Emergency PCS system for identification and notification of a subscriber's location
First Claim
1. An emergency personal communications services (PCS) system for providing information on the location of a user, comprising:
- a PCS device, carried by said user, for receiving signal transmissions from a multiple of GPS satellites, converting said signal transmissions into information identifying a location of said PCS device, and automatically transmitting, over a unidirectional link, said location information and a unique code which identifies said PCS device to a computer network over a wireless medium, said PCS device including means for selectively generating a distress signal responsive to activation by said subscriber;
a database located on said computer network for storing said location information and said code;
responsive to storage in said database, an application program running on said computer network for converting said location information into generally understood location information which is stored;
responsive to said conversion and storage, means for automatically notifying emergency services with the generally understood location information if said distress signal has been generated; and
a voice processing system to enable a telephone caller to access said database via said computer network in a non-emergency mode to obtain the generally understood location information of where said PCS device is located provided said caller is able to supply an identifier that corresponds to said unique code of said PCS device.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A wireless communication device, operating over frequencies allocated to Personal Communications Services (PCS), uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to determine the subscriber'"'"'s exact location on a periodic basis. The device sends the location information to a database for storage and subsequent retrieval by a Geographical Information System (GIS) software application. The GIS converts the location information represented by a latitude/longitude combination to a user-friendly classification of a block, street, city, etc. The user-friendly classification of the subscriber'"'"'s location is then automatically communicated to emergency services and/or a designated contact, if an emergency button has been activated on the device. Alternatively, the device responds to on-demand inquiries on the subscriber'"'"'s location via a computer link or a computerized voice processing equipment, such as a Voice Response Unit (VRU).
502 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An emergency personal communications services (PCS) system for providing information on the location of a user, comprising:
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a PCS device, carried by said user, for receiving signal transmissions from a multiple of GPS satellites, converting said signal transmissions into information identifying a location of said PCS device, and automatically transmitting, over a unidirectional link, said location information and a unique code which identifies said PCS device to a computer network over a wireless medium, said PCS device including means for selectively generating a distress signal responsive to activation by said subscriber; a database located on said computer network for storing said location information and said code; responsive to storage in said database, an application program running on said computer network for converting said location information into generally understood location information which is stored; responsive to said conversion and storage, means for automatically notifying emergency services with the generally understood location information if said distress signal has been generated; and a voice processing system to enable a telephone caller to access said database via said computer network in a non-emergency mode to obtain the generally understood location information of where said PCS device is located provided said caller is able to supply an identifier that corresponds to said unique code of said PCS device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14)
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8. A method of providing information on a user'"'"'s location using an emergency personal communications services (PCS) system, comprising:
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receiving signal transmissions from a multiple of GPS satellites; converting said signal transmissions into information identifying a location of a PCS device; automatically transmitting, over a unidirectional link, said location information and a unique code which identifies said PCS device to a computer network over a wireless medium; storing said location information and said code in a database located on said computer network; converting said location information into generally understood location information using an application program running on said computer network; storing said converted location information; automatically notifying emergency services with the generally understood location information if a distress signal has been generated responsive to activation by said subscriber; and enabling a telephone caller to interact with a voice processing system to access said database via said computer network in a non-emergency mode in order to obtain the generally understood location information of where said PCS device is located, provided said caller is able to supply an identifier that corresponds to said unique code of said PCS device. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15)
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Specification