Systems and methods for providing emergency contact services

• US 7,573,984 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2005
• Issued: 08/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Business Global LLC (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Alihassan, Ayat, McKiel, Frank A. Jr., Ger, Shanyu
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz; Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): El-Zoobi; Maria
• Application Number:
  US11/318,635
• Publication Number:
  US 20070064882A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,322 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201.07, 379/213.01, 379/221.03, 379/93.24, 379 8817- 8825, 379/211.03, 379/196, 379/207.03, 379/207.15, 379/245, 379/67.1, 379/70, 379 37- 55, 455/417
• US Class Current: 379/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72418 for supporting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals

Abstract

An emergency contact platform provides emergency contact services where usual communications have been disrupted. The emergency contact platform may include a server to receive registration information including a phone number associated with a phone when communication using the phone is impracticable. The server may also be configured to receive an information request identifying the phone number. The emergency contact platform may also include a database to store the received registration information. The server may be also configured to perform a lookup in the database based on the phone number and provide a result of the lookup based on the received information request.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an emergency contact platform including;

a server to;

receive an inquiry about a phone number associated with a phone that is unavailable due to an emergency event, the inquiry being received from an inquiring party,

determine whether the phone number has already been registered,

receive notification information from the inquiring party when the phone number is determined not to have already been registered,

store the notification information,

receive, subsequent to storing the notification information, registration information from a registering party, the registration information including the phone number,

store the registration information, and

provide the notification information to the registering party in response to receiving the registration information; and

a database to;

store the received notification information, and

store the received registration information,

where the server is further to;

receive, subsequent to storing the registration information, an information request identifying the phone number,

perform a lookup in the database based on the phone number, and

provide a result of the lookup based on the received information request.

2. The system of claim 1, where the server is to receive the registration information via a toll-free call.

3. The system of claim 1, where the server is to receive the information request via a toll-free call.

4. The system of claim 1, where the registration information includes alternate contact information, and

where the server is further to establish a communication link to the alternate contact information based on the result of the lookup and the received information request.

5. The system of claim 1, where the information request includes contact information, and

where the database is further to store the contact information when the server receives the information request before the the server receives the registration information.

6. The system of claim 5, where the server is further to generate a notification based on the contact information when the server subsequently receives the registration information.

7. The system of claim 1, where the information request is received via a call placed to the phone number, and

where the server receives the call based on at least one of an area code, an exchange, or a geographic location associated with the phone number.

8. The system of claim 1, where the registration information includes screening information,

where the database is further to store the screening information, and

where the server is further to screen the information request based on the stored screening information.

9. A communications platform comprising:

means for receiving an inquiry request, from an inquirer, regarding a telephone number;

means for determining, in response to receiving the inquiry request, whether the telephone number has been registered;

means for receiving notification information from the inquirer when the telephone number has been determined not to have been registered;

means for storing the notification information;

means for receiving, subsequent to storing the notification information, registration information from a registrant, where the registration information includes the telephone number and alternate contact information associated with the registrant;

means for associating the alternate contact information with the telephone number in a memory;

means for providing the notification information to the registrant in response to associating the alternate contact information with the telephone number in the memory;

means for receiving an inquiry for the alternate contact information from a second inquirer, where the inquiry identifies at least one of the registrant or the telephone number;

means for retrieving the stored alternate contact information based on the inquiry;

means for providing the retrieved alternate contact information to the second inquirer; and

means for enabling communication between the registrant and the second inquirer using the retrieved alternate contact information.

10. The communication platform of claim 9, where the means for receiving registration information receives the registration information via atoll-free call.

11. The communication platform of claim 9, where the means for receiving an inquiry request receive the inquiry request via a toll-free call.

12. The communication platform of claim 9, further comprising:

means for generating a notification based on the stored notification information when the means for receiving the registration information subsequently receives the registration information.

13. The communication platform of claim 9, where the registration information includes screening information, and

where the communication platform further includes:

means for screening the inquiry for the alternate contact information based on the stored screening information.