U.S. patent application number 12/048316 was filed with the patent office on 2008-07-03 for method and system for rapid dissemination of public announcements.
Invention is credited to Dinesh Chandra VERMA, Paridhi VERMA.
Application Number | 20080162667 12/048316 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36972311 |
Filed Date | 2008-07-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080162667 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
VERMA; Dinesh Chandra ; et
al. |
July 3, 2008 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RAPID DISSEMINATION OF PUBLIC
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and system for
disseminating urgent public announcements over an IP-based network.
One or a plurality of Internet- or Intranet-connected servers
receive and store data identifying particular geographic locations
to current announcements. The servers identify IP addresses of
users making URL requests or requests for target applications (an
access point by which a network-connectable mobile device is
connected to an Internet- or Intranet-connected server), determine
a location for each user from the user's IP address (or access
point), and determine whether an IP address (or access point) of a
user corresponds to a location for which an announcement has been
posted. If the user is identified to a location for which a current
announcement is available, the announcement is displayed to the
user. The announcement may be displayed by redirecting the user to
a web page containing the announcement. Alternatively, the
announcement may be displayed in a pop-up window or in a banner on
a web page requested by said user. A banner displaying such an
announcement may incorporate a link to permit the user to click
through to a web page containing a more detailed version of the
announcement.
Inventors: |
VERMA; Dinesh Chandra;
(Mount Kisco, NY) ; VERMA; Paridhi; (Mount Kisco,
NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Whitham, Curtis, & Christofferson, P.C.
Suite 340, 11491 Sunset Hills Road
Reston
VA
20190
US
|
Family ID: |
36972311 |
Appl. No.: |
12/048316 |
Filed: |
March 14, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11077146 |
Mar 11, 2005 |
|
|
|
12048316 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/218 ;
709/224 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 67/18 20130101;
G06Q 10/10 20130101; H04W 4/02 20130101; G08B 27/005 20130101; H04L
29/12783 20130101; H04L 67/02 20130101; H04W 4/029 20180201; H04L
61/35 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/218 ;
709/224 |
International
Class: |
G06F 15/173 20060101
G06F015/173; G06F 15/16 20060101 G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A method for disseminating public announcements over an IP-based
network, wherein there is one or a plurality of Internet- or
Intranet-connected servers performing the steps of: receiving and
storing data identifying current announcements and particular
locations to which they relate; identifying either IP addresses of
users making requests, for either a URL or a target application, to
an Internet- or Intranet-connected server, or an access point by
which a network-connectable mobile device is connected to an
Internet- or Intranet-connected server; determining a location for
each of said users from either said IP addresses or said access
point; determining whether an IP address or an access point of a
user is an IP address or an access point corresponding to a
location for which an announcement has been posted; and displaying
said announcement to said user.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said announcement is displayed to
said user by redirecting the user to a web page containing said
announcement.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein said announcement is displayed in
a pop-up window.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said announcement is displayed to
said user in a banner on a web page requested by said user.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein said banner incorporates a link
to permit said user to click through to a web page containing a
more detailed version of the announcement displayed in the
banner.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of using a
router to identify IP addresses or access points of users making
requests to an Internet or Intranet-connected server.
7. A system for disseminating public announcements over an IP-based
network, comprised of one or a plurality of Internet- or
Intranet-connected servers with: means to receive and store data
identifying current announcements and particular locations to which
they relate; means to identify either IP addresses of users making
requests, for either a URL or a target application, to an Internet-
or Intranet-connected server, or an access point to which a
network-connectable mobile device is connected to an Internet- or
Intranet-connectable server; means to determine a location for each
of said users from said IP addresses or said access point; means to
determine whether an IP address or an access point of a user is an
IP address or an access point corresponding to a location for which
an announcement has been posted; and means to display said
announcement to said user.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein said means to display said
announcement redirects the user to a web page containing said
announcement.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein said means to display said
announcement comprises a pop-up window.
10. The system of claim 7, wherein said means to display said
announcement displays said announcement in a banner on a web page
requested by said user.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein said banner incorporates a link
to permit said user to click through to a web page containing a
more detailed version of the announcement displayed in the
banner.
12. The system of claim 7, further comprising a router employed to
identify IP addresses or access points of users making requests to
an Internet- or Intranet-connected server.
13. A network-based warning or public announcement system,
comprising: a plurality of servers that are selectively connectable
to a plurality of clients, each of said plurality of clients
capable of providing at least one of said plurality of servers with
a network address, said plurality of servers being connected by a
network; one or more tables which correlate location information
for one or more of said plurality of clients with said network
address; and a source of a warning or public announcement which
electronically provides a warning or public announcement to at
least a portion of said plurality of clients, without action being
taken by said portion of said plurality of clients, using at least
a portion of said plurality of servers and at least one of said one
or more tables based on said location information.
14. The network-based warning or public announcement system of
claim 13, wherein said warning or public announcement
electronically provided by said source causes at least one of a
visual, textual or audible signal to be reproduced at at least one
client of said plurality of clients.
15. The network-based warning or public announcement system of
claim 13, wherein said one or more tables and said plurality of
servers function to transmit said warning or public announcement
only to a select portion of said plurality of clients based on said
location information.
16. The network-based warning or public announcement system of
claim 13, wherein said network address is an IP address of said
client.
17. The network-based warning or public announcement system of
claim 13, wherein said network address is a GPS coordinate of said
client.
18. The network-based warning or public announcement system of
claim 13, wherein said network address is the identity of an access
point to which said client is identified.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention generally relates to the dissemination
of public announcements and, more particularly, to the rapid
dissemination of urgent public announcements using client computers
connected to a network, including an Internet Protocol-based
network such as the Internet or a private Intranet.
[0003] 2. Background Description
[0004] The Emergency Broadcast System is a well-established means
for rapid dissemination of urgent public announcements by
interrupting regularly scheduled programming on traditional
broadcast communications media such as radio and television.
Traditional broadcast communications media are well suited for the
rapid dissemination of urgent public announcements because the
systems employed by such media are characterized by a large number
of user terminals (such as radios or television sets) in a
concentrated geographic area, which are configured to receive a
continuous stream of a relatively limited selection of information
content (such as entertainment) from a relatively limited number of
transmitters (such as local television or radio stations). In
addition, the continuously streaming nature of radio and television
means that program interruptions may have an immediate impact on
the information content being displayed by a user terminal. Thus, a
large number of persons in a given geographic area may be reached
almost immediately by interrupting a relatively small amount of
television or radio programming.
[0005] Increasingly, however, people are spending time using the
Internet instead of listening to radio or watching television. As
of October, 2004, approximately two-thirds of the U.S. population
regularly used the Internet, and the time devoted by average
Internet user to the Internet was approximately 1.7 times as much
as the time devoted by the average Internet user to watching
television.
[0006] As radio and television increasingly lose audience to the
Internet, communities are experiencing a decline in the number of
people who can be reached at any given moment by interrupting
regularly scheduled radio or television programming.
[0007] Communities are not currently able to disseminate urgent
public announcements to persons while they are engaged in operating
user terminals to access the Internet, unless there is a radio or
television set turned on in the background. Thus, there is an
unfilled need for a capability to disseminate urgent public
announcements through the Internet, in addition to using
conventional radio and television.
[0008] Technical differences between the Internet and conventional
broadcast media have made it difficult or impossible to establish
an Internet equivalent of the Emergency Broadcast System. For
example, as noted, radio and television are characterized by a
relatively limited number of centralized transmitters broadcasting
a continuous stream of a relatively limited selection of
entertainment and other information content to a relatively large
number of user terminals in a relatively concentrated geographic
area.
[0009] Unlike radio and television, the Internet is characterized
by a relatively large number of geographically dispersed servers
providing information content to a relatively small number of user
terminals per server, with little or no attention paid to the
users' geographic location. Such differences between the Internet
and conventional radio or television have made it difficult or
impossible to implement an Internet equivalent of the Emergency
Broadcast System prior to the present invention.
[0010] Existing art systems for making announcements over the
Internet consist of either (a) posting announcements on a web site,
thus requiring a user proactively to access the web site to look
for urgent announcements; (b) sending announcements by email, thus
requiring users to access their email before becoming aware of an
announcement requiring their attention; or (c) including
announcements in an XML-based Rich Site Summary (RSS) feed, thus
requiring users to install specialized RSS software on their
browsers, to have the software configured to provide new feeds
promptly, and to subscribe to an RSS service used to disseminate
the announcement in question. Current RSS feeds use insecure
communication channels.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a method and system for rapid dissemination of urgent
public announcements to persons who are occupied by accessing the
Internet using client-side software such as a browser.
[0012] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
such a method and system to Internet users who do not have an open
and available email client and an appropriately configured RSS
feed, and to do so requiring users proactively to access a web site
to see if there are any urgent announcements requiring the user's
attention.
[0013] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
such a method and system to users of cell phones and Internet users
connected to network providers using mobile wireless broadband
connections.
[0014] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
such a method and system to drivers in cars and other
transportation vehicles who have services dependent on Geographical
Position Sensing (GPS) technology within their vehicles.
[0015] According to the invention, there may be various approaches
to implementing an Internet Emergency Alert System (IEAS), all of
which depend on the ability to identify Internet users by
geographic location. That ability is conventionally available. For
example, the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of Internet
users--which are provided to web sites to enable a requested web
page to be loaded on the user terminal of a requesting user--can be
used to identify Internet users' geographic locations. This is
conventionally done through the use of commercially available
databases developed to enable web sites to map users' IP addresses
to their geographic locations. Given the current state of the art
for mapping IP addresses to localities, therefore, it is possible
to identify the locations of Internet users for the purpose of
giving customized emergency alerts to users in specific
localities.
[0016] The Internet is only sometimes employed in modes that
involve the continuous streaming of data in the manner of radio or
television programming, which may be instantly interrupted by an
emergency announcement. Nevertheless, web pages tend to be
refreshed frequently, and Internet users typically move relatively
quickly from one universal resource locator (URL) to another. As a
result, the normal mode of Internet use affords ready opportunity
to provide users with urgent public announcements as discussed
below.
[0017] One approach to implementing the present invention may be
employed where an IEAS service controls or has the cooperation of a
proxy that provides service for an audience of target users. Such
proxies may include Internet service providers, which necessarily
control their subscribers' Internet access, and they may also
include private Intranets. While Internet service providers and
private Intranets may have ready access to users' geographic
locations, other possible proxy sites may determine geographic
location from users' IP addresses as discussed above. In either
case, the geographic location of a user may be cross-referenced to
a list of posted local alerts. Having identified a user as being
within a geographic location for which an IEAS alert has been
posted, the proxy may then redirect a URL request (or a request for
a target application) from such a user's browser to a public alert
site displaying an urgent public announcement for the user's
geographic location. Users whose geographic locations are not
associated with a public alert would not have their browsers
redirected but would instead access the URL (or target application)
as originally requested. Proxies may be implemented in a
transparent manner. An Internet service provider may configure the
routers, switches or other devices at its points of access so that
they redirect all network communications from customers subject to
an IEAS site when there is an emergency in the geographic
location.
[0018] Another approach may be used when control of a proxy site is
not available, or to communicate with users who are not served by a
proxy site that is cooperating with the IEAS service. To reach such
users, an IEAS service may enlist the participation of popular web
sites to obtain access to relatively small areas on their web pages
for use as alert areas in disseminating public alerts. An alert
area could be a banner, among other configurations. Alternatively,
the alert area could take the form of a pop-up window. A
cooperating web site could employ conventional means to identify
the geographic location of a user accessing the web site's URL
through a browser. If the user's geographic location corresponds to
a geographic location for which a public alert has been posted, the
participating web site would then display an urgent public
announcement in the alert area previously set up for that purpose.
Such a public alert could include a hyperlink to enable users to
click through to a public alert web page, which may be the same web
page to which proxy servers are redirecting users according to the
first approach to an IEAS service, as discussed above.
[0019] The proxy based approach can be used for disseminating
broadcast information to users of cell-phone services or the users
of mobile broadband users within a geographical area. All cell
phones operate by connecting to an access point or a tower in their
geographical location. The access point can intercept the calls
made by cell phones from a location affected by an emergency.
[0020] In the case of users identified to geographic locations for
which no public alert has been posted, the space on the web page
reserved for use as an alert area could be employed by the
participating web site for other purposes (including, but not
limited to, the display of advertising) when such users access the
site.
[0021] An IEAS service may employ both approaches, with proxies
redirecting users in a selected geographic location to an IEAS
public alert web page, while cooperating web sites provide banner
public alert messages to users in the selected geographic location,
potentially including a link to enable users to click through to an
IEAS public alert web page. Users of the Internet can also use the
web site to provide feedback and update to emergency officials,
e.g. a person whose only exit route has been cut off by an
emergency may notify officials to make alternate rescue
arrangements.
[0022] A structured format may be employed for creating public
alert messages, and electronic forms may be provided to enable
authorized users to input alerts. Such forms may contain a
relatively simple structured format for alert messages, including
such categories as severity of alerts, text message to display,
time of issuance of alert, and time of expiration of alert. The
severity of alerts could be signaled by the use of distinct
background colors on the IEAS public alert web page according to an
established coding system (e.g., red, orange, yellow, etc.).
[0023] An IEAS service may simultaneously disseminate separate
public alerts for different communities, distributing new alerts to
participating proxies and web sites. Depending on the population of
areas to which public alerts relate, a large number of users say
millions of users may simultaneously seek access to one or more
IEAS public alert web pages. An IEAS public alert web site must
therefore be capable of handling a large number of users.
[0024] Various techniques are available for handling the peak load
requirements of an IEAS service, including but not limited to the
use of a series of distributed sites for IEAS servers and the use
of geographic load-balancing techniques. A content delivery network
(CDN) service, with appropriate extensions for security, could be
employed to enable public alert data to be cached throughout an
edge network maintained by the CDN service. Such duplication of
content throughout the Internet would facilitate the handling of
peak loads and provide users with quicker access than if the data
were to reside exclusively on a single server.
[0025] Hackers, pranksters, and even terrorists may try to subvert
an IEAS service by creating and posting falsified alerts, which may
cause immediate panic and, over a longer term, may tend to
undermine public confidence and trust in the IEAS service. IEAS
public alert web sites are therefore likely to implement security
measures in order to maintain public confidence and trust. One such
measure is the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer
Security) TLS protocols to assure secure access to the IEAS
service.
[0026] While browsers may appear to be the most suitable means for
users to receive an IEAS public alert, other client-side software
(including, but not limited to, plug-ins and extensions for
browsers) may be used which would allow clients to input or store
IEAS alert preferences, to provide more granular geographic
location data about a user, or to identify additional geographic
locations for which a user wants to receive alerts. Such
client-side software applications may include text messaging
applications, mobile browsers, or other software running on a
mobile Internet-capable device such as a cell phone or personal
digital assistant. Such additional client-side software may also
permit more effective filtering of alert messages according to
their relevance to the user.
[0027] The present invention may also be used within an enterprise
computing environment to provide alerts to users of an Intranet.
While enterprises may already use Intranets to disseminate some
announcements, there is an increasing need for enterprises to limit
the dissemination of some announcements to, for example, workers
located in a particular facility. Enterprises are increasingly
dispersed geographically, and an increasing number of workers are
working remotely from their homes or other locations. A
conventional audio public address system, while effective for
notifying persons within a specific building, cannot reach workers
outside the building. Thus, an Intranet-based implementation of the
present invention may enable enterprises to disseminate
announcements more effectively.
[0028] An enterprise-based or Intranet implementation of the
present invention may also enable an enterprise system to serve as
an IEAS proxy for the purpose of disseminating IEAS public alerts
to workers located within affected localities, according to the
present invention.
[0029] Thus, the present invention provides a system and a method
for disseminating announcements over an IP-based network, wherein
there is one or a plurality of Internet- or Intranet-connected
servers which: (a) receive and store data identifying particular
locations to current announcements; (b) identify either (i) IP
addresses of users making requests, for either a URL or a target
application, to an Internet- or Intranet-connected server or (ii)
an access point by which a network-connectable mobile device,
including, but not limited to, a cellular telephone (cell phone) or
personal digital assistant (PDA), is connected to an Internet- or
Intranet-connected sever; (c) determine a location for each of said
users from either said IP addresses or said access point; (d)
determine whether an IP address or an access point of a user is an
IP address or an access point corresponding to a location for which
an announcement has been posted; and (e) display said announcement
to said user. The announcement may be displayed to the user by
redirecting the user to a web page containing said announcement.
The announcement may also be displayed in a pop-up window.
Alternatively, the announcement may be displayed to the user in a
banner on a web page requested by the user. Said banner may
incorporate a link to permit the user to click through to a web
page containing a more detailed version of the announcement
displayed in the banner. The link and the corresponding web site
may be used to provide information by general public relating to
the emergency to officers responding to the emergency. As noted,
user's location may also be determined from an access point to
which a network-connectable mobile device, including, but not
limited to, a cell phone or PDA, employed by the user is connected
to the network, instead of from the user's IP address. In some
mobile applications, an alert announcement may be provided in a
combined audio-visual or in an audio-only format. Finally, a router
may be employed to identify IP addresses of users making requests
(for either a URL or a target application) to an Internet-connected
server.
[0030] The present invention further provides a network-based
warning or public announcement system comprising: (a) a plurality
of servers that are selectively connectable to a plurality of
clients, each of said plurality of clients capable of providing at
least one of said plurality of servers with an IP address, said
plurality of servers being connected by a network; (b) one or more
tables which correlate location information for one or more of said
plurality of clients with said IP address; and (c) a source of a
warning or public announcement which electronically provides a
warning or public announcement to at least a portion of said
plurality of client, without action being taken by said portion of
said plurality of clients, using at least a portion of said
plurality servers and at least one of said one or more tables based
on said location information. The warning or public announcement
electronically provided by said source in said network-based
warning or public announcement system may cause at least one of a
visual, textual or audible signal to be reproduced at least one
client of said plurality of clients. In addition, said one or more
tables and said plurality of servers in said warning or public
announcement system may function to transmit said warning or public
announcement only to a select portion of said plurality of clients
based on said location information. The network address employed in
said network-based warning or public announcement system may be the
IP address of said client. Alternatively, said network address may
be the GPS coordinate of said client or the identity of an access
point to which said client is identified. The client may be a
personal computer or other conventional computing device, or it may
be a network-connectable mobile device, including, but not limited
to, a cell phone or PDA.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will
be better understood from the following detailed description of a
preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the
drawings, in which:
[0032] FIG. 1 is a representation of an IP-based network configured
for disseminating public announcements.
[0033] FIG. 2 is a representation of an IP-based network configured
for disseminating public announcements in which an announcement is
displayed by redirecting the user to a web page containing the
announcement.
[0034] FIG. 3 is a representation of an IP-based network configured
for disseminating public announcements in which a proxy redirects
the user to a web page containing the announcement.
[0035] FIG. 4 is a representation of a public announcement
displayed on an IP client.
[0036] FIG. 5 is a representation of an IP based network configured
for disseminating public information in which a router acts as a
transparent proxy to redirect the user to a web-page containing the
announcement.
[0037] FIG. 6 is a representation of the apparatus required at the
IEAS server for the purpose of disseminating public information to
users on the Internet.
[0038] FIG. 7 is a representation of a mobile network configured
for disseminating public information in which an access point acts
as a means for providing the user public announcements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0039] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG.
1, there is shown a user 11 employing a user terminal to access a
web site on an Internet-connected server 12 which has received and
stored an alert table 13 provided by an Internet Emergency Alert
System (IEAS) server 14, which identifies current public
announcements and particular geographic locations to which they
relate. In step 100, the Internet Emergency Alert System Server 14
updates and maintains the information stored in the alert table 13.
When the user 11 access the Internet-connected server 12 in step
101, the Internet-connected server 12 provides an appropriate alert
in step 102. The alert provided in step 102 is based on the data in
the alert table 13. FIG. 1 provides an overview of the overall
operation of the system.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 2, a user makes a request to a target web
site in step 21. The target web site then consults an IEAS server
in step 22. The IEAS server has previously received alert data from
a IEAS source in step 29. An IEAS source could be a Government
official or other entity who is authorized to issue alerts to the
geographical population at large. Based on this alert data and a
database of IP address data or other user location data, the IEAS
server determines whether any public alert relevant to the user
and/or the target web site is in place and then communicates that
determination, along with any public alert, to the target web site
in step 23. Based on the data received from the IEAS server, the
target web site provides the user with a response which either does
or does not include a public alert announcement, as appropriate, in
step 24.
[0041] FIG. 2 provides an embodiment of the Internet emergency
alert system when the alert is provided by means of agreements
among several web sites and an IEAS server. Variants of the above
embodiment can be developed using the state of the art technology
in caching and content distribution. The alert information from the
IEAS server can be cached at the target web site, so that the
target web site need not access IEAS on every user interaction.
State of the art caching algorithms may be used to maintain the
alert table at the target web site current.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 3, a user makes a request to a proxy in
step 31. The proxy then consults a IEAS server in step 32. The IEAS
server has previously received alert data from a IEAS source in
step 39. Based on this alert data and a database of IP address data
or other user location data, the IEAS server determines whether any
public alert relevant to the user and/or the target web site is in
place and then communicates that determination, along with any
relevant public alert, to the proxy in step 33. If there is no
alert relevant to the user, the proxy passes the user's request to
the target web set in step 34 and then receives a response from the
target web site in step 35, which is passed on to the user in step
36. However, if there is an alert relevant to the user, the proxy
skips steps 34 and 35 and provides the user with the applicable
public alert received from the PA site, instead of accessing the
target web site as requested by the user, in step 36.
[0043] FIG. 3 provides an embodiment which can be readily used by
Internet Service Providers and enterprises which operate proxy
servers to improve, control, or otherwise influence their users or
employees connect to the Internet. Proxies are used in the current
state of the art for a variety of TCP/IP based applications,
including web-proxies, file transfer proxies, mail-proxies, etc.
Variants of the embodiment described above can also be used. One
possible variant would be for the proxy to combine the alert
information obtained in step 33 with the response from target web
site obtained in step 35 and present the combination to the user,
instead of presenting only the alert information. One possible way
to combine alert information for web-proxies is to display the
alert in a special header or banner area of a web-page.
[0044] FIG. 4 shows a public alert that may be displayed to a user.
The alert notification may have a color code 41 based on severity
of the emergency, a alert header 42 displayed prominently in large
font, a brief description 43 that provides a concise overview of
the alert conditions, an instruction 44 that provides information
on actions to be taken by the user, a URL 45 that can be used to
access more details about the alert condition, an identification of
the location 46 where alerts are to be displayed, the date 47 and
the time 48 of the notification. Furthermore, various language
preferences may be implemented, and the size of window may be
adjusted (full screen, half screen, etc.) based on severity of the
emergency or other factors. The above description of an alert is
intended to be exemplary, and different embodiments may include
additional fields, and display the fields in a different
manner.
[0045] FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention in
which the generation of alerts is done by means of an IP router. As
compared to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, this embodiment does
not require the presence of a proxy server in the network. A router
is a device that forwards IP packets in the network, and current
TCP/IP networks deploy several routers for their operation. In the
ordinary course of operation, a user 501 accesses a target
application 502. The access is conducted by means of exchanging
several IP packets which are transmitted among the user 501 and the
target 502 through a set of routers. One of the routers 503 can be
modified to implement support for displaying alerts to the user.
During normal operation, the user 501 generates IP packets and
sends them within the network in step 51. When the router 503
receives these packets, it relays them to the target application
502 in step 52. A set of response IP packets may be generated by
target application 502 in step 53, and the router 503 forwards
these packets to the user application 501 in step 54. However, when
there is a need for emergency information to be disseminated, the
forwarding process of IP Packets is modified by the router. A
source for Internet Emergency alert service (IEAS Source 504) could
be a Government official or otherwise authorized entity which is
allowed to provide notification for emergency alert. In step 56,
the IEAS source 504 informs an IEAS server 505 of an emergency
which needs to be disseminated. The IEAS server 505 then modifies
the configuration or router 503 in step 57. The router 503 will
then forward packets in the emergency alert mode. In this mode,
when the user 501 sends a packet intended for the target
application 502 in step 581, the router 503 forwards that packet to
the IEAS server 505. in step 582 The IEAS server 505 responds with
a set of packets in step 583, which are forwarded by the router 503
over to the user 501 in step 584. These packets carry the
information required to display the alert system.
[0046] The router 503 can be augmented with state of the art
efficiency mechanisms for the redirection of packets described in
FIG. 5. Thus, router 503 may be designed to only forward a subset
of packets (e.g. those initiating a connection or carrying the SYN
flag in the TCP protocol, or packets which run on TCP/IP port 80 or
some other subset of packets). If the router 503 is forwarding
packets from multiple users, and only a subset of users is affected
by an emergency alert, then the router 503 may only forward the
packets originating from that subset of users. The embodiment shown
in FIG. 5 can be used in mobile broadband access networks deploying
communication technologies such as 802.16 and 802.20 where the
router 503 is located at the access points of the service providers
offering mobile broadband IP access. In other variations of this
embodiment, router 503 may only be present in the path of packets
sent from user 501 to target application 503, but need not be
present in the reverse path of packets sent from the target
application 503 to user 501. In these cases, the IEAS server 505
may send packets to the user 501 through other set of routers in
step 583, and step 584 may be eliminated.
[0047] FIG. 6 shows the structure of the software apparatus needed
at the IEAS server described in previous figures. The IEAS server
consists of an access protocol module 601, a geographical location
mapping module 602, an alert table module 603, a alert processor
604, and a alert creation module 605. The access protocol module
601 is responsible for processing the protocol required by users to
access the IEAS server, and for authorized personnel and IEAS
sources to create new types of alerts. The access protocol module
601 provides the IP address of a user accessing the server to the
geographical location mapping module 602. IP addresses are unique
numbers assigned to computers using the TCP/IP protocols. An
example of an IP address is 9.2.22.89. The geographical location
mapping module 602 is responsible for mapping the IP address of the
user to a geographical locality. An example of geographic locality
would be "New York" or "Buffalo, N.Y.". The geographical location
of the user is provided by the geographical location mapping module
to the alert table module 603. The alert table module 603 contains
a table mapping the geographical location to a set of active
alerts. The alert table module 603 provides the active alert to the
alert processor 604, which converts this into an alert message
passed back to the protocol module 601 for transmitting back to the
user.
[0048] The protocol module 601 also provides new alerts that may
originate from an authorized IEAS source to the alert creation
module 605. The alert creation module 605 is responsible for
obtaining and storing entries from the alter table contained in
alert module 603.
[0049] In other embodiments, properties different than IP addresses
can be used to map users to specific localities, e.g. user
specified preferences can be used in addition to the IP addresses
to determine the geographic location of a user, or Global
Positioning System (GPS) coordinates may be used to determine the
geographic location of a user. The address of a network attached
device, e.g. an access point for wireless communication, can also
be used to determine the geographic location of a user.
[0050] FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of this invention when used by a
cellular mobile phone operator to provide emergency broadcast
notifications to all cell-phone subscribers who are within a
specific geographical region. The users of a cellular mobile phone
operator or the Internet users of a mobile broadband access
provider would connect to the cellular telephone (cell phone)
network, or the Internet by means of an access point. As shown in
FIG. 7, the user of a cell phone 701 is associated at a given time
with a cell phone access tower 703. The cell phone 701 will
associate with the cell phone access tower 703 when it comes within
its geographic vicinity by communicating with it in step 71. The
cell phone access tower 703 may have more than one cell phone
associated with it. The cell phone access tower 703 is informed on
an emergency situation by the IEAS server 704, such information
occurring in step 72. The cell phone access tower 703 can notify
the user 701 of the emergency situation by initiating a phone call
to the user 701 in step 73. If the user 701 is currently engaged in
a cell-phone conversation with another user, the cell phone access
tower 703 may interrupt the phone conversation in step 73 to inform
the user 701 of the emergency.
[0051] The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 can also be used to provide
emergency notification to drivers of automobiles or other vehicles
that are equipped with GPS (Global Position System) devices and
subscribe to vehicle emergency services, including, but not limited
to, services provided by OnStar.RTM. (a registered service mark of
General Motors Corporation). In these cases, the role of the access
tower 703 is performed by the controller system of the OnStar.RTM.
service which maps the GPS location of a vehicle to determine if an
emergency alert is applicable to the area in which the vehicle is
located. Announcements relating to road conditions and/or hazards
could be disseminated to users whose locations and/or
network-connection types would suggest that they are (or are likely
to be) driving (or riding in) automobiles. As noted above, in some
mobile applications, an alert announcement may be provided in a
combined audio-visual or in an audio-only format.
[0052] While the invention has been described in terms of a single
preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that
the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit
and scope of the appended claims.
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