EMERGENCY ALERT FEATURE ON A MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICE

• US 20100124900A1
• Filed: 11/17/2008
• Published: 05/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lui, Lam Lam Wong, Wooi, Toh Beng, Tandiono, Helen
• Granted Patent: US 8,301,463 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.200
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72424 with manual activation of emergency-service functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/045 using recorded signals, e.g. speech
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 8/10 between location register and external networks

Abstract

A system for automatically establishing a connection with an emergency services server. In response to receiving an emergency signal from a mobile communication device, a connection with the mobile communication device is established by a communications server. Location data, audio input data, and visual input data from the mobile communication device is received by the communications server. Personal data for an owner of the mobile communication device is retrieved by the communications server from a storage device connected to a network. A connection with an emergency services server for a current locale of the mobile communication device is automatically established by the communications server. Then, the emergency signal, location data, audio input data, and visual input data received from the mobile communication device, along with the retrieved personal data, is transmitted by the communications server to the emergency services server for use by emergency service personnel.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method in a data processing system for automatically establishing a connection with an emergency services server, the computer implemented method comprising computer implemented steps of:

responsive to receiving an emergency signal from a mobile communication device, establishing by a communications server a connection with the mobile communication device;

receiving by the communications server location data, audio input data, and visual input data from the mobile communication device;

retrieving by the communications server personal data for an owner of the mobile communication device from a storage device connected to a network;

establishing by the communications server a connection with an emergency services server automatically for a current locale of the mobile communication device; and

transmitting by the communications server the received emergency signal, location data, audio input data, and visual input data from the mobile communication device along with the retrieved personal data for the owner of the mobile communication device to the emergency services server for use by emergency service personnel.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the emergency signal from activation of an emergency button, wherein the emergency button is located on the mobile communication device under a slide cover.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the emergency signal by the mobile communication device, establishing by the mobile communication device a connection with the communications server automatically; and

transmitting by the mobile communication device the emergency signal and the location data for the mobile communication device to the communications server.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 3, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the emergency signal by the mobile communication device, recording automatically by the mobile communication device audio input data from a microphone and visual input data from a camera;

storing by the mobile communication device the recorded audio input data and visual input data in a storage device within the mobile communication device; and

transmitting by the mobile communication device the recorded audio input data and visual input data to the communications server.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining by the mobile communication device whether the connection with the communications server is severed; and

responsive to determining that the connection with the communications server is severed, stopping by the mobile communication device recording and transmitting functions associated with activation of the emergency signal.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the current locale of the mobile communication device is in a foreign country, and wherein the foreign country is a country other than a primary residence of the owner of the mobile communication device, and wherein the foreign country has a different emergency service number than the primary residence.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the emergency button includes Braille-like dots.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the visual input data are still photographs, and wherein the still photographs are taken by the camera at predetermined time intervals.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the visual input data is a continuous video clip taken by the camera.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the microphone and the camera are automatically activated by the mobile communication device in response to activation of the emergency signal by a user pressing an emergency button.

11. A data processing system for automatically establishing a connection with an emergency services server, comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device includes a set of instructions; and

a processing unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processing unit executes the set of instructions to establish by a communications server a connection with the mobile communication device in response to receiving an emergency signal from a mobile communication device;

receive by the communications server location data, audio input data, and visual input data from the mobile communication device;

retrieve by the communications server personal data for an owner of the mobile communication device from a storage device connected to a network;

establish by the communications server a connection with an emergency services server automatically for a current locale of the mobile communication device; and

transmit by the communications server the received emergency signal, location data, audio input data, and visual input data from the mobile communication device along with the retrieved personal data for the owner of the mobile communication device to the emergency services server for use by emergency service personnel.

12. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the processing unit executes a further set of instructions to receive the emergency signal from activation of an emergency button, wherein the emergency button is located on the mobile communication device under a slide cover.

13. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the processing unit executes a further set of instructions to establish by the mobile communication device a connection with the communications server automatically in response to receiving the emergency signal by the mobile communication device;

and transmit by the mobile communication device the emergency signal and the location data for the mobile communication device to the communications server.

14. A computer program product stored in a computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied therein for automatically establishing a connection with an emergency services server, the computer program product comprising:

computer usable program code configured to establish by a communications server a connection with the mobile communication device in response to receiving an emergency signal from a mobile communication device;

computer usable program code configured to receive by the communications server location data, audio input data, and visual input data from the mobile communication device;

computer usable program code configured to retrieve by the communications server personal data for an owner of the mobile communication device from a storage device connected to a network;

computer usable program code configured to establish by the communications server a connection with an emergency services server automatically for a current locale of the mobile communication device; and

computer usable program code configured to transmit by the communications server the received emergency signal, location data, audio input data, and visual input data from the mobile communication device along with the retrieved personal data for the owner of the mobile communication device to the emergency services server for use by emergency service personnel.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to receive the emergency signal from activation of an emergency button, wherein the emergency button is located on the mobile communication device under a slide cover.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to establish by the mobile communication device a connection with the communications server automatically in response to receiving the emergency signal by the mobile communication device; and

computer usable program code configured to transmit by the mobile communication device the emergency signal and the location data for the mobile communication device to the communications server.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to record automatically by the mobile communication device audio input data from a microphone and visual input data from a camera in response to receiving the emergency signal by the mobile communication device;

computer usable program code configured to store by the mobile communication device the recorded audio input data and visual input data in a storage device within the mobile communication device; and

computer usable program code configured to transmit by the mobile communication device the recorded audio input data and visual input data to the communications server.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to determine by the mobile communication device whether the connection with the communications server is severed; and

computer usable program code configured to stop by the mobile communication device recording and transmitting functions associated with activation of the emergency signal in response to determining that the connection with the communications server is severed.

19. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the current locale of the mobile communication device is in a foreign country, and wherein the foreign country is a country other than a primary residence of the owner of the mobile communication device, and wherein the foreign country has a different emergency service number than the primary residence.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the emergency button includes Braille-like dots.