Enhanced emergency call mobility support

• US 9,380,608 B1
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Bowles, Kevin D., Burcham, Robert H., Delker, Jason R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Thai
• Application Number:
  US13/615,565
• Time in Patent Office: 1,384 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/415, 455/445, 455/521, 379/33, 379 38- 49, 370/356, 370/397, 370/399, 370/409
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

A system for connecting a mobile emergency call to a public safety answering point (PSAP). The system comprises a processor, a non-transitory memory, and an application stored in the memory. When executed by the processor, the application receives an emergency call from a mobile station, wherein the mobile station is associated with a non-dialable number, in response to receiving the emergency call from the mobile station, associates a temporary dialable number to the mobile station, and promotes establishing a communication link between the mobile station and a public safety answering point and providing the temporary dialable number to the public safety answering point.

Claims

1. A system for connecting a mobile emergency call to a public safety answering point, comprising:

a processor;

a non-transitory memory; and

an application stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor,

receives an emergency call from a mobile station that originated from a roaming communication service provider network, wherein the mobile station is associated with a non-dialable number allocated by a home communication service provider network, and wherein the roaming communication service provider network routes the emergency call into the home communication service provider network based on a routable number to which the emergency call is directed that references a network node in the home communication service provider network,

in response to receiving the emergency call from the mobile station in the roaming communication service provider network, associates, by the home communication service provider network, a temporary dialable number to the non-dialable number, and

promotes establishing a communication link between the mobile station in the roaming communication service provider network and a public safety answering point and providing the temporary dialable number to the public safety answering point, wherein, when the public safety answering point drops the communication link with the mobile station, the public safety answering point reconnects to the mobile station by calling the temporary dialable number, and wherein the temporary dialable number routes into the home communication service provider network to a signaling node and the signaling node and the roaming communication service provider network work together to connect the public safety answering point to the mobile station.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile station is one of a head unit in a motor vehicle, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, or a wearable emergency radio.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-dialable number is a ten digit number that begins with the digit ‘

5’

.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the emergency call from the mobile station comprises a location cue that indicates a location of the mobile station, and wherein the application further selects the public safety answering point for which it promotes linkage to the mobile station from among a plurality of public safety answering points based on the location cue.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the location cue is a cell sector identity, and wherein selecting the public safety answering point from a plurality of public safety answering points comprises mapping the location cue to the public safety answering point.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the roaming communication service provider network is not provisioned to route the non-dialable number to the mobile station.

7. A method of connecting a mobile emergency call to a public safety answering point, comprising:

receiving an emergency call from a mobile station that originated from a roaming communication service provider network, wherein the mobile station is associated with a non-dialable number allocated by a home communication service provider network, and wherein the roaming communication service provider network routes the emergency call into the home communication service provider network based on a routable number to which the emergency call is directed that references a network node in the home communication service provider network;

associating, by the home communication service provider network, a temporary dialable number to the non-dialable number in response to receiving the emergency call from the mobile station in the roaming communication service provider network;

establishing a communication link from the mobile station in the roaming communication service provider network to a public safety answering point; and

providing the temporary dialable number to the public safety answering point, wherein, when the public safety answering point drops the communication link with the mobile station, the public safety answering point reconnects to the mobile station by calling the temporary dialable number, and wherein the temporary dialable number routes into the home communication service provider network to a signaling node and the signaling node and the roaming communication service provider network work together to connect the public safety answering point to the mobile station.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein associating the temporary dialable number to the non-dialable number comprises creating an entry in a data store, where the entry comprises the temporary dialable number and the non-dialable number, where the data store is searchable by the temporary dialable number, and where the entry in the data store promotes the public safety answering point calling back to the mobile station in the event the established communication link breaks.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising selecting the public safety answering point from among a plurality of public safety answering points.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the public safety answering point is selected by mapping an indication of the location of the mobile station provided in the emergency call to the public safety answering point.

11. The method of claim 10, when the indication of the location of the mobile station does not map to a public safety answering point, responding to the emergency call by originating an E911 call on behalf of the mobile station.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the indication of the location is a cell sector identity.

13. A method of connecting a mobile emergency call to a public safety answering point (PSAP), comprising:

receiving an emergency call from a mobile station that originated from a roaming communication service provider network, wherein the mobile station is associated with a non-dialable number allocated by a home communication service provider network, wherein the roaming communication service provider network routes the emergency call into the home communication service provider network based on a routable number to which the emergency call is directed that references a network node in the home communication service provider network, and wherein the emergency call includes a location cue to the location of the mobile station;

based on the location cue, selecting a public safety answering point from among a plurality of public safety answering points;

associating, by the home communication service provider network, a temporary dialable number to the non-dialable number; and

establishing a communication link from the mobile station in the roaming communication service provider network to the selected public safety answering point and providing the temporary dialable number to the selected public safety answering point, wherein, when the selected public safety answering point drops the communication link with the mobile station, the selected public safety answering point reconnects to the mobile station by calling the temporary dialable number, and wherein the temporary dialable number routes into the home communication service provider network to a signaling node and the signaling node and the roaming communication service provider network work together to connect the selected public safety answering point to the mobile station.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a call addressed to the temporary dialable number from the selected public safety answering point;

mapping the temporary dialable number to the non-dialable number based on the association established between the temporary dialable number and the non-dialable number; and

establishing a communication link from the selected public safety answering point to the mobile station.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the location cue comprises a cell sector identity.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the location cue comprises a satellite positioning system coordinate.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the mobile station is one of a head unit in a motor vehicle, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and a wearable emergency radio.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising when the location cue does not associate to a public safety answering point, responding to the emergency call by originating an E911 call on behalf of the mobile station.