Method and apparatus to concurrently notify emergency contacts during an emergency voice call based on network capability
A method and apparatus for automatically sending a data message from a mobile device to at least one recipient during or soon after an emergency voice call, the method having the steps of: determining whether the data message can be sent over the network during the emergency voice call, and if yes, creating and sending the data message; and if no, waiting until either the mobile device connects to a new network, wherein the method proceeds back to said determining step, or until the voice call has ended and then creating and sending the data message.
1. In a mobile device, a method for sending a data message from said mobile device to at least one emergency contact, the method comprising the steps of:
determining whether a mobile network of the mobile device supports concurrent circuit-switched and packet-switched communications, and whether a battery level of the mobile device is above a threshold, wherein the threshold is a battery level for which a data call will not adversely affect a voice call;
if the mobile network supports concurrent circuit-switched and packet-switched communications and the battery level is above the threshold, , sending the data message to the at least one emergency contact during an emergency voice call;
if the mobile network does not support concurrent circuit-switched and packet-switched communications and the emergency voice call is a circuit-switched voice call, sending the data message to the at least one emergency contact over a circuit-switched network;
wherein the at least one emergency contact is selected from a contact book of the mobile device.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data message is one of an email message, and instant message and a short message service (SMS) message.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data message includes:
a timestamp; and
a geographic indicator.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the geographic indicator is derived from a global positioning system module on the mobile device.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the geographic indicator is derived from the network the mobile device is connected to.
6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the data message further includes an indicator for the type of emergency, said indicator derived from a number dialed for the emergency voice call.
7. The method of claim 3 , wherein the data message further includes a list of emergency contacts.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the list of emergency contacts is predetermined by a user.
9. The mobile device of claim 3 , wherein the means for checking is configured to perform the checking repeatedly.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of, prior to said determining step, checking a user set parameter, said user set parameter having a first value to indicate the user wishes to send the data message and a second value to indicate the user does not wish to send the data message.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein if the mobile network does not support concurrent circuit-switched and packet-switched communications, checking for the first one of the mobile device connecting to a new network and the emergency voice call ending, and if the mobile device connects to a new network before the end of the emergency voice call, proceeding back to said determining step.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the checking is performed repeatedly.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein, prior to the sending, the data message is created.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein, prior to the sending, the mobile device is configured to create the data message.
15. A mobile device configured to send a data message to at least one emergency contact, the mobile device having a radio subsystem including a radio configured to communicate with a mobile network; a radio processor having a digital signal processor and configured to interact with said radio subsystem; memory; a user interface; a processor configured to run user applications and interact with the memory, the radio and the user interface and, the mobile device characterized by having means for:
determining whether the mobile network supports concurrent circuit-switched and packet-switched communications, and whether a battery level of the mobile device is above a threshold, wherein the threshold is a battery level for which a data call will not adversely affect a voice call;
if the mobile network supports concurrent circuit-switched and packet switched communications and the battery level is above the threshold, sending the data message to the at least one emergency contact during an emergency voice call;
if the mobile network does not support concurrent circuit-switched and packet-switched communications, sending the data message to the at least one emergency contact over a circuit-switched network;
wherein the at least one emergency contact is selected from a contact book of the mobile device.
16. The mobile device of claim 15 , wherein the data message is one of an email message, and instant message and a short message service (SMS) message.
17. The mobile device of claim 15 , wherein the data message includes:
a time stamp; and
a geographic indicator.
18. The mobile device of claim 17 , further comprising a global positioning system module, wherein the geographic indicator is derived from the global positioning system module.
19. The mobile device of claim 18 , wherein the geographic indicator is derived from the mobile network the mobile device is connected to.
20. The mobile device of claim 15 , wherein the data message includes an indicator for the type of emergency, said indicator being derived from a number dialed for the emergency voice call.
21. The mobile device of claim 15 , wherein the data message includes a list of emergency contacts to the data message.
22. The mobile device of claim 15 , wherein if the mobile network does not support concurrent circuit-switched and packet-switched communications, checking for the first one of the mobile device connecting to a new network and the emergency voice call ending, and if the mobile device connects to a new network before the end of the emergency voice call, proceeding back to said determining step.