This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention. The following discussion is intended to provide information to facilitate a better understanding of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that statements in the following discussion are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
There are other types of products currently on the market to try to help users in an emergency, but they are all designed very differently. The present invention's design is different than anything on the market today. The present invention provides the functions of instant easy ‘single click’ access which is critical in an emergency situation, the function of increased user customization, the function of allowing remote control access to the invention's display screen, an alert feature that provides the function of alerting the user if they need to fill out critical information pre-emergency, and the invention is designed to be able to allow the user more freedom to use the invention anywhere in the world rather than in the confines of an organization or preset geographic area.
There are currently companies that send physical equipment panic button products to a user which allow users to push a button to send out for help and typically include a monthly monitoring fee. Security companies have been doing this for years. Users can carry around a panic button device that communicates with an alarm panel or additional required receiver installed in the home or business which can then send out a panic button alert when the panic button is pushed. Once the panic button is pushed, a remote monitoring station is alerted with instructions on what the user would like to have happen next. This is typically a separate piece of equipment and charges can be up to $20.00 or more per month. The present invention's design can turn the user's existing cell phone or computer that they might already own and already be carrying, into a portable panic/emergency/location notification personal safety device, thus eliminating the need for an extra piece of equipment, and also allowing the user the freedom to send their location or emergency situation information from virtually anywhere in the world since it does not need to communicate with a nearby receiver, and uses the computer's built in GPS or location information capability. In addition, this invention's design can save the user a considerable amount of money by eliminating the need for additional hardware.
There are other alert programs available that can be loaded onto a computer but to access these programs, users need to turn on or wake up their cell phone or other type of computer, and then satisfy their security prompt, and then hunt and find the app or program in order to send out an emergency call. None of these are positioned to appear on the on or wake or lock screen or on or before or immediately after a security prompt. In an emergency situation, every second and every search and click can matter. This invention's design saves seconds, saves security prompt requirements, saves hunting and finding an emergency app lost in a sea of other apps on a home screen, or worse . . . typically not even being displayed on the home screen, and being surrounded by dozens of other apps that a user would spend even more time trying to find in a stressful emergency situation. This invention provides a ‘single click’ function that is designed to be positioned where a user can find it fast at the on, wake or lock screen and before or with a security prompt the instant the user turns on or wakes up their computer. The current invention currently includes an optional second click function that asks the user to confirm if they would like to initiate the text message to be sent to eliminate false alarms and help prevent what is sometimes referred to as ‘butt dialing’, but this is an optional extra step that has been added, yet not necessary. The present invention is uniquely designed to provide a single click emergency signal, whereas everything else on the market requires multiple clicks which is not as helpful, can cost valuable time and be life threatening in an emergency situation.
Some cell phones on the market today can include an active communication link on the lock screen that can be displayed as “Emergency Call”. This product can be useful, but is very different from this invention and also has several design problems. First, most people will not push this link, even if visible pre-emergency. Some people may be afraid to push it, because they believe it will automatically call 911. This is often not always the case. If this product is present on a user's phone, and the user does push the ‘emergency call’ button, the user is often taken to a screen that states “you have no contacts listed”. Then the user is asked to add contacts to be called from their contact list on their phone or manually added. Imagine you are actually in an emergency situation. You were not comfortable pushing the Emergency Call text button to see how it works prior to an emergency because you were afraid that it would activate an emergency call automatically. When you do push it . . . and it is an emergency . . . you are asked to enter contact numbers in order for this emergency communication link to work to contact people. What if there is someone standing there with a knife or someone has a medical emergency where every second is critical? This built in emergency call function is designed to be helpful, but is not designed as well as this invention. The present invention is downloaded allowing users to more fully understand how it works. But just as importantly, the present invention has a function which displays a warning icon to alert a user before an emergency that there are no emergency contacts listed. This warning icon is displayed anytime one of the buttons does not have any contacts listed that the user may want notified in the event of an emergency. This added feature can better prepare a user before an emergency, save seconds, and thus save lives. The way that the current emergency call feature available is designed, people are often too afraid to push the button until an emergency is actually taking place, users are not notified or often unaware that there are no contacts ready to be called, and the current call feature also creates an ‘audible’ call which also can put the user in a more dangerous position in some situations. An automatic audible call is not always ideal and in some situations can be horribly bad. Imagine a user is walking down the street and someone comes up with a knife. Is it really ideal for the user to push the emergency call button (probably for the first time), add contacts (if they were not already entered), and then have an audible live conversation with someone while someone is standing there with a knife? My invention is different and has built in functions to notify the user ahead of time and encourage them to enter contact information pre-emergency, and also allows the user the function of sending a silent text asking for help with exact location information, rather than creating an audible phone call.
Other products on the market include physical panic buttons that a user is supposed to run to and push in the event of an emergency. A good example of this is a college campus where they have blue light panic button towers set up. I have a daughter in college. Is it really a good idea for her to try to outrun a bad guy, try to run to the blue light, then wait at that spot since that is where security is being dispatched to, and continue to wait at that location for someone to come help while the bad guy is standing there?
Another product on the market today does try to avoid the time consuming effort of trying to satisfy the security prompt and then hunt and find an alert app on a cell phone, but the product design requires users to push the on/power button on a cell phone 4 to 5 times to initiate an emergency text message. This can be an idea resulting in disaster. What if one of those pushes completely turns the phone or computer off, and thus the user themselves prevents or stops the ability to send out the message for help.
There are other products on the market that companies are trying to sell through organizations such as college campuses, or corporations. These companies provide an app for a cell phone or computer with pre-loaded geolocations and pre-loaded instructions on who to call if the user initiates an emergency signal. Again this will not always work for the typical college student or consumer. What if a college student is attending a college that is not signed up? What if this college student will not download the product because they do not want a third party or campus security having the ability to see their location at all times? What if this college student has a medical issue, like Juvenile Diabetes or a peanut allergy and the ‘preset’ message is not material? What if this college student is not on campus, on spring break, traveling or has already graduated. If the student goes to a college in California and is home in Colorado, how effective are the pre-set emergency text messages? If an employee works at XYZ Corporation and is not at the facility or a teacher is located at ABC middle school, does the pre-set message on who they want dispatched to the location really work all the time? Does school security respond if the teacher or student is not at the school's location and 5 miles away at the grocery store parking lot when a robbery is taking place? Who responds then?