Emergency assistance calling for voice over IP communications systems

• US 9,565,307 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2013
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VoIP-Pal.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: VoIP-Pal.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Sobolyev, Maksym, Bjrsell, Johan Emil Viktor
• Primary Examiner(s): Sefcheck, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): Van, Jenkey
• Application Number:
  US13/968,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20130329864A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,272 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/40 Support for services or applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42331 Direct inward dialling
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a process for handling emergency calls from a caller in a voice over IP system is described. The process involves receiving a routing request message including a caller identifier and a callee identifier. The process also involves setting an emergency call flag active in response to the callee identifier matching an emergency call identifier pre-associated with the caller. The process further involves producing an emergency response center identifier in response to the emergency call identifier. The process also involves determining whether the caller identifier is associated with a pre-associated direct inward dialing (DID) identifier. The process further involves producing a direct inward dialing (DID) identifier for the caller by associating a temporary DID identifier with the caller identifier when the emergency call flag is active and it is determined that the caller has no pre-associated DID. The process also involves producing a routing message including the emergency response center identifier and the temporary DID identifier for receipt by a routing controller operable to cause a route to be established between the caller and the emergency response center.

Claims

1. A process for routing emergency communications having a caller identifier associated with a caller and a callee identifier associated with a callee, the process comprising:

receiving a routing request including the caller identifier and the callee identifier;

using the caller identifier to identify a unique dialing profile associated with the caller from among a plurality of dialing profiles that are persistently stored in a memory, each dialing profile associated with a particular caller, and each dialing profile including an emergency call identifier and an emergency response center identifier both having been assigned to each particular caller, wherein the emergency call identifier is selected and stored in the dialing profile corresponding to each particular caller prior to any emergency call being made, and wherein each dialing profile includes a username and a user domain,

wherein the emergency call identifier is one among a set of predefined emergency call identifiers, each predefined emergency call identifier being exclusive to one or more countries;

when said callee identifier matches said emergency call identifier;

producing a routing message for receipt by a call controller operable to cause a route to be established between the caller and an emergency response center, said routing message having a first portion and a second portion, said first portion including said emergency response center identifier; and

initiating a search of a direct inward dial (DID) database for a DID record associating a DID identifier with said caller, wherein each of the DID records stored in the DID database comprise a username, a user domain and a DID identifier, and wherein each particular caller has optionally been pre-assigned to one of the DID records stored in the DID database, and

when said search finds a DID record having the same username and user domain as the dialing profile of the particular caller and associating a DID identifier with said caller, causing said second portion to include said DID identifier from said DID record, and

when said search does not find a DID record associating a DID identifier with said caller, associating a temporary DID identifier with said caller and causing said second portion to include said temporary DID identifier.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein causing said second portion to include said DID identifier from said DID record comprises copying said DID identifier from said DID record to a DID identifier buffer.

3. The process of claim 2, wherein causing said second portion to include said DID identifier from said DID record comprises causing the contents of said DID identifier buffer to define said DID identifier in said second portion of said routing message.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein associating said temporary DID identifier with said caller comprises associating with said caller identifier a DID identifier from a pool of pre-determined DID identifiers.

5. The process of claim 4, wherein associating said DID identifier from said pool comprises associating a temporary DID record with said caller, said temporary DID record having a DID identifier field populated with said DID identifier from said pool.

6. The process of claim 5, wherein associating said DID identifier from said pool comprises copying said DID identifier from said temporary DID record to a DID identifier buffer.

7. The process of claim 6, wherein causing said second portion of said routing message to include said temporary DID identifier comprises causing the contents of said DID identifier buffer to define said temporary DID identifier in said routing message.

8. The process of claim 5, further comprising canceling said temporary DID record after a pre-defined period of time.

9. The process of claim 1, wherein producing said routing message comprises copying an emergency response center identifier from an emergency response center identifier field of said dialing profile associated with said caller to a routing message buffer such that the emergency response center identifier is included in the routing message.

10. The process of claim 1, wherein producing said routing message further comprises causing said routing message to specify a maximum call time for said emergency call, said maximum call time being greater than a pre-defined call time.

11. The process of claim 1, wherein the emergency response center identifier is associated with the emergency response center.

12. The process of claim 1, wherein the DID record associating a DID identifier with said caller is pre-assigned.

13. The process of claim 12, wherein each pre-assigned DID record is assigned at a time of caller registration or subscription.

14. The process of claim 12, wherein said pre-assigned DID record is assigned to said caller prior to any emergency call being made by said caller.

15. The process of claim 1, wherein the temporary DID identifier is obtained from a list of predetermined DID identifiers using a read pointer to address the list so as to obtain the DID identifier from the list, and wherein the list is a separate structure from the DID database.

16. The process of claim 1, wherein the temporary DID identifier associated with the caller populates a temporary DID record stored in the DID database, wherein the temporary DID record is valid for a pre-defined period of time.

17. An apparatus for routing emergency communications having a caller identifier associated with a caller and a callee identifier associated with a callee, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a routing request including the caller identifier and the callee identifier;

means for using the caller identifier to identify a unique dialing profile associated with the caller from among a plurality of dialing profiles that are persistently stored in a memory, each dialing profile associated with a particular caller, and each dialing profile including an emergency call identifier and an emergency response center identifier both having been assigned to each particular caller, wherein the emergency call identifier is selected and stored in the dialing profile corresponding to each particular caller prior to any emergency call being made, and wherein each dialing profile includes a username and a user domain,

wherein the emergency call identifier is one among a set of predefined emergency call identifiers, each predefined emergency call identifier being exclusive to one or more countries;

means for determining whether said callee identifier matches said emergency call identifier;

means for producing a routing message, when said callee identifier matches said emergency call identifier, said routing message being prepared for receipt by a call controller operable to cause a route to be established between the caller and an emergency response center, said routing message having a first portion and a second portion, said first portion including said emergency response center identifier;

means for initiating a search of a direct inward dial (DID) database for a DID record associating a DID identifier with said caller, wherein each of the DID records stored in the DID database comprise a username, a user domain and a DID identifier, and wherein each particular caller has optionally been pre-assigned to one of the DID records stored in the DID database;

means for causing said second portion to include said DID identifier from said DID record when said search finds a DID record having the same username and user domain as the dialing profile of the particular caller and associating a DID identifier with said caller;

means for associating a temporary DID identifier with said caller when said search does not find a DID record associating a DID identifier with said caller; and

means for causing said second portion to include said temporary DID identifier.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said means for using the caller identifier comprises means for accessing a dialing profile database of dialing profiles associated with respective subscribers to said system to identify said dialing profile associated with said caller.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a DID identifier buffer and wherein said means for causing said second portion to include said DID identifier from said DID record comprises means for copying said DID identifier from said DID record to said DID identifier buffer.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said means for causing said second portion to include said DID identifier from said DID record comprises means for causing the contents of said DID identifier buffer to define said DID identifier in said second portion.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising means for accessing a pool of pre-determined DID identifiers and wherein said means for associating said temporary DID identifier with said caller comprises means for associating a DID identifier from said pool of pre-determined DID identifiers with said caller identifier.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said means for associating said DID identifier from said pool comprises means for associating a temporary DID record with said caller, said temporary DID record having a DID identifier field populated with said DID identifier from said pool.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said means for associating said temporary DID identifier comprises means for copying said DID identifier from said temporary DID record to a DID identifier buffer.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said means for causing said second portion to include said temporary DID identifier comprises means for causing the contents of said DID identifier buffer to define said temporary DID identifier in said second portion.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for canceling said temporary DID record after a period of time.

26. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a routing message buffer and means for copying the contents of an emergency response center identifier field of said dialing profile associated with said caller to said routing message buffer such that said contents of said emergency response center identifier field are included as said emergency response center identifier in said routing message.

27. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said means for producing said routing message further comprises means for causing said routing message to include a maximum call time for said emergency call, said maximum call time being greater than a pre-defined call time.

28. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the emergency response center identifier is associated with the emergency response center.

29. An apparatus for routing emergency communications having a caller identifier associated with a caller and a callee identifier associated with a callee, the apparatus comprising a processor circuit operably configured to:

receive a routing request including the caller identifier and the callee identifier;

cause a data storage to be searched using the caller identifier to identify a unique dialing profile associated with the caller from among a plurality of dialing profiles that are persistently stored in a memory, each dialing profile associated with a particular caller, and each dialing profile including an emergency call identifier and an emergency response center identifier both having been assigned to each particular caller, wherein the emergency call identifier is selected and stored in the dialing profile corresponding to each particular caller prior to any emergency call being made, and wherein each dialing profile includes a username and a user domain,

wherein the emergency call identifier is one among a set of predefined emergency call identifiers, each predefined emergency call identifier being exclusive to one or more countries;

when said callee identifier matches said emergency call identifier;

produce a routing message for receipt by a call controller operable to cause a route to be established between the caller and an emergency response center, said routing message having a first portion and a second portion, said first portion including said emergency response center identifier; and

initiate a search of a direct inward dial (DID) database for a DID record associating a DID identifier with said caller, wherein each of the DID records stored in the DID database comprise a username, a user domain and a DID identifier, and wherein each particular caller has optionally been pre-assigned to one of the DID records stored in the DID database, and

when said search finds a DID record having the same username and user domain as the dialing profile of the particular caller and associating a DID identifier with said caller, cause said second portion to include said DID identifier from said DID record, and

when said search does not find a DID record associating a DID identifier with said caller, associate a temporary DID identifier with said caller and cause said second portion to include said temporary DID identifier.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said processor circuit is operably configured to copy said DID identifier from said DID record to a DID identifier buffer.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein said processor circuit is operably configured to cause the contents of said DID identifier buffer to define said DID identifier in said routing message.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said processor circuit is operably configured to associate with said caller identifier a DID identifier from a pool of pre-determined DID identifiers.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein said processor circuit is operably configured to associate a temporary DID record with the caller, said temporary DID record having a DID identifier field populated with said DID identifier from said pool.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein said processor circuit is operably configured to copy said temporary DID identifier from said temporary DID record to a DID identifier buffer.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein said processor circuit is operably configured to cause the contents of said DID identifier buffer to define said temporary DID identifier in said routing message.

36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein said processor circuit is operably configured to cancel said temporary DID record after a period of time.

37. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising a routing message buffer and wherein said processor circuit is operably configured to copy an emergency response center identifier from said dialing profile associated with said caller to said routing message buffer such that said emergency response center identifier is included in said routing message.

38. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said processor circuit is operably configured to cause said routing message to include a maximum call time for said emergency call, said maximum call time being greater than a pre-defined call time.

39. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the emergency response center identifier is associated with the emergency response center.

40. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with codes for directing a processor circuit to route emergency communications having a caller identifier associated with a caller and a callee identifier associated with a callee, the computer readable medium being encoded with codes for directing the processor circuit to:

receive a routing request including the caller identifier and the callee identifier;

use the caller identifier to identify a unique dialing profile associated with the caller from among a plurality of dialing profiles that are persistently stored in a memory, each dialing profile associated with a particular caller, and each dialing profile including an emergency call identifier and an emergency response center identifier both having been assigned to each particular caller, wherein the emergency call identifier is selected and stored in the dialing profile corresponding to each particular caller prior to any emergency call being made, and wherein each dialing profile includes a username and a user domain,

wherein the emergency call identifier is one among a set of predefined emergency call identifiers, each predefined emergency call identifier being exclusive to one or more countries;

produce a routing message, when said callee identifier matches said emergency call identifier, for receipt by a call controller operable to cause a route to be established between the caller and an emergency response center, said routing message having a first portion and a second portion, said first portion including said emergency response center identifier;

initiate a search of a direct inward dial (DID) database for a DID record associating a DID identifier with said caller, wherein each of the DID records stored in the DID database comprise a username, a user domain and a DID identifier, and wherein each particular caller has optionally been pre-assigned to one of the DID records stored in the DID database;

cause said second portion to include said DID identifier from said DID record when said search finds a DID record having the same username and user domain as the dialing profile of the particular caller and associating a DID identifier with said caller; and

associate a temporary DID identifier with said caller and cause said second portion to include said temporary DID identifier when said search does not find a DID record associating a DID identifier with said caller.

41. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 40, wherein the emergency response center identifier is associated with the emergency response center.