System and method for vital communications connectivity

• US 8,380,158 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2005
• Issued: 02/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Edward A. Mcculloch
• Original Assignee: Edward A. Mcculloch
• Inventors: McCulloch, Edward Archie
• Primary Examiner(s): MILLER, BRANDON J
• Application Number:
  US11/293,500
• Publication Number:
  US 20060133582A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,633 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/422.1, 455/426.1, 455/461, 379/45, 379/49, 379/221.08, 379/221.09, 379/221.12, 379/42
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems

Abstract

A communications system is disclosed that is capable of collecting, processing, and transmitting information signals over communications networks originating within the same or different communications networks, the communications system having a means for developing, identifying, and/or utilizing electronic trigger signals generated by calls initiated within a first communications network, a database for storing information related to the triggers and one or more users and information recipients, and a means for transmitting signals over the first communications network or over a second communications network to the recipients, wherein the signals contain information related to the triggers in order to allow recipients to act on the information.

Claims

1. A communications system for collecting, processing, and transmitting information signals over communications networks originating within the same or different communications networks, the communications system comprising:

trigger decision means for determining whether to develop, identify, or utilize triggers related to a receipt of information received within a first communications network by automatically monitoring simultaneously for the receipt of information about an initiation of at least one emergency response system parameter and the receipt of information about an initiation of at least one independent user-initiated action parameter, and then for determining whether to initiate at least one of family, community unit, enterprise, and government emergency communications plan based on the receipt of the information thus received, wherein the communications plan includes an alertment protocol for each of a plurality of users, and wherein the alertment protocol for each of the plurality of users includes an identity of a plurality of information recipients and a user-provided time period value when the alertment protocol is to be executed following the receipt of the information;

database means for storing the alertment protocols, and information related to the triggers, the plurality of users and the plurality of information recipients; and

notification means responsive to the receipt of the information for transmitting multi-modal signals simultaneously over one or more different communications networks, one of which may be the first communications network, based on the alertment protocol to each of the identified plurality of recipients, wherein the signals contain at least information related to the triggers.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the triggering means comprises a communications device and a code for causing the communications device to produce a trigger.

3. The communication system of claim 2, wherein the trigger caused by using the code with the communications device causes the automatic notification of the plurality of recipients according to a notification plan.

4. The communications system of claim 2, wherein the communications device comprises at least one of a conventional wireline telephone, a wireless telephone, a voice-over-internet telephone, a hybrid telephone, and a personal emergency notification device, and wherein the personal notification device comprises a notification station in data communication with the trigger receiving means.

5. The communication system of claim 2, wherein the transmitted multi-modal signals are transmitted to at least two or more of wireline telephones, wireless telephones, voice-over-internet telephones, servers, client computers, personal digital assistants, pagers, fax machines, short message service-enabled devices, instant messaging-enabled devices, other e-mail-based devices, and any combination of those devices using one or more data communications protocols.

6. The communication system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of users and the plurality of information recipients comprises at least one of individuals, groups of individuals, communities, entities, governments, and a computer.

7. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring means for monitoring the first communications networks for the presence of the trigger.

8. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the multi-modal dissemination of information includes at least one of embedded video, data, and audio files.

9. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

subscription means for receiving payment from the plurality of users who use the communications system.

10. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the triggers and multi-modal signals are delivered over at least one of an advanced intelligent network, wireless intelligent network, and Internet Protocol network.

11. The communications system of claim 1, wherein said trigger decision means and said notification means each comprise a distributed system of stand-alone communications switches or hosting sites.

12. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the notification means comprises at least one of wireline, wireless, voice-over-internet telephony, and hybrid communications networks.

13. The communications system of claim 1, further comprising:

location means for locating a geographical location of the user.

14. A method for distributing alertment information to a plurality of information recipient over one or more communications networks, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting when a triggering event has been initiated by a user by automatically monitoring simultaneously for the receipt of information about the initiation of at least one emergency response system parameter and the receipt of information about the initiation of at least one independent user-initiated action parameter;

determining whether to develop, identify, or utilize a trigger based upon the detected triggering event and whether to initiate at least one of family, community unit, enterprise, and government emergency communications plan, wherein the communications plan including an alertment protocol for the users, and wherein the alertment protocol for the user includes an identity of a plurality of information recipients and a user-provided time period value when the alertment protocol is to be executed following the receipt of the information;

receiving information about the user or a communicator device associated with the user that caused the triggering event;

formatting a report containing information received about at least one of the triggering event, the user, and the communicator device; and

transmitting the report as a multi-modal signal simultaneously to at least some of the plurality of information recipients pre-selected by the user prior to the detection of a trigger event.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of initiating, by the user, a communication that causes the triggering event, wherein the step of initiating comprises entering a code in a communicator device.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the multi-modal signal is compatible with at least one of a wireline phone, a wireless phone, a voice over Internet Protocol phone, a personal data assistant, a pager, and wherein the multi-modal signal is formatted as at least one of a short message service, instant messaging, e-mail, fax, extensible markup language code file, audio file, and video file message.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of identifying the geographical location of at least one of the user and the communicator device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the multi-modal signal includes information about at least one of the geographical location of the user and the communicator device.

19. A communications system for collecting, processing, and transmitting information signals over communications networks originating within the same or different communications networks, the communications system comprising:

a first server for determining whether to develop, identify, utilize or transmit a first trigger signal related to calls initiated by one or more users within a wireline telephony network by monitoring automatically and simultaneously for a receipt of at least one emergency response system parameter and a receipt of at least one independent user-initiated action parameter, and for determining whether to initiate at least one of family, community unit, enterprise, and government emergency communications plan, wherein the communications plan includes an alertment protocol for each of a plurality of users, and wherein the alertment protocol for each of the plurality of users includes an identity of a plurality of information recipients and a user-provided time period value when the alertment protocol is to be executed following the receipt of the emergency response system parameter and the independent user-initiated action parameter;

a second server for developing, identifying, utilizing and/or transmitting a second trigger signal related to calls initiated by one or more users within a wireless telephony network;

a third server for developing, identifying, utilizing and/or transmitting a third trigger signal related to calls initiated by one or more users within voice over Internet Protocol telephony network;

a service control processing point device in data communication with the first three servers adapted to transmitting information regarding the triggering signals;

a notification server in data communication with at least one of the first, second, and third servers for simultaneously outputting multi-modal notification signals; and

a subscriber database containing a plurality of subscriber profiles, wherein each of the subscriber profiles includes a subscriber identification code and at least one recipient identification code associated with a recipient communicator device.

20. The communication system of claim 19, wherein the trigger signals are used to initiate the outputting of the notification signals.

21. The communication system of claim 19, wherein each subscriber profile includes information about at least one of an individual user, group of individual users, a family unit, and organization, an enterprise, and a governmental unit.

22. The communication system of claim 19, wherein the communicator device is at least one of a wired device, a wireless device, and a VoIP device.

23. The communication system of claim 19, wherein the triggering signals are generated upon receipt by the communicator device of an emergency reporting code.

24. The communication system of claim 23, further comprising means for preventing the outputting of the multi-modal notification signals and transmitting of information regarding the triggering signal.

25. The communication system of claim 23, further comprising means for outputting of the multi-modal notification signals and preventing transmitting of information regarding the triggering signal.

26. The communication system of claim 19, wherein the triggering signals are identified and the notification signals are outputted in near real time.

27. The communication system of claim 19, wherein the outputted notification signals includes a report.

28. The communication system of claim 19, wherein the trigger signals are formatted as extensible markup language files.

29. The communication system of claim 28, wherein the extensible markup language files comprise information for causing the outputting of multi-modal notification signals compatible with different communications networks and communicator devices.

30. The communications system of claim 19, wherein the notification server includes at least one of a software module for converting speech-to-text, converting text-to-speech, and translating text or audio from one language to another.

31. The communications system of claim 19, wherein the notification signals contain at least one of text, audio, video, and multimedia information.

32. A communications system for transmitting over a communications network information signals related to the initiation of a telephone call to an emergency response system, the communications system comprising:

a subscriber database containing a plurality of subscriber profiles, wherein each of the subscriber profiles includes an alertment protocol comprising a subscriber identification code associated with a subscriber communicator device, at least one recipient identification code associated with a recipient communicator device, and a user-provided time period value when the alertment protocol is to be executed;

a first communications network for receiving a first electronic signal containing information about the initiation of a telephone call to an emergency response system and information about the initiation of an independent user-initiated action parameter, wherein the first electronic signal is generated by the subscriber communicator device;

a signal monitoring device adapted to automatically receive said first electronic signal and determine whether to develop, identify, or utilize the first electronic signal if said electronic signal is either an emergency response system parameter or an independent user-initiated action parameter and to compare said first electronic signal to the subscriber identification codes to generate a second electronic signal containing information about the subscriber and the telephone call to the emergency response system; and

,

a notification device adapted to receive said second electronic signal and transmit the same to the recipient communicator device based on the alertment protocol.

33. The communication system of claim 32, wherein the subscriber communicator device and the recipient communicator device are at least one of a wireline telephone, wireless telephone, VoIP telephone, a pager, a computer, a personal digital assistant, and a personal emergency notification device.

34. The communication system of claim 32, wherein the signal monitoring device and the notification device are independent of the 911 emergency reporting and response communications network system.

35. The communication system of claim 32, wherein the signal monitoring device executes an alertment software protocol comprising pre-planned and pre-selected scenarios to permit emergency communications planning.

36. The communications system of claim 32, wherein the signal monitoring device is also adapted to receiving an electronic signal containing information about a geographical location of the subscriber.

37. The communications system of claim 36, wherein the location information includes geographic coordinates.

38. The communications system of claim 36, wherein the location information is automatically transmitted to the signal monitoring device concurrently with the first electronic signal.

39. The communications system of claim 32, further comprising a telephone call data record created from said first electronic signal and stored in a memory.

40. The communications system of claim 32, wherein the signal monitoring device is a computer-controlled telephony trunk or signal router.

41. A subscription-based telephone service system operating in cooperation with an emergency telephone number system comprising:

a profile server accessible over one or more communications networks;

a plurality of subscriber profiles stored on the profile server, wherein each of the plurality of subscriber profiles includes at least a subscriber identification code associated with a subscriber communicator device and an alertment protocol including an identity of a recipient, at least one recipient identification code associated with a recipient communicator device, and a user-provided time period value when the alertment protocol is to be executed;

a telephone signal monitoring device adapted to automatically receive the subscriber identification code when a subscriber initiates a telephone call to an emergency telephone number system;

a decision subsystem adapted to determining whether to develop, identify, utilize, or forward to the telephone signal monitoring device at least one emergency response system parameter and at least one independent user-initiated action parameter by automatically and simultaneously monitoring for the receipt of information about both types of parameters;

a comparator subsystem adapted to compare the plurality of subscriber profiles to the subscriber identification code received by the telephone signal monitoring device; and

an alertment subsystem adapted to format a digital message and transmit it to the recipient communicator device based on the alertment protocol.

42. The subscription-based telephone service system of claim 41, wherein said subscriber identification code is a first phone number and the recipient identification code is a second phone number.

43. The subscription-based telephone service system of claim 41, wherein the alertment subsystem comprises:

a server connected to the one or more communications networks; and

an alertment protocol module.

44. The subscription-based telephone service system of claim 41, wherein the recipient communicator device is at least one of a wired telephone, a wireless telephone, a pager, a computer, a personal digital assistant, and a combination of the above.