Emergency contacts information system

• US 9,560,506 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2013
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Gudlavenkatasiva, Bhaskar R., Wiley, James M., Chatterjee, Sutap
• Primary Examiner(s): Navar, Erica
• Application Number:
  US13/891,542
• Publication Number:
  US 20140335814A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,362 Days
• Field of Search: 4554041-4042
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• 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 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

A system may be configured to receive a request for emergency contact information associated with a first user. The request may include information identifying the first user. The system may further determine a geographic location of the first user; and identify a second user. The identifying may be based on at least one of an amount or frequency of communication between the first user and the second user, or a geographical proximity of the first user to the second user. The system may additionally identify contact information associated with the second user; and output, to a device from which the request was received, the contact information associated with the second user.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by one or more server devices and from a device associated with a first user, an indication that contact information for a third user should be stored as emergency contact information for the first user, the indication being based on a manual indication provided by the first user, via the device associated with the first user;

notifying, by the one or more server devices, the third user that the first user has indicated that the contact information for the third user should be stored as emergency contact information for the first user, the notifying including;

outputting, to a device associated with the third user, the contact information for the third user, received from the device associated with the first user,

providing, to the device associated with the third user, a selectable option to modify the contact information for the third user,

receiving, from the device associated with the third user and based on a selection of the selectable option, modified contact information for the third user, and

storing the modified contact information as the contact information for the third user;

receiving, by the one or more server devices and from a particular user device, a request for emergency contact information associated with the first user, the request including information identifying the first user;

determining, by the one or more server devices, a geographic location of the device associated with the first user, the determining including;

receiving, from a wireless service provider associated with the device of the first user, the geographic location of the device of the first user;

dynamically identifying, by the one or more server devices, a second user, the identifying being based on;

an amount or frequency of communication between the first user and the second user, and

a geographical proximity of the device associated with the first user to a device associated with the second user;

identifying, by the one or more server devices, contact information associated with the second user;

ranking, by the one or more server devices, the second user and the third user with respect to each other, wherein the ranking is based at least on the third user having been manually identified by the first user and the second user having been dynamically identified; and

outputting, by the one or more server devices and to the particular user device from which the request was received, the contact information associated with the second user and the third user, the contact information being presented as part of a ranked list, that is based on the ranking.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information identifying the first user includes at least one of:

a telephone number associated with the first user,

a name of the first user, or

an address of the first user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the request is received from the device associated with the first user, wherein the information identifying the first user includes a device identifier associated with the device associated with the first user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the geographic location of the device associated with the first user includes at least one of:

receiving, from the device of the first user, information regarding the geographic location of the device of the first user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the second user has provided consent to be listed as an emergency contact for the first user, wherein the outputting is performed based on determining that the second user has provided consent to be listed as an emergency contact for the first user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the ranking is based on:

at least one of;

a proximity of the device associated with the second user to the device associated with the first user, or

a proximity of the device associated with the third user to the device associated with the first user, and

at least one of;

the amount or frequency of communication between the second user and the first user,

an amount or frequency of communication between the third user and the first user,

a relationship of the second user to the first user, or

a relationship of the third user to the first user.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectable option is a hyperlink to a web page that includes a user interface that includes options to modify the contact information for the third user.

7. A system, comprising:

one or more memory devices configured to store a set of processor-executable instructions; and

one or more processors configured to execute the set of processor-executable instructions, to;

receive, from a device associated with a first user, an indication that contact information for a third user should be stored as emergency contact information for the first user;

notify the third user that the first user has indicated that the contact information for the third user should be stored as emergency contact information for the first user, the notifying including;

outputting, to a device associated with the third user, the contact information for the third user, received from the device associated with the first user,

providing, to the device associated with the third user, a selectable option to modify the contact information for the third user,

receiving, from the device associated with the third user and based on a selection of the selectable option, modified contact information for the third user, and

storing the modified contact information as the contact information for the third user;

receive, from a particular device, a request for emergency contact information associated with the first user, the request including information identifying the first user;

identify a second user, the identifying being based on an amount or frequency of communication between the first user and the second user;

identify contact information associated with the second user and the third user;

receive, from a wireless service provider associated with the device of the first user, information indicating a location of the device of the first user;

rank the second and third users, with respect to each other, based on;

a geographical distance between the location of the device of the first user and a location of a device of the second user, and

a geographical distance between the location of the device of the first user and a location of the device of the third user; and

output, to the particular device from which the request was received, a ranked list, based on the ranking of the second and third users, the contact information associated with the second user and the third user, the contact information being presented, in the ranked list, according to the respective ranking of the second and third users.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the information identifying the first user includes at least one of:

a telephone number associated with the first user,

a name of the first user, or

an address of the first user.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the request is received from the device associated with the first user, wherein the information identifying the first user includes a device identifier associated with the device associated with the first user.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine whether the second user has provided consent to be listed as an emergency contact for the first user, wherein the outputting is performed based on determining that the second user has provided consent to be listed as an emergency contact for the first user.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the ranking is further based on at least one of:

the amount or frequency of communication between the second user and the first user,

an amount or frequency of communication between the third user and the first user,

a relationship of the second user to the first user, or

a relationship of the third user to the first user.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising:

a plurality of computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors of one or more devices, cause the one or more processors to;

identify a first user for whom emergency contact information is stored;

identify, based on a communication history of the first user, a second user that has been in communication with the first user;

determine a frequency of communication between the first user and the second user;

determine that the frequency of communication, between the first user and the second user, exceeds a threshold frequency;

request, from a device associated with the second user and based on determining that the frequency of communication, between the first user and the second user, exceeds the threshold frequency, consent to be listed as an emergency contact for the first user;

receive, from the device associated with the second user and based on the request for consent, consent to be listed as an emergency contact for the first user;

provide, to the device associated with the second user, contact information that has been indicated as being associated with the second user;

provide, to the device associated with the second user, a selectable option to modify the contact information for the third user,

receive, from the device associated with the second user and based on a selection of the selectable option, modified contact information for the second user, and

store, based on receiving the consent and based on receiving the modified contact information, the modified contact information associated with the second user;

receive, from a particular device, a request for emergency contact information associated with the first user;

determine, based on receiving the request for emergency contact information, that the frequency of communication, between the first user and the second user, is higher than a frequency of communication, between the first user and a third user who has been manually identified by the first user as an emergency contact for the first user,

wherein the second user is selected as the emergency contact in lieu of the third user, based on the determination that the frequency of communication, between the first user and the second user, is higher than the frequency of communication, between the first user and the third user who was manually identified by the first user; and

output, to the particular device from which the request was received, the modified contact information associated with the second user, in lieu of the third user.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the plurality of computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

determine, based on the receiving the request for emergency contact information, that the second user is within a particular distance of the first user,

wherein the outputting is performed based on determining that the second user is within a particular distance of the first user.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the plurality of computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

determine, based on receiving the request for emergency contact information, that a geographical proximity, between the first user and the second user, is closer than a geographical proximity, between the first user and the third user,

wherein the second user is selected as the emergency contact in lieu of the third user, further based on the determination that the geographical proximity, between the first user and the second user, is closer than the geographical proximity, between the first user and the third user.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the contact information, associated with the second user, includes a telephone number associated with the second user.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the plurality of computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

determine whether the second user has provided consent to be listed as an emergency contact for the first user, wherein the outputting is performed based on determining that the second user has provided consent to be listed as an emergency contact for the first user.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the plurality of computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

determine a relationship between the first user and the second user; and

determine a relationship between the first user and the third user;

wherein the second user is selected as the emergency contact in lieu of the third user further based on a determination that the relationship between the first user and the second user is a closer relationship than the relationship between the first user and the third user.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the plurality of computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

rank, based on a plurality of factors, the second user and the third user; and

determine that the second user is ranked higher than the third user,

wherein the second user is selected as the emergency contact in lieu of the third user, further based on the determination that the second user is ranked higher than the third user.

20. A method, comprising:

receiving, by one or more server devices and from a device associated with the first user, an indication that contact information for a third user should be stored as emergency contact information for the first user;

notifying, by the one or more server devices, the third user that the first user has indicated that the contact information for the third user should be stored as emergency contact information for the first user, the notifying including;

outputting, to a device associated with the third user, the contact information for the third user, received from the device associated with the first user,

providing, to the device associated with the third user, a selectable option to modify the contact information for the third user,

receiving, from the device associated with the third user and based on a selection of the selectable option, modified contact information for the third user, and

storing the modified contact information as the contact information for the third user;

receiving, by the one or more server devices and from a particular user device, a request for emergency contact information associated with the first user, the request including information identifying the first user;

determining, by the one or more server devices, a geographic location of the device associated with the first user, the determining including;

receiving, from a wireless service provider associated with the device of the first user, the geographic location of the device of the first user;

dynamically identifying, by the one or more server devices, a second user, the identifying being based on;

an amount or frequency of communication between the first user and the second user, and

a geographical proximity of the device associated with the first user to a device associated with the second user;

identifying, by the one or more server devices, contact information associated with the second user;

ranking, by the one or more server devices, the second user and the third user with respect to each other, wherein the ranking is based on;

at least one of;

a proximity of the device associated with the second user to the device associated with the first user, or

a proximity of the device associated with the third user to the device associated with the first user, and

at least one of;

the amount or frequency of communication between the second user and the first user,

an amount or frequency of communication between the third user and the first user,

a relationship of the second user to the first user, or

a relationship of the third user to the first user; and

outputting, by the one or more server devices and to the particular user device from which the request was received, the contact information associated with the second user and the third user, the contact information being presented as part of a ranked list, that is based on the ranking.