Automated proximate location association mechanism for wireless emergency services

• US 9,374,696 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2012
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Singer, Andrew, Mitchell, Don, Aryana, Firdaus, Marshall, Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhang, Edward
• Application Number:
  US13/705,312
• Publication Number:
  US 20130143518A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,294 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/521, 4554561-4566
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

Automatic Location Information (ALI) data that is representative of a landline address is digitally retrieved, and automatically transferred to an emergency call taker over a wireless system emergency network. Importantly, the ALI information is determined based on association to a proximate location. Before an emergency call is initiated, additional environmental information, such as a RFID tag, location beacon, WiFi access point, Bluetooth device, or other communication signal with a known location, is included in the wireless session data exchange, used to match one or more location inputs to a fixed civic location (street address) which is used to dispatch emergency responders. Alternatively, the mechanism matches to a precise geodetic location (e.g., where no civic location is available).

Claims

1. A physical address-determining system provisioned with associated location information to provide location information of a wireless caller device to a requesting party of a reported reliability, comprising:

retrieving a historical physical address profile of said wireless caller device, said historical physical address profile including street address information together with an identity of at least one associated communication signal having a known location, said associated communication signal being received in a local environment of said wireless caller device while at previous physical address locations;

obtaining a current proximate location from said wireless caller device that characterizes an identifier (ID) of a current serving cell of said wireless caller device, wherein said address profile of said wireless device includes at least two previous physical addresses for said wireless device mapped to the ID of said current serving cell and a time associated with each of the at least two physical addresses;

determining automatic location information (ALI) data based on a best match of said current proximate location to both a one of said at least two previous physical addresses and said associated time in said historical physical address profile and said identity of said at least one associated communication signal received in said local environment, wherein said ALI data includes a fixed civic location and a confidence value characterizing a probability that said wireless device is located at said fixed civic location; and

reporting a reliability of said determined ALI data to said requesting party based on said best match, wherein said reliability includes data characterizing said confidence value.

2. The physical address-determining system provisioned with associated location information to provide location information of a wireless caller to a requesting party of a reported reliability according to claim 1, wherein:

said fixed civic location is a best-guess fixed civic location (street address) used to dispatch an emergency responder.

3. The physical address-determining system provisioned with associated location information to provide location information of a wireless caller to a requesting party of a reported reliability according to claim 1, wherein:

said historical physical address profile is provisioned before an emergency call is initiated by said wireless caller device.

4. The physical address-determining system provisioned with associated location information to provide location information of a wireless caller to a requesting party of a reported reliability according to claim 1, wherein:

a given one of said at least two previous physical addresses is further associated with an identity of an RFID tag.

5. The physical address-determining system provisioned with associated location information to provide location information of a wireless caller to a requesting party of a reported reliability according to claim 1, wherein:

a given one of said at least two previous physical addresses is further associated with an identity of a WiFi access point.

6. The physical address-determining system provisioned with associated location information to provide location information of a wireless caller to a requesting party of a reported reliability according to claim 1, wherein:

a given one of said at least two previous physical addresses is further associated with an identity of a Bluetooth device.

7. The physical address-determining system provisioned with associated location information to provide location information of a wireless caller to a requesting party of a reported reliability according to claim 1, wherein:

said wireless caller device is initiating an emergency call.