System and method for providing personal and emergency service hailing in wireless network

• US 7,689,202 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2009
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Myllymaki, Jussi P., Kraft, Reiner, Ford, Daniel A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bhattacharya; Sam
• Application Number:
  US12/416,560
• Publication Number:
  US 20090209228A1
• Time in Patent Office: 363 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/456.1, 455/456.6, 455/518, 455/519, 455/521, 340/539.1, 340/539.12, 340/539.23
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• 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 method and system for providing personal and emergency service hailing. A profile database stores profiles with individualized distance thresholds for each of a number of wireless devices. A wireless message proximity request is received from a requesting wireless device. Distances between a location of the requesting wireless device and locations of each of other wireless communications devices is computed and compared to individualized distance thresholds stored for the requesting wireless communications device. A set of wireless devices consisting of wireless devices that satisfy the individualized distance thresholds for the requesting wireless communications device is identified and a wireless message proximity response is sent to the requesting wireless communications device. The wireless message proximity response identifies the set of wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold.

Claims

1. A communication system, comprising:

a processor;

a memory, communicatively coupled to the processor;

a profile database, communicatively coupled to the processor and the memory, the profile database adapted to store a respective profile for each respective wireless communications device within a plurality of wireless communications devices, the respective profile for each wireless communications device comprising at least one respective individualized distance threshold for the respective wireless communications device;

a proximity service handler adapted to;

receive, from a requesting wireless communications device within the plurality of wireless communications devices, a wireless message proximity request;

compute, in response to receiving the wireless message proximity request, distances between a location of the requesting wireless communications device and a respective location of each of a plurality of other wireless communications devices;

compare each of the distances to the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile that is stored within the profile database for the requesting wireless communications device;

identify, in response to comparing each of the distances, a set of wireless communications devices consisting of a plurality of wireless communications devices within the plurality of other wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile for the requesting wireless communications device; and

a communications request handler adapted to send, in response to identifying the set of wireless communications devices, a wireless message proximity response to the requesting wireless communications device identifying thereto the set of wireless communications devices consisting of the plurality of wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the proximity service handler computes the distances with processing comprising retrieving a respective location of each of at least one other wireless communications device that had been stored in a location database prior to receiving the request.

3. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the proximity service handler is adapted to compute, compare, and identify prior to receiving a communication request from the requesting wireless communications device, the proximity service handler further adapted to:

store, in a location database, a description of the set of wireless communications devices consisting of a plurality of wireless communications devices within the plurality of other wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile for the requesting wireless communications device; and

retrieve, from the location database in response to receiving the communication request from the requesting communications device, the description of the set of wireless communications devices consisting of a plurality of wireless communications devices within the plurality of other wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile for the requesting wireless communications device,

wherein the proximity service handler sends the wireless message proximity response after retrieving the set of wireless communications devices.

4. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

the plurality of wireless communications devices comprising the requesting wireless communications device.

5. The communication system of claim 4, wherein the requesting wireless communications device, in response to receiving the a wireless message proximity response sent in response to the wireless message proximity request, displays choices to a user via a display to prompt the user to make a selection of at least one of the plurality of wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold.

6. The communication system of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of wireless communications devices comprises a location determining system for determining location information corresponding to the at least one wireless communications device in the communication system, and wherein the wireless message proximity request comprises the location information.

7. The communication system of claim 4, wherein the requesting wireless communications device is adapted to:

receive, in response to the wireless message proximity request, a selection of a selected wireless communications device from within the set; and

initiate, in response to receiving the selection, communications between the requesting wireless communications device and the selected wireless communications device.

8. The communication system of claim 4, wherein the requesting wireless communications device is adapted to:

receive, in response to the wireless message proximity request, a selection of a selected wireless communications device from within the set, wherein the selected wireless communications device is incompatible with the requesting wireless communications device;

initiate, in response to receiving the selection and based on the selected wireless communications device being incompatible with the requesting wireless communications device, communications between the requesting wireless communications device and the selected wireless communications device; and

perform a protocol conversion between the requesting wireless communications device and the selected communications device.

9. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of emergency service; and

a central communication proximity server, communicatively coupled to the plurality of emergency service, the central communications proximity server comprising;

a processor;

a memory, communicatively coupled to the processor;

a profile database, communicatively coupled to the processor and the memory, storing a respective profile for each of a plurality of wireless communications devices, the respective profile for each of the plurality of wireless communications devices comprising at least one individualized distance threshold for each of the plurality of wireless communications devices; and

a proximity service handler, communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory and the profile database, adapted to, in response to receiving a wireless message proximity emergency service request from a requesting wireless communications device within a plurality of wireless communications devices, perform the following;

compute distances between a location of the requesting wireless communications device and a respective location of each of a plurality of emergency service;

compare each of the distances to the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile that is stored within the-profile database for the first wireless communications device;

identify, in response to the comparing, a set of emergency service that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile for the requesting wireless communications device; and

send an identification of the requesting wireless communications device to the set of emergency service that satisfies the at least one individualized distance threshold associated with the requesting wireless communications device.

10. The communication system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of emergency service comprises at least one from the following list of emergency services:

an emergency facility, an emergency mobile unit, an emergency service person, an officer with wireless communications device, and an individual with wireless communications device.

11. The communication system of claim 9, wherein the proximity service handler, in response to the wireless message proximity emergency service request, is adapted to additionally send a wireless message proximity response to the requesting wireless communications device for identifying thereto at least the selected at least one of the plurality of emergency services.

12. The communication system of claim 11, wherein the requesting wireless communications device includes a display, and wherein the requesting wireless communications device displays to a user choices from information received in the wireless message proximity response for prompting the user to select at least one of the plurality of emergency service that satisfies the at least one individualized distance threshold to initiate communication therewith.

13. The communication system of claim 11, wherein the requesting wireless communications device includes a display, and in response to receiving the wireless message proximity response, displays information via the display for identifying the selected at least one of the plurality of emergency service that satisfies the at least one individualized distance threshold.

14. A method, comprising:

maintaining a profile database adapted to store a respective profile for each respective wireless communications device within a plurality of wireless communications devices, the respective profile for each wireless communications device comprising at least one respective individualized distance threshold for the respective wireless communications device;

sending, from a requesting wireless communications device within the plurality of wireless communications devices, a wireless message proximity request;

receiving, at a proximity service handler from the requesting wireless communications device, the wireless message proximity request;

computing, at the proximity service handler in response to receiving the wireless message proximity request, distances between a location of the requesting wireless communications device and a respective location of each of a plurality of other wireless communications devices;

comparing at the proximity service handler each of the distances to the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile that is stored within the profile database for the requesting wireless communications device;

identifying, at the proximity service handler in response to comparing each of the distances, a set of wireless communications devices consisting of a plurality of wireless communications devices within the plurality of other wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile for the requesting wireless communications device; and

sending, in response to identifying the set of wireless communications devices, a wireless message proximity response to the requesting wireless communications device identifying thereto the set of wireless communications devices consisting of the plurality of wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the computing the distances comprises retrieving a respective location of each of at least one other wireless communications device stored in a location database prior to receiving the request.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the computing, comparing, and identifying are performed prior to receiving a communication request from the requesting wireless communications device, the method further comprising:

storing, in a location database, a description of the set of wireless communications devices consisting of the plurality of wireless communications devices within the plurality of other wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile for the requesting wireless communications device; and

retrieving, from the location database in response to receiving the communication request from the requesting wireless communications device, the description of the set of wireless communications devices consisting of a plurality of wireless communications devices within the plurality of other wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile for the requesting wireless communications device,

wherein the sending the wireless message proximity response is performed after retrieving the set of wireless communications devices.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising displaying, at the requesting wireless communications device in response to receiving the wireless message proximity response sent in response to the wireless message proximity request, choices to a user via a display to prompt the user to make a selection of at least one of the plurality of wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold.

18. The communication system of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of wireless communications devices comprises a location determining system for determining location information corresponding to the at least one wireless communications device in the communication system, and wherein the wireless message proximity request comprises the location information.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, at the requesting wireless communications device in response to receiving the wireless message proximity request, a selection of a selected wireless communications device from within the set; and

initiating, in response to receiving the selection, communications between the requesting wireless communications device and the selected wireless communications device.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, at the requesting wireless communications device in response to receiving the wireless message proximity request, a selection of a selected wireless communications device from within the set, wherein the selected wireless communications device is incompatible with the requesting wireless communications device;

initiating, in response to receiving the selection and based on the selected wireless communications device being incompatible with the requesting wireless communications device, communications between the requesting wireless communications device and the selected wireless communications device; and

performing a protocol conversion between the requesting wireless communications device and the selected communications device.