Emergency call system and device

• US 7,409,044 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2001
• Issued: 08/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales DIS France SA
• Original Assignee: Gemplus (Thales SA)
• Inventors: Leduc, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Woo; Stella L
• Application Number:
  US10/333,407
• Publication Number:
  US 20040024706A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,574 Days
• Field of Search: 379 37- 40, 379/106.02, 455/404.1
• US Class Current: 379/37
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems

Abstract

An emergency call system includes an emergency call device capable of accessing at least a wireless telecommunication network by means of a communication apparatus. A server processes the emergency call coming from an emergency call device via the communication apparatus. The invention is applicable to emergency call systems in case of health accidents, assaults, accidents and the like. The emergency call device can be a smart card.

Claims

1. A device for emergency calls to an emergency call processing server, said device comprising a smart card having a microprocessor, an emergency call triggering device, at least one contactless communication interface to access at least one communication appliance of a wireless communication network, and a memory containing procedures for causing said microprocessor to communicate with the communication appliance via said interface to access the server via the wireless communication network.

2. An emergency call device according to claim 1, wherein the emergency call triggering device is a biometric sensor, and the microprocessor compares sensed biometric data with reference biometric data contained in the memory before triggering a call.

3. An emergency call device according to claim 1, wherein said memory contains personal and/or medical information relating to the bearer, for transmission to the emergency call processing server.

4. An emergency call device according to claim 1, further comprising an input/output interface for connecting to at least one sensor which provides medical measurement values, for transmission to the processing server.

5. An emergency call device according to claim 1, wherein the memory further contains information received from the server, and wherein said device further comprises means for displaying said information.

6. An emergency call device according to claim 1, wherein said device further comprises means for encrypting/decrypting the information transmitted to the server or received from the server.

7. An emergency call system, comprising at least one emergency call device according to claim 1 and a server for processing an emergency call from the emergency call device by means of said communication appliance.

8. An emergency call system, comprising:

a smart card having;

a microprocessor;

a call triggering device;

at least one contactless communication interface; and

a memory storing a procedure for causing said microprocessor to establish communication with a communication appliance in response to actuation of said triggering device for accessing an emergency call processing server; and

a wireless communication appliance having a wireless communication interface that enables said communication appliance to communicate with said smart card, said communication appliance being responsive to the establishment of communication with said smart card to communicate with said emergency call processing server via a wireless network and thereby enable said smart card to access said server.

9. The emergency call system of claim 8, wherein the call triggering device is a biometric sensor, and the microprocessor compares sensed biometric data with reference biometric data contained in the memory before triggering a call.

10. The emergency call system of claim 8, wherein said memory contains personal and/or medical information relating to the bearer, for transmission to the emergency call processing server.

11. The emergency call system of claim 8, further comprising an input/output interface for connecting to at least one sensor which provides medical measurement values, for transmission to the emergency call processing server.

12. The emergency call system of claim 8, wherein the memory further contains information received from the server, and wherein said smart card includes a display for displaying said information.

13. The emergency call system of claim 8, wherein said smart card includes a module for encrypting/decrypting the information transmitted to the server or received from the server.