Emergency call system with call capacity/last chance routing feature
First Claim
1. A system for routing incoming emergency calls to one of a plurality of answering points, selected ones of said answering points being adapted to place said incoming emergency calls routed thereto in a queue, comprising:
- means for setting a limit of the number of said incoming emergency calls which may be placed in each said queue; and
means for routing said incoming emergency calls to a selected one of said answering points until the number of said incoming emergency calls in said queue reaches said limit, said routing means interrupting said routing of further ones of said incoming emergency calls to said queue until the number of said incoming emergency calls in said queue is less than said limit.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A community emergency response service system is provided with three types of destinations to which emergency calls may be routed. These include public safety answering points (PSAPs), switch directory numbers and public switching telephone network directory numbers. A last chance routing system is effective upon failure of the system to route an incoming one of such emergency calls to one of such three types of destinations. The last chance routing facility performs a linear search of all PSAPs within such system to determine whether any of such PSAPs has been inspected for availability to handle such emergency call. When such linear search identifies a PSAP which has not previously been inspected with respect to its availability to handle such emergency call, a determination is made as to whether such PSAP is currently available. Such determination includes determining whether such PSAP is currently at its call capacity. That call capacity is determined based upon a call capacity depth established for each workstation at such answering point. The call capacity limit is obtained by multiplying such call capacity depth times the current number of workstations that are active at such PSAP.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A system for routing incoming emergency calls to one of a plurality of answering points, selected ones of said answering points being adapted to place said incoming emergency calls routed thereto in a queue, comprising:
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means for setting a limit of the number of said incoming emergency calls which may be placed in each said queue; and means for routing said incoming emergency calls to a selected one of said answering points until the number of said incoming emergency calls in said queue reaches said limit, said routing means interrupting said routing of further ones of said incoming emergency calls to said queue until the number of said incoming emergency calls in said queue is less than said limit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A system for routing incoming emergency calls to answering points in one of a plurality of different calling areas, each said answering point having means for queuing said incoming emergency calls routed thereto, comprising:
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means for designating said incoming emergency calls from a given calling area to be routed to a selected one of said answering points; means for limiting the number of said incoming emergency calls that may be placed in said queuing means at each said answering point to a selectable call capacity limit number; and means for adding said incoming emergency calls from said given calling area to said queuing means of said selecting answering point only if the number of said incoming emergency calls in said queuing means has not reach said selectable call capacity limit number selected for said selected answering point. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for routing emergency calls to a selected answering point having a plurality of call answering workstations;
- said system having a notification line for said answering point and means for placing said emergency calls in a queue to said notification line;
said answering point having means for handling said emergency calls routed to said workstations, comprising;means for limiting the number of said emergency calls that are simultaneously being handled by said answering point and in said queue, said limiting means setting a call capacity limit number; and means effective at a current time for adding to said queue another one of said emergency calls to be routed, said adding occurring only if the number of said emergency calls being handled by said answering point and in said queue has at said current time not reached said call capacity limit number. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
- said system having a notification line for said answering point and means for placing said emergency calls in a queue to said notification line;
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15. A system for routing emergency calls to an answering point or to a second destination;
- said answering point having a notification line, means for placing in a queue said emergency calls to be routed to said notification line, and call answer terminals which may be active or inactive at a current time at which one of said emergency calls is to be routed, comprising;
first means for determining the number of said terminals that are active at the current time; second means for setting a call capacity depth as a function of said number of active terminals at any current time; third means for multiplying said call capacity depth times said number of active terminals to obtain an answering point call capacity limit representing the maximum number of said emergency calls which may be in process of being handled by said answering point at any one of said current times; fourth means for determining the current number of said emergency calls which are in process of being handled by said answering point at said one current time; fifth means for determining whether said call capacity limit exceeds, equals or is less than said current number of said emergency calls; and sixth means for routing one of said emergency calls at said current time to said answering point if said fifth determining means determines that said call capacity limit exceeds said current number, and for routing said one call at said current time to said second destination if said call capacity limit is less than or equal to said current number of calls. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
- said answering point having a notification line, means for placing in a queue said emergency calls to be routed to said notification line, and call answer terminals which may be active or inactive at a current time at which one of said emergency calls is to be routed, comprising;
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18. A system for routing emergency calls to one or the other of first and second types of destinations, comprising:
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first means for determining whether said first type of destination is available to handle a given on of said emergency calls; and second means rendered effective upon said determining means not identifying said first type of destination as being available to handle said given call for determining whether said second type of designation is available to answer said given call. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for routing emergency calls to a selected one of many destinations at which said emergency calls are to be answered, wherein there is at least one preferred type of destination and more than one destination of that type, wherein there is at least one second type of destination and more than one destination of that second type, comprising:
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first means for determining whether any of said destinations of said first type of destination is available at a current time to handle a given one of said emergency calls, said first determining means not necessarily making said determination as to all of the destinations of said preferred type such that at said current time there may be unchecked destinations of said preferred type; second means rendered effective upon said determining means not identifying any destination of said preferred type of destination as being available to handle said given emergency call for linearly searching said destinations of said first type to identify one or more of said unchecked destinations; for each said unchecked destination of said preferred type as may exist, third means effective for determining whether said unchecked destination is available to handle said given emergency call; said second means searching to identify another unchecked destination if said unchecked destination is not available to handle said given emergency call; and fourth means responsive to said second means not identifying any of said destinations of said preferred type as being available to handle said given emergency call for causing said second searching means to repeat said linear searching with respect to said destinations of said second type, said repeated linear searching determining whether there was any prior attempt made to route said given emergency call to any of said destination of said second type. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A system for routing emergency calls to one of many destinations at which the emergency calls are handled, wherein public safety answering points are a preferred type of destination, wherein switch directory numbers are a second type of destination and public switched telephone network directory numbers are a third type of destination, comprising:
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first means for determining whether there is any said public safety answering point to which no attempt was made to route a given one of said emergency calls, said first determining means not necessarily making said determination as to all of said public safety answering points such that there may be unattempted public safety answering points to which not attempt was made to route said given emergency call; second means rendered effective upon said first determining means not identifying one of said unattempted public safety answering points for sequentially searching all of said public safety answering points, said searching including all of said unattempted public safety answering points as may exist and determining whether any of said public safety answering points was unattempted; third means responsive to said searching means not identifying any of said public safety answering points as being unattempted for repeating said sequential searching with respect to said switch directory numbers, said repeated sequential search determining whether there is any said switch directory number to which no attempt was made to route said given emergency call; and fourth means responsive to said third means not identifying any of said switch directory numbers as being unattempted for repeating said sequential searching with respect to said public switched telephone network directory numbers, said last-mentioned repeated searching determining whether there is a public switched telephone network directory number to which no attempt was made to route said given emergency call. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. In a system for routing an emergency call to one of many possible destinations;
- said possible destinations being in a preferred priority and including at least one public safety answering point, an alternate destination for said public safety answering point in the form of a routing switch directory number, or a third destination in the form of a public switching telephone network directory number;
said system comprising means for routing said emergency call and means for sending commands to control said routing means;
the improvement in said sending means comprising;last chance means for searching said destinations in a selected order in an attempt to identify one of said destinations that is available to handle said emergency call, said last chance means being effective after said routing means has failed to route said emergency call to one said destination that is first in said priority; first means responsive to said routing means failing to route said emergency call in response to one of said commands for determining if said routing means was attempting to route said emergency call to one of said public safety answering points; and second means effective whether or not said routing means was attempting to route said emergency call to one of said public safety answering points for determining if said last chance means was being used by said routing means to route said call. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
- said possible destinations being in a preferred priority and including at least one public safety answering point, an alternate destination for said public safety answering point in the form of a routing switch directory number, or a third destination in the form of a public switching telephone network directory number;
Specification