METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NOTIFYING REGISTERED DEVICES OF AN EMERGENCY CALL

• US 20110151829A1
• Filed: 12/17/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Stettner, Armando P., Velusamy, Umashankar, Udani, Sanjay K., Hubner, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 8,478,229 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

An approach is provided for alerting registered devices of an emergency call, detecting an emergency call from a calling device; determining an identifier of the calling device; retrieving a list of one or more registered devices based on the identifier; determining location information of the calling device; and generating a notification message for transmission to the one or more registered devices, wherein the notification message specifies notification of the emergency call and the location information of the calling device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting an emergency call from a calling device;

determining an identifier of the calling device;

retrieving a list of one or more registered devices based on the identifier;

determining location information of the calling device; and

generating a notification message for transmission to the one or more registered devices, wherein the notification message specifies notification of the emergency call and the location information of the calling device.

2. A method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting the one or more of the registered devices based on a proximity threshold indicating proximity of the calling device to the registered devices.

3. A method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining whether anyone of the registered devices are stationary devices; and

retrieving a street address corresponding to the determined stationary devices for determining proximity to the calling device.

4. A method of claim 1, wherein the registered devices include either a cellular phone, a computer, a set-top box, or a combination thereof.

5. A method of claim 1, wherein the calling device is a mobile device, the method further comprising:

receiving global position system (GPS) data from the calling device, wherein the GPS data is used to determine the location information of the calling device.

6. A method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating establishment of a communication session between one of the registered devices that receives the notification message and an operator of a public safety answering point.

7. A method of claim 1, wherein the notification message is an electronic mail message, an instant messaging (IM) message, a short message service (SMS) message, or a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a memory including computer program code,

the memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following,

detect an emergency call from a calling device,

determine an identifier of the calling device,

retrieve a list of one or more registered devices based on the identifier,

determine location information of the calling device, and

generate a notification message for transmission to the one or more registered devices, wherein the notification message specifies notification of the emergency call and the location information of the calling device.

9. An apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is further caused, at least in part, to:

select the one or more of the registered devices based on a proximity threshold indicating proximity of the calling device to the registered devices.

10. An apparatus of claim 9, wherein the apparatus is further caused, at least in part, to:

determine whether anyone of the registered devices are stationary devices; and

retrieve a street address corresponding to the determined stationary devices for determining proximity to the calling device.

11. An apparatus of claim 8, wherein the registered devices include either a cellular phone, a computer, a set-top box, or a combination thereof.

12. An apparatus of claim 8, wherein the calling device is a mobile device, and the apparatus is further caused, at least in part, to:

receive global position system (GPS) data from the calling device, wherein the GPS data is used to determine the location information of the calling device.

13. An apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is further caused, at least in part, to:

initiate establishment of a communication session between one of the registered devices that receives the notification message and an operator of a public safety answering point.

14. An apparatus of claim 8, wherein the notification message is an electronic mail message, an instant messaging (IM) message, a short message service (SMS) message, or a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message.

15. A computer-readable storage medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions, the one or more sequences of one or more instructions including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:

detecting an emergency call from a calling device;

determining an identifier of the calling device;

retrieving a list of one or more registered devices based on the identifier;

determining location information of the calling device; and

generating a notification message for transmission to the one or more registered devices, wherein the notification message specifies notification of the emergency call and the location information of the calling device.

16. A computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to perform:

selecting the one or more of the registered devices based on a proximity threshold indicating proximity of the calling device to the registered devices.

17. A computer-readable storage medium according to 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to perform:

determining whether anyone of the registered devices are stationary devices; and

retrieving a street address corresponding to the determined stationary devices for determining proximity to the calling device.

18. A computer-readable storage medium according to 15, wherein the notification message is an electronic mail message, an instant messaging (IM) message, a short message service (SMS) message, or a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message, and the registered devices include either a cellular phone, a computer, a set-top box, or a combination thereof.

19. A computer-readable storage medium according to 15, wherein the calling device is a mobile device, the method further comprising:

receiving global position system (GPS) data from the calling device, wherein the GPS data is used to determine the location information of the calling device.

20. A computer-readable storage medium according to 15, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to perform:

initiating establishment of a communication session between one of the registered devices that receives the notification message and an operator of a public safety answering point.