Emergency Service Availability Indication Without Test Calls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining emergency communications availability in wireless devices often require actual emergency communications, wasting resources and interfering with emergency services during non-emergency situations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method to determine emergency communications availability by monitoring PSAP status and signal strength without initiating emergency communications, using area emergency status components to provide users with an indication of availability through their devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a user initiates an emergency communication to test availability, then the user can confirm access to emergency services, but valuable emergency communication resources are wasted and emergency services are unnecessarily involved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of network components and area emergency status components that mediate between users and emergency services. This intermediary can determine emergency communications availability by monitoring PSAP status and signal conditions without requiring actual emergency calls, thus confirming availability while preserving emergency resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary determination of emergency communications availability before users need to actually call emergency services. By proactively checking PSAP status, signal strength, and network conditions, the system prepares availability information in advance, so users can confirm access without initiating actual emergency communications that would waste resources.
2Reliability
If a user initiates an emergency communication to test availability, then the user can confirm access to emergency services, but emergency services are unnecessarily involved
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediary system acts as a buffer between test operations and emergency services. It monitors PSAP status and network conditions to determine availability, preventing direct interference with emergency services while still providing users with reliable availability confirmation through area emergency status components.
3Measurement precision
If the system monitors PSAP status and signal strength continuously, then emergency communications availability can be determined accurately, but device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring function is segmented between network components and user equipment. Area emergency status components in the network handle PSAP status monitoring, while UE handles signal strength measurement. This segmentation distributes complexity rather than concentrating it in one device, enabling accurate determination while managing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The area emergency status component serves multiple functions: it determines PSAP status, assesses signal conditions, and provides availability information to multiple users in an area. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity by consolidating monitoring tasks in a centralized network component rather than requiring complex monitoring in each user device.
Data Source
AI summary
System and methods for performing emergency communications availability determinations are disclosed. Network components may be configured to determine the activity status of public safety access points (PSAPs) in a network, the areas the PSAPs are associated with, and their particular function relative to those areas. This information may be provided to user equipment (UEs) that may use this information along with signal data to determine a particular graphical element to present on an interface that indicates the level of emergency communications services available to the UE at the present time.