United States Patent [191
`Carrier et al.
`
`llllllllllllllIllllllillllllllllllllllllllIlllllllllilllllllllllllIllllllll I
`US005195126A
`5,195,126
`Patent Number:
`Mar. 16, 1993
`Date of Patent:
`
`[11]
`[45]
`
`[54] EMERGENCY ALERT AND SECURITY
`APPARATUS AND METHOD
`
`[75] Inventors: Brian Carrier, Mechanicsville, Va.;
`Kathleen A. Maier, Rockville, Md.
`
`[73] Assignee: Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc., ‘
`Alexandria, Va.
`
`[21] Appl. No.: 697,380
`
`[22] Filed:
`
`May 9, 1991
`
`[51] Int. Cl.-‘ . . . . .
`. . . . . .. H04M 11/04
`[52] US. Cl. ...................................... .. 379/45; 379/46;
`379/49; 379/51
`[58] Field of Search .................................. .. 379/39-47,
`379/49, 51, 67, 88, 89, 201, 211, 142
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4,219,698 8/1980 Birilli et al. .
`4,237,344 12/1980 Moore .
`4,417,100 11/1983 Carlson et al. .
`4,491,970 l/l985 LaWhite et a1. .
`4,510,350 4/1985 Wagner .
`4,565,902 l/l986 Phillipps et a1. .
`4,602,129 7/1986 Matthews et a1. .................. .. 379/89
`4,881,252 11/1989 Jones et a1. .
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Popular Science, Jun., 1982, “Zap Your Mom“ adver
`tisement. May 9, 1991,
`
`Primaty Examiner-James L. Dwyer
`Assistant Examiner-Wing F. Chan
`
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lowe, Price, LeBlanc &
`Becker
`ABSTRACT
`[57]
`A telecommunications system which includes a 911 and
`voice message service platform for providing such ser
`vices as telephone answering, voice mail and call com
`pletion. An emergency/safety noti?cation system is
`incorporated and includes a monitor/ router device pas
`sively connected to the 911 trunk to detect number
`identi?cation signals. A ?rst storage is provided with
`the monitor/router and has stored therein data identify
`ing telephone stations subscribing to the emergency
`alert service. The monitor/router is connectable to the
`VMS platform and transmits thereto the identi?cation
`of subscriber stations whose identity is detected from
`the 911 trunk. The VMS platform is provided with
`second storage for storing voice data signals generated
`by the subscriber stations in addition to data including
`the identity of destination telephone stations to whom
`the voice data is to be provided. A switch connects the
`VMS platform to the destination telephone stations to
`deliver the voice message data at the command of the
`subscriber telephone stations. The network is structured
`to provide both the 911 call and the voice message
`delivery simultaneously or separately. The ‘delivery
`may be initiated by manual dialing or auto-dialing under
`the control of a remote unit containing a radio transmit
`ter and actuating buttons. The system includes appara
`tus to monitor the delivery of said voice data and upon
`detecting failure to establish connection to effect such
`delivery to initiate a call to the subscriber station and/ or
`911.
`
`18 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets
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`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 16, 1993
`
`Sheet 1 of 8
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`5,195,126
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`Intrado Ex. 1030 - 2
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`US. Patent
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`Mar. 16, 1993
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`Sheet 2 of 8
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`Mar. 16, 1993
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`Sheet 3 of 8
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`Mar. 16, 1993
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`Mar. 16, 1993
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`US. Patent
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`Mar. 16, 1993
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`Sheet 6 of 8
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`Intrado Ex. 1030 - 7
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 16, 1993
`
`Sheet 7 of 8
`
`5,195,126
`
`Fig. 13
`
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`Intrado Ex. 1030 - 8
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 16, 1993
`
`Sheet 8 of 8
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`5,195,126
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`

`

`1
`
`EMERGENCY ALERT AND SECURITY
`APPARATUS AND METHOD
`
`5,195,126
`2
`scription in this patent also references a series of patents
`disclosing similar systems.
`Moore U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,344 discloses a health care
`communicator wherein a patient pushes a button on a
`hand held remote control to cause automatic dialing at
`a console unit and delivery of a prerecorded message.
`LaWhite et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,970 describes a
`wristwatch or neck pendant radio transmitter for actu
`ating a telephone emergency alarm. The radio signal
`actuates a residential telephone for sending an alarm to
`a central station in response to actuation of a switch ‘or
`a call button.
`Carlson et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,100 describes a por
`table radio transmitter having a distress button. De
`pressing the button signals a radio receiver which
`causes auto-dialing of a telephone a delivery of an emer
`gency signal such as a tone.
`
`10
`
`20
`
`35
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`The present invention relates to safety and security
`communications systems and, in particular, to such
`systems integrated with and supplementary to public
`switched telephone networks providing enhanced tele~
`communication services.
`BACKGROUND ART
`There is a recognized need for promptly providing
`appropriate noti?cation to cognizant entities in the
`event of the occurrence of emergency or precautionary
`situations. The now familiar 911 telephone service has
`evolved in response to the emergency aspect of that
`need. Other alarm systems utilizing the public switched
`telephone network have been proposed as exempli?ed
`by the following illustrative examples:
`Wagner U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,350 describes a personal
`alarm apparatus capable of being worn in the form of a
`wristwatch for transmitting a radio frequency alarm
`signal to actuate a relay station in the customer’s home.
`The relay station is connected to a telephone and upon
`actuation dials a sequence of telephone numbers and
`delivers a recorded message. Each transmitter is associ
`ated with a relay base unit which contains EPROMs
`which store a series of different telephone numbers in
`addition to a recorded voice message. The voice mes
`sage can be altered. A microprocessor compares the
`code of the transmitter with the stored code, identi?es
`the subscriber, and retrieves from the EPROM the
`appropriate telephone number to be dialed as well as the
`message to be transmitted. The transmitter and relay
`station are provided as customer premise equipment.
`An advertisement in Popular Science, June 1982, enti
`tled “Zap Your Mom", describes a table mount module
`associated with a telephone to automatically dial four
`40
`emergency numbers and give an emergency message at
`the press of a button. The device is triggered either by
`a button on the module itself or by a button on a small
`pager unit adapted to be worn. The message is repro
`duced from a solid state voice synthesized integrated
`45
`circuit and may state, for example, “Emergency. Help
`needed at "*-**"*.” The unit repeats the phone num
`ber of the calling party. This device is intended to alert
`police, ?re departments and paramedics. It is also stated
`that other of the emergency numbers may be close
`relatives or a neighbor for the purpose of rendering
`immediate assistance while the emergency vehicles are
`on the way.
`Jones et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,252 discloses a small
`portable transmitter which is activated in case of an
`emergency to either notify the warden of a prison or to
`call a preprogrammed number through actuation of an
`auto-dialer.
`Phillipps U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,902 describes an alarm
`module having a “HELP” button which is activated in
`case of an emergency to effect automatic seizing of a
`line and dialing through an auto-dialer. The background
`of the invention described in this patent describes other
`devices of a similar nature.
`Birille et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,698 describes an alarm
`system utilizing a radio transmitter in conjunction with
`a receiver to remotely dial a number and deliver a re
`corded message. The background of the invention de
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention is directed to a system and
`service which will provide safety, security and urgent
`messaging services to residential telephone customers
`and enhance local and state emergency services. It en
`sures that multiple persons will be noti?ed in case of a
`medical emergency, ?re, intrusion or other situations of
`immediate urgency at the customer’s home. It offers
`senior citizens, dual-income families with children (par
`ticularly “latch key") children, “care givers" (son,
`daughter, friend, etc.) who have care giving responsibil
`ities for the aged or handicapped, and other telephone
`customer’s control over who is noti?ed and the ?exibil
`ity of generating their own personalized noti?cation
`message. The system provides a simple, high quality,
`inexpensive, feature rich service which enhances the
`customer’s safety and security, offers peace of mind,
`and allows family and care givers to “show they care".
`The system is capable of providing effective and ef?
`cient emergency alert noti?cation and is sometimes
`referred to herein as an emergency alert service.
`The system and service may be provided in multiple
`embodiments. In one embodiment, when a customer
`dials “911", the system simultaneously places a call to
`predetermined telephone numbers with a personalized
`message indicating that there is a potential emergency
`situation at the customer’s residence. The “911" call
`continues as is conventional. The message is repeated
`several times to ensure the called party records the
`pertinent information. In the case of a busy/no answer
`situation, the system continues to call the numbers until
`a connection is made. The system may be used as a
`medical alert system, ?re alert system, or a security
`system. If a medical emergency arises, a home is ablaze,
`or an intruder enters a home, there is often insuf?cient
`time to complete a coherent 911 call. The new system
`offers a simple means to simultaneously notify multiple
`persons of an emergency by simply dialing “911".
`In a second embodiment or as a second feature of the
`invention, a provision is made for emergencies which
`do not require “911" services. According to this em
`bodiment the customer is provided with a special 7-di git
`directory number. When this number is dialed the sys
`tem operates as described above to notify the prese
`lected persons but does not dial “911”.
`According to a still additional embodiment or feature
`of the invention, a remote activation button option may
`be provided in the form of customer premise equipment
`(CPE). The CPE may comprise a wristwatch, a device
`worn around the neck or waist, and/or a ?xed unit in
`
`55
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`60
`
`Intrado Ex. 1030 - 10
`
`

`

`3
`>
`the home, as at bedside. Preferably the CPE is provided
`with two remote activation buttons, one button to acti
`vate "91 l" and initiate the predetermined additional
`noti?cations, and a second button which does not make
`the “91 I“ call but activates the predetermined noti?ca
`tions.
`According to a still additional embodiment or feature
`of the invention a battery powered mobile cellular tele
`phone is provided with remote activation buttons for
`automatically actuating either a call to notify prese
`lected persons and a call for 911 services or a call to -'
`notify preselected persons.
`It is an important feature of the invention that the
`new system and service is combined with or “piggy
`backed" on equipment which is currently utilized by
`public telephone networks for providing enhanced
`voice messaging services (VMS) such as telephone an~
`swering, voice mail, call delivery, and the like. Because
`the new system and service permits usage of existing
`equipment it can be provided with a relatively moderate
`new capital investment and at relatively low cost to the
`customer.
`Accordingly it is an object of the invention to pro
`vide an improved emergency, security, and urgent com
`munication system and service which ensures that mul
`tiple persons are noti?ed in the case of an emergency or
`other urgent situation.
`It is another object of the invention to provide such
`an improved emergency, security, and urgent commu
`nication system and service which is capable of imple
`mentation with existing public switched telephone net
`work equipment and thus is susceptible of relatively
`rapid installation and operation at reasonable cost and
`with a high degree of reliability.
`Still other objects and advantages of the present in
`vention will become readily apparent to those skilled in
`the art from the following detailed description, wherein
`a limited number of preferred embodiments of the in
`vention are shown and described, simply by way of
`illustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying
`out the invention.
`As will be realized the invention is capable of other
`and different embodiments, and its details are capable of
`modi?cations in various obvious respects, all without
`departing from the invention. Accordingly, the draw
`ing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in
`nature, and not as restrictive.
`
`40
`
`45
`
`20
`
`5,195,126
`FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic illustration of additional
`details of another implementation of embodiment of the
`invention;
`FIG. 1110A is a detailed break-out of the Voice Pro
`cessing Unit (VPU) of FIG. 10;
`FIG. 1111 is a diagrammatic illustration of another
`embodiment of the invention;
`FIG. 12 is a partially diagrammatic, partially perspec
`tive view of yet another embodiment of the invention;
`FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating the creation and
`/or changing of the mailbox or storage provided to a
`customer according to the invention; and
`FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic illustration of still another
`embodiment of the invention.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a program con
`trolled electronic switch (SESS, IAESS, etc.) 110 con
`nected in a public switched telephone network between
`a telephone station 12 and Public Service Answering
`Point (PSAP) 14, which is in turn connected to police,
`?re and medical stations 16, 18 and 20. The customer
`telephone station 12 is the station of a subscriber to the
`new service and is connected to the switch by the a
`local loop 22. The switch in turn is connected to the
`PSAP by the 911 Number Identi?cation (911/NI) trunk
`24.
`The switch 10 is located at a Central Of?ce (CO)
`which contains a 911/NI monitor/router 26 which is
`coupled to the 911/NI trunk 24. The monitor/router is
`a passive device which is described in further detail
`hereinafter. As the 911/NI trunk is monitored the moni
`tor/router allows the 911/NI to pass through but also
`routes a signal via connection 28 to the Voice Messag»
`ing System (VMS) equipment 30. The monitor/router
`connects to a data base (not shown in this ?gure but
`explained hereinafter), other than in the VMS equip
`ment, to screen and forward to the VMS equipment 30
`only a 911/NI signal from customers who are subscrib
`ers to the new service, such as subscriber station 12. The
`VMS equipment 30 is modi?ed according to the inven
`tion as is presently described. When the 911/NI signal is
`received by the modi?ed VMS equipment the new
`emergency alert service is activated to establish connec
`tions to pre-designated stations 32-36 to be noti?ed, as
`explained in further detail hereinafter.
`In this embodiment (FIG. 1) the system sequentially
`places a call to the predetermined telephone numbers of
`stations 32, 34 and 36 with a personalized message indi
`cating that there is a potential emergency situation at
`the subscribing customer’s residence 12. The call to the
`911 personnel continues at the same time as usual. The
`message to the designated telephone numbers is re
`peated several times to ensure that the called party can
`record the pertinent information. If no one answers or
`the line is busy the VMS equipment constructed ac
`cording to the invention continues to call the numbers
`until a connection is made. After the telephone has been
`answered and the message has been repeated the prede
`termined number of times a prompt may be given di
`recting the answering party to press the “#" key if the
`message has been received. Thus the delivery of the
`message may be con?rmed.
`When the particular emergency does not require 911
`services the subscriber customer may dial the special
`seven digit emergency alert service number and the
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
`The invention will be more fully understood from the
`following detailed description taken in conjunction
`with the accompanying drawings, in which:
`FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a ?rst embodi
`ment of the invention;
`FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of another em
`bodiment of the invention;
`FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of still another
`embodiment of the invention;
`FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of additional
`details of one implementation of the invention;
`FIG. 4A is a detailed break~out of the Voice Process
`ing Unit (VPU) of FIG. 4;
`FIGS. 5-8 are illustrations of different customer
`premise equipment (CPE) modules which may be used
`with the invention;
`FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic illustration of the connec
`tion of the telephone on a customer's premise utilizing
`CPE devices of the type shown in FIGS. 5-8;
`
`55
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`65
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`Intrado Ex. 1030 - 11
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`

`s.. 5
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`20
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`5
`VMS equipment is then activated as described above.
`However the 911/NI services are not accessed.
`Referring to FIG. 2 there is shown another embodi
`ment of the invention wherein the switch 10 is con‘
`nected to the 9ll/NI PSAP as in the embodiment of
`FIG. 1. ‘Similar reference numerals are used for corre
`sponding elements of FIG. 2. In this embodiment of the
`invention the residence of a subscriber is indicated at 38
`and contains a CPE receiver 40 connected by the local
`loop 22 to the switch 10. The VMS equipment 30 modi
`?ed pursuant to the invention is provided with a direc- ‘
`tory number which provides access to and activates the
`emergency alert service of the modi?ed VMS. The
`receiver at the customer’s residence is a passive monitor
`device programmed to detect the dialing of 911, to
`await the completion and termination of that call, and to
`then out-dial the service activation number after the
`customer has disconnected from the 911 personnel as
`indicated by the broken connection line 42. The re
`ceiver 40 requires only a few seconds to establish a
`connection with the VMS equipment. After the connec~
`tion is made to the VMS the receiver releases the phone
`line so that the customer may place other calls. The
`receiver can be overridden by the customer at any time
`after the 911/NI call has been placed. This may be done
`by the customer taking the phone off hook to place
`another call or by disabling the receiver.
`Referring to FIG. 3 there is shown still another em
`bodiment of the invention wherein corresponding refer
`ence numerals are applied to corresponding elements.
`When the subscriber customer 12 dials 911 the call
`completion to the PSAP 14 is established. After the
`subscriber customer has disconnected from the 911
`personnel, the central of?ce switch (SESS, lAESS,
`etc.) out dials to the modi?ed VMS to establish a con
`nection indicated by the broken line at 44 Alternatively
`the out-dialing may be simultaneous.
`The emergency alert of the invention may be initiated
`either manually or through a CPE adjunct. In the man
`ual format the customer or subscriber manually dials
`from their telephone either 911 or the special emer
`gency seven digit number. In the CPE/automatic for
`mat a CPE module is provided. According to the inven
`tion the CPE module has two remote activation but
`tons, a ?rst button which activates the new emergency
`alert service as well dials 911 service, and a second
`button which activates the new emergency alert service
`only. Speci?c embodiments of the CPE module are
`illustrated in FIGS. 5-8.
`Referring to FIG. 5 the CPE module is provided in
`the form of a wristwatch 46 having a 911 button 48 and
`an emergency alert button 50. The wristwatch includes
`a small portable radio transmitter unit capable of trans
`mitting a signal to actuate the receiver 41 illustrated in
`FIG. 9. Such a transmitter actuator may be of the gen‘
`eral type described in LaWhite et al US Pat. No.
`4,491,970. The CPE module of FIG. 5 may have two
`buttons 48 and 50 along with a secondary activation
`button 52 which must be depressed after the 911 or
`emergency alert buttons 48 and/or 50 have been
`pressed. This prevents accidental calling of 911 or the
`special emergency alert number.
`Referring to FIG. 6 the CPE module is shown as
`being provided in the form of a remote unit 54 attached
`to a necklace 56. The unit is provided with 911, emer
`gency, and secondary buttons 48, 50 and 52 as described
`in connection with FIG. 5.
`
`5,195,126
`6
`Referring to FIG. 7 there is shown a version of the
`CPE module in the form of a unit 58 having a belt clip
`60. Again the 911, emergency and secondary buttons
`48, 50 and 52 are provided.
`Referring to FIG. 8 there is shown a still further
`variation of the CPE module in the form of a ?xed
`remote unit 62 adapted to be placed on a table or the
`like, usually near the telephone. The ?xed unit 62 is also
`provided with 911, emergency and secondary buttons
`48, 50 and 52.
`In all embodiments of the remote CPE unit the 911
`and emergency alert buttons 48 and 50 are preferably
`recessed so that their surface lies below the plane of the
`surface of the panel in which they are mounted. This
`arrangement provides protection against inadvertent
`activation.
`Referring to FIG. 9 the receiver 41 is shown con
`nected between the subscriber telephone 64 and con
`ventional R111 jack 66 and includes a ?rst portion simi
`lar to the receiver 40 in FIG. 2 and a second portion
`adapted to be actuated by the CPE transmitter module
`described in connection with FIG. 8. Thus receiver is
`adapted to receive the signal from the transmitter units
`of FIGS. 5-8 and out-dial or actuate the 911 and/or
`emergency alert circuits to originate the sequences de
`scribed in connection with FIGS. 1-3. Alternatively the
`receiver 41 may actuate the emergency alert service in
`response to detecting 911 dialing as in FIG. 2.
`The architecture of the system of the invention as
`represented in FIG. 1 is illustrated in further detail in
`FIG. 4. Referring to that ?gure there is shown at 70 a
`customer station which represents a subscriber to the
`new emergency alert service. At 72 there is shown a
`customer station which is not a subscriber to the new
`service. Both stations 70 and 72 are connected to an end
`of?ce (E0) 74. The end of?ce 74 is connected by trunks
`76 to a 911 tandem of?ce or central processing site 78
`for 911 calls. The 911 tandem processing site or of?ce
`includes a conventional program controlled switch 80
`to which the trunks 76 are connected. The other side of
`the switch 80 is connected via 911/NI trunks 82
`through an end of?ce 84 to the Public Service Answer
`ing Point (PSAP) 86. The PSAP 86 is in turn connected
`to police, ?re and medical destination stations 88, 90 and
`92, as described in connection with FIG. 1-3. When 911
`is dialed by either station 70 or 72 the call completion to
`the PSAP is established by the switch 80 in the conven
`tional manner.
`Bridged to the 911/NI trunks 82 in the 911 tandem
`of?ce at 94 is a monitor/router (MR) device 96. The
`monitor/router is bridged to the 911 trunks 82 at 94 to
`monitor N1 of the calling number. The device monitors
`the trunk and does not regenerate or interrupt the 911
`call. The monitor is passive and is indicated at 98. A
`data base of customers or subscribers to the new service
`is maintained within the monitor/ router and is indicated
`at 100.
`The monitor/router is connected through a network
`switch 102 to a voice message system (VMS) hub site
`104. The switch 102, which is used for passing NI data
`from the monitor/router to the VMS may be co-located
`with the 911 tandem, co-located with the VMS hub or
`located elsewhere in the network. While this embodi
`ment of the invention illustrates and describes identi?
`cation of subscribers by monitoring of NI information it
`will be understood that other means of identification
`also may be utilized, such as a monitoring of a Caller ID
`signal.
`
`60
`
`65
`
`Intrado Ex. 1030 - 12
`
`

`

`5,195,126
`
`20
`
`25
`
`7
`Located at the VMS hub site 104 is a VMS platform
`indicated generally at 106. The VMS platform includes
`a master control unit (MCU) 108, digital switching
`system (DSS) 110 and voice processing unit (VPU) 112.
`The VMS platform is connected from the DSS via a T1
`link 114 to a multi-line hunt group (MLHG) 116 associ
`ated with a switch 118. The monitor/router 96 is con
`nected to the VMS platform 106 through switch 102
`and through suitable modems 120 and 122 or dial out
`MLl-IG link. The switch 118 is connected through a
`suitable link 124 to the destination telephone stations
`(DTS) 126, 128 and 130 of parties designated to be
`noti?ed of the emergency/safety situation. The link 124
`may constitute a single line connected to a single switch
`port or may consist of plural lines connected to multiple
`ports. The system of the invention may utilize sequen‘
`tial or simultaneous noti?cation of the designated
`parties and plural lines and ports are necessary for si
`multaneous noti?cation which is preferable.
`Emergency alert mailboxes provided pursuant to the
`invention are distinct from mailboxes con?gured for
`other applications, such as voice messaging. However,
`according to the preferred embodiment of the invention
`the emergency alert mailbox storage is provided in the
`same VMS platform and permits common and ef?cient
`usage of the same equipment.
`The mailbox storage for the emergency alert service
`is provided at 111 in the VPU 112. There may be a need
`for additional Voice Processing Units (VPUs) used to
`store the additional voice and data in the VMS. VPUs
`may be dedicated and out dial ports and incoming ports
`may be prioritized for emergency alert service.
`Referring to FIG. 4, when 911 is dialed, the call com
`pletion to the Public Service Answering Point (PSAP)
`86 is established both for the case of a caller who is a
`subscriber to the new service, such as the station 70, and
`for a caller who is a non-subscriber, such as the station
`72. Both calls proceed through the trunks 76 along with
`the NI signal. This information is detected by the con
`nection at 94 and fed to the monitor 98 and both sub
`scriber and non-subscriber 911 calls are allowed to pro
`ceed without interference or alteration. In each instance
`the monitor/router checks the calling number NI
`against the data base 100 of the new service.
`If the calling number is a subscriber to the new ser
`vice, the monitor/router out dials the special activation
`number to the VMS hub 104. The calling number‘s NI
`data is transmitted to the VMS platform 106. The VMS
`matches the NI to the appropriate customer’s emer
`gency alert mailbox in the storage 111 which contains
`that customer’s noti?cation message. The VMS then
`delivers the message to the phone numbers of the parties
`126430 which have been designated for noti?cation on
`that subscriber‘s noti?cation group list. If the calling
`number is not a subscriber to the new alert service the
`monitor/router does nothing however the call pro—
`ceeds.
`It is to be noted that in the arrangement of FIG. 4,
`which constitutes the preferred embodiment of the in
`vention, the monitor/router is connected to monitor all
`outgoing 91 l/NI trunks. An alternate arrangement may
`be provided wherein the monitor/router monitors the
`incoming 9ll trunks at the 911 tandem. However this
`embodiment involves setting up a new Line Class Code
`for the emergency service customer. All calls proceed
`as usual. However, when 911 is dialed, the end of?ce
`translates the 911 call so that the call is sent on a sepa
`rate 911 trunk group (speci?c to the new alert service
`
`0
`customers) to the 911 tandem. The monitor router then
`monitors these incoming 9ll trunks which are segre
`gated from the non-new alert service customer 9ll
`traf?c. This embodiment requires additional 911 trunks
`and 911 N1 monitor/router capacity.
`As previously stated the outgoing calls to the desig
`nated parties may be either sequential or simultaneous.
`When the called telephone station goes off hook the
`message is repeated several times and then the recipient
`is asked to con?rm receipt by touching a designated key
`such as the “#” sign. If the recipient does not have a
`DTMF telephone station the equipment would still
`deliver the message but without the receipt.
`Subscribers are provided with two different access
`numbers, one to activate the service and the other to log
`in to a mailbox. The ?rst time that a subscriber logs in to
`the emergency alert mailbox they are led through the
`initialization process described in detail hereafter. When
`a called party designated for noti?cation answers, the
`service transmits a system prompt, such as “This is the
`Emergency Alert Service with an emergency mes
`sage.” The message is repeated a number of times so
`that it extends beyond the time frame of an outgoing
`message of a telephone answering machine. The system
`will redial a called party’s line on a busy or no answer
`condition.
`In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in
`FIG. 4 the customer number is transmitted from the
`monitor/router to the VMS via a modem-to-modem
`connection. Referring to FIG. 10 there is shown an
`other embodiment of the invention wherein the cus
`tomer number is transmitted from the monitor/ router to
`the VMS via a multi-line hunt group (MLHG) connec
`tion. In FIG. 10 and FIG. 10A the same reference nu
`merals are applied to designate the same elements of the
`system as in FIGS. 4 and 4A. In FIG. 10 a voice path is
`established to the VMS and the customer number is
`transmitted via T1 link 119 and the