Mobile device smart button that adapts to device status

• US 9,295,087 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2013
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Chitre, Monica, Rajala, Yoganand, Bates, Peter C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beamer, Temica M
• Application Number:
  US14/056,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20140106699A1
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/521, 455/575.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/19 Connection re-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

A method of establishing a persistent emergency call and positional indication of the call is provided. Upon a call center receiving a call by a user equipment (UE) device initiated by activation of a smart button, the call center issues a request for a current location. If the call is inadvertently terminated by the user prior to the emergency being cleared, the UE device, attempts to reestablish the call automatically and continually. Prior to initiating the call, if the UE device is in airplane mode or standby mode, these modes are automatically switched off and location services are enabled.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

establishing a call to a call center based on activation of an emergency mode from a normal mode in a user equipment (UE) device;

monitoring the established call while the UE device is in the emergency mode to determine whether the established call is disconnected from the call center; and

responsive to detecting the disconnection and upon being in the emergency mode, repeatedly attempting, by the UE device, to reconnect the disconnected call to the call center until a reconnection is detected;

wherein attempting, by the UE device, to reconnect the disconnected call to the call center includes repeatedly initiating outgoing calls to the call center and concurrently comparing identifying information of incoming calls to identifying information of the call center until the UE device is reconnected to the call center.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the activation of the emergency mode is dependent on user activation via a smart button on the UE device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the activation of the emergency mode is dependent on sensors coupled to the UE device automatically sensing an emergency mode, wherein the sensors include at least one of an accelerometer, a barometer, a GPS unit, a glucose monitor and a heart monitor.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising ignoring inputs to a user interface of the UE device while the UE device is in the emergency mode.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a non-emergency status from the call center after the reconnection of the call with the call center, in response to the receipt of the non-emergency status, allowing the mobile device to disconnect the call.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising disconnecting the call by the call center when it is determined that the emergency mode is to be cleared and switching from the emergency mode to the normal mode upon disconnecting the call.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the attempting to reconnect the disconnected call includes on a back-off process that repeatedly attempts to reconnect for a predetermined time set by a backoff generator, wherein the backoff generator is responsive to a detected type of emergency to determine a frequency of the attempts to reconnect.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a request to the call center to downgrade the reconnected call.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing of the call to the call center includes switching the UE device to a mode in which voice calls are allowed.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the switching includes automatically disabling an airplane mode and a standby mode for the UE device.

11. A user equipment (UE) device comprising:

at least one network interface, configured to support connection via a communication network; and

a processor coupled to the network interface configured to cause the UE device to perform functions, including functions to;

establish a call to a call center via the communication network, based on activation of an emergency mode from a normal mode in the UE device;

monitor the established call while the UE device is in the emergency mode to determine whether the established call is disconnected from the call center; and

responsive to detecting the disconnection and the UE device being in the emergency mode, repeatedly attempt to reconnect the disconnected call to the call center until a reconnection is detected;

wherein the processor configures the UE device to attempt to reconnect the disconnected call to the call center by repeatedly initiating outgoing calls to the call center and concurrently comparing identifying information of incoming calls to identifying information of the call center until the UE device is reconnected to the call center.

12. The UE device of claim 11, further comprises a smart button, and the processor is further configured to activate the emergency mode based on an activation of the smart button.

13. The UE device of claim 11, further comprises sensors, including an accelerometer, a barometer, a GPS unit and a heart monitor, configured to automatically sense an emergency mode and the processor is further configured to activate the emergency mode based on signals from the sensors indicating the emergency mode.

14. The UE device of claim 11, further comprises a pseudo random number generator, and the attempt to reconnect by the processor includes causing the processor to wait a predetermined time between attempts to reconnect, the predetermined time being set by a backoff generator, wherein the backoff generator is responsive to a detected type of emergency to determine the predetermined time.

15. The UE device of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to switch the UE device to a mode in which voice calls are allowed prior to establishing the call with the call center.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to automatically disable an airplane mode and a standby mode for the UE device to switch the UE device to the mode in which voice calls are allowed.

17. Non-transitory, tangible, computer storage medium of a user equipment (UE) device having stored thereon an application for the UE device which the application is configured to cause a processor in the UE device to perform functions, including functions to:

establish a call to a call center via the communication network, based on activation of an emergency mode from a normal mode in the UE device;

monitor the established call while the UE device is in the emergency mode to determine whether the established call is disconnected from the call center; and

responsive to detecting the disconnection and the UE device being in the emergency mode, repeatedly attempt to reconnect the disconnected call to the call center until a reconnection is detected;

wherein the application configures the processor of the UE device to attempt to reconnect the disconnected call to the call center by repeatedly initiating outgoing calls to the call center and concurrently comparing identifying information of incoming calls to identifying information of the call center until the UE device is reconnected to the call center.

18. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 17, wherein the function of activation of the emergency mode is based on an activation of a smart button application.

19. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 17, wherein the function of activation of the emergency mode is dependent on sensors coupled to the UE device automatically sensing an emergency mode, wherein the sensors include at least one of an accelerometer, a barometer, a GPS unit, a glucose monitor and a heart monitor.

20. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 17, wherein the function of attempting to reconnect is based on a predetermined time set by a pseudo random number generator application.