Text messaging for emergency response

• US 9,491,605 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2016
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jeffrey J. Clawson
• Original Assignee: Jeffrey J. Clawson
• Inventors: Clawson, Jeffrey J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Nimesh
• Application Number:
  US15/083,810
• Publication Number:
  US 20160212605A1
• Time in Patent Office: 224 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72418 for supporting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided to guide an emergency dispatcher in responding to emergency communications. The systems and methods may allow the dispatcher to use one or more of a plurality of different communication methods to communicate with a person needing assistance, such as by sending and receiving SMS/MMS messages. The systems and methods can include an emergency police, emergency fire, and/or emergency medical dispatch protocol configured to facilitate rapid, uniform, and consistent handling of communications. The emergency dispatch protocol presents a pre-scripted interrogation, including preprogrammed inquiries for a dispatcher to ask the person needing assistance. The emergency dispatcher may be able to easily send preprogrammed inquiries to the person needing assistance via SMS/MMS message and provide their responses to the emergency dispatch protocol quickly and/or automatically. The dispatch protocol may facilitate quick deployment of responders even if the person needing assistance cannot talk and/or hear.

Claims

1. An automated emergency dispatch system, comprising:

an electronic display;

a communication device configured to send short message service (SMS) messages, multimedia messaging service (MMS) messages, or a combination thereof;

one or more input devices; and

an emergency dispatcher computing device, comprising;

one or more processors electrically coupled to the electronic display, the one or more input devices, and the communication device; and

a memory device electrically coupled to the one or more processors, the memory device including computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the computer-readable instructions configured to instruct the one or more processors to;

cause the electronic display to display a plurality of preprogrammed inquiries for an emergency dispatcher operating the automated emergency dispatch system to present to a person needing assistance; and

cause the communication device to automatically transmit at least one of the plurality of preprogrammed inquiries displayed by the electronic display to a device of the person needing assistance as one of an SMS message and an MMS message responsive to detecting an input from the emergency dispatcher with the one or more input devices without the emergency dispatcher copying and/or transcribing the at least one of the plurality of preprogrammed inquiries.

2. The automated emergency dispatch system of claim 1, wherein the memory device includes data corresponding to the preprogrammed inquiries stored thereon.

3. The automated emergency dispatch system of claim 1, wherein the memory device includes data corresponding to a logic tree stored thereon, and the computer-readable instructions are configured to process responses of the person needing assistance according to predetermined logic of the logic tree.

4. The automated emergency dispatch system of claim 3, wherein the computer-readable instructions are configured to cause the electronic display to provide the emergency dispatcher information concerning an emergency dispatch response determined based, at least in part, on the responses of the person needing assistance and the predetermined logic of the logic tree.

5. The automated emergency dispatch system of claim 3, wherein the computer-readable instructions are configured to cause the electronic display to provide the emergency dispatcher post-dispatch instructions for relay to the person needing assistance before professional help arrives at a location of the person needing assistance based, at least in part, on the responses of the person needing assistance and the predetermined logic of the logic tree.

6. The automated emergency dispatch system of claim 3, wherein the computer-readable instructions are configured to cause the electronic display to provide information to aid the emergency dispatcher in determining a priority of an emergency communication between the emergency dispatcher and the person needing assistance based, at least in part, on the responses of the person needing assistance and the predetermined logic of the logic tree.

7. The automated emergency dispatch system of claim 6, wherein the priority of the emergency communication includes one of a priority of the emergency communication relative to other emergency communications and a level of emergency response to provide for a situation reported by the person needing assistance.

8. The automated emergency dispatch system of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the plurality of preprogrammed inquiries are automatically transmitted to the device of the person needing assistance responsive to no more than two actions by the emergency dispatcher.

9. The automated emergency dispatch system of claim 8, wherein the no more than two actions comprise a selection by the emergency dispatcher of the at least one of the plurality of preprogrammed inquiries to bring up a menu on the electronic display, and selecting a send SMS command in the menu by the emergency dispatcher using the one or more input devices.

10. The automated emergency dispatch system of claim 8, wherein the no more than two actions comprise no more than two single key-strokes on the one or more input devices by the emergency dispatcher.

11. A method of operating an emergency dispatcher computing device, the method comprising:

displaying, on an electronic display, preprogrammed inquiries for an emergency dispatcher operating the emergency dispatcher computing device to inquire of a person needing assistance;

detecting a selection of one of the preprogrammed inquiries by the emergency dispatcher; and

automatically transmitting one of a short message service (SMS) message and a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message including the selected one of the preprogrammed inquiries to a device of the person needing assistance without the emergency dispatcher copying and/or transcribing the at least one of the plurality of preprogrammed inquiries.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein automatically transmitting one of an SMS message and an MMS message including the selected one of the preprogrammed inquiries comprises shortening the selected one of the preprogrammed inquiries prior to sending the one of the SMS message and the MMS message by replacing one or more words of the selected one of the preprogrammed inquiries with common abbreviations.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving a responsive message comprising one of an SMS message and an MMS message from the device of the person needing assistance, the responsive message responding to the selected one of the preprogrammed inquiries transmitted to the device of the person needing assistance.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the responsive message includes a single character indicating one of a “

yes”

response and a “

no”

response to the selected one of the preprogrammed inquiries transmitted to the device of the person needing assistance.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a single character indicating a “

yes”

response comprises a “

1”

character, and a single character indicating a “

no”

response comprises a “

2”

character.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising logging all SMS/MMS messages sent and received by the computing device to a persistent storage device.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining a determinant value from responses of the person needing assistance to the preprogrammed inquiries, the determinant value indicating a determined level of seriousness of a situation of the person needing assistance.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the determinant value indicates a determined level of seriousness ranging between a generally very serious emergency and a generally less serious emergency.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the determinant value is a combination of a determinant level, indicated by one of Alpha A, Bravo B, Charlie C, Delta D, Echo E, and Omega Ω

, and a numeric value, indicated by one of “

1” and

“

2,”

with Ω

-2 being the least serious and E-1 being the most serious.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the computer-readable instructions configured to instruct at least one processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

causing an electronic display, during an emergency call between a person needing assistance and an emergency dispatcher, to display preprogrammed inquiries for the emergency dispatcher to inquire of the person needing assistance;

accepting one or more inputs from the emergency dispatcher indicating one or more of the preprogrammed inquiries; and

automatically transmitting the selected one or more of the preprogrammed inquiries to a device of the person needing assistance in one of a short message service (SMS) message and a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message without the emergency dispatcher copying and/or transcribing the selected one or more of the preprogrammed inquiries.