Method of routing emergency calls

• US 6,067,356 A
• Filed: 09/17/1998
• Issued: 05/23/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Weik, Hartmut, Lautenschlager, Wolfgang, Stahl, Uwe, Krank, Lothar
• Primary Examiner(s): LOOMIS, PAUL A
• Application Number:
  US09/156,278
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: 379/45, 379/201, 379/207
• US Class Current: 379/201.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/22 Automatic class or number identification arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/54 Arrangements for diverting calls for one subscriber to another predetermined subscriber based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; to voice mail H04M3/53308
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0435 Details
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13091 CLI, identification of calling line
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13097 Numbering, addressing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13102 Common translator
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13103 Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13141 Hunting for free outlet, circuit or channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13199 Modem, modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13206 User-to-user signaling, UUS
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13209 ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1337 Operator, emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13396 Signaling in general, in-band signalling
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/64 Distributing or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/72 Finding out and indicating number of calling subscriber

Abstract

A method of routing a call, especially an emergency call made to a uniform regional or national central phone call number, which is made by a telecommunications (TC) subscriber in a publicly accessible digital TC network, to the respective geographically responsible call center, includes the steps of transmitting, as part of a calling signal, an identification of the TC subscriber making the call, using the subscriber identification to retrieve, from a database containing at least a geographic location associated with each subscriber, the location of the calling subscriber, selecting a responsible call center nearest the location of the calling subscriber, and routing the call from the subscriber to the nearest responsible call center. The method has the advantage that, in spite of possible breakdown of previous associations between telephone number prefixes and geographic locations, the subscriber'"'"'s location can be reliably determined with the help of a central calling number/location data base, and the call can be routed to the respective geographically responsible call center.

Claims

1. A method of routing a call made to a uniform regional or national central phone number, which is made by a telecommunications (TC) subscriber in a publicly accessible digital TC network to the geographically responsible call center, comprising the steps of

transmitting, as part of a calling signal, an identification of the TC subscriber making the call,

using said subscriber identification to retrieve, from a database containing at least an individualized geographic location associated with each subscriber, independent of any prefix portion of said subscriber'"'"'s telephone number, the location of the calling subscriber,

selecting a responsible call center nearest said location of said calling subscriber, and

routing said call from said subscriber to said nearest responsible call center.

2. A routing method as claimed in claim 1,

further comprising routing emergency calls to a nearest responsible emergency call center.

3. A routing method according to claim 1,

wherein said identification of said subscriber is a calling line identifier transmitted as part of said calling signal.

4. A routing method according to claim 2,

wherein said identification of said subscriber is a calling line identifier transmitted as part of said calling signal.