APPARATUS, SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ENABLING A PERSON IN DISTRESS TO COVERTLY COMMUNICATE WITH AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTER

• US 20080102785A1
• Filed: 11/01/2006
• Published: 05/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kumhyr, David Bruce, Watt, Stephen James, Childress, Rhonda L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,750,799 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/006 for emergency situations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• 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 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking 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

A means for a person in distress to use a mobile device to communicate covertly with an Emergency Response Center is provided. The means contains a response designed not to alert an abductor of the communication as well as to indicate whether the person is indeed in distress. The means also allows the Emergency Response Center to locate both the distressed person and a mobile device using GPS or triangulation. The device may be in regular operation mode or in distress mode. When the device is in the distress mode, it will appear to be in normal operating mode if in operation or it will appear to be off if off. In addition, the device may be used for forensic purposes since it may provide voice and video data of the situation at an emergency location to the Emergency Response Center.

Claims

1. A method of covertly communicating between a person in distress and an Emergency Response Center using a mobile device, the method comprising the steps of:

sending by the person in distress an alert indicating an emergency situation to the Emergency Response Center using the mobile device;

receiving, by the mobile device, a first agreed upon message from the Emergency Response Center, the first agreed upon message being from the Emergency Response Center in response to the alert while appearing not to be in response to the alert; and

displaying, by the mobile, the first agreed upon message to the person in distress.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the person in distress responds to the first agreed upon message by a second agreed upon message.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein upon receiving the second agree upon message, the Emergency Response Center commences rescue procedures.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein after sending the second agreed upon message, the mobile device triggers a personal transmitter worn by the person in distress to start transmitting location identification and begins to record audio information of the emergency situation.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein if the mobile devices includes an integrated video camera, video information is recided along with the audio information.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein if a cancel alarm signal is not sent to the Emergency Response Center within an agreed upon elapsed time, the Emergency Response Center commences rescue procedures.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the signal is a passcode.

8. A computer program product on a computer readable medium for enabling covert communication between a person in distress and an Emergency Response Center using a mobile device, the computer program product comprising:

code means for enabling the person in distress to send an alert indicating an emergency situation to the Emergency Response Center using the mobile device;

code means for receiving, by the mobile device, a first agreed upon message from the Emergency Response Center, the first agreed upon message being from the Emergency Response Center in response to the alert while appearing not to be in response to the alert; and

code means for displaying, by the mobile, the first agreed upon message to the person in distress.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising code means for enabling the person in distress to respond to the first agreed upon message using a second agreed upon message.

10. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein upon receiving the second agree upon message, the Emergency Response Center commences rescue procedures.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein after sending the second agreed upon message, the mobile device triggers a personal transmitter worn by the person in distress to start transmitting location identification and begins to record audio information of the emergency situation.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein if the mobile devices includes an integrated video camera, video information is recided along with the audio information.

13. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein if a cancel alarm signal is not sent to the Emergency Response Center within an agreed upon elapsed time, the Emergency Response Center commences rescue procedures.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the signal is a passcode.

15. A system for enabling a person in distress to covertly communicate with an Emergency Response Center comprising:

a storage device for storing code data; and

a processor for processing the code data to enable the person in distress to send an alert indicating an emergency situation to the Emergency Response Center, to receive a first agreed upon message from the Emergency Response Center, the first agreed upon message being in response to the alert while appearing not to be in response to the alert, and to display the first agreed upon message to the person in distress.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the person in distress responds to the first agreed upon message by a second agreed upon message.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein upon receiving the second agree upon message, the Emergency Response Center commences rescue procedures.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein after sending the second agreed upon message, the mobile device triggers a personal transmitter worn by the person in distress to start transmitting location identification and begins to record audio information of the emergency situation.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein if the mobile devices includes an integrated video camera, video information is recided along with the audio information.

20. The system of claim 15 wherein if a cancel alarm signal is not sent to the Emergency Response Center within an agreed upon elapsed time, the Emergency Response Center commences rescue procedures.