Method and system for use in emergency notification and determining location

• US 7,212,111 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2003
• Issued: 05/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tupler, Amy M., Mock, Von A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Benjamin C.
• Application Number:
  US10/748,881
• Publication Number:
  US 20050151642A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,218 Days
• Field of Search: 3405391-53924, 340/825.49, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/456.2, 379/45, 379/37, 701/213
• US Class Current: 340/539.18
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/005 Alarm destination chosen according to a hierarchy of available destinations, e.g. if hospital does not answer send to police station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/001 Signalling to an emergency team, e.g. firemen
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1845 broadcast or multicast in a specific location, e.g. geocast protocols for adapting network applications to user terminal location H04L67/52; services specially adapted for wireless communication networks making use of the location of users or terminals H04W4/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72421 with automatic activation of emergency service functions, e.g. upon sensing an alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

The present embodiments provide methods, systems and apparatuses for use in providing notification of emergency services as well as notifying additional individuals and/or groups of an emergency. Some embodiments provide methods for use in dispatching emergency services (136) and notifying one or more additional contacts (140). These methods wirelessly receive a request for emergency services (212) from a remote wireless device (122), retrieve an emergency contact list according to the type of emergency (216) and determine at least one emergency contact other than emergency services according to the contact list (436). Once identified, the contact is notified of the request for emergency services (442). Some embodiments further determine a mode of communicating with the emergency contact (440) and notify the contact according to the mode of communication. Some methods additionally determine one or more types of emergency services to be dispatched (432) and notify types of emergency services (434).

Claims

1. A method for use in providing wireless communications, comprising, at a processing center:

receiving a request for emergency services from a user using a wireless device;

identifying the user from whom the emergency services are requested;

evaluating the request for emergency services;

retrieving an emergency contact list containing at least one member to be contacted, the emergency contact list retrieved from the wireless device used by the user by the processing center;

contacting the at least one member of the emergency contact list and notifying the member of the received request for emergency services;

verifying that the at least one emergency contact received the notification; and

re-notifying the at least one emergency contact when verification is not received that the at least one emergency contact receive the notification.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

notifying one or more emergency services of the received request for emergency services.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the notifying the at least one member comprises issuing one or more messages to an identified device associated with the at least one member of the contact list.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

establishing communication between an individual submitting the request for emergency services and at least one of the notified emergency services.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the establishing communication comprises at least one of push to talk, interconnect and messaging capabilities for each of the individual'"'"'s submitting the request and the at least one emergency services.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

establishing group communication between the at least one member of the emergency contact list and one or more of the emergency services.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing direct communication between an individual submitting the request for emergency services and the at least one member of the emergency contact list.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining traffic conditions; and

issuing driving directions to the at least one member of the contact list.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

contacting an escort; and

directing the escort to the at least one member of the contact list.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a change in a condition tat exceeds a threshold; and

initiating the transmission of the request for emergency services without user intervention.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a type of emergency;

determining a type of emergency services according to the identified type of emergency services; and

wherein the retrieving the emergency contact list comprises retrieving the emergency contact list for the identified type of emergency.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining which of a plurality of emergency contact lists are to be retrieved according to at least one of a time of day, day of the week, and location of an individual submitting the request for emergency services.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating an alert beacon indicating a location of a device transmitting the request for emergency services.

14. A system for providing emergency notification between a processing center and a remote wireless device, the processing center comprising:

a processor;

a memory for storing at least one emergency contact list; and

a wireless transceiver that wirelessly receives a request for emergency service and the at least one emergency contact list from the remote wireless device;

wherein the processor evaluates the received request for emergency service, retrieves the at least one emergency contact list associated with the received request for emergency services, the emergency contact list received from the remote wireless device in response to the request for emergency service, and generate a communication to at least one member from the at least one emergency contact list; and

wherein the processor further verifies that the at least one member received the notification; and

the processor re-notifies the at least one member when verification is not received that the at least one member received the notification.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor communicates to a plurality of members identified from the at least one emergency contact list to notify each of the plurality of members of the request for the emergency service.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

a wireless communication device that wirelessly transmits the request for emergency service.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the processor further determines a type of emergency and notifies at least one emergency service of the request for emergency service.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor initiates an alert location beacon.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the alert beacon is at least one of an audio, vibration, visual lighting and non-visual lighting.