JP2002537741A - System and method for automatically answering an incoming emergency call to a wireless telephone - Google Patents

Abstract

SUMMARY A system and method for enhancing operation of a wireless telephone in an emergency situation (10). When an emergency call is placed via a wireless telephone, the system sets the wireless telephone to emergency callback state (12). When the wireless telephone is in an emergency callback state, the system controls the telephone to automatically answer (18) incoming calls. In certain embodiments, the emergency callback condition is characterized by a high wireless telephone volume setting. In the callback state (12), modification of the network service settings is not allowed and use of the radiotelephone is limited only to the emergency call being placed. The emergency callback mode may be dismissed by pressing the END button. The second mechanism involves software running on a computer included in the wireless telephone. The software includes instructions to cause the wireless telephone to automatically answer after a predetermined number of sounds.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I. Field of the Invention: The present invention relates to wireless communication systems. In particular, the present invention relates to systems and methods for improving the operation of wireless telephones in emergency situations. II. Description of Related Art: As the use of mobile phones has increased, the confidence in mobile phones to obtain emergency services has increased even more. Currently, wireless telephone users dial 911 to contact emergency services. The telephone user may lose consciousness after dialing 911 and may not be able to answer the return telephone call from the emergency call center. Currently, emergency call centers must keep trying to complete a call until someone answers the phone. The phone may become unanswered, or the phone battery may run out. As a result, emergency call centers may not be able to get valuable information about emergency situations.

Accordingly, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently implemented legislation that requires wireless service providers to implement methods to facilitate mobile phone emergency call connections.

[0003] Therefore, there is a need for improved systems and methods for automatically answering incoming emergency calls to wireless telephones.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The need in the art is described by the present system for enhancing the operation of wireless telephones in emergency situations. In the illustrated embodiment, the system of the invention is adapted for use in an emergency call center and sets the wireless telephone into an emergency callback state when an emergency call is placed through the wireless telephone. The system then controls the telephone to automatically answer incoming calls when the wireless telephone is in an emergency callback state.

In a particular embodiment, the emergency call back condition is characterized by a high wireless telephone volume setting and a short message service setting of 'ON + REMIND'. Callback status is also characterized by locked network service settings. When the phone is in the emergency callback state, the phone is restricted to making emergency calls only.

[0006] The emergency callback mode may be dismissed by depressing the end button. The system includes software running on a computer included in the phone. The system also includes a wireless telephone mechanism that automatically answers after a predetermined number of rings.

[0007] The wireless telephone stays on the same communication system where the emergency call was placed. This ensures that the communication network managing the system is aware of the presence of the phone in the service area where the call was initiated. This causes the emergency call center to call back the wireless phone, even if the phone is not officially registered on the system.

Description of the Invention While the present invention will be described herein with reference to illustrated embodiments for particular applications, it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those having ordinary skill in the art and accessing the teachings provided herein will appreciate additional modifications, applications, and examples within their scope and in additional areas in which the invention is of significant utility. Will recognize.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method 10 for automatically answering a call through a mobile phone (as will be discussed more fully) from an emergency call center of the present invention. Initially, in a callback step 12, when a callback mode is enabled for a mobile phone, the mobile phone user dials an emergency number, such as 911. The mobile phone then enters an emergency callback mode.

After the first emergency 911 call, software (not shown) that is easily executed by those of ordinary skill in the art sets the state of the mobile phone to 911 mode. In the 911 mode, the telephone system is in a search and scan algorithm, and the alert mode behaves differently than the normal call mode, as discussed more fully below.

The wireless telephone stays on the same communication system where the emergency call was made. this is,
Ensure that the communication network managing the system is aware of the presence of the phone in the service area where the call was initiated. This causes the emergency call center to call back the wireless phone, even if the phone is not officially registered on the system.

In the emergency callback mode, everything employs alert volume and other capabilities of the mobile phone are maximized. For example, the sounder volume is set high, the sounder type setting is set to standard, the keybeep volume setting is set high, and the short message service (SMS) alert setting is 'On + Remind' Is set to

First, the mobile phone SMS alert can be in one of three settings: off, on, or on + remind. The On + Remind setting always reminds the user of the software running on the mobile phone, such as after a message has been received but the message has not yet been read. Harsh rally fado (se
In a poor signal environment, such as a verly Raleigh faded environment, a voice call may not be able to sustain the call. When SMS Alert is set to On + Remind, the emergency call center has the option to send a short message to the mobile phone. The On + Remind setting ensures that the user is aware of the message and reads the message. The use of the On + Remind setting is easily implemented by those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0014] Any allowed emergency numbers can be entered and dialed during the emergency callback mode. Emergency numbers such as 911 are not universal and may vary from country to country. The wireless carrier may supply a special entry in the electronic phone book designating another emergency number. When a user dials a number or code associated with an emergency number in a telephone directory, emergency call processing is initiated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. For example, an ongoing U.S.A. filed February 9, 1999, entitled "Specific Phone Book Entry," assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. See S Patent Application Serial No. 09 / 246,395. The software that executes the phone book may be executed on a computer as shown in FIG. 2 and is discussed more fully below.

When a non-emergency number is dialed or accessed during an emergency call-back mode, the mobile phone informs the user that use is restricted to emergency calls only (as discussed more fully below). Display a message to inform you.

No changes in network service settings, such as NAM (number assignment module) settings, are allowed during emergency callback mode.

If the mobile phone is not locked, access to distinctive menus, phone books, and call lists is accepted. Access is obtained by pressing or rotating a dial shuttle (not shown) on the mobile phone.

If the mobile phone is locked, pressing the dial shuttle returns to “my number”, which is the mobile identification number of the mobile phone number. If the mobile phone is locked, access to distinctive menus, phone books and call lists will not be accepted.

When the mobile phone acquires the wireless service of the system, ie, the callback mode step 12, control is passed to a telephone monitoring step 14, where the mobile phone is monitored for incoming calls and service status. If there is no more wireless service, control passes to a service acquisition step 16 where the mobile phone searches for available wireless services. Methods and software for performing the wireless service search function are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Obtaining Emergency Services in a Mobile Wireless Communication System". U.S. filed on November 22, 1999 It is described in S Patent Application Serial No. 09 / 447,462.

In general, in the above-referenced patent applications, when a user makes an emergency 911 call, the mobile phone strives to quickly obtain emergency services based on the best guess of current network service availability. When an emergency 911 call is made, the phone first and often tries to acquire an analog system if the mobile phone is not in the normal service, as analog network services are more likely than any other type of service. Mobile phones attempt to acquire a code division multiple access (CDMA) system as a recent acquisition order, regardless of the customer's preferred roaming specification. Phones have recently been powered up in random access memory (RAM)
Maintain the acquired CDMA channel. After the phone successfully distributes the emergency 911 initiation to the telecommunications network on which the phone is operating and the emergency call is released,
The phone automatically enters an emergency call back standby mode, which facilitates the emergency call center's ability to call back to the mobile phone. During the emergency callback standby mode, the phone maintains the service for which the emergency 911 call was made, and the emergency 911 center can contact the user even if the phone does not have normal service at that time. To leave emergency 911 callback standby mode,
The user clearly orders the phone.

Once the mobile phone has acquired the service in service acquisition step 16, control is returned to telephone monitoring step 14.

An incoming call is received in a telephone monitoring step 14 or a service obtaining step 16
If so, control is passed to the automatic response step 18. In an automatic answering step 18, an audible incoming call alert is sounded and if the phone is not answered by the user, the mobile phone automatically answers the phone after a predetermined number of rings (e.g., three). . Software for automatically answering incoming calls to incoming calls is within the level of skill of one of ordinary skill in the art.

In the automatic answering step 18, an incoming call notification message displayed on the screen is provided to the user, as discussed more fully below.

When a mobile phone user dials 911 to connect to an emergency call center,
A feature of the existing network caller ID allows the emergency call center to get the number of the mobile phone that called. And, if the call is inadvertently dropped, the emergency call center may dial the mobile phone number.

The method 10 is complete when the incoming call is answered by the user or automatically answered by a mobile phone.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a mobile phone 50 configured to perform the method 10 of FIG. 1 in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. Mobile phone 50 includes an antenna 52 connected to a duplexer 54. The duplexer 54 is connected to a transceiver circuit 56, and the transceiver circuit 56 is connected to a computer 58. The computer 58 includes a data interface adapter 60, a voice encoding and decoding circuit 62, a keypad 64,
And connected to the screen 66. The audio encoding and decoding circuit 62 is connected to the microphone 68 and the speaker 70.

In operation, antenna 52 transmits a signal input through duplexer 54 and receives a signal input to duplexer 54. The duplexer 54 facilitates sharing of the resources of the antenna 52 between the transmitting and receiving functions. As is known in the art, transceiver 56 includes circuitry for transmitting signals, such as encoded voice signals or service negotiation signals, through antenna 52 and duplexer 54. Transceiver 56 also includes circuitry for receiving a signal, such as a service negotiation message or an encoded voice signal, through another telephone, base station, or mobile switching center. Transceiver 56 also includes the necessary down-conversion circuitry to convert the received signal to a digital baseband signal in preparation for processing via computer 58. In addition, transceiver 56 includes the up-conversion circuitry required to convert the transmitted signal from a digital baseband signal to a radio frequency signal in preparation for transmission via antenna 52.

A user can initiate a call by dialing a number through keypad 64. Software or hardware algorithms running on computer 58 negotiate a service connection with the available wireless service provider through transceiver circuit 56, duplexer 54, and antenna 52. Once the service is established, the user's voice is input to microphone 68, encoded by voice encoding and decoding circuit 62, and transmitted through computer 58, transceiver circuit 56, duplexer 54, and antenna 52.
Similarly, the received voice message is decoded by voice encoding and decoding circuit 62 and passes through speaker 70 as voice.

The user of the mobile phone 50 may dial an emergency service such as 911 through the keypad 64. Software designed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention and running on computer 58 determines that the call is an emergency call and initiates the method shown in FIG. Those of ordinary skill in the art can readily develop software executing on computer 58 to implement the method of FIG. The computer uses a screen 66 that selectively displays a message such as "Search for emergency services ..." according to the method of FIG.

Data interface connection 60 allows software running on computer 58 to be upgraded and / or changed. In this particular embodiment, computer 58 includes a 186 processor.

An emergency call attempt is accepted at any time, including when the mobile phone 50 is locked or when service is not available. Service not available,
Thus, if an emergency call attempt is made while cell phone 50 continues to scan for services until any search is canceled (by pressing end), the call will be initiated and phone 50 battery depleted (external If no power is present), then the mobile phone 50 is turned off.

Only certain numbers, designated as true emergency numbers, activate mobile phone 50 in an emergency call mode in which the method of FIG. 1 is activated. Some numbers are PST (Phone Support Tool)
Or through software hardware encoding to selectively change parameters in the mobile phone.

For simplicity, additional circuitry such as a clock circuit and power supply are not shown in the cell phone 50, but those of ordinary skill in the art know where and how the additional circuitry required is included. Will.

FIG. 3 is a state diagram showing the user screen of the mobile phone of FIG. 2 as the telephone circuit cycles through the various states 80 according to the method of FIG. The mobile phone 50 of FIG. 2 enters the emergency callback mode when the phone 50 is automatically set to the emergency callback mode in response to the user dial 911. Callback mode is entered only after an emergency call has been initiated.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, when mobile phone 50 is in emergency callback mode and phone 50 is performing silent redial, or phone 50 searches for wireless services and enters If it is busy, such as when an incoming call arrives, an alert will sound or be displayed and control will be passed to the auto-answer step 18 of FIG. A silent redial was assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference, entitled "Systems and Methods to Facilitate Wireless Call Connections in Emergency Conditions," on February 9, 1999. Ongoing U.S. filed S Patent Application Serial No. 09/24
Fully described by 6,396.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, when the display 66 of the mobile phone 50 is in the emergency callback reserve state 82 and when the call is not active (as discussed more fully below), the emergency callback The mode is exited (as discussed more fully below) by pressing the end button on the keypad 64 of the mobile phone 50. If the end is pressed during an emergency call, an emergency call back mode preliminary display 82 is displayed. When the end 66 is pressed when the display 66 is in any other display state (such as a feature menu display) and when the call is not active, the display 66 enters an emergency callback mode reserve state. When the mobile phone 50 is in the emergency callback mode, an automatic answering capability is provided for calls that can be received.

After the user dials an emergency number such as 911, the display screen 66 enters an emergency call back mode preliminary display state 82 and displays the following message, “Emergency calls only.
To leave, end. Is displayed. When the display screen 66 enters the preliminary display state 82, the mobile phone 50 enters an emergency call mode which is exited by pressing the end. If available, the current time and date are displayed in row 4 of the mobile phone display screen 66 when in the preliminary display state 82.

If wireless service is lost during the Emergency Callback Mode Preliminary Display state 82, the display screen 66 enters a Lost Service state 84 and see the following message, “Emergency Service Lost .... Do. "is displayed. When wireless service is regained during the loss of service state 84, the display screen 66 is displayed in the preliminary display state 82.
Again.

If a number is entered through the keypad 64 and the send (SND) is pressed during the emergency callback mode preliminary display 82, the display screen 66 enters a restricted use state 86 and the following message “Use is Restricted. For emergency calls only. "

During the emergency call back mode preliminary display 82, when an incoming call is received, the display screen 66 enters the incoming call state 88 and displays the following message, “Incoming Call”.

If the send is pressed during the emergency call back mode preliminary display 82, the display screen 66 enters the redial state 90 and displays the following message “Redial 911”.

Thus, the present invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for a particular application. Those of ordinary skill in the art and who have access to the teachings of the present invention
Additional modifications, applications and embodiments will be recognized within that scope.

It is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover some and all such additional modifications, applications and embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for automatically answering a call from an emergency call center according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a mobile phone constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention for performing the method of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a state diagram showing the user screen of the mobile phone of FIG. 2 as the telephone circuit cycles through various states according to the method of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

50… Mobile phone 52… Antenna 54… Duplexer 56… Transceiver circuit
58 ... Computer 60 ... Data interface connection 62 ... Decoding circuit 64 ... Keypad 66 ... Display screen 68 ... Microphone 70 ... Speaker 82 ... Emergency call back mode reserve state 84 ... Service loss state 86 ... Use state 88 ... Incoming call state 90… Redial status

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (81) Designated country EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, IT, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE ), OA (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, GM, KE, LS, MW, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG, ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, CA, CH, CN, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID , IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, NO, (72) Invention NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL, TJ, TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW Kenya, Jason B. United States, California 92024 Enchanitas, East “E” Street 27 F-term (reference) 5K024 AA02 CC11 DD01 DD02 EE01 FF01 5K027 AA06 AA11 BB01 CC08 DD16 FF02 FF22 5K067 AA21 BB02 DD13 DD16 DD51 EE EE10 EE16 FF02 FF23 FF25 FF31 GG06 GG12 GG13 HH22

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A first means for placing a wireless telephone in an emergency callback state when an emergency call is attempted or placed via a wireless telephone; and an incoming call when the wireless telephone is in the emergency callback state. And a second means for automatically responding to an emergency call. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the emergency call back condition is characterized by a high wireless telephone volume setting. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the emergency callback condition is characterized by a short message service setting of ON + REMIND and a high keybeep volume setting. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the emergency callback state is characterized by being restricted to locked network service settings and only emergency calls that are in use by wireless telephones. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein said wireless telephone includes an end button for exiting said emergency callback mode. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein said second means for controlling comprises software executing on a computer included in said wireless telephone. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein said second means includes means for automatically answering said wireless telephone after a predetermined number of rings. 8. First means for completing a call to an emergency call center via a wireless telephone and a wireless service provider, and automatically providing a telephone number of the wireless telephone to the wireless service provider upon completion of the call. Operation of the radiotelephone in an emergency situation, comprising: means for enabling the wireless service provider to re-establish the call through the provided telephone number without the assistance of a user. Enhance system. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein said first means comprises a mobile phone having a computer. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein said computer includes a 186 processor. 11. The system of claim 9, wherein said third means includes software executing on said computer to implement said third means. 12. The software includes instructions for controlling the telephone, wherein the instructions cause the telephone to automatically answer in response to receiving a call from the emergency call center to reestablish the call. 12. The system of claim 11, comprising: 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the software includes means for placing the phone in an emergency callback mode or state after dropping the call. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein said software includes means for automatically answering an incoming call when said phone is in said emergency callback mode or state. 15. When an emergency call is placed through a wireless telephone, place the wireless telephone in an emergency callback state; and when the wireless telephone is in the emergency callback state, automatically answer the incoming call to the incoming call. Controlling the operation of the radiotelephone in an emergency situation.