No Responders Online

• US 20130267189A1
• Filed: 03/19/2013
• Published: 10/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Cuff, Michael, Kasad, Farhad, Aryana, Firdaus, Hines, Gordon J., Wang, Chih
• Granted Patent: US 9,307,372 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/801 Real time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72418 for supporting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• 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]

Abstract

A rapid assignment dynamic ownership queue for text message sessions queues incoming text messages destined for a service bureau, at a network server. Simultaneous access is provided to any one text message of the queued incoming text messages to a plurality of operator terminals at the service bureau. Initial ownership of the one text message is assigned as a result of a first acting terminal of the plurality of operator terminals having completed an action in service to the text message, and ownership is re-assigned to a subsequent operator terminal having completed another action in service to the text message after the first acting terminal. A configurable escalation queue may be implemented to assign an escalation code to each queued item, regardless of its position in the queue list, to alter the presentation of the queue item. A No Responders Online feature can indicate if all terminal devices are “offline”.

Claims

1. A method of rerouting emergency services incoming text message responsibility in an event that terminals at a given service bureau are unavailable for use, comprising:

queuing incoming text messages destined for a given service bureau, at a network server; and

re-assigning said queued incoming text messages to a geographically related service bureau when all possible responsive terminal devices at said given service bureau indicate that they are offline.

2. The method of rerouting emergency services incoming text message responsibility in an event that terminals at a given service bureau are unavailable for use according to claim 1, wherein:

said service bureau is an emergency services public safety answering point (PSAP).

3. The method of rerouting emergency services incoming text message responsibility in an event that terminals at a given service bureau are unavailable for use according to claim 1, wherein:

said configurable escalation queue is comprised in an emergency services call server.

4. The method of rerouting emergency services incoming text message responsibility in an event that terminals at a given service bureau are unavailable for use according to claim 1, wherein:

a plurality of text messages from a common originating texting device are assigned together in a single text message session.

5. The method of rerouting emergency services incoming text message responsibility in an event that terminals at a given service bureau are unavailable for use according to claim 1, wherein:

said service bureau receives said queued incoming text messages via a text-to-teletype converter.

6. Apparatus to reroute emergency services incoming text message responsibility in an event that terminals at a given service bureau are unavailable for use, comprising:

means for queuing incoming text messages destined for a given service bureau, at a network server; and

means for re-assigning said queued incoming text messages to a geographically related service bureau when all possible responsive terminal devices at said given service bureau indicate that they are offline.

7. The apparatus to reroute emergency services incoming text message responsibility in an event that terminals at a given service bureau are unavailable for use according to claim 6, wherein:

said service bureau is an emergency services public safety answering point (PSAP).

8. The apparatus to reroute emergency services incoming text message responsibility in an event that terminals at a given service bureau are unavailable for use according to claim 6, wherein:

said configurable escalation queue is comprised in an emergency services call server.

9. The apparatus to reroute emergency services incoming text message responsibility in an event that terminals at a given service bureau are unavailable for use according to claim 6, wherein:

a plurality of text messages from a common originating texting device are assigned together in a single text message session.

10. The apparatus to reroute emergency services incoming text message responsibility in an event that terminals at a given service bureau are unavailable for use according to claim 6, wherein:

said service bureau receives said queued incoming text messages via a text-to-teletype converter.