EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR A PORTABLE DEVICE

• US 20110028121A1
• Filed: 10/13/2010
• Published: 02/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cingular Wireless II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sennett, DeWayne Allan, Daly, Brian Kevin
• Granted Patent: US 8,204,525 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• 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 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing alerts to end users of networked enabled portable devices are provided so that the end users are made aware when broadcast emergency alerts are issued. In various embodiments, a portable device is enabled to receive information about an emergency alert broadcast of which the user should be aware, e.g., from the EAS, and to notify the user of the emergency alert. The user can be automatically taken to the emergency alert information by having the portable device automatically tune to the emergency broadcast information, the user can optionally retrieve the emergency information by tuning to the emergency broadcast channel, and/or the user can otherwise be presented with a reference to the emergency data, such as a link to the information.

Claims

1. A method for delivering a notification, comprising:

storing emergency broadcast information on a network-enabled portable device;

updating the emergency broadcast information with data from a network-based emergency broadcast information database via over-the-air programming;

receiving information indicative of an occurrence of an emergency broadcast at the portable device via a wireless network; and

rendering a notification via the portable device of the occurrence of the emergency broadcast, the notification including the at least a subset of the emergency broadcast information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically tuning the portable device to an emergency broadcast channel in response to the receiving the information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing the emergency broadcast information comprises storing emergency broadcast information that includes at least a listing of one or more broadcast technologies that are supported by the device and one or more emergency broadcast channels associated with the respective one or more broadcast technologies.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a relevance of the emergency broadcast.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the information comprises receiving a short message service (SMS) message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendering the notification comprises rendering the notification via at least one of visible feedback, auditory feedback, or mechanical feedback.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising rendering the emergency broadcast via the portable device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the information comprises receiving at least one emergency alert indicator bit on a control channel of a telephony network with which the portable device communicates.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the information comprises receiving the information over a data channel.

10. A portable device comprising:

a storage component configured to store emergency broadcast information and to update the emergency broadcast information with data from a remote location via over-the-air programming;

a telephony processor configured to receive information via a wireless network, wherein the information is indicative of an occurrence of an emergency broadcast; and

a user interface that renders a notification of the occurrence of the emergency broadcast, the notification incorporating at least a subset of the emergency broadcast information.

11. The portable device of claim 10, further comprising a broadcast processor configured to automatically tune to the emergency broadcast in response to the telephony processor receiving the information.

12. The portable device of claim 10, wherein the emergency broadcast information comprises at least a listing of broadcast technologies that are supported by the portable device and emergency broadcast channels associated with the respective broadcast technologies.

13. The portable device of claim 10, wherein the telephony processor determines a relevance of the emergency broadcast upon receipt of the information.

14. The portable device of claim 10, wherein the telephony processor receives the information as at least one emergency indicator bit on a control channel of the wireless network.

15. The portable device of claim 10, wherein the user interface renders the notification via at least one of a display on the portable device, one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the portable device, auditory feedback, or mechanical feedback.

16. The portable device of claim 10, wherein the storage component stores a record of the occurrence of the emergency broadcast.

17. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for providing a notification, the computer-executable instructions performing the steps of:

storing emergency broadcast information on a network-enabled portable device;

updating the emergency broadcast information with data received via over-the-air programming;

receiving information indicative of an occurrence of an emergency broadcast at the portable device via a wireless network; and

providing a notification via the portable device of the occurrence of the emergency broadcast, the notification including the at least a subset of the emergency broadcast information.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, the computer-executable instructions performing the further step of automatically tuning to an emergency broadcast channel in response to the receiving the information.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, the computer-executable instructions performing the further step of receiving the information as at least one indicator bit on a control channel of the wireless network.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, the computer-executable instructions performing the further step of receiving the information via a data channel.