© Copyright 2013 Electronics Newsweekly via VerticalNews.com
By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Electronics Newsweekly — A patent by the inventors Imming, Philip C. (Coronado, CA); Chin, John H. (San Diego, CA), filed on February 11, 2011, was published online on July 16, 2013, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by VerticalNews correspondents.
Patent number 8489066 is assigned to GreatCall, Inc. (San Diego, CA).
The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “This disclosure relates in general to determining information about a location of a mobile device and, but not by way of limitation, to transmitting such real-time information to an public safety answering point (PSAP) amongst other things.
“Nearly all locations within the United States and Canada are now served by ‘911’ emergency telephone service, and many other countries have similar services that can have a different telephone number. In the 911 system, calls to the telephone number 9-1-1 are specially routed to a PSAP, where a specially-trained dispatcher can assess the nature of the emergency, offer assistance, dispatch emergency services or law enforcement personnel to the source of the call, or provide other services. Many PSAPs are interconnected to allow routing calls and other information between them.
“The 911 service facilitates rapid response by the appropriate authorities in cases of emergency. However, sending the appropriate authorities to the scene of an emergency requires information about the location of the emergency. While a call from a land line can be easily attributed to an address associated with the number. It is less certain that a call from a mobile device can be traced to a particular address, and accountholder address is certainly less accurate at any given moment than that for a land line.
“The location finding technology available to PSAPs is not generally accessible to other third parties that might be called or even to application layer software on the phone. Tracing the location by a third party is not possible today. If the individual is unable to sufficiently articulate and describe his location, the third party cannot determine where to send emergency personnel.”
In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, VerticalNews journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method, system and device for determining information about a location of the mobile device. The mobile device is configured to contact a private response call center (PRCC), e.g., by pressing or selecting one or more buttons or a softmenu. A PRCC operator can identify a potential emergency situation and, upon such an identification, initiate a conference call between a PRCC operator, a user of the mobile device, and a public safety answering point (PSAP) operator. The mobile device may transmit location information previously determined before PRCC call and be commanded to gather new location information during the call. The mobile device may also, while on a call with the PRCC, determine and transmit to the PRCC location information.
“In another embodiment, a wireless communication system with enhanced location processing for a number of mobile devices using the wireless communication system is disclosed. The wireless communication system includes a first interface to a public safety answering point (PSAP), a second interface to a private response call center (PRCC) and a mobile device. The mobile device includes a location determining function, an input interface, and a first and second communication functions. The location determining function operates in a first mode and second mode. The input interface is configured to receive user inputs, where transition from the first mode to the second mode is triggered by the user inputs. The first communication function is configured to have a wireless voice call with the PRCC triggered by the user inputs. The second communication function is configured to wirelessly pass location information to the PRCC in the second mode. Location determinations are made by the location determining function in the first mode at a rate slower than location determinations in the second mode. Location determinations are made by the location determining function in a call connected state in the second mode.
“In yet another embodiment, a mobile device for wirelessly communicating with a private response call center (PRCC) is disclosed. The mobile device includes a location determining function, an input interface, and a first and second communication functions. The location determining function operates in a first mode and second mode. The input interface is configured to receive user inputs, where transition from the first mode to the second mode is triggered by the user inputs. The first communication function is configured to have a wireless voice call with the PRCC triggered by the user inputs. The second communication function is configured to wirelessly pass location information to the PRCC in the second mode. Location determinations are made by the location determining function in the first mode at a rate slower than location determinations in the second mode. Location determinations are made by the location determining function in a call connected state in the second mode.
“In still another embodiment, a method for a mobile device to process information about its location that is sent to a PRCC. Location information is determined for the mobile device in a first mode. User inputs are received. A transition from a first mode to a second mode is triggered. A wireless communication over a wireless network to the PRCC in the second mode is initiated. The PRCC is called from the mobile device. Location information is sent to the PRCC using the wireless network. Location information is determined for the mobile device in the second mode. Updated location information is sent to the PRCC in the second mode using the wireless network while in a call-connected state.
“Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating various embodiments, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to necessarily limit the scope of the disclosure.”