Method and emergency system for handling emergency calls from a communication terminal

• US 8,185,086 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2007
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RingCentral Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Unify GmbH & Co. KG (Atos SE)
• Inventors: Bozionek, Bruno, Klaus, Dieter, Niemeier, Hubert
• Primary Examiner(s): Cumming, William D
• Application Number:
  US12/227,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20090093230A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,925 Days
• Field of Search: 340/506, 455/404.1
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53366 Message disposing or creating aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53375 Message broadcasting

Abstract

After an emergency call from a communication terminal has been received by an emergency call center, the position of the communication terminal is determined by querying a database. An area around the position of the communication terminal is defined as danger area and other communication terminals located in the danger area are identified. Communication terminals of rescue workers in the danger area who are to be informed are then selected. Finally, emergency information is generated, which can, for example, contain information about escape routes for potentially imperiled persons or access route information for rescue workers. This emergency information is then communicated to each of the selected communication terminals of potentially imperiled persons and/or rescue workers.

Claims

1. A method for handling emergency calls from a communication terminal comprising:

a call center determining a position of the communication terminal making an emergency call after the emergency call has been received;

the call center defining a spatial area around the position of the communication terminal as a danger area;

the call center identifying communication terminals comprising wireless communication terminals located in the danger area by utilizing one or more communication networks or localization devices;

the call center generating emergency information; and

the call center transmitting the generated emergency information to at least one of the identified wireless communication terminals located in the danger area;

the emergency information describing a type of danger situation, and/or urgency of the danger situation, and/or type of measures to be taken, and/or urgency of the measures, and/or escape route information for leaving the defined danger area;

the position of the communication terminal making the emergency call and of the wireless communication terminals in the danger area being determined with the aid of a Global Positioning System, and/or by system-inherent positioning methods of Groupe Speciale Mobile (“

GSM”

), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (“

UMTS”

), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (“

DECT”

), Radio Frequency Identification (“

RFID”

), or wireless local area network (“

WLAN”

) networks, and position information is generated indicating the position of the communication terminal making the call and of the wireless communication terminals in the danger area, and the danger area is defined with the position information of the communication terminal making the emergency call;

the emergency information being transmitted to the communication terminal making the emergency call and the wireless communication terminals located in the danger area by a communication sent to the wireless communication terminals and communication terminal making the emergency call as at least one of;

a voice message, a short message, a Short Message Service messages and an e-mail via a communication network;

the wireless communication terminals located in the danger area being identified by the emergency call center processing of information from a building or room access control system;

emergency information being transmitted to selected communication terminals of rescue workers inside and outside the danger area with the selection of rescue workers depending on a type of danger situation;

the communication terminals of rescue workers being selected depending on their position; and

wherein entry route navigation aid information is transmitted to the selected communication terminals of the rescue workers, depending on where the danger area is located; and

wherein emergency information is transmitted to the communication terminals of the rescue workers concerning the danger situation, and/or the extent of the danger situation, and/or a possible number of persons involved; and

wherein further emergency call information from the communication terminal making the emergency call, and/or further information that represents a position that deviates from the position of the communication terminal making the emergency call is taken into account.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the position of the communication terminal making the emergency call is mapped onto an image representing the danger area.

3. A method for handling emergency calls from a communication terminal comprising:

a call center determining a position of the communication terminal making an emergency call after the emergency call has been received;

the call center defining a spatial area around the position of the communication terminal as a danger area;

the call center identifying communication terminals comprising wireless communication terminals located in the danger area by utilizing one or more communication networks or localization devices;

the call center generating emergency information; and

the call center transmitting the generated emergency information to at least one of the identified wireless communication terminals located in the danger area; and

wherein the position of the communication terminal making the emergency call is determined by the emergency call center transmitting a query to a database, the database identifying communication terminals in the one or more communication networks and position information for each of the communication terminals identified in the database and wherein the database responds to the query such that the emergency call center determines where the communication terminal making the emergency call is located; and

wherein the call center identifies communication terminals located in the danger area with the aid of one or more communication networks or localization devices by querying the database to determine which terminals are located in the danger area.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the call center identifies wireless communication terminals located in the danger area with the aid of one or more communication networks or localization devices is also performed by the call center querying access control systems to determine persons located within the danger area and subsequently querying the database to determine which wireless communication terminals are assigned to the determined persons located within the danger area so that the emergency information is transmitted to the wireless communication terminals assigned to the determined persons located within the danger area via voice messages, short messages, Short Message Service messages or e-mail.

5. A method for handling emergency calls from a communication terminal, comprising:

a call center determining the position of the communication terminal making the emergency call after an emergency call has been received;

the call center defining a spatial area around the position of the communication terminal as a danger area;

the call center identifying communication terminals located in the danger area by utilizing one or more communication networks or localization devices;

the call center generating emergency information; and

the call center transmitting the generated emergency information to the communication terminal making the emergency call, and/or at least one of the identified communication terminals, and/or at least one output device located in the danger area; and

wherein the emergency call center communicates with a determination module to define the danger area and to identify the terminals in the danger area, the determination module being located in the one or more communication networks.

6. An emergency system for handling emergency calls from a communication terminal, comprising:

an emergency call center and a database for determining a position of the communication terminal making the emergency call;

at least one determination module for defining a spatial area around the determined a position of the communication terminal as a danger area;

a communication network or a localization device that identifies wireless communication terminals located in the danger area; and

the at least one determination module generating emergency information for transmitting to the wireless communication terminals located in the danger area; and

wherein the call center queries at least one access control system located in at least one building to determine persons located within the danger area and subsequently queries the database to determine which wireless communication terminals are assigned to the determined persons located within the danger area so that the emergency information is transmitted to the wireless communication terminals assigned to the determined persons located within the danger area via voice messages, short messages, Short Message Service messages or e-mail.

7. The emergency system of claim 6, further comprising an initialization module for an emergency system or emergency call center that initializes Global Positioning Systems, GPS, and/or system-inherent positioning methods in the wireless communication terminals or communication network.

8. The emergency system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the determination module further provides in the generation and transmission of the emergency information:

a type of danger situation, and/or urgency of the danger situation, and/or type of measures to be taken, and/or urgency of the measures to be taken, and/or escape route information for leaving the danger area, and/or entry route information for reaching the danger area.

9. The emergency system as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a transmission module that transmits the emergency information to wireless communication terminals of the identified persons via at least one of:

Short Message Service, Multimedia Messaging Service, wirelessly transmitted voice messages, and e-mail.