SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EMERGENCY TEXT MESSAGING

• US 20100261448A1
• Filed: 04/09/2009
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Bandwidth Inc.
• Original Assignee: VIXXI Solutions, Inc. (Bandwidth Inc.)
• Inventors: Peters, Richard A.
• Application Number:
  US12/421,490
• Publication Number:
  US 20100261448A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• 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 4/90 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

Systems and methods for handling text messages directed to special numbers, such as emergency text messaging, are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for routing a geographically-sensitive text message comprises receiving, at an intermediate router (between the sender and service point), a geographically-sensitive text message from a sending device that was sent to a universally known calling number. A present physical location of the sending device is determined based upon a knowledge of physical coordinates of the sending device, and based at least in part on the sending device'"'"'s physical location, a proper service point (e.g., PSAP) to which the text message is to be routed is determined. The text message may be reformatted into a text output format of a text output display employed at the service point. The router sends the reformatted text message to the identified proper service point for display on the text output display.

Claims

1. A method for routing a geographically-sensitive text message, the method comprising:

receiving a geographically-sensitive text message from a sending device, said text message sent from the sending device to a universally known calling number;

determining a present physical location of the sending device, said determining based upon a knowledge of physical coordinates of said sending device;

determining, based at least in part on the determined present physical location of the sending device, a proper service point to which the text message is to be routed; and

determining a text output format of a text output display of the determined proper service point;

reformatting the text message into the determined text output format; and

sending the reformatted text message to the identified proper service point for display on the text output display.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the text message is an emergency text message.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein determining the proper service point to which the text message is to be routed comprises:

determining a proper Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) to which the text message is to be routed.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the text output display of the PSAP comprises a text output display for outputting textual information associated with voice calls received by the PSAP.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the text output display of the PSAP comprises an Automatic Location Information (ALI) display of the PSAP.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the universally known calling number comprises a universally known short code for emergency calls.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the sending device is a mobile sending device.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the sending device is a wireless communication device comprising an interface to a wireless communication network, where the sending device sends the text message via the interface.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the text message comprises one of:

a Short Message Service (SMS) message, a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) message, and a text file.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving the reformatted text message at the identified proper service point; and

displaying on a text output display at the identified proper service point, the received reformatted text message.

11. A system for geographically-sensitive text message routing, said system comprising:

an interface for receiving a geographically-sensitive text message sent by a sending device to a predefined universal telephone number;

an interface for receiving geospatial coordinates of the sending device'"'"'s location;

determining logic for determining a proper service point to which the received text message is to be routed based upon said geospatial coordinates of the sending device'"'"'s location;

logic for determining a text output format of a text output display of the determined proper service point;

reformatting logic for reformatting the text message into the determined text output format; and

communication interface for sending the reformatted text message to the identified proper service point for display on the text output display.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the text message is an emergency text message.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the determining logic for determining the proper service point to which the received text message is to be routed comprises:

determining logic for determining a proper Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) to which the text message is to be routed.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the text output display of the PSAP comprises a text output display for outputting textual information associated with voice calls received by the PSAP.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the text output display of the PSAP comprises an Automatic Location Information (ALI) display of the PSAP.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the predefined universal telephone number comprises a predefined universal short code for emergency calls.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein the sending device is a mobile sending device.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein the sending device is a wireless communication device comprising an interface to a wireless communication network, where the sending device sends the text message via the interface.

19. The system of claim 11 wherein said logic for determining a text output format of the text output display of the determined proper service point comprises:

logic for performing a database lookup to determine said text output format of the text output display of the determined proper service point.

20. A text message router for routing emergency text messages, said text message router comprising:

an interface for receiving an emergency text message that is sent from a sending device to a universally known emergency calling number;

an interface for receiving geographical location coordinates of the sending device;

communicative coupling with a database that is stored to a computer-readable medium, said database comprising information for coordinating the received geographical location coordinates of the sending device with a proper one of a plurality of different Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs);

a matching circuit for matching the received emergency text message with the proper one of the plurality of different PSAPs based upon said database information; and

an interface for routing the emergency text message to the proper one of the plurality of different PSAPs.

21. The text message router of claim 20 further comprising:

communicative coupling with a formatting database that is stored to a computer-readable medium, said formatting database comprising information specifying a text output format of a text output display of a corresponding one of the plurality of different Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs);

logic for determining, from the formatting database, a text output format of a text output display of the determined proper service point; and

reformatting logic for reformatting the text message into the determined text output format.

22. The text message router of claim 21 wherein said interface for routing the emergency text message to the proper one of the plurality of different PSAPs comprises:

an interface for sending the reformatted text message to the proper one of the plurality of different PSAPs for display on the PSAP'"'"'s text output display.

23. The text message router of claim 20 wherein said matching circuit comprises:

a geospatial coordinate generator for determining a geospatial coordinate for the current physical location of the sending device; and

identifying logic for identifying said proper one of the plurality of different PSAPs to which the text message is to be routed based upon said determined geospatial coordinate.

24. The text message router of claim 23 wherein said geospatial coordinate generator determines the geospatial coordinate based at least in part on an automatic number identification (ANI) determined for the call.

25. A method for text message routing, said method comprising:

receiving an emergency text message from a calling party, said text message directed to a universally known calling number;

determining a present physical location of said calling party, said determining based upon a knowledge of physical coordinates of said calling party; and

completing said emergency text message to a service center pre-identified as serving said present physical location based upon said determined present physical location of said calling party.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising:

determining, based at least in part on the determined present physical location of the sending device, said service center to which the text message is to be routed.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein said completing said emergency text message to said service center comprises:

determining a text output format of a text output display of the service center;

reformatting the emergency text message into the determined text output format; and

sending the reformatted text message to the service center for display on the text output display.

28. A system for emergency text message routing, said system comprising:

an interface for receiving an emergency text message sent by a caller to a predefined universal telephone number;

a geospatial coordinate generator for determining a geospatial coordinate for the location of the caller; and

identifying logic for identifying a proper Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) to which the emergency text message is to be routed based upon said determined geospatial coordinate.

29. The system of claim 28 further comprising:

format determining logic for determining a text output format of a text output display of the identified proper PSAP; and

reformatting logic for reformatting the text message into the determined text output format.

30. The system of claim 29 further comprising:

communication interface for sending the reformatted text message to the identified proper PSAP for display on the text output display.