U.S. patent application number 10/696065 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-23 for network support for access to location information of a mobile device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Lucent Technologies Inc.. Invention is credited to Benco, David S., Overend, Kevin J., Sheen, Baoling S., True, Sandra Lynn, Voight, Kenneth J..
Application Number | 20040257274 10/696065 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46300236 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040257274 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Benco, David S. ; et
al. |
December 23, 2004 |
NETWORK SUPPORT FOR ACCESS TO LOCATION INFORMATION OF A MOBILE
DEVICE
Abstract
Geographic coordinates of user equipment of a paged party are
determined either by communicating with a GPS receiver associated
with the user equipment of the paged party or by cellular
triangulation. The geographic coordinates may be converted into an
associated common location description. For example the common
location description is a city name, an address, or a distance and
direction from a landmark. The geographic coordinates, common
location description, or an abbreviation thereof, is transmitted to
user equipment of a paging party. Using this service, parents may
verify the location of their children. Security agencies or
delivery services may verify and/or log the location of their
personnel.
Inventors: |
Benco, David S.; (Winfield,
IL) ; Overend, Kevin J.; (Elmhurst, IL) ;
Sheen, Baoling S.; (Naperville, IL) ; True, Sandra
Lynn; (St. Charles, IL) ; Voight, Kenneth J.;
(Sugar Grove, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Richard J. Minnich, Esq.
Fay, Sharpe, Fagan, Minnich & McKee, LLP
Seventh Floor
1100 Superior Avenue
Cleveland
OH
44114
US
|
Assignee: |
Lucent Technologies Inc.
|
Family ID: |
46300236 |
Appl. No.: |
10/696065 |
Filed: |
October 29, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10696065 |
Oct 29, 2003 |
|
|
|
10601945 |
Jun 23, 2003 |
|
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
342/357.4 ;
379/88.19; 455/415 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 2207/18 20130101;
G01S 5/0263 20130101; H04M 3/42348 20130101; H04M 3/42042 20130101;
H04M 3/42 20130101; G01S 5/0027 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
342/357.1 ;
455/415; 379/088.19 |
International
Class: |
G01S 001/00; H04M
001/64; H04M 003/42 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A method operative to provide paged party location information
in information made available to user equipment of a paging party,
the method comprising: receiving origination message from the user
equipment of the paging party; extracting paged party
identification information from the origination message;
determining that the paged party subscribes to location service
based on the extracted paged party identification information;
determining a location of the paged party; and transmitting a
message including a description of the location to the user
equipment of the paging party.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining that the paged party
subscribes to the location service comprises: accessing user
subscription information of a subscriber database of the paged
party.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the location of the
paged party comprises: determining that the user equipment of the
paged party includes a GPS receiver; and requesting GPS coordinates
from the user equipment of the paged party.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the location of the
paged party comprises: determining that the user equipment of the
paged party does not include a GPS receiver; and requesting
coordinates of the paged party user equipment from a reference cell
cite of the user equipment of the paged party.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the location of the
paged party comprises: determining that the user equipment of the
paged party does not include a GPS receiver; and requesting
coordinates of the user equipment of the paged party be determined
by cellular triangulation.
6. The method of claim 4 further comprising: transmitting a first
PSMM_Request message from a first cell site to the user equipment
of the paged party; receiving a first response to the first
PSMM_Request message; determining a first delay from the first
response; transmitting a second PSMM_Request message from a second
cell site to the user equipment of the paged party; receiving a
second response to the second PSMM_Request message; determining a
second delay from the second response; transmitting a third
PSMM_Request message from a third cell site to the user equipment
of the paged party; receiving a third response to the third
PSMM_Request message; determining a third delay from the third
response; and, determining a relative position of the user
equipment of the paged party to the first, second and third cell
sites based on the first, second and third delays.
7. The method of claim 4 further comprising: transmitting a
plurality of PSMM_Request messages from a plurality of cell sites
to the user equipment of the paged party; receiving a plurality of
responses to the plurality of PSMM_Request messages; determining a
plurality of delays from the plurality of responses; and,
determining a relative position of the user equipment of the paged
party to the plurality of cell sites from the plurality of
delays.
8. The method of claim 6 further comprising: calculating an
absolute position of the user equipment of the paged party from the
relative position of the user equipment and known positions of the
first second and third cell sites.
9. The method of claim 7 further comprising: calculating an
absolute position of the user equipment of the paged party from the
relative position of the user equipment and known positions of the
plurality of cell sites.
10. The method of claim 3 further comprising: determining a common
description of the location of the paged party.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein determining the common
description comprises: receiving the GPS coordinates; and using the
GPS coordinates as an index into a common location description
database to determine at least one of an address, a city name, and
a distance and heading from a landmark.
12. The method of claim 4 further comprising: determining a common
description of the location of the paged party.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein determining the common
description comprises: receiving the coordinates; and using the
coordinates as an index into a common location description database
to determine at least one of an address, a city name, and a
distance and heading from a landmark.
14. The method of claim 1 further comprising: verifying that the
paging party is included in a list of potential paging parties to
which the paged party location information is to be provided.
15. A method operative to provide paged party location information
to user equipment of a paging party, the method comprising:
receiving origination message from the user equipment of the paging
party; extracting paged party identification information from the
origination message; determining that the paged party subscribes to
a location service based on the extracted paged party
identification information; determining if the user equipment of
the paged party is GPS enabled; requesting GPS coordinates from the
user equipment of the paged party if the user equipment of the
paged party is GPS enabled; requesting cellular triangulation
services be used to generate location information regarding the
user equipment of the paged party if the user equipment of the
paged party is not GPS enabled; determining a common description of
a location of the paged party based on the GPS coordinates or the
generated location information; including a representation of the
common description of the location in a field of a message; and
transmitting the message to the user equipment of the paging
party.
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising: extracting paging
party user equipment identification information from the
origination message; retrieving a list of potential paging party
user equipment for which the paged party desires to provided
location information; comparing the extracted paging party user
equipment identification information to entries in the list of
potential paging party user equipment; and determining that one of
the entries in the list matches the extracted paging party user
equipment identification information.
17. The method of claim 15 wherein determining that the paged party
subscribes to a location service based on the extracted paged party
identification information comprises: querying a subscriber
database associated with the paged party; and retrieving location
feature subscription information regarding the paged party.
18. The method of claim 15 wherein determining if the user
equipment of the paged party is GPS enabled comprises: extracting
paged party user equipment identification information from the
origination message; and, retrieving GPS enablement status
information regarding the paged party user equipment from a
subscriber database of the paged party.
19. The method of claim 15 wherein determining if the user
equipment of the paged party is GPS enabled comprises: sending a
GPS enablement query message to the user equipment of the paged
party.
20. The method of claim 15 wherein requesting cellular
triangulation services comprises: transmitting a plurality of PSMM
data collection messages to a respective plurality of cell sites
within range of the user equipment of the paged party.
21. A system operative to provide paged party location information
to user equipment of a paging party, the system comprising: means
for receiving origination message from the paging party; means for
extracting paged party identification information from the
origination message; means for determining that the paged party
subscribes to a location service based on the extracted paged party
identification information; means for determining a location of the
paged party; means for including a description of the location of
the paged party in a message; and means for transmitting the
message including the description of the location to the user
equipment of the paging party.
22. The system of claim 21 wherein the means for determining that
the paged party subscribes to the location service comprises: means
for accessing user subscription information of a subscriber
database of the paged party.
23. The system of claim 21 wherein the means for determining a
location of the paged party comprises: means for determining that
the user equipment of the paged party includes a GPS receiver; and
means for requesting GPS coordinates from the user equipment of the
paged party.
24. The system of claim 21 wherein the means for determining a
location of the paged party comprises: means for determining that
the user equipment of the paged party does not include a GPS
receiver; and means for requesting coordinates of the paged party
user equipment from a reference cell cite of the user equipment of
the paged party.
25. The system of claim 21 wherein the means for determining a
location of the paged party comprises: means for determining that
the user equipment of the paged party does not include a GPS
receiver; and means for requesting coordinates of the paged party
user equipment be determined by cellular triangulation.
26. The system of claim 24 further comprising: means for
transmitting a first PSMM_Request message from a first cell site to
the user equipment of the paged party; means for receiving a first
response to the first PSMM_Request message; means for determining a
first delay from the first response; means for transmitting a
second PSMM_Request message from a second cell site to the user
equipment of the paged party; means for receiving a second response
to the second PSMM_Request message; means for determining a second
delay from the second response; means for transmitting a third
PSMM_Request message from a third cell site to the user equipment
of the paged party; means for receiving a third response to the
third PSMM_Request message; means for determining a third delay
from the third response; and, means for determining a relative
position of the user equipment of the paged party to the first,
second and third cell sites based on the first, second and third
delays.
27. The system of claim 24 further comprising: means for
transmitting a plurality of PSMM_Request messages from a plurality
of cell sites to the user equipment of the paged party; means for
receiving a plurality of responses to the plurality of PSMM_Request
messages; means for determining a plurality of delays from the
plurality of responses; and, means for determining a relative
position of the user equipment of the paged party to the plurality
of cell sites from the plurality of delays.
28. The system of claim 24 further comprising: means for
calculating an absolute position of the user equipment of the paged
party from the relative position of the user equipment of the paged
party and known positions of the first, second and third cell
sites.
29. The system of claim 25 further comprising: means for
calculating an absolute position of the user equipment of the paged
party from the relative position of the user equipment and known
positions of the plurality of cell sites.
30. The system of claim 21 wherein the means for determining a
description of a location of the calling party comprises: means for
receiving the GPS coordinates; and means for using the GPS
coordinates as an index into a common location description database
to determine at least one of an address, a city name, and a
distance and heading from a landmark.
31. The system of claim 21 wherein the means for determining a
description of a location of the calling party comprises: means for
receiving the coordinates; and means for using the coordinates as
an index into a common location description database to determine
at least one of an address, a city name, and a distance and heading
from a landmark.
32. The system of claim 21 further comprising: means for verifying
that the paging party is included in a list of potential paging
parties for which the paged party location information is to be
provided.
33. A mobile switching center operative to provide paged party
location information to user equipment of a paging party, the
mobile switching center comprising: a coordinate determiner
operative to determine geographic coordinates of user equipment of
a paged party identified in information extracted from an
origination message; a subscription feature determiner operative to
determine if the paged party subscribes to a location service based
on the identification information extracted from the origination
message; a coordinate converter operative to determine a common
description of a geographic location associated with the geographic
coordinates determined by the coordinate determiner; and, a network
interface operative to transmit the common description to the user
equipment of the paging party.
34. The mobile switching center of claim 33 wherein the coordinate
determiner comprise: a GPS coordinate determiner operative to send
a request for GPS coordinates to the user equipment of the paged
party and receive GPS coordinates from the user equipment of the
paged party.
35. The mobile switching center of claim 33 wherein the coordinate
determiner comprise: a cellular triangulator operative to
coordinate the collection of measurements associated with the user
equipment of the paged party and the calculation of geographic
coordinates associated with the location of the user equipment of
the paged party based on the collected measurements.
36. The mobile switching center of claim 35 wherein the cellular
triangulator is operative to collect the measurements associated
with the user equipment through the transmission of a plurality of
PSMM_Request messages.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/601,945, NETWORK SUPPORT FOR SUBSCRIBER
ACCESS TO MOBIILE CALLER LOCATION INFORMATION, filed Jun. 23, 2003,
which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present invention is directed to the art of providing
information about a paged party to a paging party. More
particularly, the present invention is directed to systems and
methods for providing location information regarding a paged party
to the paging party where the paged party is using mobile user
equipment such as a mobile or cellular phone, personal digital
assistant (PDA) or other device.
[0003] In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) is requiring wireless carriers to be able to locate users on
their network when they make a 911 emergency call. Regulations in
this area are referred to generally as Enhanced 911 or E911. As a
result, various user locating technologies have been, and are
being, implemented in wireless communications networks.
[0004] For example, some user equipment, such as, mobile phones and
personal digital assistance (PDAs) include global positioning
system receivers and can provide GPS coordinates of the user
equipment to the mobile network over which they communicate. Other
locating systems do not rely on GPS technology.
[0005] Instead, cellular triangulation techniques are used. Some
cellular triangulation techniques measure the signal strength of
the target piece of user equipment at, for example, three or more
cell sites, and use those measurements to determine a distance to
the user equipment from each of the cell sites. Other cellular
triangulation techniques are based on a measurement of time delays
of signals transmitted from the user equipment to the plurality of
cell sites. The time delays are used to calculate distances.
Additionally, or alternatively cellular triangulation can include
the use of directional antennas. By rotating a directional antenna
and monitoring the strength of signals from the user equipment an
antenna orientation associated with a strongest or weakest signal
strength can be determined. That antenna orientation is associated
with a direction to the user equipment. By projecting vectors from
two or more cell sites toward the user equipment an intersection of
the vectors can be found. The intersection of the vectors is the
location of the user equipment.
[0006] Location information regarding parties can be useful in
situations beyond the 911 emergency call scenario. For example,
parents may want to verify the location of their children.
Dispatchers may want to verify or accurately determine the location
of security or delivery personnel. Parole officers can use location
information to determine whether or not parolees are within
prescribed boundaries.
[0007] Therefore, there is a desire to provide location information
regarding paged parties to paging parties on a more general basis
than is currently available.
SUMMARY
[0008] A method operative to provide paged party location
information in information made available to user equipment of a
paging party includes receiving a call request from the paging
party, extracting paged party identification information from the
call request, determining that the paged party subscribes to
location service based on the extracted called party identification
information, determining a location of the paged party, and
transmitting a message including a description of the location to
the user equipment of the paging party.
[0009] Determining that the paged party subscribes to the location
service can include accessing user subscription information of a
subscriber database of the paged party.
[0010] Determining the location of the paged party can include
determining that the user equipment of the paged party includes a
GPS receiver, and, requesting GPS coordinates from the user
equipment of the paged party.
[0011] Additionally, or alternatively, determining the location of
the paged party can include determining that the user equipment of
the paged party does not include a GPS receiver and requesting
coordinates of the paged party user equipment from a reference cell
cite of the user equipment of the paged party.
[0012] For example, determining a location of the paged party can
include determining that the user equipment of the paged party does
not include a GPS receiver and requesting coordinates of the user
equipment of the paged party be determined by cellular
triangulation.
[0013] For instance, requesting coordinates of the paged party user
equipment from a reference cell cite of the user equipment of the
paged party can include transmitting a first PSMM_Request message
from a first cell site to the user equipment of the paged party,
receiving a first response to the first PSMM_Request message,
determining a first delay from the first response, transmitting a
second PSMM_Request message from a second cell site to the user
equipment of the paged party, receiving a second response to the
second PSMM_Request message, determining a second delay from the
second response, transmitting a third PSMM_Request message from a
third cell site to the user equipment of the paged party, receiving
a third response to the third PSMM_Request message, determining a
third delay from the third response, and determining a relative
position of the user equipment of the paged party to the first,
second and third cell sites based on the first, second and third
delays.
[0014] More generally, requesting coordinates of the paged party
user equipment from a reference cell cite of the user equipment of
the paged party can include transmitting a plurality of
PSMM_Request messages from a plurality of cell sites to the user
equipment of the paged party, receiving a plurality of responses to
the plurality of PSMM_Request messages, determining a plurality of
delays from the plurality of responses, and determining a relative
position of the user equipment of the paged party to the plurality
of cell sites from the plurality of delays.
[0015] Some embodiments include calculating an absolute position of
the user equipment of the paged party from the relative position of
the user equipment and known positions of the first second and
third cell sites.
[0016] Some embodiments include calculating an absolute position of
the user equipment of the paged party from the relative position of
the user equipment and known positions of the plurality of cell
sites.
[0017] Additionally, some embodiments include determining a common
description of the location of the paged party.
[0018] Determining the common description can include receiving the
GPS coordinates and using the GPS coordinates as an index into a
common location description database to determine at least one of
an address, a city name, and a distance and heading from a
landmark.
[0019] Where coordinates are determined by other means, such as
cellular triangulation, determining the common description can
include receiving those coordinates and using the coordinates as an
index into a common location description database to determine at
least one of an address, a city name, and a distance and heading
from a landmark.
[0020] Some embodiments include verifying that the paging party is
included in a list of potential paging parties to which the paged
party location information is to be provided.
[0021] Some embodiments include a method operative to provide paged
party location information to user equipment of a paging party. The
method includes receiving a call request from the paging party,
extracting paged party identification information from the call
request, determining that the paged party subscribes to a location
service based on the extracted paged party identification
information, determining if the user equipment of the paged party
is GPS enabled, requesting GPS coordinates from the user equipment
of the paged party if the user equipment of the calling party is
GPS enabled, requesting cellular triangulation services be used to
generate location information regarding the user equipment of the
paged party if the user equipment of the paged party is not GPS
enabled, determining a common description of a location of the
paged party based on the GPS coordinates or the generated location
information, including a representation of the common description
of the location in a field of a message, and transmitting the
message to the user equipment of the paging party.
[0022] Some of those embodiments include extracting paging party
user equipment identification information from the call request,
retrieving a list of potential paging party user equipment for
which the paged party desires to provided location information,
comparing the extracted paging party user equipment identification
information to entries in the list of potential paging party user
equipment, and determining that one of the entries in the list
matches the extracted paging party user equipment identification
information.
[0023] Determining that the paged party subscribes to a location
service based on the extracted paged party identification
information can include querying a subscriber database associated
with the paged party and retrieving location feature subscription
information regarding the paged party.
[0024] Determining if the user equipment of the paged party is GPS
enabled can include extracting paged party user equipment
identification information from the call request, retrieving a list
of potential paging party user equipment to which the paged party
location information is to be provided, and retrieving GPS
enablement status information regarding the paged party user
equipment.
[0025] Additionally, or alternatively, determining if the user
equipment of the paged party is GPS enabled can include sending a
GPS enablement query message to the user equipment of the paged
party.
[0026] Requesting cellular triangulation services can include
transmitting a plurality of PSMM data collection messages to a
respective plurality of cell sites within range of the user
equipment of the paged party.
[0027] A system operative to provide paged party location
information to user equipment of a paging party can include means
for receiving a page request from the paging party, means for
extracting paged party identification information from the page
request, means for determining that the paged party subscribes to a
location service based on the extracted paged party identification
information, means for determining a location of the paged party,
means for including a description of the location of the paged
party in a message, and means for transmitting the message
including the description of the location to the user equipment of
the paging party.
[0028] The means for determining that the paged party subscribes to
the location service can include means for accessing user
subscription information of a subscriber database of the paged
party.
[0029] The means for determining a location of the paged party can
include means for determining that the user equipment of the paged
party includes a GPS receiver and means for requesting GPS
coordinates from the user equipment of the paged party.
[0030] The means for determining a location of the paged party can
include means for determining that the user equipment of the paged
party does not include a GPS receiver and means for requesting
coordinates of the paged party user equipment from a reference cell
cite of the user equipment of the paged party.
[0031] Additionally, or alternatively, the means for determining a
location of the paged party can include means for determining that
the user equipment of the paged party does not include a GPS
receiver and means for requesting coordinates of the paged party
user equipment be determined by cellular triangulation.
[0032] For example, some embodiments include means for transmitting
a plurality of PSMM_Request messages from a plurality of cell sites
to the user equipment of the paged party, means for receiving a
plurality of responses to the plurality of PSMM_Request messages,
means for determining a plurality of delays from the plurality of
responses, and means for determining a relative position of the
user equipment of the paged party to the plurality of cell sites
from the plurality of delays.
[0033] Additionally, some embodiments include means for calculating
an absolute position of the user equipment of the paged party from
the relative position of the user equipment and known positions of
the plurality of cell sites.
[0034] The means for determining a description of a location of the
calling party can include means for receiving the GPS coordinates
and means for using the GPS coordinates as an index into a common
location description database to determine at least one of an
address, a city name, and a distance and heading from a
landmark.
[0035] Additionally, or alternatively, the means for determining a
description of a location of the calling party can include means
for receiving the coordinates, and means for using the coordinates
as an index into a common location description database to
determine at least one of an address, a city name, and a distance
and heading from a landmark.
[0036] Some embodiments include means for verifying that the paging
party is included in a list of potential paging parties for which
the paged party location information is to be provided.
[0037] An exemplary system includes a mobile switching center that
is operative to provide paged party location information to user
equipment of a paging party. The mobile switching center includes a
coordinate determiner operative to determine geographic coordinates
of user equipment of a paged party, a coordinate converter
operative to determine a common description of a geographic
location associated with the geographic coordinates determined by
the coordinate determiner, and a network interface operative to
transmit the common description to the user equipment of the paging
party.
[0038] In some embodiments, the coordinate determiner can include a
GPS coordinate determiner operative to send a request for GPS
coordinates to the user equipment of the paged party and receive
GPS coordinates from the user equipment of the paged party.
[0039] Additionally, or alternatively, in some embodiments, the
coordinate determiner can include a cellular triangulator operative
to coordinate the collection of measurements associated with the
user equipment of the paged party and the calculation of geographic
coordinates associated with the location of the user equipment of
the paged party based on the collected measurements. For example,
the cellular triangulator can be operative to collect the
measurements associated with the user equipment through the
transmission of a plurality of PSMM_Request messages.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0040] The invention may take form in various components and
arrangements of components, and/or in various procedures and
arrangements of procedures. The drawings are only for purposes of
illustrating preferred embodiments. They are not to scale, and are
not to be construed as limiting the invention.
[0041] FIG. 1 is a flow chart outlining a method for providing
location information regarding mobile user equipment of a paged or
called party to user equipment of a location requestor or paging
party.
[0042] FIG. 2 is a call flow diagram outlining aspects of an
embodiment of the method of FIG. 1 related to communications to and
from the user equipment of the paging party.
[0043] FIG. 3 is a call flow diagram outlining aspects of an
embodiment of the method of FIG. 1 where the user equipment of the
paged party is GPS enabled.
[0044] FIG. 4 is a call flow diagram outlining aspects of an
embodiment of the method of FIG. 1 where the user equipment of the
paged party is not GPS enabled.
[0045] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system for providing location
information regarding mobile user equipment of a paged party to
user equipment of a paging party.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0046] Referring to FIG. 1, a method 110 for providing paged party
location information to user equipment of a location requestor or
paging party begins with the reception on 114 of a page request. If
paged party location information is to be provided only under
certain circumstances, tests may be performed to determine if the
circumstances are met. For example, paging party and paged party
identification information may be extracted 118 from the received
page request. A determination 122 can be made as to whether the
paged party subscribes to a location provision service. If the
paged party does subscribe to a location provision service, a
determination 126 can be made as to whether the paged party desires
to provide location information to the paging party. If 122 the
paged party does not subscribe to the location service or if 126
the paged party does subscribe to a location provision service but
does not wish to provide location information to the paging party,
the call is processed 130 without further concern for location
information.
[0047] If a determination 122, 126 is made that location
information is to be provided to the paging party, the method 110
includes determining a location of the paged party. For example, a
determination 134 is made as to whether or not user equipment of
the paged party includes Global Positioning (GPS) equipment. If 134
the user equipment of the paged party does include a GPS receiver,
a request 138 is made of the user equipment for the current GPS
coordinates of the user equipment. If the user equipment of the
paged party does not include a GPS receiver, a request 142 is made
for cellular triangulation of the paged user equipment of the
party. By one method or another, location information or
coordinates regarding the paged party or the user equipment of the
paged party is received 146.
[0048] The received coordinates may be converted 150 into a more
common location description. The common location description, or
some representation or abbreviation thereof is then transmitted 154
to the user equipment of the paging party. For example, a street
address, a city name, or other location description, or an
abbreviation therefore, is included in a field of a message
transmitted to the user equipment of the paging party. The user
equipment of the paging party may then display, read via voice
synthesis, log or otherwise process the location description as
desired by the paging party.
[0049] Extracting 118 paging and/or paged party identification
information can include for example extracting caller ID
information to identify the paging party. The directory number of
the paged party can act as an identifier of the paged party.
Additionally, or alternatively, other identifiers can be used, such
as, for example, Mobile Identification Numbers or Electronic Serial
Numbers.
[0050] The paged party identification information can be used to
determine 122 whether or not the paged party subscribes to the
location provision service. For instance, a directory number of the
paged party can be used as an index into a subscriber database
containing subscriber service subscription information. For
example, the subscription information of the paged party may
indicate that the paged party desires to provide location
information to everyone that calls or pages the paged party.
Alternatively, the subscriber database may include a list of
specific individuals or specific user equipment to which location
information, regarding the paged party, may be provided. For
instance, the list may include a plurality of directory numbers,
Mobile Identification Numbers (MINs) and/or Electronic Serial
Numbers (ESNs) of user equipment to which location information may
be provided. The extracted 118 paging party identification
information can be compared to the listed party or user equipment
identification information to make the determination 126 as to
whether the paged party desires to provide location information to
the paging party. In one exemplary scenario, subscriber database
information associated with mobile devices of children may be
configured to only provide location information regarding the
location of the user equipment of the children to user equipment of
the parents or guardians of children. Similarly, cellular accounts
associated with delivery or service personnel may be configured to
respond to page requests received from user equipment of
dispatchers and/or customers of the delivery or service
personnel.
[0051] The location or coordinate information received 146 may be
in any convenient format. For example, location information may be
received 146 in the form of latitude and longitude. If necessary,
conversion 150 of the location information may be performed by
network elements. For example, a switching center, Mobile Switching
Center (MSC) or visitor location/home location register (VLR/HLR)
may house a location look-up database including, for example,
common descriptors such as addresses, street names, city names
and/or landmark names for a geographic area local to the Mobile
Switching Center. Alternatively, a more central location look-up
database can include common location descriptors for a much wider
area, such as, for example, an entire state, country, continent or
for the whole world. Independent of the database configuration or
dissemination, the received 146 location information may be used as
an index or key into an appropriate location look-up database to
determine or retrieve the common descriptor for the location of the
user equipment of the calling party.
[0052] The common location description can then be transmitted 154
to the user equipment of the paging party. For example, the
location descriptor may be appended to, or included in a page
request reply message.
[0053] Referring to FIG. 2, in an exemplary scenario, User
Equipment of a location requestor or paging party 210 transmits an
Origination message 214 to a Switch 218. The Origination message
214 includes a location request 222. The User Equipment 210 of the
location requester or paging party includes the location request
222 in the origination message or page request 214 based on input
of the paging party. For example, the User Equipment 210 of the
location requestor or paging party may include a dedicated key or
soft key configured to direct the User Equipment 210 of the paging
party to generate the specialized Origination message 214 including
location request 222. The special key is pressed along with
numerical key pad presses for entering the directory number of the
paged party. Alternatively, the paging party presses a control
sequence of keys, such as, for example, "*77" in addition to the
directory number when placing the page request. The control
sequence may indicate the specialized nature of the Origination
message 214. The Origination message 214 is a page request.
However, the Origination message 214 may include a call request.
That is, the origination message may result in the user equipment
of the paged party being alerted and a call being completed between
the location requester and the paged party. Alternatively, the
Origination message 214 may be a silent page request. Both kinds of
origination messages are referred to herein as page requests.
[0054] The Origination message or Page Request 214 is received 114
at the Switch 218. The Switch 218 may be a Mobile Switching Center
if the User Equipment 210 of the paging party is a Mobile Device.
Alternatively, the Switch 218 may be a land line switching center
if the User Equipment 210 of the paging party or location requestor
is a wired device.
[0055] In the exemplary scenario, the Origination message 214 is a
Silent Page Request and the Switch 218 relays or transmits a Switch
to Network Origination message 226 to a Communications Network 230
associated with a path between the Switch 218 and the paged party.
The Network 230 processes the Origination message 226 and generates
an Answer message 234 which is transmitted back to the Switch 218.
If 122 the paged party subscribes to a location provision service
and if the location provision service is configured or provisioned
to provide location information to the paging party (or the User
Equipment 210 of the paging party) the Answer message 234 includes
a location identifier 238. The Switch 218 receives the Answer
message 234 including the location identifier 238 and transmits a
message 242 to the User Equipment 210 of the paging party or
location requester. For example, the message 242 is a Silent Answer
message including the location identifier 238 received from the
network 230. The User Equipment 210 of the paging party includes a
display, and the location identifier is presented to the paging
party on that display. Alternatively, the location identifier 238
is processed by a text to voice converter and the answer message
242 includes a synthesized audio message providing the location
information to the paging party.
[0056] Referring to FIG. 3, in a scenario where user equipment of
the paged party is GPS enabled, the Network 230 begins processing
the Switch to Network Origination message 226 (of FIG. 2) by
transmitting an Incall message 310 to a mobile switching center 314
serving user equipment 318 of the paged party. The Incall message
310 includes information originally presented in the Origination
message 214 (of FIG. 2) and relayed in the Switch to Network
Origination message 226. The Mobile Switching Center (MSC) 314
extracts 118 paged and paging party identification information from
the Incall message 310. The Incall message 310 includes a Silent
Page indicator 322. The MSC 314 responds to the Incall message 310
and Silent Page indicator 322 by generating one or more subscriber
database queries 326. For example, the Subscriber Database Queries
326 are transmitted to a Home Location Register (HLR) 330 of the
paged party. The Subscriber Database Queries 326 are to determine
122 if the paged party subscribes to a location provision service,
and if so, if the location requester or paging party is entitled to
location information. Additionally, the Subscriber Database Queries
326 may request information as to whether or not the User Equipment
318 of the paged party includes a Global Positioning System (GPS)
receiver, and may thereby provide GPS coordinates of the User
Equipment 318 of the paged party. The Subscriber Database or Home
Location Register 330 responds to the Queries 326 with Subscriber
Database Responses 334.
[0057] In the exemplary scenario, the paged party does subscribe to
the location provision service and the paging party or location
requester is entitled to receive location information.
Additionally, information provided by the subscriber database
responses 334 allows the MSC 314 to determine 134 that the user
equipment 318 of the paged party is GPS enabled. Therefore, the MSC
314 transmits a Silent Page Request 338 including a GPS location
request indicator 342 to a Cell Site 346 serving the Mobile User
Equipment 318 of the paged party. The Cell Site 346 relays the
Silent Page Request message 338 to the User Equipment 318 of the
paged party.
[0058] The User Equipment 318 of the paged party responds by
transmitting a Silent Page Response message 350 to the Cell Site
346. The cell site 346 relays the Silent Page Response message 350
to the MSC 314. The Silent Page Response message includes GPS
coordinates 352. For example, the GPS coordinates include a
longitude and latitude. The MSC 314 receives 146 the coordinates
and may transmit 154 the coordinates in their raw form or may
convert 150 the coordinates into a more user friendly format.
[0059] For example, in the exemplary scenario, the MSC 314
transmits a Location Lookup query 356 to a Location Lookup Database
360. The Location Lookup Database 360 may be housed in a Home
Location Register. Alternatively, the Location Lookup Database 360
is local to the MSC 314 or is part of a remote network adjunct. The
Location Lookup Database 360 provides a common description for the
location associated with the coordinates received in the Silent
Page Response message 350. For example, the Location Lookup
Database 360 transmits a Location Identifier message 364 including
the city name, state name, street address, nearest intersection,
distance and direction from a landmark or an abbreviation
therefore. The MSC 314 then includes the common location
description in an Accept message 368 transmitted to the Network
230. The Network 230 generates the Answer message 234 based on
information contained within the Accept message 368.
[0060] Referring to FIG. 4, if User Equipment or a Mobile Device
410 of the paged party is not GPS enabled, the processing of the
Origination message 226 proceeds in a manner similar to that
described in reference to FIG. 3 up to the point that the MSC 314
attempts to determine whether or not the Mobile Device 410 of the
paged party can provide GPS coordinates. Instead of receiving an
indication that the Mobile Device 410 of the paged party is GPS
enabled, the MSC 314 receives an indication that the Mobile Device
410 of the paged party is not GPS enabled. For example, the MSC
receives subscriber database query results 414 that indicate that
the Mobile Device 410 of the paged party is not GPS enabled.
Alternatively, the MSC queries the Mobile Device 410 directly and
either receives no response or a response indicating that the
Mobile Device 410 is not GPS enabled. The MSC 314 then attempts to
retrieve location information regarding the Mobile Device 410 of
the paged party by some other means. For example, the MSC initiates
a cellular triangulation procedure.
[0061] For instance, the MSC 314 uses the Serving Cell Site 346 as
a reference cell site. The Serving Cell Site 346 includes network
information identifying Secondary Cell Sites 418, 422, that may
also be in contact or able to reach the User Equipment 410 of the
paged party. The MSC 314 sends a Silent Page Request message 426 to
the Serving Cell Site 346. The Silent Page Request message 426
includes a location request indicator 430. Since the location
request indicator 430 is not a GPS location request, the Serving
Cell Site 346 in this exemplary scenario, interprets the Silent
Page Request 426 as a request for cellular triangulation. The
serving cell site 346 sends an On_Demand_PSMM request message 434
to the Mobile Device 410 of the paged party. Additionally, the
Serving Cell Site 346 sends CS1_CS2_On_Demand_PSMM Request messages
438, 442 to the secondary cell sites 418, 422. In response, the
Secondary Cell Sites 418, 422 transmit On_Demand_PSMM Request
messages 446, 450 to the Mobile Device 318 of the paged party. It
is to be understood that the Serving Cell Site may enlist the
services of additional secondary cell sites. For example, the
Serving Cell Site 346 may enlist the services of 2 to about 5 cell
sites in the vicinity of the Mobile Device 410 of the paged party
in order to perform cellular triangulation. The Mobile Device 410
of the paged party responds to each of the cell sites 346, 418, 422
with respective PSMM_Rsp messages 452, 454, 456. The Secondary Cell
Sites 418, 422 in turn transmit CS1_CS2_On_Demand_PSMM_Rsp messages
458, 460 to the Serving or Referenced Cell Site 346. The PSMM_Rsp
messages 452, 454, 456, 458, 460 include signal strength and/or
message delay parameter values. The serving or referenced cell site
346 transmits these signal strength and/or message delay parameter
values to the MSC 314 in a Silent Page Response message 464. The
MSC 314 uses the signal strength and/or message delay parameter
values to calculate a position of the mobile device relative to the
cell sites (e.g., 346, 418, 422). This relative position is
combined with absolute positions of the cell sites (e.g., 346, 418,
422), available to the MSC 314, in order to determine an absolute
position of the Mobile Device 410 of the paged party. This raw
absolute position may be transmitted to the location requestor or
paging party. However, in the exemplary embodiment, in a manner
similar to that described in reference to FIG. 3, the calculated
absolute position of the mobile device 410 can be included in a
Common Location Description Request message or database query 468
sent by the MSC 314 to a Location Lookup Database 472. The
calculated location coordinates included in the Location Lookup
Database query 468 may be in a different format than used in the
GPS based location lookup query 356. The Location Lookup Database
472 responds to the database query 468 with a Location Identifier
message or Query Response 476 including a common description of the
location of the Mobile Device 410. The MSC 314 includes that
description in an Accept message 480 transmitted to the network 230
as a response to the Incall message 310. Information in the Accept
message 480 is used to generate the Answer message 234 described in
reference to FIG. 2.
[0062] The procedures of method 110 can be performed by a wide
variety of network elements. The responsibility for carrying out
the procedures of the method can be distributed among a variety of
network elements or implemented in a more concentrated fashion by
various combinations of hardware and software.
[0063] Referring to FIG. 5, in one implementation, a Mobile
Switching Center 514 includes a Subscription Feature Determiner
518, a GPS Coordinate Determiner 522, a Cellular Triangulator 526,
and a Coordinate Converter 530. Of course, the Mobile Switching
Center 514 also includes Main MSC Functions 534 as are known in the
art, and the MSC 514 includes a Network Interface 538 for
communicating with a network 542 for carrying out the Main MSC
Functions 534 and the procedures of the method 110.
[0064] The Subscription Feature Determiner 518 may determine 122 if
a paged party subscribes to a location provision service and if so
may determine 126 if the paging party is entitled to location
information about the paged party. For example, the Subscription
Feature Determiner 518 may generate the Subscriber Database Query
messages 326 for retrieving a state of a location provision feature
activation bit and, if applicable, a list of parties or user
equipment to which location information may be provided. For
instance, the Subscription Feature Determiner 518 communicates with
a Subscriber Database 540 by sending the Query messages 326 through
the Network Interface 538 and through the Network 542 to the
Subscriber Database 540. Information from the Subscriber Database
540 is delivered to the Subscription Feature Determiner 518 through
the Network 542 and the Network Interface 538. The Subscription
Feature Determiner 518 may analyze the delivered subscription
information to determine if the User Equipment of the paged party
is GPS enabled. The results of such a determination are
communicated to the GPS Coordinate Determiner 522 and/or the
Cellular Triangulator 526.
[0065] If the Subscription Feature Determiner 518 informs the GPS
Coordinate Determiner 522 that the User Equipment of the paged
party is GPS enabled, the GPS Coordinate Determiner 522 generates
and transmits a Silent Page (with GPS location request indication
message 342). The Silent Page message 338 is transmitted to the
User Equipment (e.g. 318) of the paged party through the services
of the Network Interface 538, the Network 542 and a Serving Cell
Site (e.g. 346).
[0066] Alternatively, if the Subscription Feature Determiner 518
does not provide an indication as to whether or not the User
Equipment of the paged party is GPS enabled, the GPS Coordinate
Determiner 522 may generate a query as to whether or not the User
Equipment of the paged party can provide GPS coordinates. The GPS
query may be transmitted to the Subscriber Database 540 through the
Network Interface 538 and intervening Network 542. Alternatively,
the GPS query may be directed to the User Equipment of the paged
party (e.g. 318, 410) via the Network Interface 538, Network 542
and a Serving Base Station (e.g. 346). If a response to the query
indicates that the User Equipment of the paged party is GPS
enabled, the GPS coordinate determiner 522 generates and transmits
a Silent Page message 338 with a GPS location request indicator 342
as described above. If no response is received or if the response
indicates that the User Equipment of the paged party is not GPS
enabled, the GPS Coordinate Determiner 522 so informs the Cellular
Triangulator 526.
[0067] When informed that location information of the calling party
is desired but that GPS coordinates are unavailable, the Cellular
Triangulator 526 orchestrates the collection of locating
information with regard to the User Equipment (e.g. 410) of the
paged party. For example, the Cellular Triangulator 526 generates
and coordinates the transmission of a plurality of PSMM Data
Collection messages 434, 446, 450. For instance, the Cellular
Triangulator 526 transmits a Silent Page message 426 to the Serving
Cell Site 346. The Serving Cell Site 346 accesses knowledge 550 it
has regarding the identity and location of a plurality of
neighboring cells sites (e.g. 418, 422) that may be in range of the
User Equipment of the paged party (e.g. 410). The Serving Cell Site
346 then initiates the transmission of the PSMM data collection
messages (On_Demand_PSMM Request messages 434, 446, 450) by
transmitting an On_Demand_PSMM_Request message to the User
Equipment 410 of the paged party and by transmitting
CS1_CS2_On_Demand_PSMM_Request messages to the neighboring or
Secondary Cell Sites 418, 422. In turn, the neighboring or
Secondary Cell Sites 418, 422 transmit On_Demand_PSMM Request
messages 446, 450 to the User Equipment 410 of the paged party. The
User Equipment 410 of the paged party responds to each of the
On_Demand_PSMM Request messages 434, 446, 450 by transmitting
PSMM_RSP messages 452, 454, 456 to the respective Cell Sites 346,
418, 422. The Secondary Cell Sites 418, 422 respond by transmitting
CS1_CS2_On_Demand_PSMM_Rsp messages 458, 460 to the Serving Cell
Site 346. The Serving Cell Site 346 compiles the information from
the PSMM Response messages 452, 458, 460 into a Silent Page
Response message 464 including PSMM measurements, and transmits the
Silent Page Response message 464 to the Cellular Triangulator 526
through the services of the Network 542 and Network interface 538.
The Cellular Triangulator 526 then uses information contained in
the Silent Page Response message 464 and knowledge 546 about the
locations of the Cell Sites 346, 418, 422 to determine a location
of the User Equipment (e.g. 410) of the paged party. For example,
the Cellular Triangulator 526 uses message delay information and/or
signal strength information contained within the Silent Page
Response message 464 to determine a relative position of the User
Equipment of the paged party to the Cell Sites 346, 418, 422. The
Cellular Triangulator 526 combines that calculated relative
position with the knowledge 546 available regarding the absolute
positions of the cell sites 346, 418, 422 to determine an absolute
position, or coordinates, of the user equipment (e.g. 410) of the
paged party.
[0068] Coordinate information, whether collected from a GPS Silent
Page Location Response message 350 received by the GPS coordinate
determiner 522, or generated through Cellular Triangulation by the
Cellular Triangulator 526, may be delivered to the Coordinate
Converter 530. If so, the Coordinate Converter 530 generates a
Coordinate Conversion message 356, 468 and transmits the Coordinate
Conversion message 356, 468 to the Common Location Description
Look-up Database 360, 472 through the services of the Network
Interface 538 and the Intervening Network 542. The Location Look-up
Database 360, 472 responds with a common description or location
identifier 364, 476 related to the position of the User Equipment
(e.g. 410) of the paged party. The location identifier 364, 476 is
transmitted to the Coordinate Converter 530 through the services of
the Network 542 and the Network interface 538. The Coordinate
Converter 530 generates an Accept message 368, 480 and transmits
the Accept message 368, 480 to the Network 230. The Network
generates an Answer message 234 which is used to generate a Silent
Answer message, which is transmitted to User Equipment 210 of the
paging party. Again, the message 368, 480 is transmitted through
the services of the Network Interface 538 and the intervening
Network 542. The Accept message 368, 480 includes the common
description of the location of the paged party. The User Equipment
210 of the paging party may be a mobile or wired device. The
location information may be displayed or communicated to the paging
party during a call or instead of a call, and/or may be logged for
future reference. Alternatively, unconverted coordinate information
may be included in the accept message.
[0069] The invention has been described with reference to preferred
embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to
others upon reading and understanding the present specification. It
is intended that the invention be construed as including all such
modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope
of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
* * * * *