AT508650A2 - TERMINAL FOR A TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK AND METHOD FOR OPERATING SUCH A TERMINAL DEVICE - Google Patents

Description

1

The invention relates to a terminal for a telecommunications network and a method for operating such a terminal. The terminal is a pager or a pager-like device. The invention is particularly suitable for use in alarm networks, e.g. a fire brigade and in work safety applications, but not limited to these applications.

Terminals designed as pagers or pager-like devices are usually connected via a radio link to a network connection of a telecommunications network and are used for alarm purposes and for message transmission to emergency services. For digital alerting can as telecommunications or. Wave Network, for example, BOS radio (Authorities and organizations with security tasks radio) according to POCSAG (Post Office Code Standard Advisory Group) are used. The terminal therefore typically includes a receiver and a decoder for POCSAG messages. Emergency personnel, e.g. The fire brigade, the police and / or rescue services receive their orders as alert messages from a central control center (also known as operations center), which acts as an alarm device, sent to their terminals. The central control center can also be a deployment watch.

In addition to a receiver and a decoder for POCSAG messages, the terminals usually have a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) communication unit, with which the GSM communication, e.g. according to the GPRS standard (GPRS - General Packet Radio Service) and / or SMS messages (SMS - Short Message Service) is possible, as well as a GPS module for positioning via satellite (GPS Global Positioning System). For example, Apple's smartphone iPhone uses the GSM communication unit (or WiFi communication unit) instead of GPS to determine its position, which determines the position by means of several signals sent by GSM transmitters and received by the iPhone is determined by geometric calculation or by means of database information. If a terminal user receives an alert message from the central control center, he can answer it by means of GSM communication, for example by sending a short GPRS message of the content "I am coming" or "I am not coming" (meaning: "I come or do not come to the location of the alarm triggering event ") sent back to the central control center.

If the central control center sends out an alarm message, nowadays all terminals and their users are alarmed, which are located within the scope of the telecommunications network to which the central control center is assigned, regardless of the current position of the respective terminal relative to the location of the alarm triggering event , However, the resources available are becoming scarcer and people tend to be more mobile than many years ago. The latter has the consequence that the availability of emergency services can change hourly or even faster, so that the efficiency of alerting gains considerable importance.

It is an object of the invention to provide a terminal for a telecommunications network and a method for operating such a terminal, by means of which only emergency services are alarmed, which are located in the catchment area of an alarm triggering event. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a terminal for a telecommunications network and a method for operating such a terminal, by which a geographical demarcation of the emergency services is possible.

This object is achieved by a terminal with the features of claim 1 and a method for operating a terminal with the features of claim 8. 3

The inventive terminal for a telecommunication network has a communication module for receiving an alarm message, a position determination module and a control and evaluation unit. The control and evaluation unit is configured such that when receiving an alarm message by the communication module, it compares an actual position of the terminal determined by the position determination module with one or more geographic reference boundaries and alarms the user of the terminal only if the actual position within the one or more reference boundaries, in particular in the area defined by the one or more reference boundaries. The position determination module is in particular a GPS module. However, the communication module, in particular a GSM communication module or a WiFi communication module, can also be used as a position determination module. The size of the area defined by the one or more geographic reference boundaries, and thus the one or more reference boundaries themselves, preferably depend on the location of the alarm triggering event and preferably additionally on the type of damage (eg, fire damage, extreme weather event, etc.) and / or Extent of damage.

The communication module preferably comprises a receiver and a decoder for POCSAG messages and a GSM communication unit, with which the GSM communication according to the GPRS standard is possible and / or SMS messages can be sent and / or received. Alternatively or additionally, the communication module may include a WiFi communication unit (WiFi - Wireless Fidelity), with which WiFi communication is possible. Alternatively or additionally, a decoder for messages according to the communication protocols in particular of Flex (Motorola) and / or Golay be provided. Of course, the communication module 4 may also include communication units for other suitable communication technologies. The communication with the terminal and the transmission of messages and data to the terminal is preferably carried out by means of POCSAG messages and / or GSM messages or GPRS or SMS messages, whereby alternative communication technologies such as WiFi can be used. The reception and the evaluation of alarm messages, in particular in the form of POCSAG messages, by the terminal are preferably possible at any time.

In the inventive method for operating a terminal according to the invention, the actual position of the terminal is determined by the positioning module when receiving a sent from a central control alarm message by the communication module, the actual position is then using the evaluation and control unit with a or multiple geographic reference boundaries, and the user of the terminal is alerted by the evaluation and control unit when the actual location is within the one or more geographic reference boundaries, particularly in the area defined / spanned by the one or more geographic reference boundaries.

According to a first preferred embodiment of the invention, one or more geographic reference boundaries are already stored in the terminal as fixed geographic reference boundaries. The alarm message contains in this case a reference to one or more stored in the terminal geographical reference limits. Upon receipt of an alert message, the evaluation and control unit determines from the alert message this reference to one or more of the stored geographic reference boundaries and the actual position determined by the position determination module will only be traced with the one or more * P * · «· · · * · · »9 · · ·« ······ «

5 compared geographic reference boundaries to which the reference refers.

If the alerting message already contains, in addition to the alerting message or the alerting message, the one or more geographical reference limits with which the actual position of the terminal receiving the alerting message is to be compared, so that the alerting message or the alerting message essentially coincides with the one or more geographic reference boundaries is transmitted, the evaluation and control unit determines according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention, the one or more geographical reference limits from the alarm received from the terminal and the determined by the positioning module actual position of the terminal with the or with the alarm message transmitted geographical Reference limits compared. In this case, no fixed geographical reference limits need to be stored in the terminal. Since the geographical reference limits in the second embodiment are transmitted by the central control center depending on the case, they are also referred to as dynamic or dynamically defined geographic reference boundaries.

The terminal preferably has an input module by means of which a user can send a feedback / feedback to the central control center in the event of an alarm. For example, this feedback might be an sms message with the text "I'm coming in " to indicate to the central office that the user of the terminal is to the location of the alarm triggering event, e.g. to a fire, comes. The feedback may further include the indication of a time window in which the user arrives at the location of the alarm triggering event. The input module may include one or more buttons and / or buttons for sending the feedback, so that the feedback "I come". or "I'm not coming out" 6 • · • · • · is already sent at the corresponding push of a button. Furthermore, it can be provided that an input confirmation / confirmation about the receipt of the alarm message is automatically sent to the central control center when the alarm message is received or received by the communication module of the terminal.

The inventive terminal and the inventions dungsgemässe method for operating a terminal have the advantage that only those emergency services or users of terminals are alarmed, which are located in the catchment area of the alarm triggering event, the catchment area either by the one with the alarm message transmitted or multiple geographic boundaries or defined by those one or more geographic boundaries that are stored in the terminal and to which a reference contained in the alerting message refers.

Thus, only emergency services are alarmed, which are located geographically and / or traffic technically in a favorable position to the site, which may also exist in the closest to the location of the alarm triggering event task. In the alarm case, i. upon the occurrence of an alarm-triggering event, the central office transmits geographic reference boundaries or a reference to geographic reference boundaries for the target area already stored in the operator's terminals, depending on the event triggering the alarm (in particular its location and / or type and / or extent) the alarm that corresponds to the catchment area of the alarm-triggering event. The terminals that are located in this target area / catchment area alert their users and preferably report back to the central control center automatically via GPRS or via SMS message that they have received the alarm message. Each task force now preferably has the option of sending to the central control center via the input module an individual return message stating whether and, if so, in what time window he arrives at the location of the alarm-triggering event. Through this feedback from the emergency services via their terminal equipment, the central control center receives an overview of the forces actually deploying to the location of the event triggering the alarm. If necessary, the central control center can immediately re-alert further task forces via their terminals by the central control center sending further alarm messages containing geographical reference boundaries or a reference to geographic reference boundaries stored in the terminals, indicating a larger / enlarged area or a larger area. define a defined / enlarged catchment area. The size of the area defined by the geographical reference boundaries preferably depends on the location of the alarm triggering event, and preferably additionally on the type of damage (e.g., fire damage, extreme weather event, etc.) and / or the extent of the damage.

It can be advantageously avoided that emergency forces, which are geographically and / or traffic-technically unfavorable placed away from their work "" and cause unnecessary costs. By means of the invention, therefore, a resource-saving alarm can be achieved in which only the task forces located in the catchment area of the event triggering the alarm are alerted, which is also referred to as target range alarming.

In addition, it may be provided that a user of the inventive terminal is only alerted when it is provided according to the date and / or time and / or schedule for use, the deployment plan of each user, for the respective user permissible dates and / or for the respective user allowed times are preferably stored in the terminal. i: 8

Even if no actual alerting of the user of the terminal according to the invention is (yet) to take place, it can be provided and the terminal configured such that when the terminal is polled by the central control center of the telecommunication network (eg in the case of a so-called broadcast query multiple in one certain area located terminals via POCSAG messages or messages to Flex or Go-lay from the central control center) determined by the control and evaluation and returned via the communication module to the central control center (with o-the without the determined by the position determination module Actual Position of the terminal) determines whether the actual position determined by the position determination module is within or outside one or more predetermined geographic reference boundaries or the regions defined by these geographic reference boundaries, the one or more predetermined geographic reference regions either correspond to one or more stored in the terminal geographical reference limits to which the query of the central control center by a reference, or transmitted with the query from the central control center to the terminal.

In this way, the terminal equipment of the central control center automatically provides an overview of the distribution of the task force in the area of operation, especially in major damage situations, so that a distribution plan with the positions and strengths of the emergency services can be created. An individual query of each individual device via radio is no longer necessary. Since the central control center has an overview of the distribution of the emergency services in the area of operations, the operations management in the central control center can decide directly who can be deployed in the event of threatening dangers or who must be warned and protected in the event of imminent danger. In this way, the deployments of emergency services can be optimized for major damage situations. The • ·· 99 · 9 9 I 9 • 999 9 9 # ♦ · 99 # * # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # The above-mentioned interrogation by the central control center, in particular the broadcast interrogation, can be repeated as often as desired and is available as support during the entire operational period of the operational line.

The position determination module preferably determines the actual position of the terminal at certain, preferably regular, time intervals. The actual position of the terminal determined by the positioning module changes such that the terminal moves into or out of an area defined by the one or more geographic reference boundaries (ie, when the terminal has moved over the one or more geographical reference limits), which is determined by means of the evaluation and control unit, it is preferably provided that the terminal automatically sends a corresponding message to the central control center by means of the communication module. The area defined by the one or more geographic reference boundaries is also referred to as a definable alerting area. In this way, a terminal leaving the alerting area can log off automatically at the central control center. If the task forces enter the alerting area again, their terminal devices automatically report their availability to the central control center. Thus, the central control center advantageously has a permanent overview of the available forces and the available strength of each weir and can visualize the availability and take into account in alarms. The one or more geographical reference boundaries with which the actual position of the terminal is compared by the evaluation and control unit are preferably stored permanently in the terminal. The area defined by the one or more geographical reference boundaries may, for example, be the entire area of a district 10 or the entire area of the serving telecommunications network or paging network. Of course, it is also possible to select the relevant one or more geographic reference boundaries via a reference containing query / message from the central control center from the stored in the terminals geographic reference limits as described above or in the context of a query / message from the central control center to the terminals to convey. In the case of alarm, depending on the number of forces available in the alerting area, the central control center can correspondingly enlarge / extend the alerting area defined by the one or more reference boundaries in the event of a subsequent alarm, the actual positions or distances confirmed by the terminals being widened during the extension of the alerting area. Distances of the terminals to the site are preferably taken into account in order to draw in this way further, absent in the original alert area emergency forces, so that enough, but preferably not too many emergency services are addressed and come to the place of use. Thus, an automatic availability management can be obtained, with which advantageously the deployment strength can be secured and optimized in the case of alerting.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims and the embodiments illustrated below with reference to the drawings. Show it:

1 is a schematic representation of an inventive terminal,

2 shows a flowchart of a first embodiment of the inventive method and

3 shows a flow chart of a second embodiment of the method according to the invention.

1 shows an inventive terminal 1 with a communication module 2 for communication with 11 a central control center, a position determination module 3 for position determination and an evaluation and control unit 4, with which the communication module 2 and the position determination module 3 are connected. The evaluation and control unit 4 is configured such that when the communication module 2 receives an alert message from a central control station, it compares an actual position of the terminal 1 determined by the position determination module 3 with one or more geographic reference boundaries and the user of the Terminal only alarmed when the actual position is within the one or more geographical reference limits.

The terminal 1 has an input module 5, which is connected to the evaluation and control unit 4 and / or directly to the communication module 2. In particular, in the case of an alarm via the input module 5, a user can send a feedback to the central control center in which he notifies the central control center whether he is coming to the location of the alarm-triggering event and, if so, when or in which time window he will arrive there.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of a first preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention for operating the terminal 1 of the invention shown in FIG. In this first embodiment, one or more geographic reference boundaries are permanently stored in the terminal 1, and an alert message contains a reference to one or more of these stored reference limits. In step 10 of the first embodiment of the inventive method, the communication module 2 of the terminal 1 receives an alarm message from a central control center. In step 11, the position determination module 3 now determines the actual position of the terminal 1. In step 12, the control and evaluation unit 4 determines the reference to one or more stored in the terminal reference limits from the alert message and 12 compares the determined by the position determination module 3 Actual Position with the one or more stored reference limits to which the reference contained in the alert message refers. Only if the actual position of the terminal 1 lies within the area defined by the one or more stored reference boundaries to which the reference refers, the control and evaluation unit 4 alerts the user of the terminal 1 in step 13. only when the actual position of the terminal 1 lies within the area defined by the one or more reference boundaries to which the reference refers, the alarm received by the communication module 2 is forwarded to the user. In step 14, the user can send via the input module 5, a feedback to the central control station, which says if and if so, when or in which time window he comes to the location of the alarm triggering event.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a second preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention for operating the terminal 1 of the invention shown in FIG. In this second exemplary embodiment, no geographical reference boundaries need to be stored in the terminal 1. In step 20 of the second exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention, the communication module 2 of the terminal 1 receives an alert message from a central control center, which contains one or more geographic reference boundaries. In step 21, the position determination module 3 determines the actual position of the terminal 1. In step 22, the control and evaluation unit 4 determines the one or more contained in the alert message geographical reference limits from the alarm message and compares the determined by the position determination module 3 actual position with this one or more geographical reference boundaries. Only if the actual position of the terminal is within the range of one or more reference limits derived from the alerting

I ♦ · ··· Φ ······································································································································································································································· , the control and evaluation unit 4 alerts the user of the terminal 1 in step 23 only when the actual position is within the area defined by the one or more reference boundaries contained in the alert message, the alert received by the communication module 2 is forwarded to the user. In step 24, as in the first embodiment of the method according to the invention, the user has the option of sending via the input module 5 a feedback message to the central control station stating whether and, if so, when or in what time window he will return to the location of the alarm-triggering event comes.

Claims (14)

1. Terminal for a telecommunication network with a communication module (2) for receiving an alarm message, a position determination module (3) and an evaluation and control unit (4), characterized in that the evaluation and control unit (4) is configured to upon receipt of an alert message by the communication module (2), comparing an actual position of the terminal (1) determined by the position determination module (3) with one or more geographic reference boundaries and alerting the user of the terminal (1) only if the actual Position within the one or more reference limits. 2. Terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that one or more geographic reference limits in the terminal (1) are deposited and the evaluation and control unit (4) is further configured to from an alert message a reference to one or more of the stored geographical reference boundaries and to compare the actual position determined by the position determination module (3) only with those one or more stored geographic reference boundaries to which the reference refers. 3. Terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that the evaluation and control unit (4) is further configured to determine from an alarm message, the one or more geographical reference limits, with which by the position determination module (3) determined actual position are compared should. 4. Terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an input module (5) is provided, by means of which a user can send a response in the event of an alarm. 15 5. Terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the evaluation and control unit (4) is configured to additionally alert the user only if an alert according to operational plan and / or present date and / or present time is allowed , 6. Terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the terminal (1) is designed to automatically report back at a corresponding query by a central control center of the telecommunications network, whether one of the position determination module (3) determined actual position within or outside the one or more geographic reference boundaries, in particular with the particular actual position being reported back. 7. Terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the terminal (1) is designed to automatically send a message to a central control center of the telecommunications network when an actual position determined by the positioning module (3) changes in such a way, the terminal (1) moves into or out of the area defined by the one or more geographical reference boundaries, or from the area defined by the one or more geographical reference boundaries. 8. A method for operating a terminal (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the following steps: - Upon receipt of an emitted by a central control alarm message by the communication module (2) determining an actual position of the terminal (1) by means of the position determination module (3), - comparing the actual position with one or more geographical reference boundaries by means of the evaluation and control unit (4) and 16 - alerting a user of the terminal (1) if the actual position lies within the one or more geographical reference boundaries , 9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that from the alarm message by means of the evaluation and control unit (4) contained in the alarm message reference to one or more stored in the terminal geographic reference limits is determined and determined by the position determination module (3) Ist Position is compared only with those one or more stored geographical reference boundaries to which the reference refers. 10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that from an alarm message by means of the evaluation and control unit (4) contained in the alarm message one or more geographical reference limits are determined with which the position determination module (3) determined actual position is compared , 11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the user of the terminal (1) is only alerted when the alarming of the user according to the deployment plan and / or present date and / or present time is allowed. 12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that when an alarm of the user of the terminal (1) is automatically sent a message about the receipt of the alarm message to the central control center. 13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that is automatically reported in a corresponding query by a central control center of the telecommunications network, whether one of the position determination module (3) determined actual position is within or outside the one or more geographic Reference limits is located. 17 14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that the actual position of the terminal (1) at certain time intervals from the position determination module (3) is determined and that automatically a message is sent to a central control center of the telecommunications network, when the actual position determined by the position determination module (3) changes such that the terminal (1) turns into or out of the area defined by the one or more geographic reference boundaries defined by the one or more geographic reference boundaries emotional.