Method and Apparatus For Delivering and Receiving Enhanced Emergency Broadcast Alert Messages

• US 20100124898A1
• Filed: 03/17/2009
• Published: 05/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Qu, Carl, Patwardhan, Ravindra M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,666,358 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• 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

Techniques for delivering and receiving emergency broadcast alert messages using Short Message Service (SMS) are described. In one design, a broadcast alert message for an emergency alert may be sent in an SMS broadcast message, e.g., by mapping at least one field of the broadcast alert message to corresponding field(s) of the SMS broadcast message and mapping remaining fields of the broadcast alert message to a data field of the SMS broadcast message. The SMS broadcast message may include a URI link for a website, broadcast reception information used to receive a broadcast channel, location information for an emergency event, etc. The SMS broadcast message may be carried in a system broadcast message sent to wireless devices. A wireless device may receive the system broadcast message, extract the SMS broadcast message, and obtain the broadcast alert message. The wireless device may detect for duplicate broadcast messages based on a hash digest generated for each broadcast message.

Claims

1. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving a Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) message for an emergency alert;

generating a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message carrying the CMAS message; and

sending the SMS broadcast message to a network entity for broadcasting to wireless devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the SMS broadcast message comprises

mapping at least one field of the CMAS message to at least one field of the SMS broadcast message, and

mapping remaining fields of the CMAS message to a data field of the SMS broadcast message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the mapping at least one field of the CMAS message to at least one field of the SMS broadcast message comprises mapping at least one of an identifier field of the CMAS message to a message identifier field of the SMS broadcast message, a category field of the CMAS message to a category field of the SMS broadcast message, an alert handling field of the CMAS message to the category field of the SMS broadcast message, and a language field of the CMAS message to a language field of the SMS broadcast message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the SMS broadcast message comprises generating the SMS broadcast message to include a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) link for a website providing information for the emergency alert.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the SMS broadcast message comprises generating the SMS broadcast message to include broadcast reception information used by the wireless devices to receive a broadcast channel providing information for the emergency alert, the broadcast reception information comprising at least one of a radio technology used to send the broadcast channel and a channel number of the broadcast channel.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the SMS broadcast message comprises generating the SMS broadcast message to include location information for an emergency event resulting in the emergency alert, the location information comprising at least one of a coordinate of the emergency event, altitude of the emergency event, radius of the emergency event, direction of movement of the emergency event, and speed of the emergency event.

7. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving a broadcast alert message for an emergency alert, the broadcast alert message comprising at least one of a link for a source providing information for the emergency alert, broadcast reception information, and location information for an emergency event resulting in the emergency alert;

generating a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message carrying the broadcast alert message; and

sending the SMS broadcast message to a network entity for broadcasting to wireless devices.

8. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to receive a Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) message for an emergency alert, to generate a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message carrying the CMAS message, and to send the SMS broadcast message to a network entity for broadcasting to wireless devices.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is configured to map at least one field of the CMAS message to at least one field of the SMS broadcast message, and to map remaining fields of the CMAS message to a data field of the SMS broadcast message.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is configured to generate the SMS broadcast message to include a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) link for a website providing information for the emergency alert.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is configured to generate the SMS broadcast message to include broadcast reception information used by the wireless devices to receive a broadcast channel providing information for the emergency alert.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is configured to generate the SMS broadcast message to include location information for an emergency event resulting in the emergency alert.

13. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message carrying a Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) message for an emergency alert;

generating a system broadcast message carrying the SMS broadcast message; and

sending the system broadcast message to wireless devices.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the generating the system broadcast message comprises

mapping at least one field of the CMAS message to at least one field of the system broadcast message, and

mapping the SMS broadcast message to a data field of the system broadcast message.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the system broadcast message comprises a data burst message having an associated a broadcast address, and wherein the mapping at least one field of the CMAS message to at least one field of the system broadcast message comprises mapping at least one of a category field of the CMAS message to a service field of the broadcast address, an alert handling field of the CMAS message to the service field of the broadcast address, and a language field of the CMAS message to a language field of the broadcast address.

16. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to receive a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message carrying a Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) message for an emergency alert, to generate a system broadcast message carrying the SMS broadcast message, and to send the system broadcast message to wireless devices.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is configured to map at least one field of the CMAS message to at least one field of the system broadcast message, and to map the SMS broadcast message to a data field of the system broadcast message.

18. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message carrying a Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) message for an emergency alert;

obtaining at least one field of the CMAS message from at least one field of the SMS broadcast message; and

obtaining remaining fields of the CMAS message from a data field of the SMS broadcast message.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the obtaining at least one field of the CMAS message from at least one field of the SMS broadcast message comprises obtaining at least one of an identifier field of the CMAS message from a message identifier field of the SMS broadcast message, a category field of the CMAS message from a category field of the SMS broadcast message, an alert handling field of the CMAS message from the category field of the SMS broadcast message, and a language field of the CMAS message from a language field of the SMS broadcast message.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving a system broadcast message carrying the SMS broadcast message;

obtaining at least one field of the CMAS message from at least one field of a broadcast address associated with the system broadcast message; and

obtaining the SMS broadcast message from a data field of the system broadcast message.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

obtaining a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) link from the SMS broadcast message, the URI link being for a website providing information for the emergency alert.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

obtaining broadcast reception information from the SMS broadcast message, the broadcast reception information being used to receive a broadcast channel providing information for the emergency alert, the broadcast reception information comprising at least one of a radio technology used to send the broadcast channel and a channel number of the broadcast channel.

23. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

obtaining location information for an emergency event from the SMS broadcast message, the location information comprising at least one of a coordinate of the emergency event, altitude of the emergency event, radius of the emergency event, direction of movement of the emergency event, and speed of the emergency event.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

determining location of a wireless device; and

generating warning information based on the location of the wireless device and the location information for the emergency event.

25. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to receive a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message carrying a Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) message for an emergency alert, to obtain at least one field of the CMAS message from at least one field of the SMS broadcast message, and to obtain remaining fields of the CMAS message from a data field of the SMS broadcast message.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a system broadcast message carrying the SMS broadcast message, to obtain at least one field of the CMAS message from at least one field of a broadcast address associated with the system broadcast message, and to obtain the SMS broadcast message from a data field of the system broadcast message.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) link from the SMS broadcast message, the URI link being for a website providing information for the emergency alert.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain broadcast reception information from the SMS broadcast message, the broadcast reception information being used to receive a broadcast channel providing information for the emergency alert.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain location information for an emergency event from the SMS broadcast message, the location information comprising at least one of a coordinate of the emergency event, altitude of the emergency event, radius of the emergency event, direction of movement of the emergency event, and speed of the emergency event.

30. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for receiving a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message carrying a Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) message for an emergency alert;

means for obtaining at least one field of the CMAS message from at least one field of the SMS broadcast message; and

means for obtaining remaining fields of the CMAS message from a data field of the SMS broadcast message.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising:

means for receiving a system broadcast message carrying the SMS broadcast message;

means for obtaining at least one field of the CMAS message from at least one field of a broadcast address for the system broadcast message; and

means for obtaining the SMS broadcast message from a data field of the system broadcast message.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising:

means for obtaining a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) link from the SMS broadcast message, the URI link being for a website providing information for the emergency alert.

33. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising:

means for obtaining broadcast reception information from the SMS broadcast message, the broadcast reception information being used to receive a broadcast channel providing information for the emergency alert.

34. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising:

means for obtaining location information for an emergency event from the SMS broadcast message, the location information comprising at least one of a coordinate of the emergency event, altitude of the emergency event, radius of the emergency event, direction of movement of the emergency event, and speed of the emergency event.

35. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

code for causing at least one computer to receive a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message carrying a Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) message for an emergency alert,

code for causing the at least one computer to obtain at least one field of the CMAS message from at least one field of the SMS broadcast message, and

code for causing the at least one computer to obtain remaining fields of the CMAS message from a data field of the SMS broadcast message.

36. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving a data burst message having an associated a broadcast address and carrying a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message, the SMS broadcast message further carrying a Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) message for an emergency alert;

obtaining at least one field of the CMAS message from at least one field of the broadcast address for the data burst message;

obtaining the SMS broadcast message from a data field of the data burst message;

obtaining one or more fields of the CMAS message from one or more fields of the SMS broadcast message; and

obtaining remaining fields of the CMAS message from a bearer data field of the SMS broadcast message.

37. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving a broadcast message from a wireless network;

generating a hash digest based on all or a portion of the received broadcast message;

comparing the generated hash digest against hash digests for stored broadcast messages; and

determining whether to store or discard the received broadcast message based on result of the comparison.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the determining whether to store or discard the received broadcast message comprises

storing the received broadcast message if the generated hash digest does not match any of the hash digests for the stored broadcast messages, and

discarding the received broadcast message if the generated hash digest matches any of the hash digests for the stored broadcast messages.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the received broadcast message comprises a Short Message Service (SMS) broadcast message, a broadcast alert message for an emergency alert, a Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) message, or a system broadcast message.

40. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to receive a broadcast message from a wireless network, to generate a hash digest based on all or a portion of the received broadcast message, to compare the generated hash digest against hash digests for stored broadcast messages, and to determine whether to store or discard the received broadcast message based on result of the comparison.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the at least one processor is configured to store the received broadcast message if the generated hash digest does not match any of the hash digests for the stored broadcast messages, and to discard the received broadcast message if the generated hash digest matches any of the hash digests for the stored broadcast messages.