Patent Application
20150281928
The present invention is directed to sending Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) and Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) alert messages to recipients who are located outside of a designated alert area.
CMAS was initiated as part of the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 (SAFE Port Act), the Warning Alert and Response Network (WARN) Act, which was passed by Congress in September 2006 and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Oct. 13, 2006. The FCC released the “First Report and Order” for CMAS on Apr. 9, 2008. This First Report and Order adopted an architecture and a set of rules for transmitting emergency alerts by Commercial Mobile Service (CMS) providers. By way of example and not by way of limitation, CMS providers within the United States include Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.
The First Report and Order architecture concluded that a Federal Government entity should aggregate, authenticate, and transmit alerts over a standard interface to the CMS providers.
The First Report and Order also included rules for emergency alert formatting, classes, and elements. Specifically, participating CMS providers transmit three classes of alerts: Presidential, Imminent Threat, and AMBER alerts. In addition, CMS providers are required to geographically target alerts, support accessibility for people with disabilities and the elderly by including an audio attention signal and vibration cadence on CMAS-capable handsets, and support subscribers who have roamed upon a CMS provider's network and the subscriber's mobile device is configured for and technically capable of receiving alert messages from the roamed upon network.
The FCC released the “Second Report and Order” for CMAS on Jul. 8, 2008. This Second Report and Order defined a Subscriber Alert Opt-Out feature which refers to the ability of a subscriber to configure his/her mobile device to not alert and present the receipt of a CMAS Alert message for which the subscriber has chosen to opt-out of receiving. With the exception of Presidential messages, which are always transmitted, the opt-out feature allows the choice to opt out of Imminent Threat Alert messages and Child Abduction Emergency/AMBER Alert messages.
ETWS satisfies the requirements concerning the distribution of emergency information on earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters and is based on NTT DOCOMO's Area Mail service in Japan. The Area Mail service began distributing earthquake warning messages to mobile terminals in 2007 to address the common occurrence of earthquakes in Japan. Although ETWS originated independently from CMAS, the technical realization of sending ETWS alert messages is identical to sending CMAS alert messages.
Common to CMAS and ETWS is the use of Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) for the delivery of alert messages from a CMS provider to a mobile handset. CBS, CMAS and ETWS specify the distribution area three different ways: (1) in CBS, the distribution area is specified in cell units, (2) in CMAS, the distribution area is specified by a geographic area that can be a combination of text description, polygon, circle, geocode and altitude/ceiling, and (3) in ETWS, the distribution area is specified with three levels of granularities: cell units, tracking area identifiers and emergency area identifiers.
A problem in the art is that CMAS and ETWS emergency alerts are only distributed to recipients within the designated geographic region. For example, a person living in New York cannot receive an alert when a tornado affects his/her elderly parents' hometown in Kansas.
More importantly, if a mobile phone user travels to a geographic area away from his/her home, then he/she will no longer receive alert notifications regarding his/her home location. Indeed, there are many scenarios where a person in one geographic area wants to know about an emergency alert in a different geographic area.
There is a need for a system and method for flexibly sending alert messages to recipients who are not located within the designated alert area.
In accordance with one aspect of this invention, disclosed is a method for sending Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) and Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) alert messages to recipients who are not located within a geographic area designated to receive the alert. The method includes: (a) receiving a request for sending an alert message wherein the request comprises a filter criteria, a notification method and a delivery address; (b) receiving an alert message; (c) determining the designated alert area in the received alert message; (d) applying the filter criteria from the received request to the received alert message to determine if the alert message should be sent to the recipient; (e) converting the received alert messages into a format compatible with the notification method; and (f) sending the converted alert message to the recipient based on the notification method and delivery address.
In accordance with another aspect of this invention, disclosed is a system for sending Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) and Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) alert messages to recipients who are not located within a geographic area designated to receive the alert. The system includes memory comprising instructions and a processor in communication with the memory wherein the processor, when executing the instructions, receives a request for sending an alert message wherein the request comprises a filter criteria, a notification method and a delivery address. Further, the processor, when executing the instructions, receives an alert message; determines the designated alert area in the received alert message; applies filter criteria from the received request to the received alert message to determine if the alert message should be sent to the recipient; converts the received alert messages into a format compatible with the notification method; and sends the converted alert message to the recipient based on the notification method and delivery address.
In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.
When the terms “coupled” and “connected”, along with their derivatives, are used herein, it should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Rather, in particular embodiments, “connected” is used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” is used to indicated that two or more elements are in either direct or indirect (with other intervening elements between them) physical or electrical contact with each other, or that the two or more elements co-operate or interact with each other (e.g., as in a cause-and-effect relationship).
Alert Gateway 119 sends alert messages to CMSP Gateway 121 across interface 120, which are formatted according to the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) as defined by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) in CAP-V1.1, dated October 2005, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The CMSP Gateway 120 receives alert messages and forwards them to a CMSP Infrastructure 123 for alert message processing. Processing within the CMSP Infrastructure 123 includes mapping a designated alert area in an alert message into cell units so that the alert message is directed to the appropriate cell sites and delivered using Cell Broadcast Service (CBS). Alert messages are then received by mobile phone 125 over wireless interface 124.
Processor 200 comprises an instruction processor 210, a memory 220, and an input/output 230. The instruction processor unit 210, memory 220, and input/output 230 are coupled together (coupling not shown in
The processor 200 is preferably implemented as a client processor and/or a server processor. In this exemplary basic configuration, the processor 200 includes at least one instruction processor 210 and memory 220. The memory 220 stores any information utilized in conjunction with transmitting, receiving, and/or processing recipient requests, alert messages, telephonic communications, data communications, etc. For example, as described above, the memory is capable of storing processing instructions for processing alert messages and recipient requests. Depending upon the configuration and type of processor, the memory 220 can be volatile (such as RAM) 221, non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) 222, or a combination thereof. The processor 200 can have additional features/functionality. For example, the processor 200 can include additional storage (removable storage 223 and/or non-removable storage 224) including, but not limited to, magnetic or optical disks, tape, flash, smart cards or a combination thereof. Computer storage media, such as memory and storage elements 220, 221, 222, 223, and 224, include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, universal serial bus (USB) compatible memory, smart cards, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the processor 200. Any such computer storage media may be part of the processor 200.
The processor 200 includes the communications connection(s) 233 that allow the processor 200 to communicate with other devices, for example with Alert Gateway 119 via interface 120 as illustrated in
At block 310, a request is received from a recipient interested in being sent alert messages designated for a location different his/her current location.
Turning now to
The set of notification methods that may be used include at least one member of a group consisting of: SMS, e-mail, phone, mobile device push notification, pager, social networking and multi-media messaging (MMS). The means for delivering an alert message via these notification methods is known to one skilled in the art. All such notification methods and means are contemplated as within the scope of the present disclosure.
In block 420 the recipient enters filter criteria. As depicted in blocks 430 and 440, filter criteria includes a geographic area of interest and types of events. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, additional filter criteria based on matching Extensible Markup Language (XML) tags and data in the alert message may be used and all such means and methods are contemplated as within the scope of the present disclosure.
Returning now to
At block 320, alert messages are received from Alert Gateway 119 via interface 120 as illustrated in
After applying the filter criteria in block 322, block 323 determines if the filter criteria are met. If the filter criteria are not met, then the method ends and the alert message is not sent to the recipient. If the filter criteria are met, the method continues to block 324 where the received alert message is converted to a format compatible with the notification method.
Turning to
Returning now to
Alert messages are sent from Alert Gateway 521 to the CMAS and ETWS Notification Server 530 across interface 522 and are formatted using the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) as defined by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) in CAP-V1.1, dated October 2005 incorporated herein by reference.
In this exemplary embodiment, the processor 200 depicted in
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, alternative information may be extracted from the alert message and sent to the recipient. All such means and methods are contemplated as within the scope of the present disclosure.
One exemplary embodiment for an alert message related to a severe thunderstorm warning is as follows:
One exemplary embodiment for an alert message related to an earthquake report is as follows:
As depicted in the previous two alert message embodiments above, CMAS alert messages are directed to a designated geographic area and contain standardized Extensible Markup Language (XML) tags and data that are used as filter criteria.
In the present invention, interested recipients receive alerts related to a geographic area that is different from their current location. In one embodiment, the designated geographic area is generated by an Alert Gateway communicatively connected to the CMAS. In other embodiments, the designated geographic area may be generated by any other device within or communicatively connected to the CMAS. The designated geographic area may be generated automatically, based on user input, or a combination of both.
In accordance with CMAS, a designated geographic area is described using several different representations. In one embodiment of a designated geographic area, the area is represented as a sequence of five characters. Such characters are letters or numbers, or a combination of both. Such characters are represented in ASCII codes, binary representations, or any other form or representation that allows such a code to be identified and read by computing devices. The first two characters or digits of designated geographic area identify the state or region of a geographical area. The last three characters or digits of the designated geographic area identify a specific county, region, or equivalent entities within the state or region identified by the first two characters or digits. Other quantities of characters or digits used to represent a geographical area, and other combinations of state, region, and geographical area identifiers are contemplated as within the scope of the present disclosure.
In another embodiment of a designated geographic area, the area is represented by a polygon with paired values of points defining coordinates of a polygon that delineates the affected area of the alert message.
In another embodiment of a geographic area, the area is represented by a circle with paired values representing the coordinates for the center point of the circle and a radius that delineates the affected area of the alert message.
By specifying a category for the filter criteria, interested recipients narrow the alerts received based on the following event categories:
By specifying an event type for the filter criteria, interested recipients narrow the alerts received based on the following event types:
By specifying timestamp information for the filter criteria, interested recipients narrow the alerts received based on a date/time range the alert message was sent.
While example embodiments of systems and methods for sending CMAS and ETWS alert messages to recipients who are not located within the designated alert area as described herein have been described in connection with various communications devices and computing devices/processors, the underlying concepts can be applied to any communications or computing device, processor, or system capable of receiving and processing notification requests and alert messages. The various techniques described herein can be implemented in connection with hardware or software or, where appropriate, with a combination of both. Thus, the methods and apparatuses for sending alert messages to recipients who are not located within the designated alert area, or certain aspects or portions thereof, can take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for sending alert messages to recipients who are not located within the designated alert area. In the case of program code execution on programmable computers, the computing device will generally include a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. The program(s) can be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. The language can be a compiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardware implementations.
The methods and systems for sending CMAS and ETWS alert messages to recipients who are not located within the designated alert area as described herein can also be practiced via communications embodied in the form of program code that is transmitted over some transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any other form of transmission, wherein, when the program code is received and loaded into and executed by a machine, such as an EPROM, a gate array, a programmable logic device (PLD), a client computer, or the like, the machine becomes an apparatus for sending alert messages to recipients who are not located within the designated alert area. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates to invoke the functionality of sending alert messages to recipients who are not located within the designated alert area. Additionally, any storage techniques used in connection with an alert message processing system can invariably be a combination of hardware and software.
While the systems and methods for sending CMAS and ETWS alert messages to recipients who are not located within the designated alert area have been described in connection with the various embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments can be used or modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments for performing the same functions of an alert message processing system without deviating from the described systems and methods. For example, one skilled in the art will recognize that an alert message processing system as described in the present application may apply to any environment, whether wired or wireless, and may be applied to any number of such devices connected via a communications network and interacting across the network. Therefore, an alert message processing system such as those described herein should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.
