Emergency alert feature on a mobile communication device

• US 8,301,463 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2008
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Tandiono, Helen, Lui, Lam Lam Wong, Beng Wooi, Toh
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilligan, Luke
• Assistant Examiner(s): Reyes, Reginald R
• Application Number:
  US12/272,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20100124900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,443 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 4
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72424 with manual activation of emergency-service functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/045 using recorded signals, e.g. speech
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks

Abstract

Automatically establishing a connection with an emergency services server is provided. In response to receiving an emergency signal from a mobile communication device, a connection with the mobile communication device is established by a communications server. Location data, audio input data, and visual input data from the mobile communication device is received by the communications server. Personal data for an owner of the mobile communication device is retrieved by the communications server from a storage device connected to a network. A connection with an emergency services server for a current locale of the mobile communication device is automatically established by the communications server. Then, the emergency signal, location data, audio input data, and visual input data received from the mobile communication device, along with the retrieved personal data, is transmitted by the communications server to the emergency services server for use by emergency service personnel.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for automatically establishing a connection with a communications server, the computer implemented method comprising the steps of:

receiving, by a mobile communication device, an emergency signal from activation of a single emergency button located in an emergency button port under a slide cover that only covers the emergency button port on the mobile communication device without user input of an emergency services number;

responsive to the mobile communication device receiving the emergency signal from the activation of the single emergency button without the user input of the emergency services number, establishing, by the mobile communication device, the connection with the communications server automatically for a current locale of the mobile communication device and automatically recording, by the mobile communication device, audio input data from a microphone and visual input data from a camera, wherein the visual input data is a video clip of a predetermined length automatically taken by the camera intermittently at predetermined time intervals after the activation of the single emergency button;

transmitting, by the mobile communications device, the emergency signal, the audio input data, and the visual input data associated with the activation of the single emergency button to the communications server;

determining, by the mobile communication device, that the connection with the communications server is severed; and

responsive to the mobile communication device determining that the connection with the communications server is severed, stopping, by the mobile communication device, automatic recording and transmitting functions associated with the activation of the single emergency button.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

responsive to the mobile communication device receiving the emergency signal from the activation of the single emergency button, transmitting, by the mobile communication device, location data for the mobile communication device to the communications server.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

storing, by the mobile communication device, the audio input data and the visual input data in a storage device within the mobile communication device.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the current locale of the mobile communication device is in a foreign country other than a primary residence of an owner of the mobile communication device that has a different emergency service number than the primary residence.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the single emergency button includes Braille-like dots.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication device automatically activates the microphone and the camera in response to activation of the emergency signal by a user pressing the single emergency button.

7. A mobile communication device for automatically establishing a connection with a communications server, the mobile communication device comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device stores a set of instructions; and

a processing unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processing unit executes the set of instructions to receive an emergency signal from activation of a single emergency button located in an emergency button port under a slide cover that only covers the emergency button port on the mobile communication device without user input of an emergency services number;

establish the connection with the communications server automatically for a current locale of the mobile communication device and automatically record audio input data from a microphone and visual input data from a camera in response to receiving the emergency signal from the activation of the single emergency button without the user input of the emergency services number, wherein the visual input data is a video clip of a predetermined length automatically taken by the camera intermittently at predetermined time intervals after the activation of the single emergency button;

transmit the emergency signal, the audio input data, and the visual input data associated with the activation of the single emergency button to the communications server;

determine that the connection with the communications server is severed; and

stop automatic recording and transmitting functions associated with the activation of the single emergency button in response to determining that the connection with the communications server is severed.

8. The mobile communication device of claim 7, wherein the processing unit executes a further set of instructions to transmit location data for the mobile communication device to the communications server in response to receiving the emergency signal from the activation of the single emergency button.

9. A computer program product stored in a computer readable storage device having computer usable program code embodied therein that is executable by a mobile communication device for automatically establishing a connection with a communications server, the computer program product comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving, by the mobile communication device, an emergency signal from activation of a single emergency button located in an emergency button port under a slide cover that only covers the emergency button port on the mobile communication device without user input of an emergency services number;

computer usable program code for establishing, by the mobile communication device, the connection with the communications server automatically for a current locale of the mobile communication device and automatically recording, by the mobile communication device, audio input data from a microphone and visual input data from a camera in response to the mobile communication device receiving the emergency signal from the activation of the single emergency button without the user input of the emergency services number, wherein the visual input data is a video clip of a predetermined length automatically taken by the camera intermittently at predetermined time intervals after the activation of the single emergency button;

computer usable program code for transmitting, by the mobile communication device, the emergency signal, the audio input data, and the visual input data associated with the activation of the single emergency button to the communications server;

computer usable program code for determining, by the mobile communication device, that the connection with the communications server is severed; and

computer usable program code for stopping, by the mobile communication device, automatic recording and transmitting functions associated with the activation of the single emergency button in responsive to the mobile communication device determining that the connection with the communications server is severed.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable program code for transmitting, by the mobile communication device, location data for the mobile communication device to the communications server in response to the mobile communication device receiving the emergency signal from the activation of the single emergency button.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable program code for storing, by the mobile communication device, the recorded audio input data and visual input data in a storage device within the mobile communication device.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the current locale of the mobile communication device is in a foreign country other than a primary residence of an owner of the mobile communication device that has a different emergency service number than the primary residence.