Emergency call completion for VoIP based on location of call originator

• US 7,453,990 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2004
• Issued: 11/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vonage Business Inc (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Vonage Holdings Corporation (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Holder, Louis, Welenson, Gregory L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Quynh H
• Application Number:
  US10/872,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20050175166A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,610 Days
• Field of Search: 379 37- 51, 379/211.01, 379/211.02, 379/219, 379/220.01, 379/221.01, 379/221.15, 379/37.51, 370/352, 370/353, 370/356
• US Class Current: 379/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8055 Selecting cheaper transport technology for a given service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/42 Least cost routing, i.e. provision for selecting the lowest cost tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/745 Least cost routing, e.g. Automatic or manual, call by call or by preselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7464 Select transport technology for a given service, e.g. use for data connection WLAN rather than GSM/UMTS/GPRS or use company's communication network rather than a public network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/122 where the PSTN/ISDN access is used as an access to networks other than PSTN/ISDN access arrangements to networks other than PSTN/ISDN H04M7/0066; access arrangements to public data networks H04L12/2856
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/901 Virtual networks or virtual private networks

Abstract

Emergency calls placed from telephone devices connected to a data network are completed to the appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP). In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for completing an emergency call comprises receiving a call from a device on a data network, the call destined for an emergency service, the device having a physical location, obtaining a telephone number of an emergency call center that handles emergency calls for the physical location of the device, and routing the call to the emergency call center using the telephone number.

Claims

1. A method for completing an emergency call, comprising:

receiving a call from a location requesting emergency service, the location having a telephone number associated therewith;

obtaining an emergency call center telephone number that handles emergency calls for the location requesting emergency service, said emergency call center telephone number mapped directly to the telephone number of the location requesting emergency service prior to receiving the call from the location requesting emergency service; and

routing the call to the emergency call center using said obtained emergency call center telephone number.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the emergency call center telephone number is directly mapped to the location telephone number using physical address information prior to receiving the call from the location requesting emergency service.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the physical address information is geocoded and transmitted to a database that stores the emergency call center telephone number that corresponds to the physical address information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the received call further comprises a message that includes the location telephone number.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the message is a SIP message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the call is placed by dialing 911.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the emergency call center telephone number is a physical telephone number on a switched telephone network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the routed call includes the location requesting emergency service.

19. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of receiving the call includes receiving a first SIP message including the telephone number of the location requesting emergency service.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of routing the call includes generating a second SIP message including the emergency call center telephone number.

9. A system for completing an emergency call, comprising:

an intermediate network apparatus connected to a data network and configured to

receive a call from a location requesting emergency service, the location having a telephone number associated therewith, and

obtain an emergency call center telephone number that handles emergency calls for the location requesting emergency service, said emergency call center telephone number mapped directly to the telephone number of the location requesting emergency service prior to receiving the call from the location requesting emergency service; and

a gateway configured to route the call to the emergency call center using said obtained emergency call center telephone number.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the emergency call center telephone number is directly mapped to the location telephone number using physical address information prior to receiving the call from the location requesting emergency service.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the physical address information is geocoded and transmitted to a database that stores the emergency call center telephone number that corresponds to the physical address information.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the received call further comprises a message that includes the location telephone number.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the message is a SIP message.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the call is placed by dialing 911.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the emergency call center telephone number is a physical telephone number on a switched telephone network.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the routed call includes the location requesting emergency service.

17. A method for completing an emergency call, comprising:

receiving physical address information and a user telephone number;

translating the physical address information into geocoding information;

directly mapping the user telephone number to a corresponding emergency response telephone number based on the geocoding information;

subsequent to the directly mapping, receiving an emergency call including the user telephone number;

transmitting a lookup request corresponding to the emergency call based on the user telephone number;

retrieving the corresponding emergency response telephone number based on the lookup request; and

routing the emergency call and the physical address information to the corresponding emergency response telephone number.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of routing the emergency call includes routing the emergency call simultaneously with the physical address information to the corresponding emergency response telephone number.