio access point (AP1) a message coming from a terminal (T1) and containing the identification of that terminal and an indication signifying that it is an emergency call;

recognizing in this message the indication signifying that this is an emergency call and then sending (25) to the terminal (T1) via this access point (AP1) an acceptance message intended to validate conventionally a port of this access point (AP1) in order to enable the terminal (T1) to establish an emergency connection across the local network.