Emergency communication solution

• US 9,571,647 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2014
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PioneerNet Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: PioneerNet Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Thompson, Gregg, Benning, Rex
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong, Frank
• Application Number:
  US14/300,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20140362708A1
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0677 Localisation of faults
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0686 Additional information in the notification, e.g. enhancement of specific meta-data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/045 using recorded signals, e.g. speech
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42357 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5133 Operator terminal details
• 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

A communication system for emergency communication comprises a communication server to establish an IP based voice communication between an endpoint and a monitoring center. In one implementation, the system establishes an emergency call using an emergency communication system comprising a communication endpoint, a communication interface and a monitoring center comprising an automation system and a communication server to establish an IP based voice communication. The system initiates the emergency call at the endpoint location using the communication interface, establishes an IP based voice communication between the endpoint and the monitoring center via the communication server, and automatically sends a message from the communication server to the automation system when the call is initiated.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a computer server coupled to a communications network supporting Internet Protocol (IP) based communications;

providing a plurality of remote devices, each remote device associated with a predetermined element of infrastructure, connected to the communications network and supporting IP based communications;

determining connectivity of the plurality of remote devices to the communications network via “

heart beat”

IP messages;

determining an event associated with a remote device of the plurality of remote devices;

determining at the computer server an action in dependence upon the determined connectivity or the determination of an event; and

performing the action,

wherein the action comprises;

a first alarm sequence when the determination is respect to connectivity; and

a second alarm sequence when the determination is with respect to an event.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first alarm sequence comprises:

establishing an identity associated with the remote device triggering the action from a first database lookup;

establishing contact data relating to the element of infrastructure associate with the remote device identity from a second database lookup; and

sending a notification using the contact data of a connectivity issue relating to the element of infrastructure.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first alarm sequence comprises:

establishing an identity associated with the remote device triggering the action from a first database lookup;

establishing data relating to the element of infrastructure associated with the remote device identity from a second database lookup;

establishing contact data relating to the identified element of infrastructure; and

sending a notification to a computer system for processing and display to an operator of the computer system, the notification comprising the data and contact data.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second alarm sequence comprises:

establishing an identity associated with the remote device triggering the action from a first database lookup;

establishing data relating to the element of infrastructure associated with the remote device identity from a second database lookup;

establishing contact data relating to the identified element of infrastructure;

sending a notification to a computer system for processing and display to an operator of the computer system, the notification comprising the data and contact data; and

connecting the operator to the remote device to allow bidirectional audio communications.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second alarm sequence comprises:

establishing an identity associated with the remote device triggering the action from a first database lookup;

establishing data relating to the element of infrastructure associated with the remote device identity from a second database lookup;

establishing contact data relating to the identified element of infrastructure;

sending a notification to a computer system for processing and display to an operator of the computer system, the notification comprising the data and contact data;

connecting the operator to the remote device to allow bidirectional audio communications; and

displaying to the operator visual information obtained from a camera associated with the predetermined element of infrastructure.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the remote device comprises a communications interface and an emergency system endpoint device;

and

the remote device is installed as part of the predetermined element of infrastructure.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the second alarm sequence comprises enabling a camera associated with the predetermined element of infrastructure.

8. A system comprising:

a computer server coupled to a communications network supporting Internet Protocol (IP) based communications;

a plurality of remote devices, each remote device associated with a predetermined element of infrastructure, connected to the communications network and supporting IP based communications; and

a non-volatile non-transitory storage medium comprising instructions executable by a microprocessor forming part of the computer server, the instructions when executed relating to a process comprising;

determining connectivity of the plurality of remote devices to the communications network via “

heart beat”

IP messages;

determining an event associated with a remote device of the plurality of remote devices;

determining at the computer server an action in dependence upon the determined connectivity or the determination of an event; and

performing the action, wherein

the action comprises;

a first alarm sequence when the determination is respect to connectivity; and

a second alarm sequence when the determination is with respect to an event.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein

the first alarm sequence comprises:

establishing an identity associated with the remote device triggering the action from a first database lookup;

establishing contact data relating to the element of infrastructure associate with the remote device identity from a second database lookup; and

sending a notification using the contact data of a connectivity issue relating to the element of infrastructure.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein

the first alarm sequence comprises:

establishing an identity associated with the remote device triggering the action from a first database lookup;

establishing data relating to the element of infrastructure associated with the remote device identity from a second database lookup;

establishing contact data relating to the identified element of infrastructure; and

sending a notification to a computer system for processing and display to an operator of the computer system, the notification comprising the data and contact data.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein

the second alarm sequence comprises:

establishing an identity associated with the remote device triggering the action from a first database lookup;

establishing data relating to the element of infrastructure associated with the remote device identity from a second database lookup;

establishing contact data relating to the identified element of infrastructure;

sending a notification to a computer system for processing and display to an operator of the computer system, the notification comprising the data and contact data; and

connecting the operator to the remote device to allow bidirectional audio communications.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein

the second alarm sequence comprises:

establishing an identity associated with the remote device triggering the action from a first database lookup;

establishing data relating to the element of infrastructure associated with the remote device identity from a second database lookup;

establishing contact data relating to the identified element of infrastructure;

sending a notification to a computer system for processing and display to an operator of the computer system, the notification comprising the data and contact data;

connecting the operator to the remote device to allow bidirectional audio communications; and

displaying to the operator visual information obtained from a camera associated with the predetermined element of infrastructure.

13. The system according to claim 8, wherein

the remote device comprises a communications interface and an emergency system endpoint device;

and

the remote device is installed as part of the predetermined element of infrastructure.

14. The system according to claim 8, wherein

the second alarm sequence comprises enabling a camera associated with the predetermined element of infrastructure.