Mobile wireless communication device emergency mode

• US 9,380,144 B1
• Filed: 01/30/2015
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte., Ltd. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kritt, Barry A., Rakshit, Sarbajit K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Mong-Thuy
• Application Number:
  US14/610,342
• Time in Patent Office: 515 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/418, 455/456.3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72421 with automatic activation of emergency service functions, e.g. upon sensing an alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A mobile wireless communication device has an emergency mode. The mobile wireless communication device can enter the emergency mode automatically and without user interaction, responsive to an instruction to do so. Upon entering the emergency mode, information related to an emergency functionality of the emergency mode is transmitted to an emergency response computing device.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium storing computer-executable code executable by a communication device, the computer-executable code comprising:

first code to receive over a mobile wireless communication network from a mobile wireless communication device services provider, an instruction to enter an emergency mode and to download and install an emergency mode application program, the instruction including connectivity information regarding how to connect to a temporary wireless communication network over which the emergency mode application mode communicates;

second code to enter the emergency mode responsive to the first code receiving the instruction, and after entering the emergency mode, download, automatically and without interaction with the user of the communication device, the emergency mode application program identified in the instruction to enter the emergency mode over the mobile wireless communication network; and

third code to connect to the temporarily wireless communication network and to automatically execute the emergency mode application program without user interaction to perform emergency functionality while in the emergency mode automatically and without interaction with a user of the communication device,

wherein the emergency functionality comprises;

capturing audio information and transmitting the audio information over the temporary wireless communication network to an emergency response computing device designated within the instruction.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium of claim 1, wherein the second code is to, responsive to the first code receiving the instruction:

request the user of the communication device to indicate whether the user requires assistance;

enter the emergency mode responsive to the user indicating that the user requires assistance;

enter the emergency mode responsive to the user not providing any input after a specified length of time; and

not entering the emergency mode responsive to the user indicating that the user does not require assistance.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium of claim 1, wherein the second code is to, after entering the emergency mode:

instruct other communication devices located near the communication device to enter the emergency mode.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium of claim 1, wherein the emergency functionality further comprises:

capturing visual information within the area proximate to the communication device and transmitting the video information to the emergency response computing device.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium of claim 1, wherein the emergency functionality further comprises:

determining a location of the communication device and transmitting the location to the emergency response computing device.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium of claim 1, wherein the emergency functionality further comprises:

detecting motion within the area proximate to the communication device and transmitting the motion to the emergency response computing device.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium of claim 1, wherein the emergency functionality further comprises:

emitting a loud sound adapted to permit emergency personnel to locate the communication device.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium of claim 1, wherein the emergency functionality further comprises:

wirelessly recharge a battery of the communication device responsive to receiving a wireless recharging signal.

9. A method comprising:

receiving, by an emergency response computing device, designation of a geofence boundary around an emergency area;

transmitting, by the emergency response computing device, an authorized request to a mobile wireless communication device services provider to send an instruction over a mobile wireless communication network to each of a plurality of mobile wireless communication devices located within the geofence boundary to enter an emergency mode and to download from over the mobile wireless communication network, install, and execute automatically an emergency mode application program, the instruction including connectivity information regarding how to connect to a temporary wireless communication network over which the emergency mode application program communicates; and

after receiving, by the emergency response computing device, confirmation from the mobile wireless communication device services provider that the instruction to enter the emergency mode has been sent to each mobile wireless communication device located within the geofence boundary,

receiving and outputting, by the emergency response computing device, information received over the temporary wireless communication network from the mobile wireless communication devices that have entered the emergency mode and that have downloaded from over the mobile wireless communication network and installed the emergency mode application program, the information related to emergency functionality that the mobile wireless communication devices perform after having entered the emergency mode, the information received over the temporary wireless communication over from the emergency mode application program running on the mobile wireless communication devices.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting, by the emergency response computing device, to each mobile wireless communication device that has entered the emergency mode an instruction to emit a loud sound adapted to permit emergency personnel to locate the mobile wireless communication device.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the information related to the emergency functionality that is received comprises one or more of:

audio information within areas proximate to the mobile wireless communication devices;

visual information within the areas proximate to the mobile wireless communication devices;

locational information of the mobile wireless communication devices;

motion information within the areas proximate to the mobile wireless communication devices.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

locating a wireless recharge device proximate to the emergency area to transmit a wireless recharging signal by which batteries of the mobile wireless communication devices that have entered the emergency mode can wirelessly recharge.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

setting up, by the emergency response computing device, the temporary wireless communication network different than the mobile wireless communication network by which mobile wireless communication devices communicate receive mobile wireless communication services via the mobile wireless communication device services provider.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the information related to the emergency functionality is received by the emergency response computing device from at least one mobile wireless communication device that did not receive the instruction to enter the emergency mode from the mobile wireless communication device provider and that received the instruction to enter the emergency mode from one of the mobile wireless communication devices that did receive the instruction to enter the emergency mode from the mobile wireless communication device provider.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein outputting the information related to the emergency functionality comprises:

mapping an approximate location of each mobile wireless communication device that has entered the emergency mode;

indicating whether each mobile wireless communication device has entered the emergency mode automatically and without user interaction or has entered the emergency mode via a user of the mobile wireless communication device confirming entry into the emergency mode;

determining and indicating a degree of severity of the condition of the user of each mobile wireless communication device based on one or more of audio, video, and locational information received from the mobile wireless communication device.

16. A mobile wireless communication device comprising:

a first wireless communication transmitter to communicate over a mobile wireless communication network managed by a mobile wireless communication network services provider;

a second wireless communication transmitter to communicate over a temporary wireless communication network different than the mobile wireless communication network and managed by an emergency response computing device;

a processor; and

a memory storing processor-executable code that the processor executes to;

receive an instruction from the mobile wireless communication network services provider over the mobile wireless communication network to enter an emergency mode and to download and install an emergency mode application program, the instruction including connectivity information regarding how to connect to the temporary wireless communication network over which the emergency mode application program communicates;

responsive to receiving the instruction, enter the emergency mode;

and after entering the emergency mode, download, automatically and without interaction with the user of the communication device, the emergency mode application program identified in the instruction to enter the emergency mode over the mobile wireless communication network,

connect to the temporary wireless communication network using the connectivity information within the instruction, automatically and without user interaction;

after connecting to the temporary wireless communication network, automatically and without user interaction executing the emergency mode application program to transmit information related to an emergency functionality of the emergency mode to the emergency response computing device over the temporary wireless communication network.

17. The mobile wireless computing device of claim 16, wherein the processor-executable code that is stored by the memory is further executed by the processor to, responsive to receiving the instruction:

request the user of the mobile wireless communication device to indicate whether the user requires assistance;

enter the emergency mode responsive to the user indicating that the user requires assistance;

enter the emergency mode responsive to the user not providing any input after a specified length of time; and

not entering the emergency mode responsive to the user indicating that the user does not require assistance.

18. The mobile wireless computing device of claim 16, wherein the information related to the emergency functionality of the emergency mode comprises one or more of:

audio information within an area proximate to the mobile wireless communication device;

visual information within the area proximate to the mobile wireless communication device;

locational information of the mobile wireless communication device;

motion information within the area proximate to the mobile wireless communication device.