System and method for responding to service requests and facilitating communication between relevant parties

• US 8,792,867 B1
• Filed: 01/16/2013
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Beamsmart, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Beamsmart, Inc.
• Inventors: Negahban, Mehrdad, Alexandropoulos, Andreas, Negahban-Hagh, Sahand, Kay, Allen Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Karikari, Kwasi
• Application Number:
  US13/742,827
• Time in Patent Office: 559 Days
• Field of Search: 455/521, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72424 with manual activation of emergency-service functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/50 Telephonic communication in combination with video communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/252 where a voice mode is enhanced with visual information
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5235 Dependent on call type or called number [DNIS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0027 Collaboration services where a computer is used for data transfer and the telephone is used for telephonic communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• 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 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

Various systems, methods, and computer program products for responding to service requests and facilitating communication between relevant parties are provided. The system may receive a request from a user, obtain a user location, identify a service provider such as an emergency response center based on the location, facilitate coordination of response efforts, and provide a page that is shared between various parties such as the user, contacts of the user, an operator, and a responder. The various parties may provide to the system inputs such as video to capture what is currently happening. The page may be updated with the inputs, include a status of the service request such as whether responders have been dispatched, and include a current location of the responders and other users. Using the page, various parties may obtain real-time situational awareness of an event that culminated in the service request and communicate with other users.

Claims

1. A method of responding to service requests and facilitating communication among parties related to the service request, the method being implemented in a computer that includes one or more processors programmed by one or more computer program instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform the method, the method comprising:

processing, by the one or more processors, a service request from a user device;

identifying, by the one or more processors, a user of the user device based on the service request;

obtaining, by the one or more processors, contact share information related to the user, wherein the contact share information;

(i) is obtained from the user during a registration process that registers the user to allow the user to make the service request, and (ii) indicates at least one user-specified contact person who should be contacted upon receipt of the service request;

obtaining, by the one or more processors, a location of the user device based on one or more geographic coordinates;

identifying, by the one or more processors, a service provider based on the location of the user device and the service request;

generating, by the one or more processors, a page comprising an integrated set of content that includes information related to the user and the location of the user device that is based on the one or more geographic coordinates;

providing, by the one or more processors, the page to the user device;

providing, by the one or more processors, the page to an operator device that is associated with the service provider and is used to dispatch one or more responders to provide service related to the service request;

providing, by the one or more processors, the page to the user-specified contact person based on the contact share information and the service request; and

facilitating, by the one or more processors, communication between the user device, the user-specified contact person, and the operator device based on the page such that the page is updateable by the user device, the user-specified contact person, and/or the operator device.

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

obtaining, by the one or more processors, information related to the user of the user device, the information related to the user comprising at least a residence address of the user; and

including, by the one or more processors, the information related to the user with the page.

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

receiving, by the one or more processors, information input by the user, the information being related to the service request;

updating, by the one or more processors, the page based on the information input by the user; and

providing, by the one or more processors, the updated page to the user device, the user-specified contact person, and the operator device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving the information input by the user comprises:

receiving, by the one or more processors from the user device, information related to video, image, or audio data that documents a scene related to the service request.

5. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication from a responder device that the responder device is en route to service the service request;

updating, by the one or more processors, the page based on the indication; and

providing, by the one or more processors, the updated page to the user device, the user-specified contact person, and the operator device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein receiving the indication from the responder device comprises:

receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication of a location of the responder device, wherein the updated page informs the user of the user device, the user-specified contact person, and the operator of the operator device of the location of the responder device.

7. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication from the operator device related to a status of servicing the service request;

updating, by the one or more processors, the page based on the indication; and

providing, by the one or more processors, the updated page to the user device, the user-specified contact person, and the operator device.

8. The method of claim 1, the method further comprises:

determining, by the one or more processors, at least one of two or more communication channels via which to provide at least a portion of the page, the at least one of two or more communication channels comprising a Short Message Service text message, a webpage, or a mobile application.

9. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

registering a plurality of service providers such that service requests may be made to the plurality of service providers, wherein each service provider is associated with a different type of service.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the service request includes an indication of a type of service requested from among a plurality of types of services that include at least one emergency service and at least one non-emergency service, and wherein identifying a service provider comprises:

identifying the service provider from among the plurality of service providers based on the type of service requested.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving a service request from a user device comprises:

receiving an indication that an input component of the user device that corresponds to the type of service request has been selected, wherein each of the plurality of service providers are associated with a corresponding input component at the user device.

12. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving a request from the operator device to share the page with a responder device;

providing the page to the responder device based on the request from the operator device; and

facilitating communication between the user device, the operator device, and the responder device based on the shared page.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the contact share information includes information related to a plurality of user-specified contact persons, including the user-specified contact person, the method further comprising:

determining at least a first role associated with the user-specified contact person and at least a second role associated with a second user-specified contact person;

determining that the user-specified contact person should be provided with the page based on the first role, but that the second user-specified contact person should not be provided with the page based on the second role.

14. The method of claim 13, the method further comprising:

determining a type of the service request from among a plurality of types of service requests; and

associating the first role with the type of the service request such that the determination that the user-specified contact person should be provided with the page is based on the first role being associated with the type of the service.

15. The method of claim 13, the method further comprising:

receiving an assignment of the first role to the user-specified contact person from the user during the registration process.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one non-emergency service comprises a roadside assistance service.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one emergency service comprises a 911 call service.

18. A system for responding to service requests and facilitating communication among parties related to the service request, the system comprising:

one or more processors programmed by one or more computer program instructions, that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to;

process a service request from a user device;

identify a user of the user device based on the service request;

obtain contact share information related to the user, wherein the contact share information;

(i) is obtained from the user during a registration process that registers the user to allow the user to make the service request, and (ii) indicates at least one user-specified contact person who should be contacted upon receipt of the service request;

obtain a location of the user device based on one or more geographic coordinates;

identify a service provider based on the location of the user device and the service request;

generate a page comprising an integrated set of content that includes information related to the user and the location of the user device that is based on the one or more geographic coordinates;

provide the page to the user device;

provide the page to an operator device that is associated with the service provider and is used to dispatch one or more responders to provide service related to the service request; and

facilitate communication between the user device, the user-specified contact person, and the operator device based on the provided page such that the page is updateable by the user device, the user-specified contact person, and/or the operator device.

19. The system of claim 18, the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:

obtain information related to the user of the user device, the information related to the user comprising at least a residence address of the user; and

include the information related to the user with the page.

20. The system of claim 18, the one or more processors further programmed to:

receive information input by at least one user, the information being related to the service request;

update the page based on the information input by the user; and

provide the updated page to the user device, the user-specified contact person, and the operator device.

21. The system of claim 20, the one or more processors further programmed to:

receive from the user device information related to video, image, or audio data that documents a scene related to the service request.

22. The system of claim 18, the one or more processors further programmed to:

receive an indication from a responder device that the responder device is en route to service the service request;

update the page based on the indication; and

provide the updated page to the user device, the user-specified contact person, and the operator device.

23. The system of claim 22, the one or more processors further programmed to:

receive an indication of a location of the responder device, wherein the updated page informs the user of the user device, the user-specified contact person, and the operator of the operator device of the location of the responder device.

24. The system of claim 18, the one or more processors further programmed to:

receive an indication from the operator device related to a status of servicing the service request;

update the page based on the indication; and

provide the updated page to the user device, the user-specified contact person, and the operator device.

25. The system of claim 18, the one or more processors further programmed by one or more computer program modules to:

determine at least one of two or more communication channels via which to provide at least a portion of the page, the at least one of two or more communication channels comprising a Short Message Service text message, a webpage, or a mobile application.