MOBILE DEVICE EMERGENCY SERVICE

• US 20130295872A1
• Filed: 12/22/2012
• Published: 11/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Guday, Shai, Matthews, Joseph H. III, Schrader, Joseph A., Chen, Ted Tai-Yu, Sarin, Raman K., Agarwal, Sharad, Thomas, Shawn M., Skovron, John D., Yovin, John A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,467,834 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/48 for in-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

Mobile device emergency service techniques are described. In embodiments, a client device includes one or more modules implemented at least partially in hardware and configured to implement an emergency service. The emergency service configured to support operations including generating a user interface for display on a display device, receiving one or more inputs usable to form an emergency contacts list that includes a plurality of emergency contacts, and causing the emergency contacts list to be communicated to one or more other client devices for use in generating a message to be communicated automatically and without user intervention to the emergency contacts in the emergency contacts list responsive to a trigger.

Claims

1. A client device comprising:

one or more modules implemented at least partially in hardware and configured to implement an emergency service, the emergency service configured to support operations comprising;

generating a user interface for display on a display device;

receiving one or more inputs usable to form an emergency contacts list that includes a plurality of emergency contacts; and

causing the emergency contacts list to be communicated to one or more other client devices for use in generating a message to be communicated automatically and without user intervention to the emergency contacts in the emergency contacts list responsive to a trigger.

2. A client device as recited in claim 1, wherein the emergency service is configured to manage a hub that is a private, shared space of members, the hub including shared member contacts, and wherein the emergency contacts are designated as a subset of the shared member contacts.

3. A client device as recited in claim 1, wherein the generating is performable responsive to user selection from a lock screen of the other client devices to initiate display of the emergency contacts list without unlocking the functions of the device

4. A client device as recited in claim 3, wherein the lock screen includes one or more of the emergency contacts displayed for user selection to initiate a phone call to a selected emergency contact.

5. A client device as recited in claim 1, wherein the emergency contacts are displayable as selectable controls in the emergency contacts list in the user interface and are configured for user selection to initiate a phone call to a selected emergency contact.

6. A client device as recited in claim 5, wherein each of the selectable controls are configured for the user selection to initiate the phone call to the selected emergency contact when functions of the device are locked.

7. A client device as recited in claim 1, wherein the emergency service is configured to generate the emergency contacts list from shared member contacts responsive to input of an emergency contacts selectable control.

8. A client device as recited in claim 1, wherein trigger is initiating a communication for help.

10. A client device as recited in claim 1, wherein trigger is formed using a biomedical sensor.

11. A client device as recited in claim 1, wherein trigger is formed using a positional sensor.

9. A client device as recited in claim 9, wherein the trigger is a phone call and the message is not a phone call.

12. A method, comprising:

displaying an emergency contacts selectable control in a user interface, the emergency contacts selectable control configured for user selection;

receiving an input of the emergency contacts selectable control to display an emergency contacts list; and

displaying the emergency contacts list that includes emergency contacts designated for members of a hub, the emergency contacts included in the emergency contacts list specified by another member of the hub.

13. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein the emergency contacts are designated as a subset of shared member contacts of the members of the hub.

14. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein the user interface is a phone lock screen, and wherein the emergency contacts selectable control is selectable from the phone lock screen to display the emergency contacts list without unlocking the phone.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the phone lock screen includes one or more of the emergency contacts displayed for user selection to initiate a phone call to a selected emergency contact.

16. A hub system, comprising:

a network service device to execute computer instructions as an emergency service that is configured to;

receive a request from a mobile device to generate an emergency contacts list that includes emergency contacts designated for members whose one or more mobile devices are associated in a hub;

generate the emergency contacts list from shared member contacts and based on the member who is associated with the mobile device; and

communicate the emergency contacts list to the mobile device to display the emergency contacts as selectable controls for user selection to initiate a phone call to a selected emergency contact.

17. A hub system as recited in claim 16, wherein the emergency service is configured to:

determine the one or more mobile devices of the members in the hub based on identifiers of the associated mobile devices; and

determine the emergency contacts from the shared member contacts based on the associated mobile devices.

18. A hub system as recited in claim 16, wherein the emergency service is configured to:

receive an indicator that functions of the mobile device are locked; and

generate the emergency contacts list to display the emergency contacts at the mobile device without the mobile device being unlocked.

19. A hub system as recited in claim 16, wherein the emergency contact list is configured to cause generation and communication of a message to each of the emergency contacts included in the list responsive to a trigger.

20. A hub system as recited in claim 18, wherein the trigger is a phone call made to 911.