IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,363,409

Granted Patent B2

US 11,363,409 · App. 17/023,832 · Granted Jun 14, 2022

Emergency alert systems with tracked user interactions

Inventor: Allan C. Sutherland (Orland Park, IL)

H04W4/024 G08B7/06 G08B25/10 H04L63/0853 H04L63/0884 H04L67/20 H04W4/021 H04W4/023 H04W4/12 H04W4/33 H04W4/90 H04W12/069 H04W76/50 G08B3/00 G08B5/00 G08B6/00

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 11,363,409
App. No.: 17/023,832
Granted: Jun 14, 2022
Kind: B2

External Links

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Abstract

Aspects discussed herein relate to providing alerts to a community of devices located in or near a geographic are such as a building or property. The alerts override any alert-inhibiting state of the mobile device to deliver audio, visual, and/or haptic alerts in emergency situations. The communication and emergency alert system may be used to communicate with many different communities of people. Moreover, certain individuals may be members of more than one community at the same time, and the communities themselves may change over time based both on the user's preferences and on their physical locations. User interaction with their mobile devices and/or provided alerts can be monitored and tracked to determine engagement with the emergency alert system. Additional alerts can be provided on other devices associated with the user until the user is confirmed to have received the alert.

Claims (86)

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

obtaining an indication of an alert condition in a building;

determining that the alert condition comprises an emergency condition in the building;

determining a location for a plurality of mobile devices, each mobile device in the plurality of mobile devices being associated with a primary alert group for a community for the building;

generating an alert associated with each mobile device in the primary alert group for the building;

transmitting each alert to the associated mobile device in the plurality of mobile devices, wherein the alert causes the mobile device to display one or more notifications by overriding an alert-inhibiting state of the mobile device;

determining a response has not been received from at least one of the plurality of mobile devices within a threshold period of time;

determining a second plurality of mobile devices, each mobile device in the second plurality of mobile devices associated with a secondary alert group for the community for the building;

generating a second alert associated with each mobile device in the second plurality of mobile devices for the building; and

transmitting the second alert to each mobile device in the second plurality of mobile devices.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the alert comprises at least one notification selected from the group consisting of an audible notification, a visual notification, and a haptic notification.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a response has not been received from at least one of the second plurality of mobile devices within a second threshold period of time;

determining a third plurality of mobile devices, each mobile device in the second plurality of mobile devices associated with a tertiary alert group for the building;

generating a third alert associated with each mobile device in the third plurality of mobile devices for the building; and

transmitting the third alert to each mobile device in the third plurality of mobile devices.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:

the building comprises a school;

the primary alert group comprises one or more administrators for the school; and

the secondary alert group comprises one or more teaching staff for the school.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining a response from a first mobile device in the primary alert group, wherein the obtained response comprises an indication that the first mobile device has been unlocked within a threshold period of time of receiving the alert; and

determining the first mobile device has viewed the alert.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a blockchain transaction comprising the alert and an indication of the plurality of mobile devices; and

transmitting the blockchain transaction to a distributed network system, wherein the blockchain transaction causes the distributed network system to store the blockchain transaction using a blockchain ledger.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

based on the determining a response has not been received from at least one of the plurality of mobile devices within a threshold period of time, identifying a secondary device associated with the at least one of the plurality of mobile devices; and

transmitting the alert to the secondary device.

8. A computing device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory in communication with the processor and storing instructions that, when read by the processor, cause the computing device to:

obtain an indication of an alert condition in a building;

determine that the alert condition comprises an emergency condition in the building;

determine a location for a plurality of mobile devices, each mobile device in the plurality of mobile devices being associated with a primary alert group for a community for the building;

generate an alert associated with each mobile device in the primary alert group for the building;

transmit each alert to the associated mobile device in the plurality of mobile devices, wherein the alert causes the mobile device to display one or more notifications by overriding an alert-inhibiting state of the mobile device;

determine a response has not been received from at least one of the plurality of mobile devices within a threshold period of time;

determine a second plurality of mobile devices, each mobile device in the second plurality of mobile devices associated with a secondary alert group for the community for the building;

generate a second alert associated with each mobile device in the second plurality of mobile devices for the building; and

transmit the second alert to each mobile device in the second plurality of mobile devices.

9. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the alert comprises at least one notification selected from the group consisting of an audible notification, a visual notification, and a haptic notification.

10. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when read by the processor, further cause the computing device to:

determine a response has not been received from at least one of the second plurality of mobile devices within a second threshold period of time;

determine a third plurality of mobile devices, each mobile device in the second plurality of mobile devices associated with a tertiary alert group for the building;

generate a third alert associated with each mobile device in the third plurality of mobile devices for the building; and

transmit the third alert to each mobile device in the third plurality of mobile devices.

11. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein:

the building comprises a school;

the primary alert group comprises one or more administrators for the school; and

the secondary alert group comprises one or more teaching staff for the school.

12. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when read by the processor, further cause the computing device to:

obtain a response from a first mobile device in the primary alert group, wherein the obtained response comprises an indication that the first mobile device has been unlocked within a threshold period of time of receiving the alert; and

determine the first mobile device has viewed the alert.

13. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when read by the processor, further cause the computing device to:

generate a blockchain transaction comprising the alert and an indication of the plurality of mobile devices; and

transmit the blockchain transaction to a distributed network system, wherein the blockchain transaction causes the distributed network system to store the blockchain transaction using a blockchain ledger.

14. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when read by the processor, further cause the computing device to:

based on the determining a response has not been received from at least one of the plurality of mobile devices within a threshold period of time, identify a secondary device associated with the at least one of the plurality of mobile devices; and

transmit the alert to the secondary device.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform steps comprising: