Patent Document

This is a continuation application that claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/409,687, filed Sep. 30, 1999, is now U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,345 which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to providing targeted disaster warnings to telephone subscribers in pre-determined geographic areas. 
     2. Background of the Invention 
     Early warnings of natural (e.g., tornadoes) or man-made (e.g., leaks of toxic gases) disasters can save lives. However, any warning, no matter how timely, must be actually received by the people in danger, and must be heeded by the recipient if there is to be any benefit. Conventional systems for issuing disaster warnings may be directed to very large populations, for example, by radio or television, or may be directed to very small populations, for example, by people going house-to-house to notify the occupants. More recently, “weather radio” is being implemented to allow more localized warnings based on the listener&#39;s specific location. 
     However, all of these early warning systems have inherent disadvantages that reduce their effectiveness. For example, in the case of radio and television broadcasts, the television or radio sets must be turned on and monitored for the warning to be received. Moreover, it is not uncommon for the power systems in disaster zones to be out of operation, further limiting the likelihood that the target audience will receive the warnings. Finally, because television is designed to reach a maximum audience in a geographic region, it cannot currently be used to specifically target only those in the greatest danger. Thus, the warnings are sent to far more people than actually need to be warned. If people are often interrupted by alarms that do not apply to them, then they are less likely to heed subsequent warnings. 
     The “weather radio” system, when fully implemented, may overcome some of these limitations by issuing a radio signal to specially purchased radio receivers. The signal will cause the radio set to turn itself on and broadcast the warning to all listeners. However, even this solution has some disadvantages. First, the system is not in widespread use because it requires the purchase of a special radio receiver. Second, while weather radio can be directed toward a more specific geographic area than other broadcasting means, it cannot target very small regions, such as people located on a certain street. More people will receive the warning than are actually in danger, resulting in false alarms for many people. Thus, with weather radio systems, the result could be even more dangerous, as people who have been inconvenienced by false alarms may disable the feature or merely ignore further weather radio warnings. 
     When house-to-house personal warnings are issued, or neighborhood-wide announcements made via loud speakers, the deficiency is not in reaching the correct audience, but reaching them in time to provide sufficient early warning. Even if the target area is very small, if the danger stems from a rapidly moving force, such as a tornado, personal notification cannot provide the necessary early warning. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention utilizes an Advanced Intelligent Network (“AIN”) to provide early disaster warnings to recipients in specifically targeted geographic areas. AIN systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,301 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,533, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The invention uses existing calling number delivery (“CND”) and calling name delivery (“CNAM”) systems to provide early disaster warnings to subscribers within the targeted areas. The invention includes a specialized service node (“S-SN”) shown in the FIG.  1 . The S-SN is connected to a computer control terminal that defines the geographic area to which the targeted warning message must be sent. The S-SN is a service node, as is currently well known in the art, with added capabilities such as multiple communications links to multiple service switching points (“SSPs” or “switches”). Additionally, the S-SN is programmed to partially emulate an SSP by issuing call setup and release messages to other SSPs using the Common Channel Signaling System 7 (“SS7”) network. However, in a preferred embodiment, the S-SN has no actual voice trunks installed, i.e., does not emulate the full capabilities of an SSP. In a preferred embodiment, the computer control terminal is operated by a national or regional authority such as the National Weather Service (“NWS”). 
     In the present invention, an operator (or software) on the computer control terminal transmits a warning message to the S-SN along with the geographic regions to be warned. In a preferred embodiment, the computer control terminal is equipped with a graphical user interface allowing an operator to select the warning area by highlighting different portions of a map. The maps used in this preferred embodiment have a range of scales, down to the street-level, enabling highly specific targeting of the warning area. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the S-SN maintains a database of all customers having subscriptions to CND service, CNAM service or both. The database includes the subscribers&#39; telephone number and geographic location (e.g., a street address). In an alternate embodiment, the database stores information only for those customers specifically subscribing to the Disaster Warning service. The S-SN identifies the subscribers within the specific geographic region to be warned and initiates a series of telephone calls in rapid succession to all of the identified subscribers. The S-SN issues call setup messages in which the Calling Party Number (“CgPN”) field is set to a numeric code corresponding to the type of emergency. In this way, when a subscriber&#39;s customer premises equipment (“CPE”) displays the calling party&#39;s number, it displays the special warning code. Each type of emergency or action required is assigned a unique numeric code. When the numeric code is displayed as the calling number, the subscriber is alerted to the disaster. 
     Subscribers having CNAM service receive a text message displaying a brief warning message. In a preferred embodiment, a text message and the numeric code for each Disaster_Type are stored in an existing name database used to support CNAM services. Such name databases are generally stored on a Service Control Point (“SCP”). In response to a CNAM query, the SCP returns the disaster text message for display on the subscriber&#39;s CPE. The text display provides all the information necessary to alert the subscriber of the impending danger. In an alternate embodiment, the disaster text message is contained within the call setup message issued by the S-SN. In this embodiment, a database query is not necessary. 
     The S-SN follows each call setup message with a call release message. However, to allow sufficient time for the delivery of the calling number and/or calling name, the call release message is sent only after a pre-determined waiting period elapses. The pre-determined waiting period is at least as long as the name retrieval timer set within the switch, i.e., the timeout period for CND or CNAM services. In a preferred embodiment, the pre-determined waiting period is at least six seconds. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a disaster warning system that overcomes the above-cited problems. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a disaster warning system that is targeted to reach only people in imminent danger. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disaster warning system that minimizes the incidence of false alarms. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disaster warning system that is compatible with existing telecommunications equipment. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a disaster warning system using telecommunications equipment that is already prevalent in people&#39;s homes and/or workplaces. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disaster warning system capable of reaching people in a targeted area almost simultaneously with the determination to issue the warning. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the key components of an Advanced Intelligent Network used in an embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the steps performed in an embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention utilizes an Advanced Intelligent Network (“AIN”) to provide the targeted disaster warning of the present invention. More specifically, the present invention uses CND and CNAM systems to provide targeted disaster warnings to subscribers within specific geographic areas. The implementation and operation of CND systems are described in Bellcore Specification TR-NWT-000031, Calling Number Delivery, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. CNAM systems are described in Bellcore Specification TR-NWT-001188, Calling Name Delivery Generic Requirements, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the present invention showing a Specialized Service Node (“S-SN”)  80 . S-SN  80  has all of the features of a regular Service Node (“SN”), but is also equipped with Common Channel Signaling System 7 (“SS7”) data links, and has the capability of issuing telephone call setup and release messages to several Service Switching Points (referred to herein as either “SSP” or “switch”) simultaneously. Such call setup and release messages are transmitted over SS7 data link  66  as Integrated Services Digital Network User Part (“ISUP”) messages. The capability to issue ISUP messages allows S-SN  80  to emulate some functions of a switch. However, in a preferred embodiment, S-SN  80  has no voice trunks, so although it issues ISUP messages, no actual voice circuits are allocated between S-SN  80  and a switch. S-SN  80  transmits ISUP messages using SS7 link  66  to Signaling Transfer Point (“STP”)  60 . STP  60  has SS7 links  63 ,  64 ,  65  and  67  to Service Switching Point (“SSP”)  34 , SSP  44 , SSP  54  and Service Control Point (“SCP”)  70 , respectively. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, S-SN  80  receives database updates from Services Management System (“SMS”)  100  using data link  82 . In a preferred embodiment data link  82  uses a high-speed data communications protocol, such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (“ATM”), TCP/IP or X.25, each of which are well known in the art. 
     S-SN  80  is connected to computer control terminal  90  which is used to define the geographic area in which to send the targeted warning message. In a preferred embodiment, computer control terminal  90  is operated by a national or regional authority such as the National Weather Service or a state-operated disaster prevention/alerting body. 
     FIG. 2 is a flow chart exemplifying the steps performed in an embodiment of the present invention. The flow chart is described with reference to subscribers  30 ,  40  and  50  in FIG.  1 . Subscriber  30  has telephone  31 , CPE  32 , and analog telephone line  33  connected to SSP  34 . Subscriber  40  has telephone  41 , CPE  42 , and analog telephone line  43  connected to SSP  44 . Similarly, subscriber  50  has telephone  51 , CPE  52 , and analog telephone line  53  connected to SSP  54 . Lines  33 ,  43  and  53  have telephone numbers 333-333-1000, 444-444-1000 and 555-555-1000, respectively. In this example, subscribers  30 ,  40  and  50  live on Street A. Subscriber  30  has CND service, subscriber  40  has CNAM service, and subscriber  50  and both CND and CNAM services. It should be noted that while it is possible for a subscriber to subscribe only to CNAM service, few subscribers would get CNAM without CND. 
     In the first step, an operator (or software) on computer control terminal  90  transmits a warning message to S-SN  80  (step  101 ). In one embodiment, the warning message includes information such as the Disaster Type and the Geographic_Area. In a preferred embodiment, the message includes additional information such as a Timing parameter, described below. 
     Each Disaster_Type is assigned a unique numeric code, so the recipient can decipher the warning message. The numeric code is used in the Calling Party Number (“CgPN”) field when the warning calls are setup (step  102 ). Thus, under current AIN standards, the numeric code is limited to 15 digits. In one embodiment, the Disaster_Type received from control terminal  90  is the unique numeric code. For example, the Disaster_Type could be “911-222-3333” to indicate a category 3 tornado. In an alternate embodiment, S-SN  80  looks up the numeric code in database  81  according to the Disaster_Type. In the present example if the NWS sends a warning message with a Disaster_Type of “category 3 tornado,” S-SN  80  consults database  81  to determine that the assigned numeric code is 911-222-3333. Thus, in step  102 , S-SN  80  assigns 911-222-3333 to the CgPN in the call setup messages. 
     The Geographic_Area identifies the region to which the targeted warning message will be sent. In a preferred embodiment, a graphical user interface on computer control terminal  90  provides the capability for selecting the Geographic_Area directly from a mapping system. The maps used in this preferred embodiment provide a high level of granularity enabling highly specific targeting of the area to be warned. Using this system, the operator is able to zoom down to the street-level to select the houses to be notified on a particular street. 
     The Timing parameter is used to control congestion on the system. In a preferred embodiment, the Timing indicates the order in which to notify subscribers, such as to notify subscribers from Northeast to Southwest within the Geographic_Area selected. In this embodiment, if the Timing is not provided by control terminal  90 , all customers in the Geographic_Area have the same priority. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the Disaster Warning service is offered as a complimentary service to customers subscribing to CND service or CNAM service. In this embodiment, database  81  on S-SN  80  stores the telephone number and address for all customers having subscriptions to CND service, CNAM service or both. In an alternate embodiment, the Disaster Service is offered on a subscription basis. In this embodiment, the database stores information only for those customers also subscribing to the Disaster Warning service. The data stored in database  81  is provided by and updated by SMS  100 , which also provides data to SCP  70  for use in database  71 . Data paths  82  and  83  from SMS  100  to S-SN  80 , and from SMS  100  to SCP  70 , respectively, use any suitable digital communications protocol, for example, ATM, TCP/IP or X.25. 
     In step  103 , S-SN  80  queries database  81  to identify the subscribers within the specific geographic region to be warned. In this example, the NWS warning message indicated the Geographic_Area to be “all houses on Street A.” Thus, in step  103 , S-SN  80  compiles a list of all subscribers on Street A, including subscribers  30 ,  40  and  50 . 
     In an iterative manner, S-SN  80  steps through the list of subscribers obtained in step  103  and generates call setup messages for each. In step  104 , S-SN  80  checks to see if all subscribers on the list have been called. If there are any subscribers that have not been called, S-SN  80  moves on to step  105 ; otherwise, the disaster warning system has completed its task. 
     In step  105 , S-SN  80  issues ISUP messages to setup calls to each subscriber. The ISUP messages are Initial Address Messages (“IAMs”) which are sent to each subscriber&#39;s SSP. The IAM contains the assigned numeric code for the given disaster type in the CgPN field, and the subscriber&#39;s telephone number in the Called Party Number (“CdPN”) field. For example, an IAM is sent to SSP  34  for subscriber  30 , another IAM is sent to SSP  44  for subscriber  40 , and a third IAM is sent to SSP  54  for subscriber  50 . The first IAM has 911-222-3333 as the CgPN and 333-333-1000 as the CdPN. The second IAM has 911-222-3333 as the CgPN and 444-444-1000 as the CdPN. Finally, the third IAM has 911-222-3333 as the CgPN and 555-555-1000 as the CdPN. 
     Because the S-SN does not need to send any voice traffic to the subscriber, there is no need to allocate actual voice circuits between the S-SN and the subscriber. However, under the current telephone switching architecture, an SSP will not attempt call termination unless a voice circuit is established between a CgPN and a CdPN. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the SSPs are “tricked” by using special voice circuits  35 ,  45  and  55  in a loop-back configuration, as shown in FIG.  1 . When an SSP receives the call setup message from S-SN  80 , the SSP will process the call as if an actual voice circuit were allocated. In a preferred embodiment, loop-back voice circuits  35 ,  45  and  55  are created by configuring at least one trunk interface card to loop-back to itself. Suitable trunk interface cards are available from several vendors, e.g., Lucent, Nortel and Siemens. Additionally, voice path verification must be turned off for that trunk group so that the SSP will not check to see if the circuit is valid. S-SN  80  is capable of sending these call setup messages to several SSPs at once because it has an SS7 connection to STP  60 . 
     Although the subscribers listed in database  81  are all subscribers to CND, CNAM or both, the subscriber may have temporarily deactivated the services. Thus, when the subscriber&#39;s SSP receives the IAM, it detects whether or not the called line is activated for CND service, CNAM service or both (steps  106 ,  107  and  111 ). As shown in FIG. 2, step  105 A is usually performed concurrently with steps  106 - 108  to minimize delays in call processing. In step  105 A, the SSP initiates power ringing on the subscriber&#39;s line. The remaining steps ( 106 - 115 ) in the flow chart are described in the four examples below. 
     EXAMPLE I 
     Subscriber Has Neither CND Nor CNAM Activated 
     In this example, although subscriber  30  normally subscribes to CND service, it has been deactivated. Thus, for subscriber  30 , SSP  34  will detect that neither CND nor CNAM service is currently activated for line  33  (steps  106  and  107 ). In this case, SSP  34 , moves on to step  108 , and continues ringing the line. After waiting a pre-determined period, S-SN  80  informs the SSP that the calling party has hung up (step  109 ). In a preferred embodiment, S-SN  80  sends a call release (REL) message to the SSP. The waiting period should be long enough to ensure that any data to be transmitted to the subscriber&#39;s CPE has been sent. Since CND and CNAM delivery normally takes places between the first and second ring cycle, the waiting period should allow for two ringing cycles to complete. In a preferred embodiment, the pre-determined waiting period is at least six seconds. After sending the call release message, S-SN  80  returns to step  104  and determines whether or not another subscriber is to be notified, as described above. 
     EXAMPLE II 
     Subscriber Has CND Only 
     In this example, subscriber  30  has CND and has not deactivated the service. Thus, in step  106  SSP  34  detects that CND is activated on line  33 , and as a result, prepares to deliver the calling number to CPE  32  (step  110 ). In step  111 , SSP  34  detects whether or not line  33  also has CNAM activated. In this example, line  33  does not have CNAM activated, so SSP  34  moves on to step  112 . In step  112 , SSP  34  delivers the information to CPE  32 . That is, SSP  34  uses frequency-shift keying (“FSK”) tone modulation to transmit the CgPN for display on CPE  32 . In this case, the disaster warning code of “911-222-3333” will be transmitted to CPE  32 , along with the date and time. When subscriber  30  sees this displayed on CPE  32 , he or she will be informed of the disaster alert. 
     After delivering the disaster warning code in step  112 , SSP  34  moves on to step  108 . As described above, in step  108 , SSP  34  continues ringing line  33  until it receives the call release message from S-SN  80  in step  109 . S-SN  80  then moves on to the next subscriber to be notified in steps  104  and  105 . 
     EXAMPLE III 
     Subscriber Has CNAM Only 
     In this example, subscriber  40  has CNAM service but does not have CND service. Again, this is an unusual situation, but could occur under current AIN standards. In step  106  SSP  44  detects that CND is not activated on line  43 , and as a result, moves on to step  107  where SSP  44  detects that CNAM is activated on line  43 . In this case, SSP  44  moves on to step  113 . In step  113 , SSP  44  queries SCP  70  for the calling party name using SS7 Transaction Capabilities Application Part (“TCAP”) messaging. SCP  70  looks up the CgPN in name database  71  and returns the corresponding name. In this example, when SSP  44  looks up the calling party number, “911-222-3333” in name database  71 , the calling party&#39;s “name” identifies the Disaster_Type. Thus in step  114 , SCP  70  sends a TCAP response message having “Tornado Cat. 3” in the calling name field. SSP  44  prepares to deliver the calling party name to CPE  42  in step  115 , then moves on to step  112 . As described above, in step  112 , SSP  44  transmits the calling party name, together with a date and time stamp to CPE  42  using FSK tone modulation. The disaster warning is displayed on CPE  42  as “Tornado Cat. 3” and subscriber  40  can readily determine that a severe tornado is imminent. 
     The remaining steps are the same as those described for basic CND above. That is, for subscriber  40 , SSP  44  continues ringing line  43  in step  108 . In step  109 , S-SN  80  issues a call release message to SSP  44  (after waiting the pre-determined wait period), and moves on to the next subscriber (step  104 ). 
     EXAMPLE IV 
     Subscriber Has Both CND and CNAM 
     In this example, subscriber  50  has both CND and CNAM services and both services are activated. In step  106  SSP  54  detects that CND is activated on line  53 , and as a result, prepares to deliver the calling number to CPE  52 . In step  111 , SSP  54  detects whether or not line  33  also has CNAM activated. In this case, line  53  has CNAM activated, so SSP  54  moves on to step  113 . Steps  113  through  115  are performed as described in Example III, above. That is a TCAP query is issued to SCP  70  and, in response, the disaster warning message is sent to SSP  54 . In step  112 , SSP  54  transmits the information to CPE  52 . In this case, both the calling party number and the calling party name, together with a date and time stamp are transmitted to CPE  52 . As before, SSP  54  uses FSK tone modulation to transmit the information to CPE  52 . The disaster warning is displayed on CPE  52  as “911-222-333 Tornado Cat. 3” and subscriber  50  can readily determine that a severe tornado is imminent. 
     The remaining steps are the same as those followed for CND or CNAM services, described in Examples II and III, above. That is, for subscriber  50 , SSP  54  continues ringing line  53  in step  108 . In step  109 , S-SN  80  issues a call release message to SSP  54  (after waiting the pre-determined wait period), and moves on to the next subscriber (step  104 ). 
     Alternate Embodiments 
     In one alternate embodiment, an extended audible or visible alarm could be implemented by modifying the CPE. In this manner, a specialized CPE could be designed to trigger based on specified CgPNs or CNAMs, which are internally preset or programmed into the CPE. For example, if the CgPN for “Tornado Warning” is 911-222-1111, the CPE would read that number and activate the alarm. In another alternate embodiment, one skilled in the art could modify the CPE to issue a loud audible alarm, a visible alarm such as a flashing light, or a vibrating alarm. The type of sound, vibration, or pattern of flashes could be unique depending on the CgPN, e.g., different sounds or flash patterns could represent different types of warnings. An alarm system as described above is advantageous in that it increases the likelihood that the alarm will be noticed. This modified CPE would work with both basic CND and CNAM service services. 
     In another alternate embodiment, the need for a TCAP query is eliminated by programming the S-SN to include the disaster warning text in the IAM message itself. Under current AIN standards, IAM messages have a calling party name field which may be used for this purpose. In this embodiment, the disaster warning messages can be transmitted even faster with less load on the systems involved. However, the switch must also be programmed to look for the calling party name in IAM. 
     The foregoing disclosure of embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. The scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appended hereto, and by their equivalents.

Technology Category: h