Method and system for handling a network-identified emergency session

• US 7,116,967 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2001
• Issued: 10/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Kauppinen, Risto, Poikselkä, Miikka
• Primary Examiner(s): Trinh, Sonny
• Application Number:
  US10/475,832
• Publication Number:
  US 20040137873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,985 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/417, 455/445, 455/405, 455/521, 455/450, 455/517, 455/414.1, 455/422.2
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• 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: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 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
• 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

The invention relates to a method and system for establishing an emergency session in a communication system which includes at least one user equipment and one or more network entities involved in establishing an emergency session. When the user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to a network entity indicating an identifier, e.g. the call number or logical name of a called entity, one of said network entities analyses the received identifier. When detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an information is returned to the user equipment for informing the latter that the initiated session is an emergency session. The user equipment thereupon initiates the execution of an emergency session. Thus, even when the user equipment is unable to detect, by itself, that the intended session is an emergency session, the network will inform the user equipment on the emergency session for ensuring appropriate handling thereof.

Claims

1. A method for establishing an emergency session in a communication system which includes at least one user equipment and one or more network entities involved in establishing an emergency session, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to a network entity indicating an identifier of a called entity, one of said network entities analyses the received identifier, and, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an information is sent to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session,

wherein, when the network entity detects that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an emergency center is informed on the emergency session to be established, and said information is returned to the user equipment only after receipt of a response from the emergency center, the emergency session then being established between the user equipment and the emergency center.

2. A method of claim 1 comprising a further step wherein the user equipment initiates the execution of an emergency session upon receipt of said information sent to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session.

3. Method according to claim 2, wherein the execution of the emergency session includes the step of obtaining location information of the user equipment and of sending the location information to one of the network entities.

4. Method according to claim 2, wherein the execution of the emergency session includes the step of activating an emergency Packet Data Protocol, PDP, context for the session.

5. Method according to claim 1 wherein the information returned to the user equipment is a message which includes a parameter indicating an address of a network entity to be addressed for establishing an emergency session.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the identifier of the called entity is the call number or logical name of the called entity.

7. Method according to claim 1, wherein the network entity analysing the received identifier is a Call State Control Function (CSCF).

8. A method for establishing an emergency session in a communication system which includes at least one user equipment and at least one call controlling network element involved in establishing an emergency session, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to the call controlling network element indicating an identifier of a called entity, the call controlling network element analyses the received identifier, and, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an information is returned to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session,

comprising a further step wherein the user equipment reinitiates the session by sending a message to the call controlling network, the message comprising said information.

9. A method of claim 8, wherein the call controlling network element is a P-CSCF.

10. A method for establishing an emergency session in a communication system which includes at least one user equipment and at least one call controlling network element involved in establishing an emergency session, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to the call controlling network element indicating an identifier of a called entity, the call controlling network element analyses the received identifier, and, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an information is returned to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session,

comprising a further step wherein the user equipment initiates a new session by sending a message to the call controlling network element the message comprising the said information.

11. A method for establishing an emergency session in a communication system which includes at least one user equipment and at least one call controlling network element involved in establishing an emergency session, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to the call controlling network element indicating an identifier of a called entity, the call controlling network element analyses the received identifier, and, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an information is returned to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session,

comprising the further step of, in response to receiving the information, a network initiating the execution of the emergency session.

12. A method for establishing an emergency session in a communication system which includes at least one user equipment, at least one call controlling network element involved in establishing an emergency session, and an emergency center, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to the call controlling network element indicating an identifier of a called entity, the call controlling network element analyses the received identifier, and, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, the network element sends an information to the emergency center or to an intermediate network element for forwarding the information to the emergency center, said information informing the emergency center on the emergency session to be established, an indication of the emergency session being sent to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session.

13. Method according to claim 12, wherein after receipt of a response from the emergency center, the emergency session is established between the user equipment and the emergency center.

14. A method of claim 12, wherein the call controlling network element is a P-CSCF.

15. A communication system for establishing an emergency session, the communication system including at least one user equipment and one or more network entities involved in establishing an emergency session, wherein

said user equipment is configured to initiate a session by sending a message to a network entity indicating an identifier of a called entity,

one of said network entities is configured to analyse the received identifier,

when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, said analysing network entity or another network entity is configured to send an information to the user equipment for informing the latter that the initiated session is an emergency session,

wherein the network entity, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, is configured to inform an emergency center on the emergency session to be established, and to send said information to the user equipment only after receipt of a response from the emergency center, the emergency session then being established between the user equipment and the emergency center.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein the user equipment is configured to initiate, when receiving the information that the initiated session is an emergency session, the execution of an emergency session.

17. System according to claim 16, wherein the execution of the emergency session includes the step of obtaining location information of the user equipment and of sending the location information to one of the network entities.

18. System according to claim 16, wherein the execution of the emergency session includes the step of activating ah emergency PDP context for the session.

19. System according to claim 15, wherein the information returned to the user equipment is a

message which includes a parameter indicating an address of a network entity to be addressed for establishing an emergency session.

20. System according to claim 15, wherein the identifier of the called entity is the call number or logical name of the called entity.

21. System according to claim 15, wherein the network entity analysing the received identifier is a Call State Control Function (CSCF).

22. A communication system for establishing an emergency session, the communication system including at least one user equipment and at least one call controlling network element involved in establishing an emergency session, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to the call controlling network element indicating an identifier of a called entity, the call controlling network element is configured to analyse the received identifier, wherein, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, to send an information to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session,

wherein the user equipment is configured to reinitiate the session by sending a message to the call controlling network element, the message comprising the said information.

23. A system of claim 22, wherein the call controlling network element is a P-CSCF.

24. A communication system for establishing an emergency session, the communication system including at least one user equipment and at least one call controlling network element involved in establishing an emergency session, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to the call controlling network element indicating an identifier of a called entity, the call controlling network element is configured to analyse the received identifier, wherein, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, to send an information to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session,

wherein the user equipment is configured to initiate a new session by sending a message to the call controlling network element, the message comprising the said information.

25. A communication system for establishing an emergency session, the communication system including at least one user equipment and at least one call controlling network element involved in establishing an emergency session, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to the call controlling network element indicating an identifier of a called entity, the call controlling network element is configured to analyse the received identifier, wherein, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, to send an information to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session,

wherein a network is configured to initiate the execution of the emergency session in response to receiving the information.

26. A communication system for establishing an emergency session, the communication system including at least one user equipment, at least one call controlling network element involved in establishing an emergency session, and an emergency center, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to the call controlling network element indicating an identifier of a called entity, the call controlling network element is configured to analyse the received identifier, and, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, to send an information to the emergency center or to an intermediate network element for forwarding the information to the emergency center, said information informing the emergency center on the emergency session to be established, an indication of the emergency session being sent to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session.

27. A system according to claim 26, wherein after receipt of a response from the emergency center, the emergency session is established between the user equipment and the emergency center.

28. A system of claim 27, wherein the call controlling network element is a P-CSCF.

29. A method for establishing an emergency session in a communication system which includes at least one user equipment and one or more network elements involved in establishing a session, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message indicating an identifier of a called entity, one of the network elements analyses the identifier of the message, and, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an information is returned to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session,

comprising a further step wherein, the user equipment initiates the execution of an emergency session upon receipt of said information informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the user equipment informs a user of the user equipment that the session is an emergency session.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the user equipment informs the user that the session is an emergency session by displaying a message on a display of the user equipment.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the user equipment sends an acknowledgment message to the call controlling network element in response to the information returned to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein the call controlling network element is a Proxy Call State Control Function, P-CSCF.

34. A communication system for establishing an emergency session, the communication system including at least one user equipment and one or more network entities involved in establishing a session, wherein

said user equipment is configured to initiate a session by sending a message to a network entity indicating an identifier of a called entity,

one of said network entities is configured to analyze the received identifier,

when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, said analyzing network entity or another network entity is configured to send an information to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session,

wherein the user equipment is configured to initiate, when receiving the information that the initiated session is an emergency session, the execution of an emergency session.

35. The communication system of claim 34, wherein the user equipment is configured to inform a user of the user equipment that the session is an emergency session.

36. A user equipment comprising:

means for sending a message to a network entity for initiating a session, the message indicating an identifier of a called entity;

means for receiving, when the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an information informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session; and

means for initiating the execution of an emergency session upon receipt of said information.

37. The user equipment according to claim 36, wherein the execution of the emergency session includes the step of obtaining location information of the user equipment and of sending the location information to a network entity.

38. The user equipment according to claim 36, wherein the execution of the emergency session includes the step of activating an emergency PDP (Packet Data Protocol) context for the session.

39. The user equipment according to claim 36, wherein said information is a message which includes a parameter indicating an address of a network entity to be addressed for establishing an emergency session.

40. The user equipment according to claim 39, wherein said message is a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) message.

41. The user equipment according to claim 36, wherein the identifier of the called entity is the call number or logical name of the called entity.

42. The user equipment according to claim 36, wherein the user equipment comprises means for informing a user that the initiated session is an emergency session.

43. The user equipment according to claim 36, wherein the user equipment is configured to send an acknowledgment message to a call controlling network element in response to receiving the information informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session.

44. The user equipment according to claim 36, wherein the user equipment, in order to guarantee that an established emergency call has enough network resources, initiates the execution of a new emergency session upon receipt of said information.

45. A method for establishing an emergency session in a communication system which includes at least one user equipment and one or more network elements involved in establishing a session, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message indicating an identifier of a called entity, one of the network elements analyses the identifier of the message, and, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an information is always returned to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session, in order to guarantee that the emergency session to be established has enough network resources.

46. A network element for use in a communication system, wherein the network element is adapted to:

receive a message from a user equipment initiating a session, the message indicating an identifier of a called entity;

analyze the identifier of the message; and

,

when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, to always return an emergency session information to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session.

47. The network element according to claim 46, wherein the network element is a call controlling network element.

48. A communication system for establishing an emergency session, the communication system including at least one user equipment and one or more network entities involved in establishing a session, wherein

said user equipment is configured to initiate a session by sending a message to a network entity indicating an identifier of a called entity,

one of said network entities is configured to analyze the received identifier,

when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, said analyzing network entity or another network entity is configured to always send an information to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session, in order to guarantee that the emergency session to be established has enough network resources.

49. A method for establishing an emergency session in a communication system which includes at least one user equipment and one or more network entities involved in establishing an emergency session, wherein, when said user equipment initiates a session by sending a message to a network entity indicating an identifier of a called entity, one of said network entities analyses the received identifier, and, when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an information is sent to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session, wherein the user equipment sends an acknowledgment message to a call controlling network element in response to receiving the information informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session.

50. User equipment comprising:

means for sending a message to a network entity for initiating a session, the message indicating an identifier of a called entity;

means for receiving, when the session to be initiated is an emergency session, an information informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session; and

means for sending an acknowledgment message to a call controlling network element in response to receiving the information informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session.

51. A communication system for establishing an emergency session, the communication system including at least one user equipment and one or more network entities involved in establishing an emergency session, wherein

said user equipment is configured to initiate a session by sending a message to a network entity indicating an identifier of a called entity,

one of said network entities is configured to analyse the received identifier,

when detecting that the session to be initiated is an emergency session, said analyzing network entity or another network entity is configured to send an information to the user equipment for informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session, and

wherein the user equipment is configured to send an acknowledgment message to a call controlling network element in response to receiving the information informing the user equipment that the initiated session is an emergency session.