Enabling location determination of user device originating emergency service call

• US 8,929,855 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2012
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Maple Acquisition LLC (Verso Corporation)
• Inventors: Winterbottom, Anthony James, Dawson, Martin Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): TAYLOR, NATHAN SCOTT
• Application Number:
  US13/690,136
• Publication Number:
  US 20130143516A1
• Time in Patent Office: 767 Days
• Field of Search: 4554041-4042, 370/352, 370/216, 379/45
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A method is provided for processing emergency service calls from a user device to a PSAP, the user device having an associated line number and being configured to originate calls from fixed and mobile access networks. The method includes determining whether a call from the user device originates from a home location in a fixed access network. When the call is determined to have originated from the home location in the fixed access network, the call is routed to the PSAP, where a location of the user device is determined based on the Automatic Number Identification (ANI) included in signaling associated with the call. When the call is determined not to have originated from the home location in the fixed access network, adding pseudo-ANI to signaling associated with the call and routing the call to the PSAP, where the location of the user device is determined based on the pANI.

Claims

1. A method of processing emergency service calls from a user device to a public safety answering point (PSAP), the user device having an associated line number and being configured to originate calls from a fixed access network and a mobile access network, wherein the mobile access network comprises a cellular telephone network, the method comprising:

determining whether a call from the user device originates from the fixed access network or from the mobile access network based on an asserted network type included in signaling of the call;

determining whether a call from the user device originates from a home location in the fixed access network in response to determining that the call originates from the fixed access network;

routing the call to the PSAP in response to determining that the call has originated from the home location in the fixed access network, wherein a location of the user device is determined based on the Automatic Number Identification (ANI) included in signaling associated with the call; and

adding pseudo-ANI to signaling associated with the call and routing the call to the PSAP in response to determining that the call has not originated from the fixed access network or in response to determining that the call has not originated from the home location in the fixed access network, wherein the location of the user device is determined based on the pANI added to the call.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the user device is determined to be a civic address location previously associated with the home location based on the ANI.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the user device is determined to be a calculated geodetic location or civic location based on the pANI and a nature of the access network.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the pANI identifies a non-dialable number associated with the present location of the user device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the non-dialable number identified by the pANI is associated with one of a base station or a Node B servicing the user device in the mobile access network.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the non-dialable number identified by the pANI is associated with an Internet access point with which the user device is in communication in the fixed access network.

7. A system for processing calls for emergency services from a user device having an associated line number, the system comprising:

a network switch configured to;

receive emergency service calls from a user device to a public safety answering point (PSAP) originating in a fixed access network and a mobile access network;

determine whether each of the emergency service calls has originated from a home location in the fixed access network based in part on an asserted network type included in signaling of each of the emergency service calls;

provide identification data that includes an Automatic Number Identification (ANI) in call signaling for a given emergency service call of the emergency service calls in response to determining that the given emergency service call originated from the user device at the home location in the fixed access network;

provide identification data that includes a pseudo-ANI in the call signaling for another emergency service call of the emergency service calls in response to determining that the other emergency service call originated from the user device at a remote location in the fixed access network; and

provide identification data that includes a pseudo-ANI in the call signaling for yet another emergency service call of the emergency service calls in response to determining that the yet another emergency service call originated from the user device communicating on a mobile access network, wherein the mobile access network comprises a cellular telephone network;

rout the emergency service calls to the PSAP;

a first location server in the fixed access network configured to;

determine a location of the user device in the fixed access network in response to a query from an Automatic Location Identification (ALI) server in the PSAP for the other emergency service call that originated from user device at the remote location in the fixed network; and

provide the determined location to the ALI server; and

a second location server in the mobile access network configured to;

determine a location of the user device in the mobile access network in response to a query from the ALI server for the yet another emergency service call that originated from the user device communicating on the mobile access network; and

provide the determined location to the ALI server,

wherein the location corresponding to the user device is determined based on the ANI for the given emergency service call originating from the user device at the home location in the fixed access network.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first location server determines the location of the user device as a civic address location.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the first location server determines the location of the user device as a geodetic location.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the second location server determines the location of the user device as a geodetic location.