Emergency notification method and system using portable terminals

• US 20080070546A1
• Filed: 12/22/2006
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Moon Heui
• Application Number:
  US11/643,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20080070546A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1845 broadcast or multicast in a specific location, e.g. geocast protocols for adapting network applications to user terminal location H04L67/52; services specially adapted for wireless communication networks making use of the location of users or terminals H04W4/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1854 with non-centralised forwarding system, e.g. chaincast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• 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

An emergency notification method and system using portable terminals are provided. The emergency notification method includes creating, by a sending portable terminal in response to detection of an emergency event, an emergency message and transmitting the created emergency message to a mobile communication system; forwarding, by the mobile communication system upon reception of the emergency message from the sending portable terminal, the emergency message to receiving portable terminals within a service area; and issuing, by each receiving portable terminal after reception of the emergency message from the mobile communication system, an emergency alert if necessary. Emergency information collected by one portable terminal is disseminated in real time to other portable terminals, which issue an alarm corresponding to the emergency information if necessary. As a result, terminal users can cope with an emergency in advance.

Claims

1. An emergency notification method, comprising:

creating, by a sending portable terminal in response to detection of an emergency event, an emergency message and transmitting the created emergency message to a mobile communication system;

forwarding, by the mobile communication system upon reception of the emergency message from the sending portable terminal, the emergency message to at least one receiving portable terminal within a service area; and

issuing, by the at least one receiving portable terminal after reception of the emergency message from the mobile communication system, an emergency alert.

2. The emergency notification method of claim 1, wherein the emergency event comprises at least one of a key input event and an impact detection event.

3. The emergency notification method of claim 1, wherein the created emergency message comprises emergency information mapped to the emergency event and location data of the sending portable terminal at the time of the emergency event detection.

4. The emergency notification method of claim 1, wherein the creating comprises the sending portable terminal transmitting the created emergency message using at least one of a short message service and a multimedia message service.

5. The emergency notification method of claim 1, wherein the forwarding comprises the mobile communication system forwarding the emergency message using at least one of a short message service, multimedia message service, mobile broadcasting service, and cell broadcasting service.

6. The emergency notification method of claim 1, wherein the forwarding comprises the mobile communication system forwarding the emergency message through at least one of a unicast, multicast, and broadcast transmission.

7. The emergency notification method of claim 3, wherein the issuing of the emergency alert comprises:

extracting emergency information and location data from the received emergency message and storing the extracted emergency information and location data;

obtaining current location data of the receiving portable terminal; and

issuing an emergency alert if a difference between the obtained location data and the stored location data is less than a reference value.

35. The emergency notification method of claim 1, wherein the forwarding comprises forwarding to a plurality of mobile terminals, and the issuing comprises issuing, by each receiving portable terminal after reception of th emergency message from the mobile communication system, an emergency alert.

8. An emergency notification method, comprising:

detecting an emergency event;

obtaining current location data of a portable terminal and extracting emergency information mapped to the emergency event; and

creating an emergency message comprising the location data and emergency information, and transmitting the created emergency message to a mobile communication system.

9. The emergency notification method of claim 8, wherein the emergency event comprises at least one of a key input event and an impact detection event.

10. The emergency notification method of claim 8, wherein the emergency message is created and transmitted using at least one of a short message service and a multimedia message service.

11. An emergency notification method, comprising:

determining whether a message received from a sending portable terminal comprises an emergency message; and

forwarding, if the received message comprises the emergency message, the received message to a plurality of portable terminals within a service area.

12. The emergency notification method of claim 11, wherein the emergency message comprises emergency information and location data of the sending portable terminal.

13. The emergency notification method of claim 11, wherein the forwarding comprises the emergency message using at least one of a short message service, multimedia message service, mobile broadcasting service, and cell broadcasting service.

14. The emergency notification method of claim 11, wherein the forwarding comprises forwarding the emergency message is forwarded through at least one of unicast, multicast, and broadcast transmission.

15. An emergency notification method in a portable terminal, comprising:

receiving an emergency message from a mobile communication system;

extracting emergency information and location data from the received emergency message and storing the extracted emergency information and location data;

obtaining current location data of the portable terminal;

comparing the obtained location data with the stored location data; and

outputting an emergency alert if a difference between the obtained location data and the stored location data is less than a reference value.

16. The emergency notification method of claim 15, wherein the outputting comprises:

displaying a map of a geographical area corresponding to the obtained location data and stored location data on a screen;

marking a location corresponding to the stored location data on the map; and

displaying the stored emergency information on the map.

17. An emergency notification system comprising:

a first portable terminal for creating, in response to detection of an emergency event, an emergency message and for transmitting the created emergency message; and

a mobile communication system for forwarding, upon reception of the emergency message from the first portable terminal, a received emergency message to a plurality of second portable terminals within a service area,

wherein each second portable terminal receives the emergency message, and issues an emergency alert.

18. The emergency notification system of claim 17, wherein the emergency event comprises at least one of a key input event and an impact detection event.

19. The emergency notification system of claim 17, wherein the created emergency message comprises emergency information mapped to the emergency event and location data of the first portable terminal at the time of the emergency event detection.

20. The emergency notification system of claim 17, wherein the first portable terminal transmits the created emergency message to the mobile communication system using at least one of a short message service and a multimedia message service.

21. The emergency notification system of claim 17, wherein the mobile communication system forwards the emergency message using at least one of a short message service, multimedia message service, mobile broadcasting service, and a cell broadcasting service.

22. The emergency notification system of claim 17, wherein the mobile communication system forwards the emergency message through at least one of unicast, multicast, and broadcast transmission.

23. The emergency notification system of claim 17, wherein the first portable terminal comprises:

a hotkey detector for detecting input of a hotkey;

a location determiner for obtaining, in response to the hotkey input, current location data of the first portable terminal;

an emergency determiner for finding emergency information mapped to the hotkey; and

an emergency message generator for creating an emergency message comprising the obtained location data and found emergency information.

24. The emergency notification system of claim 17, wherein at least one second portable terminal comprises:

a message analyzer for analyzing a received message to determine whether the received message comprises an emergency message, and for outputting, if the received message is an emergency message, the received message as an emergency message;

an emergency data extractor for extracting emergency information and location data from the emergency message, and for storing the extracted emergency information and location data;

a location comparator for comparing obtained current location data of the second portable terminal with the stored location data, and for outputting the comparison result; and

an alert ringer for issuing an emergency alert corresponding to the stored emergency information and location data using the comparison result.

25. The emergency notification system of claim 24, wherein the location comparator calculates the distance between a first location corresponding to the obtained location data and a second location corresponding to the stored location data, and outputs the calculated distance.

26. The emergency notification system of claim 24, wherein the alert ringer displays a map of a geographical area corresponding to the obtained location data and stored location data on a screen, marks a location corresponding to the stored location data on the map, and displays the stored emergency information on the map.

27. The emergency notification system of claim 17, wherein each of the first and second portable terminals comprises:

a hotkey detector for detecting input of a hotkey;

a location determiner for obtaining current location data of the portable terminal;

an emergency determiner for finding emergency information mapped to the hotkey;

an emergency message generator for creating an emergency message to be sent comprising the obtained location data and found emergency information;

an emergency data extractor for extracting emergency information and location data from a received emergency message and storing the extracted emergency information and location data;

a location comparator for comparing newly obtained location data of the portable terminal with the stored location data, and outputting the comparison result; and

an alert ringer for issuing an emergency alert corresponding to the stored emergency information and location data using the comparison result.

36. The emergency notification system of claim 17, wherein the forwarding comprises forwarding to a plurality of mobile terminals, and the issuing comprises issuing, by each receiving portable terminal after reception of the emergency message from the mobile communication system, an emergency alert.

28. An emergency notification method, comprising:

creating an emergency message and transmitting the created emergency message to a mobile communication system;

forwarding the emergency message to at least one receiving portable terminal within a service area; and

issuing an emergency alert.

29. The emergency notification method of claim 28, wherein the emergency message is created and transmitted by a sending portable terminal in response to detection of an emergency event.

30. The emergency notification method of claim 28, wherein the emergency message is forwarded to the at least one receiving portable terminal by the mobile communication system upon receipt of the emergency message from the sending portable terminal.

31. The emergency notification method of claim 28, wherein the emergency alert is issued by at least one receiving portable terminal after reception of the emergency message from the sending portable terminal.

32. An emergency notification system comprising:

a first portable terminal for creating an emergency message and for transmitting the created emergency message; and

a mobile communication system for forwarding a received emergency message to at least one second portable terminal within a service area,

wherein each second portable terminal receives the emergency message, and issues an emergency alert.

33. The emergency notification system of claim 32, wherein the emergency message is created in response to detection of an emergency event.

34. The emergency notification system of claim 32, wherein the received emergency message is forwarded when the emergency message is received from the first portable terminal.