Handling emergency service calls originating from internet telephony

• US 8,559,601 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2008
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Business Global LLC (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Coster, Mark W, Anderson, John R
• Primary Examiner(s): El-Zoobi, Maria
• Application Number:
  US12/344,819
• Publication Number:
  US 20090141870A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,751 Days
• Field of Search: 379 37- 52, 370/352
• US Class Current: 379/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/40 Support for services or applications
• 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 3/5116 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0075 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables

Abstract

A method and system for interfacing internet protocol-enabled emergency calls to a public 9-1-1 system are described. The method can include routing an emergency call originating from internet protocol telephony to a data network via a routing device which may include an identifier. The method can include transferring the routed emergency call to a predetermined public service answering point based on the identifier.

Claims

1. A routing device comprising:

a memory to store a routing device identifier for the routing device and profile information for an Internet protocol (IP) user device;

a receive unit to receive an emergency call from the IP user device via a first data network;

a processing unit to retrieve a portion of the profile information from the memory and attach the routing device identifier and the retrieved portion of the profile information to the emergency call, the retrieved portion of the profile information identifying the emergency call as originating from a registered physical location for the IP user device or a different physical location; and

a routing element to route the emergency call along with the retrieved portion of profile information and the routing device identifier to a second data network.

2. The routing device of claim 1, where the first data network is a local area network.

3. The routing device of claim 2, where the routing device comprises an edge router associated with the LAN.

4. The routing device of claim 1, where the IP user device comprises a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephony device.

5. The routing device of claim 1, where the processing unit is further to:

receive, in response to the message being routed, a query associated with the emergency call via the second data network, the query indicating that a server associated with the second data network is unable to identify a physical location of the routing device based on the routing device identifier, and

provide, to the server, a physical location of the routing device based on receiving the query.

6. The routing device of claim 1, where, when attaching the routing device identifier and the retrieved portion of the profile information to the emergency call, the processing unit is to:

attach the routing device identifier and the retrieved portion of the profile information to a header of the emergency call to associate the routing device with the emergency call.

7. The routing device of claim 1, where the routing device identifier is associated with:

a primary public service answering point (PSAP),

a secondary PSAP, and

an alternative PSAP.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a routing device, cause the one or more processors to receive an emergency call from an Internet protocol (IP) user device via a first data network;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to include a device identifier and profile information associated with the IP user device in information transmitted with the emergency call,

the device identifier including information associated with a device that receives the emergency call from the IP user device, and

the profile information identifying the emergency call as;

originating from a first physical location, the first physical location comprising a particular physical location that is associated with the IP user device and is registered with the routing device prior to the routing device receiving the emergency call, or

originating from a second physical location that is different from the first physical location; and

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to route the emergency call, including the profile information and the routing device identifier, included in the information transmitted with the emergency call, to a second data network.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the first data network is a local area network (LAN).

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, where the routing device comprises an edge router associated with the LAN.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the IP user device comprises a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephony device.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the instructions further comprise:

one or more instructions to receive a query associated with the emergency call, the query being received from a server via the second data network, and

one or more instructions to provide, in response to the query, a physical location of the routing device to the server via the second data network.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions to include the device identifier and the profile information in the information transmitted with the emergency call include:

one or more instructions to include the device identifier and the profile information within a header of the emergency call.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the device identifier is associated with a primary public service answering point (PSAP) and a secondary PSAP.