Emergency communication system and method
First Claim
1. An emergency communication method comprising:
- receiving an indication of an emergency situation;
detecting, for each of a plurality of users, a device at which that user is present;
retrieving location information for the device at which each of the plurality of users is present;
determining which of the plurality of users are in a vicinity of the emergency situation based on the location information;
determining for each user determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation whether that user is within a specific subset of users;
for each of the plurality of users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, transmitting a first emergency message to the device at which that user is present in a media format associated with the device, wherein the first emergency message comprises a request for two separate confirmation messages, including;
a first confirmation message that is a device confirmation message; and
a second confirmation message that is a user confirmation message, wherein the first confirmation message is separate from the second confirmation message;
in response to determining that one of the first confirmation message and the second confirmation message is not received within a predetermined period of time for one of the users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, re-sending the first emergency message to the device at which that user is present;
for each of the plurality of users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined not to be within the specific subset of users, transmitting a second emergency message, different from the first emergency message, to the device at which that user is present in a media format associated with the device, wherein the second emergency message comprises a request for two separate confirmation messages, including;
a third confirmation message that is a device confirmation message; and
a fourth confirmation message that is a user confirmation message, and the first confirmation message is separate from the second confirmation message; and
in response to determining that one of the third confirmation message and the fourth confirmation message is not received within a predetermined period of time for one of the users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, re-sending the second emergency message to the device at which that user is present.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for providing an emergency contact service are disclosed. The emergency contact system monitors presence off users with respect to various user devices in order to determine at which devices each user is present. An emergency message is then transmitted to devices at which the user is present. The emergency contact service is then capable of receiving a confirmation message to confirm receipt of the emergency message. The emergency contact service can track the users by retrieving location information, such as a GPS location, associated with a device at which a user is present. The emergency contact service can then identify whether a user in is the vicinity of an emergency location, and transmit an emergency message to the user is the user is in the vicinity of the emergency location.
21 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An emergency communication method comprising:
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receiving an indication of an emergency situation; detecting, for each of a plurality of users, a device at which that user is present; retrieving location information for the device at which each of the plurality of users is present; determining which of the plurality of users are in a vicinity of the emergency situation based on the location information; determining for each user determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation whether that user is within a specific subset of users; for each of the plurality of users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, transmitting a first emergency message to the device at which that user is present in a media format associated with the device, wherein the first emergency message comprises a request for two separate confirmation messages, including; a first confirmation message that is a device confirmation message; and a second confirmation message that is a user confirmation message, wherein the first confirmation message is separate from the second confirmation message; in response to determining that one of the first confirmation message and the second confirmation message is not received within a predetermined period of time for one of the users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, re-sending the first emergency message to the device at which that user is present; for each of the plurality of users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined not to be within the specific subset of users, transmitting a second emergency message, different from the first emergency message, to the device at which that user is present in a media format associated with the device, wherein the second emergency message comprises a request for two separate confirmation messages, including; a third confirmation message that is a device confirmation message; and a fourth confirmation message that is a user confirmation message, and the first confirmation message is separate from the second confirmation message; and in response to determining that one of the third confirmation message and the fourth confirmation message is not received within a predetermined period of time for one of the users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, re-sending the second emergency message to the device at which that user is present. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An emergency communication apparatus comprising:
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a memory storing computer program instructions; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute the computer program instructions, which, when executed on the processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising; receiving an indication of an emergency situation; detecting, for each of a plurality of users, a device at which that user is present; retrieving location information for the device at which each of the plurality of users is present; determining which of the plurality of users are in a vicinity of the emergency situation based on the location information; determining for each user determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation whether that user is within a specific subset of users; for each of the plurality of users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, transmitting a first emergency message to the device at which that user is present in a media format associated with the device, wherein the first emergency message comprises a request for two separate confirmation messages, including; a first confirmation message that is a device confirmation message; and a second confirmation message that is a user confirmation message, wherein the first confirmation message is separate from the second confirmation message; in response to determining that one of the first confirmation message and the second confirmation message is not received within a predetermined period of time for one of the users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, re-sending the first emergency message to the device at which that user is present; for each of the plurality of users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined not to be within the specific subset of users, transmitting a second emergency message, different from the first emergency message, to the device at which that user is present in a media format associated with the device, wherein the second emergency message comprises a request for two separate confirmation messages, including; a third confirmation message that is a device confirmation message; and a fourth confirmation message that is a user confirmation message, and the first confirmation message is separate from the second confirmation message; and in response to determining that one of the third confirmation message and the fourth confirmation message is not received within a predetermined period of time for one of the users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, re-sending the second emergency message to the device at which that user is present. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer program instructions, which when executed on a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
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receiving an indication of an emergency situation; detecting, for each of a plurality of users, a device at which that user is present; retrieving location information for the device at which each of the plurality of users is present; determining which of the plurality of users are in a vicinity of the emergency situation based on the location information; and determining for each user determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation whether that user is within a specific subset of users; for each of the plurality of users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, transmitting a first emergency message to the device at which that user is present in a media format associated with the device, wherein the first emergency message comprises a request for two separate confirmation messages, including; a first confirmation message that is a device confirmation message; and a second confirmation message that is a user confirmation message, wherein the first confirmation message is separate from the second confirmation message; and in response to determining that one of the first confirmation message and the second confirmation message is not received within a predetermined period of time for one of the users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, re-sending the first emergency message to the device at which that user is present; for each of the plurality of users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined not to be within the specific subset of users, transmitting a second emergency message, different from the first emergency message, to the device at which that user is present in a media format associated with the device, wherein the second emergency message comprises a request for two separate confirmation messages, including; a third confirmation message that is a device confirmation message; and a fourth confirmation message that is a user confirmation message, and the first confirmation message is separate from the second confirmation message; and in response to determining that one of the third confirmation message and the fourth confirmation message is not received within a predetermined period of time for one of the users determined to be in the vicinity of the emergency situation and determined to be within the specific subset of users, re-sending the first emergency message to the device at which that user is present. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification