PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11617069-B2
Application Number: US-202117248966-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Providing emergency location information

Abstract:
A user equipment (UE) may identify that an emergency call is being initiated and send further messages including the location of the UE. The UE receives emergency location signaling parameters, identifies that an emergency communication has been initiated by the UE based on the emergency location signaling parameters and transmits a message to an endpoint associated with emergency services based on the identification of the emergency message being initiated, wherein the message includes location information for the UE.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A processor of user equipment (UE) configured to per operations comprising:
 receiving emergency location signaling parameters, wherein the emergency location signaling parameters comprise an emergency number list that includes telephone numbers corresponding to public safety services local to a geographical region in which the UE is currently located and where at least one telephone number in the emergency number list is associated with an identification of a type of communication accepted by the at least one telephone number, the type of communication comprising one of a voice only number, a text only number or both a voice and text number; 
 identifying that an emergency communication has been initiated by the UE based on the emergency location signaling parameters; and 
 transmitting a message to an endpoint associated with emergency services based on the identification of the emergency communication being initiated, wherein the message includes location information for the UE. 
 
     
     
       2. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the emergency communication is one of a voice call or a text message. 
     
     
       3. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the endpoint is identified based on the emergency location signaling parameters. 
     
     
       4. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the emergency location signaling parameters further comprise an identification of a type of the public safety services corresponding to the telephone numbers. 
     
     
       5. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the emergency location signaling parameters comprise a short message service center (SMSC) address, and wherein the message is a short messaging service (SMS) message that is transmitted to the SMSC address. 
     
     
       6. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the message is transmitted a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time window. 
     
     
       7. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the emergency location signaling parameters are received via a non-access stratum (NAS) registration message. 
     
     
       8. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the emergency location signaling parameters are received from an entitlement server. 
     
     
       9. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the emergency location signaling parameters are received from one of a subscriber identity module (SIM) of the UE or an embedded SIM (eSIM) of the UE. 
     
     
       10. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the message comprises one of a header, a latitude, a longitude, a radius, a time of positioning, a level of confidence, a positioning method, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), an international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) or a mobile country code (MCC). 
     
     
       11. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the location information is retrieved from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). 
     
     
       12. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the message is a short messaging service (SMS) message. 
     
     
       13. The processor of  claim 12 , wherein the SMS comprises at least one of a header, a latitude, a longitude, a radius, a time of positioning, a level of confidence, a positioning method, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), an international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) or a mobile country code (MCC). 
     
     
       14. The processor of  claim 1 , wherein the message is a hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) message. 
     
     
       15. A user equipment (UE), comprising:
 a transceiver configured to communicate with a network; and 
 a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform operations comprising:
 receiving emergency location signaling parameters, wherein the emergency location signaling parameters comprise an emergency number list that includes telephone numbers corresponding to public safety services local to a geographical region in which the UE is currently located and where at least one telephone number in the emergency number list is associated with an identification of a type of communication accepted by the at least one telephone number, the type of communication comprising one of a voice only number, a text only number or both a voice and text number; 
 identifying that an emergency communication has been initiated by the UE based on the emergency location signaling parameters; and 
 transmitting a message to an endpoint associated with emergency services based on the identification of the emergency communication being initiated, wherein the message includes location information for the UE. 
 
 
     
     
       16. The UE of  claim 15 , wherein the endpoint is identified based on the emergency location signaling parameters. 
     
     
       17. The UE of  claim 15 , wherein the emergency location signaling parameters are received via a non-access stratum (NAS) registration message. 
     
     
       18. The UE of  claim 15 , wherein the emergency location signaling parameters are received from an entitlement server. 
     
     
       19. The UE of  claim 15 , wherein the emergency location signaling parameters are received from one of a subscriber identity module (SIM) of the UE or an embedded SIM (eSIM) of the UE. 
     
     
       20. The UE of  claim 15 , wherein the emergency communication is one of a voice call or a text message.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     A user equipment (UE) may be configured to provide a message to emergency services that includes location information. The location information may indicate a geographical location at which the message originated. For example, the UE may identify that a mobile originating emergency call has been initiated. This may trigger the UE to send the message including the location information to an endpoint associated with the relevant emergency services. 
     Generally, different geographical regions have different emergency services. For example, different regions/countries are under the jurisdiction of different law enforcement entities. Under conventional circumstances, to ensure that the UE is aware of the telephone numbers associated with emergency services across various geographical regions, the carrier may provision the UE with an emergency number list in a carrier bundle. However, not only are carrier bundles not available in every geographical region, utilizing a carrier bundle to provision UEs with this type of information is labor intensive and expensive. 
     SUMMARY 
     Some exemplary embodiments are related to a processor of a user equipment (UE) configured to perform operations. The operations include receiving emergency location signaling parameters, identifying that an emergency communication has been initiated by the UE based on the emergency location signaling parameters and transmitting a message to an endpoint associated with emergency services based on the identification of the emergency message being initiated, wherein the message includes location information for the UE. 
     Other exemplary embodiments are related to a user equipment (UE) having a transceiver configured to communicate with a network and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform operations. The operations include receiving emergency location signaling parameters, identifying that an emergency communication has been initiated by the UE based on the emergency location signaling parameters, wherein the emergency communication is one of a voice call or a text message and transmitting a message to an endpoint associated with emergency services based on the identification of the emergency message being initiated, wherein the message includes location information for the UE. 
     Still further exemplary embodiments are related to a processor of a network entity configured to perform operations. The operations include receiving a request from a user equipment (UE) and transmitting emergency location signaling parameters to the UE. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    shows an exemplary network arrangement according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  2    shows an exemplary UE according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  3    shows an exemplary method for the UE to send location information to an endpoint associated with emergency services according to various exemplary embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments relate to a user equipment (UE) providing a message to emergency services that includes location information. The location information may indicate the location at which the message originated. Various exemplary procedures for provisioning the UE with parameters to enable this functionality will be described in more detail below. 
     The exemplary embodiments are described with regard to advanced mobile location (AML). Throughout this description, AML generally refers to the concept of the UE sending a message to an endpoint associated with emergency services that includes location information corresponding to the UE. From the perspective of the UE, an AML procedure may include identifying that a mobile originating emergency call has been initiated by the UE, collecting location information corresponding to the UE and then transmitting a short message service (SMS) to an endpoint associated with emergency services. The message is intended to help emergency services locate the user of the UE. To ensure the privacy of the user, a mechanism configured to perform AML procedures may be restricted to only be utilized in association with an emergency call and only communicate with network endpoints associated with emergency services. However, reference to AML is merely provided for illustrative purposes, different entities may refer to a similar concept by a different name. 
     The emergency services in different geographical regions have different telephone numbers. For example, the general emergency telephone number in one country (e.g.,  911 ,  112 , etc.) is different than the general emergency telephone number in another country. Even within the same geographical region there may be multiple emergency service entities (e.g., police, fire, etc.), each with their own respective telephone numbers. Under conventional circumstances, to ensure that the UE is able to identify that a call has been initiated to one of the multiple different telephone numbers associated with emergency services, the UE may be provisioned with a list of emergency contact numbers in a carrier bundle. 
     A carrier bundle generally refers to a set of information associated with a cellular carrier that is stored on the UE and utilized for any of a wide variety of different types of operations. There is a large number of cellular carriers and thus, a large number of different carrier bundles. The contents of the carrier bundle may vary from carrier to carrier. However, carrier bundles are not utilized in every geographical region. Accordingly, under conventional circumstances, some UEs do not receive the information needed to perform an AML procedure. Further, utilizing a carrier bundle to provision UEs with this type of information is labor intensive and expensive. 
     The exemplary embodiments are described with regard to provisioning the UE with parameters related to AML in an efficient and inexpensive manner. In a first aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to provisioning the UE with various parameters via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling. In a second aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to provisioning the UE with various parameters via an entitlement server. In a third aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to provisioning the UE with various parameters via subscriber identity module (SIM) settings. The parameters may provide the basis for the UE to perform an AML procedure or any other appropriate procedure. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to AML. Those skilled in the art will understand that the exemplary techniques described herein may apply to any appropriate procedure related or unrelated to emergency services. 
       FIG.  1    shows an exemplary network arrangement  100  according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary network arrangement  100  includes a UE  110 . Those skilled in the art will understand that the UE  110  may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. An actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of a single UE  110  is merely provided for illustrative purposes. 
     In the example of the network configuration  100 , the networks with which the UE  110  may wirelessly communicate with are an LTE radio access network (LTE-RAN)  120 , a 5G New Radio (NR) radio access network (5G NR-RAN)  122 , a legacy radio access network (RAN)  124  and a wireless local access network (WLAN)  126 . However, the UE  110  may also communicate with other types of networks and the UE  110  may also communicate with networks over a wired connection. Therefore, the UE  110  may include an LTE chipset to communicate with the LTE-RAN  120 , a 5G NR chipset to communicate with the 5G NR-RAN  122 , a legacy chipset to communicate with the legacy RAN  124  and an ISM chipset to communicate with the WLAN  126 . 
     The LTE-RAN  120 , the 5G NR-RAN  122  and the legacy RAN  124  may be portions of cellular networks that may be deployed by cellular providers (e.g., Verizon, AT&amp;T, T-Mobile, etc.). These networks  120 ,  122 ,  124  may include, for example, cells or base stations (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells, microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc.) that are configured to send and receive traffic from UEs that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. The WLAN  126  may include any type of wireless local area network (WiFi, Hot Spot, soft AP, IEEE 802.11 networks, etc.). 
     The UE  110  may connect to the LTE-RAN  120  via an evolved Node B (eNB)  120 A. Those skilled in the art will understand that any association procedure may be performed for the UE  110  to connect to the LTE-RAN  120 . For example, as discussed above, the LTE-RAN  120  may be associated with a particular cellular provider where the UE  110  and/or the user thereof has a contract and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upon detecting the presence of the LTE-RAN  120 , the UE  110  may transmit the corresponding credential information to associate with the LTE-RAN  120 . More specifically, the UE  110  may associate with a specific cell (e.g., the eNB  120 A of the LTE-RAN  120 ). As mentioned above, the use of the LTE-RAN  120  is for illustrative purposes and any type of network may be used. For example, the UE  110  may connect to 5G NR-RAN  122  via a gNB (not pictured) or the legacy RAN  124  via a Node B (NB)(not pictured). 
     The network arrangement  100  also includes a cellular core network  130 , the Internet  140 , an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)  150 , and a network services backbone  160 . The cellular core network  130  may be considered to be the interconnected set of components that manages the operation/traffic of the cellular network. The cellular core network  130  also manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet  140 . The IMS  150  may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE  110  using the IP protocol. The IMS  150  may communicate with the cellular core network  130  and the Internet  140  to provide the multimedia services to the UE  110 . The network services backbone  160  is in communication either directly or indirectly with the Internet  140  and the cellular core network  130 . The network services backbone  160  may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UE  110  in communication with the various networks. 
     The network arrangement  100  may further include a public safety answering point (PSAP) server  170 . The PSAP server  170  may provide information to one or more emergency service entities. Some exemplary embodiments will be described with regard to the UE  110  sending a signal to the PSAP server  170  that includes location information corresponding to the UE  110 . In this example, the PSAP server  170  is shown as being connected to the cellular core network  130 . However, this is merely for illustrative purposes, in an actual network arrangement the PSAP server  170  may reside in the cellular core network  130  or may reside separate from the cellular core network  130  in any location in which the PSAP server  170  may directly or indirectly receive a signal from the UE  110 . Further, an actual network arrangement may include any appropriate number of PSAP servers  170 . Thus, the example of a single PSAP server  170  is merely provided for illustrative purposes. 
     The network arrangement  100  may further include an entitlement server (ES)  180 . The ES  180  may be considered to be a server that is deployed on a per public land mobile network (PLMN) basis. The ES  180  may be managed by a carrier or another entity (e.g., third-party such as manufacturer of the UE  110 , a service provider, etc.) and may include information about the feature set support for the corresponding PLMN. The feature set support may include, for example the support for various IMS services. In the example, the ES  180  is shown as being connected directly to the cellular core network  130 . However, this is merely for illustrative purposes, in an actual network arrangement the ES  180  may reside in the cellular core network  130  or may reside separate from the cellular core network  130  in any location in which the ES  180  may directly or indirectly communicate with the UE  110 . Further, as indicated above, an actual network arrangement may include multiple entitlement servers. Thus, the example of the single ES  180  is merely provided for illustrative purposes. 
       FIG.  2    shows an exemplary UE  110  according to various exemplary embodiments. The UE  110  will be described with regard to the network arrangement  100  of  FIG.  1   . The UE  110  may represent any electronic device and may include a processor  205 , a memory arrangement  210 , a display device  215 , an input/output (I/O) device  220 , a transceiver  225 , and other components  230 . The other components  230  may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE  110  to other electronic devices, sensors to detect conditions of the UE  110 , etc. 
     The processor  205  may be configured to execute a plurality of engines for the UE  110 . For example, the engines may include an emergency location information engine  235 . The emergency location information engine  235  may manage parameters corresponding to emergency services that are received from any of a variety of different sources and send a signal to an endpoint associated with emergency services that include location information corresponding to the UE  110 . 
     The above referenced engine being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor  205  is only exemplary. The functionality associated with the engine may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE  110  or may be a modular component coupled to the UE  110 , e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engines may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, the functionality described for the processor  205  is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE. 
     The memory  210  may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE  110 . The display device  215  may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I/O device  220  may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs. The display device  215  and the I/O device  220  may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen. The transceiver  225  may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the LTE-RAN  120 , the 5G NR-RAN  122 , the legacy RAN  124  and the WLAN  126 . Accordingly, the transceiver  225  may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies). 
       FIG.  3    shows an exemplary method  300  for the UE  110  to send location information to an endpoint associated with emergency services according to various exemplary embodiments. The method  300  will be described with regard to the UE  110  of  FIG.  2    and the network arrangement  100  of  FIG.  1   . 
     In  305 , the UE  110  receives emergency location signaling parameters. Throughout this description, the term “emergency location signaling parameters” generally refers to various different types of information that may enable the UE  110  to i) identify that a mobile originating call to an emergency service has been initiated and/or ii) send a signal to an endpoint associated with emergency services that includes location information corresponding to the UE  110 . For example, the emergency location signaling parameters may enable AML functionality. More specific examples of the type of information that may be encompassed by the term “emergency location signaling parameters” will be provided below. 
     In addition to triggering the UE  110  to send emergency location information to an endpoint associated with emergency services, detecting that an emergency service has been dialed may also trigger the UE  110  to enter an emergency call state. In the emergency call state, the UE  110  may perform various operations such as but not limited to, disabling screen lock, initiating a do not disturb mode, disabling incoming/outgoing voice calls, disabling incoming/outgoing SMS (e.g., other than SMS with emergency location information), etc. In this state, the UE  110  may also be configured to allow the incoming calls from a PSAP or another emergency service entity to ensure that an emergency service operator may call back the UE  110  if the emergency call is dropped. Thus, identifying that an emergency call has been made allows the UE  110  to provide emergency location information and/or perform other operations that may help the user in a scenario in which emergency services may be needed. 
     The UE  110  may receive emergency location signaling parameters from any of a variety of different sources. One exemplary source of emergency location signaling parameters may include NAS signaling. Those skilled in the art will understand that NAS signaling may occur during an attach procedure or any other type of registration procedure. Examples of provisioning the UE  110  with emergency location signaling parameters via NAS signaling are provided below. 
     Consider the following exemplary scenario, the UE  110  is camped on a cell of the corresponding network. When camped, to receive the full scope of functionality normally available via the network connection, the UE  110  may register with the network. Network registration may be performed using NAS signaling. If the network is an LTE network, the NAS signaling may occur between the UE  110  and a management mobility entity (MME) of the cellular core network  130 . If the network is a 5G network, the NAS signaling may occur between the UE  110  and the access and mobility management function (AMF) of the cellular core network  130 . Thus, MMEs and AMFs may manage emergency location signaling parameters on the network side and provision the UE  110  with the emergency location signaling parameters via NAS signaling. 
     The network may send emergency location signaling parameters to the UE  100  during a registration procedure (e.g., in an attach accept message or any other appropriate registration message) and/or during a registration update procedure. For example, the network may provision the UE  110  with an emergency number list that contains telephone numbers for various public safety services local to the corresponding geographical region. The telephone numbers may be characterized as emergency numbers by the serving network. As will be described below, the emergency telephone numbers provided to the UE  110  via NAS signaling may allow the UE  110  to identify that an emergency call has been initiated. 
     In some embodiments, one or more emergency telephone numbers provided to the UE  110  during NAS signaling may be encoded with a sub service field that indicates a type of emergency service corresponding to the telephone number. For example, an emergency service telephone number provided to the UE  110  may be associated with an emergency service uniform resource name (URN). Those skilled in the art will understand that an emergency service URN is a service URN with top level service type of SOS. Examples of emergency service URNs include, but are not limited to, urn:service:sos, urn:service:sos:ambulance, urn:service:sos:police, urn:service:sos:fire, urn:service:sos:marine, urn:service:sos:mountain, urn:service:sos.ecall.manual, urn:service:sos.ecall.automatic, etc. Emergency service URNs can also be country specific. For example, “urn:service:sos.country-specific.xy.567” may represent a type of emergency service with a telephone number of 567 in a country identified by the abbreviation “xy.” Accordingly, emergency location signaling parameters may include a set of one or more telephone numbers associated with emergency services and emergency service URNs. 
     Another type of emergency location signaling parameter that may be provided to the UE  110  via NAS signaling may include a short message service center (SMSC) address. Those skilled in the art will understand that SMSC generally refers to a network component that manages SMS operations for a PLMN and/or a geographical region. By provisioning the UE  110  with the SMSC address in NAS signaling, the UE  110  may be aware of a visited PLMN&#39;s SMSC address and thus, messages that include emergency location information may reach their intended endpoint faster. An SMSC address may be provided per emergency number or may be associated with a set of emergency numbers. During operation, any changes to the SMSC addresses may be provided to the UE  110  via a UE configuration update command. 
     Further, in some embodiments, one or more SMSC addresses may be associated with an indication of a SMS format (e.g., data SMS, i.e. User-Data-Header-Indicator flag is set in the packet data unit (PDU) type field of the SMS message, or regular SMS) that is to be used for an SMS including emergency location information. Accordingly, emergency location signaling parameters may include an SMSC address and a SMS format. 
     In some scenarios, the UE  110  may attempt to register with the network but may not be permitted to receive the full scope of functionality normally available to the UE  110  via the network connection. However, the UE  110  may still be permitted to receive information corresponding to emergency services and transmit information corresponding to emergency services. This type of scenario may occur when the UE  110  attempts to register with a visited PLMN that is not compatible with the carrier associated with the UE  110 . When the UE  110  is not permitted to receive the full scope of functionality normally available to the UE  110  via the network connection, the UE  110  may be characterized as being in limited service. Those skilled in the art will understand that there may be a variety of different reasons for the UE  110  to be in limited service. 
     When the UE  110  is in limited service, the UE  110  may be triggered to send repeated messages to the SMSC. To avoid denial of service (DoS) on the network side that may occur from these repeated messages, the SMSC addresses mentioned above may not be provisioned to the UE  110  when the UE  110  is in limited service. Alternatively, when the UE  110  is in limited service, the UE  110  may be provided with the SMSC addresses but may be restricted to transmitting a predetermined number of emergency location SMS within a predetermined time window. 
     Another exemplary source of emergency location signaling parameters may include the ES  180 . For example, when connected to the network, the UE  110  may communicate with the ES  180  and receive emergency location signaling parameters such as, but not limited to, telephone numbers for emergency service agencies, SMS short codes for emergency services, SMS addresses for endpoints with emergency services, SMS format, etc. The ES  180  may be configured to provide per subscriber information. Thus, messages sent by the UE  110  to the ES  180  may identify the account/subscriber associated with the UE  110 . 
     In some exemplary embodiments, the UE  110  and the ES  180  may participate in a discoverability message exchange. This type of messaging exchange may include a request sent by the UE  110  to the ES  180  for configuration data supported by the ES  180 . In response, the ES  180  may send a message to the UE  110  that indicates that information related to AML (or a similar type of service) is stored on the ES  180 . Further messages may then be exchanged between the UE  110  and the ES  180  to provision the UE  110  with emergency location signaling parameters. 
     In other exemplary embodiments, the UE  110  may send an explicit request for emergency location signaling parameters. For example, the UE  110  may send a request for data related to AML to the ES  180 . In response, the ES  180  may send emergency location signaling parameters to the UE  110 . 
     In further exemplary embodiments, the ES  180  may be configured to send a push message to the UE  110  indicating that the emergency location signaling parameters managed by the ES  180  have been updated. For example, if a new local emergency number has been added to the ES  180  or a change has been made to AML SMS format, the ES  180  may send a push message to the UE  110 . In response, the UE  110  may send a request to the ES  180  for emergency location signaling parameters. Subsequently, the ES  180  may send the updated emergency location signaling parameters to the UE  110 . Accordingly, the ES  180  may trigger the UE  110  to request emergency location signaling parameters from the ES  180  or the UE  110  may be triggered to request emergency location signaling parameters for any other appropriate reason. 
     Another exemplary source of emergency location signaling parameters may include a SIM and/or an embedded SIM (eSIM). Those skilled in the art will understand the differences between a SIM and an eSIM. The UE  110  may be equipped with one or more SIMs and/or one or more eSIMs. Conventionally, SIMs and eSIMs are not configured to include emergency location signaling parameters. The exemplary embodiments relate to configuring the file contents of a SIM/eSIM to include emergency location signaling parameters such as, but not limited to, telephone numbers for emergency service agencies, SMS short codes for emergency services, SMS addresses for endpoints associated with emergency services, SMS format, mobile country codes (MCCs), etc. In some embodiments, the SIM/eSIM may be pre-provisioned to include emergency location signaling parameters. In other embodiments, file contents of the SIM/eSIM can be updated via over the air (OTA) signaling between the UE  110  and the network via, for example, Bearer Independent Protocol (BIP) procedures. To maintain the size of the SIM/eSIM file contents, the emergency location signaling parameters may be restricted to countries whose carriers are part of the operator controlled PLMN (OPLMN) list relevant to the UE  110 . 
     The file contents of the SIM/eSIM may be pre-provisioned and/or updated regardless of the currently camped radio access technology (RAT). Thus, in the context of the network arrangement  100 , the emergency location signaling parameters may be provided to the UE  110  regardless of whether the UE  110  is camped on the LTE-RAN  120 , the 5G NR-RAN  122  or the legacy RAN  124 . This SIM/eSIM technique allows carriers to provision the UE  110  with emergency location signaling parameters independent of the carrier bundle process. 
     The above examples are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments in any way, any of the above referenced exemplary sources may provide any of the above referenced exemplary types of emergency location signaling parameters. Thus, the exemplary embodiments may apply to any appropriate source providing any appropriate type of emergency location signaling parameters to the UE  110 . 
     In  310 , the UE  110  stores the emergency location signaling parameters. For example, the emergency location signaling parameters may be stored in the memory arrangement  210 . Even if the source of the emergency location signaling parameters is a SIM or an eSIM, the emergency location signaling parameters may be read from the SIM/eSIM file contents and then stored in the memory arrangement  210 . 
     To manage the storage size for emergency location signaling parameters, the UE  110  may be configured to remove emergency location signaling parameters corresponding to a particular geographical region if the UE  110  has not entered the geographical region within a predetermined time window. If the UE  110  returns to the geographical region after its corresponding emergency location signaling parameters have been removed from the memory arrangement  210 , one of the above referenced exemplary sources may provision the UE  110  with the emergency location signaling parameters relevant to that geographical location. 
     In  315 , the UE  110  identifies that a mobile originating emergency call has been initiated. For example, the UE  110  may identify that a voice call has been initiated and the telephone number of the mobile terminating endpoint matches one of the telephone numbers stored in the memory arrangement  210  that is associated with an emergency service. The exemplary embodiments are not limited to an emergency call being initiated in any particular manner and the UE  110  may utilize any appropriate technique to determine that a call has been made to a telephone number that is associated with an emergency service. 
     In  320 , the UE  110  collects location information corresponding to the UE  110 . For example, the UE  110  may collect location information from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that provides an indication of the currently deployed location of the UE  110 . In another example, the location information may be collected using WiFi protocols. However, the source of the location information is beyond the scope of the exemplary embodiments and any appropriate location information corresponding to the UE  110  may be utilized. 
     In  325 , the UE  110  sends a message to an endpoint associated with emergency services that includes the location information. For example, the UE  110  may send an SMS to the PSAP  170 . In other embodiments, the UE  110  may send a message to an endpoint in accordance with hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS). As indicated above, the location information may help emergency services locate the user that initiated the emergency call at the UE  110 . 
     An exemplary SMS may include information such as, but not limited to, a header, a latitude, a longitude, a radius, a time of positioning, a level of confidence, a positioning method, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), an international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) and an MCC. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to SMS and the contents of the message are beyond the scope of the exemplary embodiments. Any appropriate type of signaling may be utilized to provide any appropriate type of location information to an endpoint associated with emergency services. Subsequently, the method  300  ends. 
     The method  300  was described with regard to the UE  110  being triggered to send location information to an endpoint associated with emergency services in response to an emergency call being initiated at the UE  110 . However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to a voice call. Any type of user input may trigger the UE  110  to send location information to an endpoint associated with emergency services. Thus, the emergency location signaling parameters may enable the UE  110  to send a message including location information to an endpoint associated with emergency services regardless of whether an emergency voice call is performed. 
     In other exemplary embodiments, there may be a determination and disambiguation between the type of emergency numbers that are sent. These exemplary embodiments may be used with any of the signaling for supplying emergency numbers to a UE described above, e.g., via NAS signaling, via over the air (OTA) SIM updates, using an entitlement server, etc., or any other manner of updating the UE with emergency numbers. In these exemplary embodiments, the emergency numbers may be categorized into different types. In one example, the emergency numbers may be categorized into three types, voice only, text only or both text and voice. However, these are only exemplary categories and the types of emergency numbers may be categorized based on any characteristic of the emergency number, e.g., area code, exchange, etc. 
     In this manner, when the UE is updated with the emergency numbers in these exemplary embodiments, the UE will understand if an emergency number is, for example, a voice only number, a text only number or both a voice and text number. This type of updating may allow the UE to satisfy regulatory requirements. For example, some countries have started separating voice only and text only emergency numbers. This type of up[dating may also help the UE operation. For example, the UE does not need to bring up a voice call for a text only number and vice versa. 
     Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardware platform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. In a further example, the exemplary embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor. 
     Although this application described various embodiments each having different features in various combinations, those skilled in the art will understand that any of the features of one embodiment may be combined with the features of the other embodiments in any manner not specifically disclaimed or which is not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation of the device or the stated functions of the disclosed embodiments. 
     It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users. 
     As described above, one aspect of the present technology is the gathering and use of data available from specific and legitimate sources to provide emergency location information to emergency services. The present disclosure contemplates that in some instances, this gathered data may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to identify a specific person. Such personal information data can include location-based data, identifiers, telephone numbers, email addresses, or any other personal information. 
     The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information data, in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users. For example, the personal information can be used to locate the user in an emergency situation. 
     The present disclosure contemplates that those entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities would be expected to implement and consistently apply privacy practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. Such information regarding the use of personal data should be prominent and easily accessible by users and should be updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for legitimate uses only. Further, such collection/sharing should occur only after receiving the consent of the users or other legitimate basis specified in applicable law. Additionally, such entities should consider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information data and ensuring that others with access to the personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adapted for the particular types of personal information data being collected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards, including jurisdiction-specific considerations that may serve to impose a higher standard. For instance, in the US, collection of or access to certain health data may be governed by federal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); whereas health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. 
     Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to, personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, the location information may only be provided to emergency services in response to explicit user input. 
     Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and handled in a way to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can be minimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, data de-identification can be used to protect a user&#39;s privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, when appropriate, by removing identifiers, controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g., collecting location data at city level rather than at an address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and/or other methods such as differential privacy. 
     Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use of personal information data to implement one or more various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the various embodiments can also be implemented with a bare minimum amount of personal information, such as only collecting location information during an emergency call. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20210216
Publication Date: 20230328
Grant Date: 20230328
Priority Date: 20200214
Inventors: LAMBA, GAURAV
SAMAD, Abdus
BEDI, AMANDEEP SINGH
KISS, KRISZTIAN
RIVERA-BARRETO, RAFAEL L.
MALTHANKAR, ROHAN C.
TOUATI, SAMY
VENKATARAMAN, VIJAY
KAUSHAL, VINASH
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W4/90", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/14", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W88/184", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/20", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/025", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/029", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/14", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W64/00", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/90", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/021", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/50", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/50", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/14", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/50", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/029", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/025", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/90", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 77273346