CA2240803A1 - Method and system in a wireless communications network for providing a geographic location of a mobile communications device to a user thereof on a substantially continuous basis - Google Patents
Method and system in a wireless communications network for providing a geographic location of a mobile communications device to a user thereof on a substantially continuous basis Download PDFInfo
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Abstract
A method and system are presented in a wireless communications network for providing the geographic location of a mobile communications device to a user on a continuous basis. Data indicative of a geographic location of the mobile communications device is periodically compiled. The data indicative of the geographic location of the mobile communications device is thereafter converted into output data.
Next, the output data is transferred to the mobile communications device. The mobile communications device includes an output device. The output data is then provided to the user via the output device such that the output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of the mobile communications device. The output device can include a visual display unit. The output device can also include an audio unit.
The output data can also include human discernable output data such as text that can be displayed on the visual displayed unit or announced to a user via the audio unit.
Next, the output data is transferred to the mobile communications device. The mobile communications device includes an output device. The output data is then provided to the user via the output device such that the output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of the mobile communications device. The output device can include a visual display unit. The output device can also include an audio unit.
The output data can also include human discernable output data such as text that can be displayed on the visual displayed unit or announced to a user via the audio unit.
Description
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field:
The present invention relates in general to an improved wireless communication system. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved wireless communication system that allows users of mobile communication devices to be S informed of the geographic location of the mobile communications device on a substantially continuous basis.
1. Technical Field:
The present invention relates in general to an improved wireless communication system. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved wireless communication system that allows users of mobile communication devices to be S informed of the geographic location of the mobile communications device on a substantially continuous basis.
2. Description of the Related Art:
Cordless telephone systems are well-known in the prior art. A cordless telephonesystem generally includes a portable cordless handset and a cordless base station connected to a telephone company phone system by a landline. The cordless base station has an assigned landline telephone number that allows users of the portable cordless handset to place and receive calls within a limited range of the cordless portable base station, such as within a home or office. However, due to the limited range present within such systems, a cordless portable handset provides the user with only relatively local radio-telephone communication.
Radio-telephone communication outside the range of a cordless telephone system may also be provided to the user via a cellular telephone system. Cellular radio is a radiotelephone communications system that began to develop rapidly in the early 1 980s.
Basically, a cellular radiotelephone system is a small-scale, "cellular" version of the communication linkage provided by large radio-broadcasting systems. In a typicalcellular system, a geographical area is divided into smaller units, called cells, that each can have a radius of about 13 to 19 km (8 to 12 mi). Each cell has its own small radio transceiver. If necessary, each cell can be further subdivided into smaller cells. In this way, a honeycomb pattern of cells is created that repeatedly utilizes the same range of radio frequencies without interfering with one another, so long as neighboring cells do not utilize precisely the same radio channels. Persons equipped with small mobile communication devices such as mobile cellular telephones can utilize this system in the same way that telephone calls are made ~ltili7ing standard carriers.
Computerized switching is essential to the operation of cellular radio, so that when mobile-unit calls are switched from one cell to the next, the transfer in channels can take place without interruption, or at most a brief delay. The growth of electronic switching systems and the development of microprocessors have made this possible.
For each area to be covered by cellular radio, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses different types of organizations. For example, one type of org~ni7~tion must be a telephone company, while another, a business that agrees to construct the necessary radio system. In recent years, the FCC has awarded newerfrequency bands that also utilize cellular technology.
A cellular telephone system typically includes cellular subscriber units which may be mobile or portable and cellular base stations which are connected to the public telephone company via one or more cellular switching networks. Each cellular subscriber has an assigned cellular telephone number that allows the user to place and receive calls within a widespread range of the cellular base stations, such as throughout a metropolitan area.
Cellular telephone systems are thus based on a structure of associated cells. The cells are specified geographic areas that (a) are defined for a specific mobile communication system; and (b) each have their own base station and a single controller interconnected with a public telephone network. Cellular telephone systems are CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 particularly advantageous in providing eellular mobile service, a comrnunications service that allows users to aeeess telephone networks from a stationary or moving vehiele, and which is based on a combination of radio tr~ncmiccion and telephone switching. As a user passes from eell to eell, the eellular mobile serviee allows ealls in progress to be handed over without interruption to adjaeent base stations.
In wireless eommunieations, it is often desirable to determine the location of amobile eommunieations device. A number of methods currently exist that can be utilized to determine the geographie loeation of the mobile eommunieations deviee. For example, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is one method for determining the geographie location of a mobile communieations deviee. GPS, while useful in determining the geographie loeation of a mobile communications device, is not useful in delivering geographic location data direetly to such mobile eommunieation deviees, particularly existing mobile communications devices, without the purchase and operation of expensive external devices.
Of eourse, simple methods for determining an individual's location have always existed. Reading street signs is one method by whieh an individual ean loeate himself or herself. This method is limited because it is not useful in assoeiation with existing eommunieation hardware sueh as eellular telephones or portable eomputers. For example, this method is not useful for utilization by a eomputer that updates a map display. Such information, gleaned manually by a user, is not always aeeurate and ean be especially misleading when signs are missing. This method is not specifie enough to be of any praetieal benefit to a user on a long-term basis.
From the foregoing, it ean be appreeiated that a need exists for a method and system in a wireless eommunieations network for determining the loeation of a mobile eommunieations deviee on a substantially eontinuous basis. Sueh a method and system, CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 if implemented, would provide users with accurate geographical location information via their mobile communication devices. The inventor is aware of no attempts to date which actively utilize existing mobile communication devices in a wireless communications system to determine and report the geographical location of a mobile S communications device to users.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved wireless communication system.
It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide an improved cellular telephone system.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved cellular telephone system in which users of mobile communication devices can be informed of a geographic location of the mobile communication devices on a substantially continuous basis.
The above and other objects are achieved as is now described. A method and system are presented in a ~,vireless communications network for providing the geographic location of a mobile comrnunications device having an output device to a user on a substantially continuous basis. Data indicative of a geographic location of the mobile communications device is periodically compiled. The data indicative of the geographic location of the mobile communications device is thereafter converted into output data. Next, the output data is transferred to the mobile communications device.
The mobile communications device includes an output device. The output data is then provided to the user via the output device such that the output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of the mobile communications device. The output device can include a visual display unit. The output device can also include an audio unit. The output data can also include human discernable output data such as text that can be displayed on the visual displayed unit or armounced to a user via the audio unit.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features believed characteristic of this invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 illuskates a block diagram illuskative of a cellular telephone system in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented;
FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram illustrative of a cellular telephone which may beimplemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates a pictorial representation illustrative of a cellular telephone system in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented;
FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of operations illustrative of a method for providing geographic location data to a mobile communications device ~Itili7ing a short message service (SMS).
FIG. 5 depicts a pictorial representation illustrative of the various network entities involved in deterrnining the location of a mobile communications device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 illustrates a profile transfer diagram on mobile station (MS) call originations in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 FIG. 7 depicts a mes.s~ging sequence diagram representative of steps involved inupdating geographic location information on mobile station (MS) accesses in accordance with a ~l~r~ d embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 8 illustrates a mes.~ing sequence diagram representative of steps involved S in the delivery of mobile station (MS) geographic location data in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference now to the figures and in particular with reference to FIG. 1, there is depicted a block diagram of a cellular telephone system 10 in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented. The cellular telephone system 10 depicted in FIG. 1 includes a telephone company phone system (TELCO) 14, connected by telephone l~n-llines to a control terminal 16 which in turn is coupled, also by telephone landlines, to a cellular base station 18 that is geographically located in a cell of a mobile cellular telephone system.
Cellular telephone 12 communicates with cellular base station 18 via antennas 22 and 24. Antennas 22 and 24 can be implemented as telescopic whip antennas that extend or retract (i.e., lengthen or shorten), by being constructed in the form of overlapping concentric cylinders that slide inside of each other and make electrical contact with each other. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that such antennas are, of course, only examples of antennas that can be utilized with a cellular telephone system such as cellular telephone system 10. A wide variety of other antennae can also be utilized in conjunction with a wireless communication system such ascellular telephone system 10. Also, the landlines utilized in association with cellular telephone system 10 are lines that can be placed in areas on land or inland waterways, and can include twisted-pair lines, coaxial cables, and fiber optic cables utilized in overhead, direct buried, underground, microwave, and satellite applications.
Additional cellular base stations may be located throughout a geographic area toprovide telephone service to cellular telephones 12. Cellular base station 18 incorporates both a receiver antenna 22 and a transmitter antenna 24 for communicating with cellular telephones 12. Mobile cellular telephone 12 can be a mobile unit installed in a vehicle, a transportable unit that includes a mobile unit and battery installed in a CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 carrying case, or a hand-held portable unit. Mobile cellular telephone 12 includes an ~ntf~nn~ 20 for the cellular radio charmels. In the United States, cellular radio channel frequencies are located in the frequency band range of ~plo~illlately 824 MHz to 894 MHz. More particularly, in the United States, a total bandwidth of 50 MHz is allocated for cellular mobile services such that the 50 MHz is distributed between 824 MHz and 849 MHz, and 869 MHz and 894 MHz of the frequency spectrum. Recently, the FCC
has auctioned off bandwidths in the l.9 GHz range. All of these bands can be utilized in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile cellular telephone 12 that can be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Mobile cellular telephone 12 is one type of a mobile communications device. Mobile cellular telephone 12 includes antenna 20, cellular telephone transceiver 120, microcomputer 130, keypad 140, display 180, audio switch 150, and handset 160, including speaker 162 and microphone 164. Microcomputer 130 is a computer constructed about a single-chip microprocessor. Less powerful than a mini-computer or a mainframe computer, microcomputer 130 is nevertheless capable of complex tasks involving the processing of logical operations. Microcomputer 130 includes a central processing unit (CPU), which is the computational and control unit of microcomputer 130, and which interprets and executes instructions for mobile cellular telephone 12.
The CPU is not shown in FIG. 2.
Altematively, cellular telephone transceiver 120 may be coupled to a single antenna 119 in place of antenna 20 and by way of high-pass filter 187, respectively High-pass filter 187 is utilized to filter only those signals which fall within a frequency range utilized by cellular telephones in the United States. High-pass filter 187 can be further modified to allow for cellular telephone frequency ranges of countries other than the United States. Specific design parameters of such a high-pass filter are left to the CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 RR1188 -ll-discretion of the manufacturer of a cellular telephone such as mobile cellular telephone 12. Display 180 can be any type of display device or visual display unit that visually presents data to a cellular telephone user. Display devices such as a light-emitting diode panel or a liquid crystal display can be utilized to implement display 180.
Speaker 162 constitutes an audio unit that presents audible messages to users. Both the audio unit and display 180 constitute output devices that present information to the users of mobile cellular telephone 12. Keypad 140 is a set of keys that are mounted on a small keyboard and are dedicated to a specific purpose, such as inserting numbers.
Keypad 140 is preferably modeled on the standard telephone keypad.
Control signals 131 TX ENABLE and 132 RX ENABLE of microcomputer 130 enable cellular transmitter 124 and cellular receiver 122, respectively. In addition to control signals 131 and 132 to cellular transceiver 120, microcomputer 130 also monitors control signals 133 RSSI, 134, RX DATA, and 135 TX DATA for detecting signal strength, for detecting receive data and for sending transmit data, respectively, utilized in operation of cellular transceiver 120. Cellular transceiver 120 is composed of cellular receiver 122, cellular transmitter 124, and audio circuitry 126. RX AUDIO
and TX AUDIO signal lines couple audio circuitry 126 to audio switch 150. An RX
AUDIO signal is transmitted to audio switch 150 at node Al. A TX AUDIO signal istransmitted to audio circuitry 126 from audio switch 150 from node Bl. Additional signal lines connect cellular transmitter 124 and cellular receiver 126 to audio circuitry 126. Note that the example depicted in FIG. 2 merely describes one form of a cellular telephone that can be utilized in accordance with the method and system of the present invention. One skilled in the art will appreciate that other types of cellular telephone systems can be implemented with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as long as the particular cellular telephone system utilized features a method and system for providing the geographic location of a mobile communications device to a mobile communications device user on a substantially continuous basis.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 FIG. 3 depicts a pictorial representation illustrative of a cellular telephone system 30 in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented.
Cellular telephone system 30 is composed of a variety of cells 34. Each cell encompasses a specified geographic area. Each geographic area has its own base station 36 and a single controller (not shown) interconnected with a public telephone network.
Each cell 34 sits adjacent another cell to create a honeycomb pattern of cells. Cells 34 can cover a large metropolitan area. Each cell 34 can have a radius of about 13 to 19 km (8 to 12 miles), depending upon the strength of each base station 36.
Such specific distances, however, are not necessary features of the present invention. Cells can have ranges from as low as several hundred feet up to approximately 25 miles in radius. The specific numbers described herein are for demonstrative purposes only and are not necessary limitations of the present invention.
Although not depicted in FIG. 3, each cell 34 can be further subdivided into still smaller cells. In this way, a honeycomb pattern of cells is formed such that each cell repeatedly utilizes the same range of radio frequencies without interfering with one another, so long as neighboring cells do not utilize precisely the same radio channels.
This is true particularly for analog mobile phone service/time division media access (AMPS/TDMA), a type of wireless communications service well known in the art of communication systems.
Those skilled in the art, however, will appreciate that the example depicted in FIG. 3 is illustrative only, and is not a necessary feature of the invention. Other types of wireless communication services such as those that incorporate code division multiple access (CDMA) can be utilized in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. CDMA can utilize the same frequencies (i.e., broadband) to transmit calls in adjacent cells. CDMA does not utilize frequencies to separate calls, but utilizes - a special algorithm that "pulls" a single call from a spread spectrum signal that multiple CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 mobile communication devices can utilize to transmit simultaneously. CDMA is thus another type of wireless communications service that can be utilized in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Although not shown in FIG. 3, each cell 34 can include six directional antennas,centrally located in each cell 34, each r~ ting into a sixty degree section of each cell.
A plurality of cells 34 are combined to form cellular telephone system 30 that encompasses a particular geographic area. This cellular system enables mobile cellular telephone traffic to communicate with landline telephone networks and other mobile cellular telephones while moving through the geographic area. Each cell 34 also has a number of frequencies, transmitted by low power transmitters, assigned to it that cannot be utilized in adjacent cells because of frequency interference problems. Due to the low power of each cell's transmitter, however, the same frequency can be re-utilized in other cells, referred to as co-channel cells in the same metropolitan area.
Cellular telephone system 30 is an example of a cellular mobile service, a communications service that allow users of mobile communication devices such as mobile cellular telephones to access the public telephone network from a stationary or moving vehicle. Cellular telephone system 30 is based on a combination of radio tr~n.~mi.~sion and telephone switching. Individuals with small mobile telephones can utilize cellular telephone system 30 in the same way that telephone calls are made tili7inp standard carriers. Cellular telephone system 30 is thus a wireless mobile service that provides a communications link to a mobile communications device user by segmenting a large geographic area into smaller areas (i.e., cells). Cellular telephone system 30 includes cellular subscriber units that may be mobile or portable. Each base station 36 is connected to the public telephone company (i.e., TELCO) via one or more cellular switching networks (not shown). Each cellular subscriber has an assigned CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 cellular telephone number that allows the user to place and receive calls within a widespread range of each base station 36, such as throughout a metropolitan area.
During a cellular telephone call, when a mobile communications device moves from one cell to another, the mobile communications device must be "handed-off" to the next cell in order to continue communicating. However, problems can be encountered when a mobile subscriber utili7ing a mobile communications device travels from one cell to another during a mobile telephone call. Since adjacent areas do not utilize identical radio channels, a call must either be dropped or transferred from one radio channel to another when a user crosses the boundary between adjacent cells.
Because dropping the call is unacceptable, the process of "handoff" solves this problem.
Handoff occurs when the mobile telephone network automatically transfers a call from radio channel to radio channel as the mobile communications device crosses from one cell into an adjacent cell.
During a cellular communications transaction (i.e. a cellular telephone call), two parties to the cellular communications transaction share a single voice channel (i.e., transmit and receive are on a single voice charmel). If the two parties happen to be users l~tili7inp mobile communications devices, the users utilize two voice channels.
If the two parties did not utilize two voice channels, they would interfere with one another. When the mobile unit moves out of the coverage area of a given cell site, the reception becomes weak. At this point, the cell site requests a handoff. The cellular telephone system then switches the call to a stronger-frequency channel in a new site without interrupting the call or alerting the user. The call continues as long as the user of the mobile communications device continues talking. In such an instance, the user of the mobile communications device may not notice the handoff at all. In most cellular telephone systems, however, during a handoff procedure, the signal usually becomes temporarily weak. The signal quality improves abruptly when the handoff is completed. Mobile cellular telephone users often experience a short mute period (i.e., no voice) when the mobile-unit transfers to a new frequency.
In the example depicted in FIG. 3, a road 32, such as a metropolitan highway, extends through cells 34 of cellular telephone system 30. A user of a mobile communications device travelling along road 32 through each cell 34 can, while travelling, perform cellular mobile telephone operations. Cellular telephone system 30 further includes a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO) 33, a central office for mobile switching in cellular telephone system 30. MTSO 33 houses a mobile switching center (MSC) 37, and fielded monitoring and relay stations (not shown) for switching calls from cell sites to wireline central offices such as (TELCO) 14 depicted in FIG.
1, or a public switched telephone network (PSTN), made up of local networks, exchange area networks, and long-haul networks that interconnect telephones and other communication devices on a worldwide basis. MSC 37 can control system operationsin analog cellular networks. For example, MSC 37 can control calls, track billing information, and locate mobile cellular telephone subscribers. MSC 37 is thus a switch that provides services and coordination between mobile communications device users in a network such as cellular telephone system 30 and external networks.
FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of operations 41 illustrative of a method for providing geographic location data to a mobile cornmunications device l~ti~ ing a short message service (SMS). In the art of wireless communication, the acronym SMS
represents the phrase "short message service." SMS is well known in the art of wireless communication as a service that provides the capability of delivering messages to a mobile communications device such that the messages received by the mobile communications device are displayed as text for a user of the mobile communications device. SMS converts communications data to text format for utilization by the mobile CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 communications device user. As illustrated at block 43, those mobile communication devices capable of receiving SMS messages are determined.
As depicted at block 45, a list of SMS capable mobile communication devices desiring the service described herein is compiled. The service described herein is a location notification service and is provided by a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As described at block 47, a user of a mobile communications device can activate the mobile communications device by placing the device in an "on" state. As illustrated at block 49, a test is performed to determine whether the mobile communications device activated by the user is included among the list of SMS capable mobile communication devices. If it is determined that the mobile communicationsdevice is not contained in the list, then the process ends. However, if it is determined that the mobile communications device is contained in the compiled list of SMS capable mobile communication devices, then as described at block 51, the geographic location of the mobile communications device is determined. In other words, data indicative of the geographic location of the mobile communications device is compiled utili~ing a geographic locator method.
Any number of geographic locator methods can be utilized to perform this operation, such as, for example, determining the latitude and longitude of the mobile communications device via signal strength triangulation. Signal strength triangulation, a technique well known in the art of communications, involves obtaining a fix on a transmitter by plotting, on a map, the bearings of the transmitter from the plotted positions of the stations that are taking and reporting the bearings, and determining the geographic location of the intersection of those bearings. Of course, those skilled in the art can appreciate that signal strength triangulation can be performed via a variety of different techniques. For example, instead of l~tili7illg a map, table of longitude and latitude can be utilized, or the intersection point can be calculated by utili7in~ the known positions and bearings. The intersection is a point that is common to t~,vo or more sectors that are defined by the bearings that are taken. If bearings are taken from three or more stations, the intersections will define an area whose size depends on the precision of the bearing instrurnents.
As illustrated at block 53, data related to the geographic location of the mobile communications device is converted into a~propliate text that can be displayed for a mobile communications device user. The operation described at block 53 involves converting data indicative of the geographic location of the mobile communications device into output data that can be utilized later by a user of the mobile communications device. The output data is thus data that can be displayed as text via a visual display unit coupled to the mobile communications device, or announced via an audio unit also coupled to the mobile communications device.
As described at block 55, the text is then transmitted to the mobile communications device. The operation illustrated at block 55 involves transferring the output data (i.e. the text) to the mobile communications device. The text constitutes human discernable output data that can be interpreted by a human operator via the visual display unit. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that although the output data transferred to the mobile communications device can include human discernable output data in the form of readable text, such output data can col1~Lilul~ data that cannot be understood by humans, but can be utilized by devices such as computers, either attached directly to the mobile communications device or which incorporate the mobile communications device in some form. For example, it is conceivable that a computer can utilize this output data to update a display map, which is then displayed for a user.
A human operator may not initially be able to understand the output data transferred from the SMS, but will understand the data when displayed on the display map.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 However, for illustrative purposes, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the output data can be transferred to the mobile communications device and converted into some form of human discernable output data. For exarnple, the SMScan transfer the output data to the mobile communications device, which in turn, via S audio ciL-;uiky such as audio circuitry 126 depicted in FIG. 2, converts the output data to audible output. In such a case, the human discernable output data is transferred as text to the mobile communications device and converted into an audible output. Thus, the audio circuitry can be implemented to provide text-to-speech conversion that allows a human operator to "hear" the geographic location information. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that visual displays such as display 180 of FIG. 2 iscommonly utilized to relay information to human operators as displayed text, as opposed to providing text-to-speech conversion.
The audio circuitry described herein can also include the capability of indicating to a human operator that an SMS message has in fact arrived at the mobile communications device. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, audiocilcuil~y such as audio CiLCuilly 126 would signal, via for example a "beep," that the SMS message has arrived, and a visual display such as display 180 can display the current geographic location of the mobile communications device as text for the user.
As depicted at block 57, a test is performed to determine whether or not to update the current position of the mobile communications device.
If it is determined to update the current position of the mobile communications device, the operations described in blocks 51, 53 and 55 are repeated, after a wait period, as described at block 38, is performed. The wait period, illustrated at block 38, allows time to update the geographic location of the mobile communications device, particularly in those cases where the mobile communications device moves a greatdistance in a short period of time. If it is determined not to update the current position CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 of the mobile communications device, the process termin~tes, based on the subscriber preference. The test described at block 57 allows data indicative of the geographic location of the mobile communications device to be periodically compiled (i.e., updated) such that the geographic location of the mobile communications device can be provided to the user thereof on a substantially continuous basis.
FIG. 5 depicts a pictorial representation 40 illustrative of the various networkentities involved in deterrnining the location of a mobile communications device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a service is provided that can be compartmentalized into three sections: subscription, geographic location collection, and delivery of location data to a mobile station (MS). In the pictorial representation 40 of FIG. 5, a home location register (HLR) 44 is coupled to a visiting location register (VLR) 48, also connected to a serving mobile switching center (MSC-S) 50. MSC-S
40 is one form of a mobile switching center (MSC), which is an automatic system that constitutes an interface for user traffic between the cellular network and other public switched netwo~ks or other MSC's in the sarne or other networks.
MSC-S 50 is in turn coupled to a message center 42, which in turn is coupled to HLR 44 and a service machine 46. Service machine 46 is connected to MSC-S 50.
HLR 44 is a location register to which a user identity may be assigned for record purposes, such as subscriber information. A register is a device that is accessible to a number of input circuits, accepts and stores data, and is usually utilized only as a device for the temporary storage of data. Subscriber inforrnation can include serial number, MS
directory number, profile information, current location, authorization period, and so forth.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 In general, an HLR may or may not be located within and be indistinguishable from an MSC. Further, an HLR may serve more than one MSC and can be distributed over more than one physical entity. HLR 44 thus provides profile information. VLR
48 stores this profile information, and MSC-S 50 reports the location information to the S service machine. The service machine tells message center 42 to send an SMS message to the MS. Message center 42 sends the SMS message to the MSC-S 50, and MSC-S
50 forwards the SMS message to the MS.
The subscription portion of the service provides the necessary inforrnation to the various entities involved as to which mobile stations have subscribed to the service.
HLR 44, VLR 48, and service machine 46 are involved in this portion of the service.
HLR 44 is responsible for provisioning for the new service. This means that HLR 44 provides an external interface that allows an HLR operator the capability of specifying which mobile communications device will have the new service, and which mobile stations will not have the new service.
The information specifying subscription includes the address of the service machine and how the information should be reported (e.g, based on time, distancemoved, and so forth). The HLR is responsible for informing the VLR in the profile whether or not a particular MS has subscribed to the service and the address of the service machine. Depending upon a desired implementation of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the HLR may or may not be responsible for providing the subscription information to the service m~l~hine.
VLR 48 is responsible for storing the new subscription information from the enhanced profile when HLR 44 informs VLR 48 that an MS has subscribed to the newfeature. VLR 48 is responsible for making this information available to the MSC.Service machine 46 is responsible for deterrnining the subscription information for mobile switches. This may be done by fetching the profile from HLR 44 or it may be done by providing an external interface where the service machine operator can design~te which mobile stations are provided with the service.
Note that in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8, like parts are referred to by like reference numerals. FIG. 6 illustrates a profile transfer diagram 54 of mobile station (MS) call originations in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Diagram 54 includes mobile station (MS) 52, MSC 50, VLR 48 and HLR
44. Diagram 54 depicts a modified IS-41 mesc~ging sequence utilizes by HLR 44 and VLR 48 to transfer the profile that includes subscription information. IS-41 is the Cellular Radiotelecommunications Intersystems Operations standard well known in the art of wireless communication networks.
In FIG. 6, as indicated at step a, the serving MSC (i.e., MSC 50) receives a call origination from MS 52. The call origination is specifically indicated by arrow 56. As indicated at step b, if the profile of MS 52 is unknown to MSC 50, a "QUALREQ" is sent to VLR 48, as specifically indicated by arrow 58. As indicated at step c, and specifically by arrow 59, if the profile of MS 52 is unknown to VLR 48, VLR 48 sends a "QUALREQ" to HLR 44. HLR 44 is an HLR associated with VLR 48. As indicated at step d, HLR 44 then sends a "qualreq" to VLR 48. The "qualreg" response sent by HLR 44 is specifically indicated by arrow 61. The subscription information for the new service is included with the "qualreq" message. As indicated at step e, VLR 48 stores the subscription information and sends back the "qualreq" to MSC 50. The "qualreg"
response sent by VLR 48 to MSC 50 is specifically indicated by arrow 60. Note that messages in all capital letters (e.g. "QUALREQ") are invoking messages requesting that a particular action be taken. Capital letter messages are invocation messages. Messages in all lower case (e.g. "qualreq") are return results (i.e., responses), giving the data requested or information related to what happened as a result of the request.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 "Geographic location collection" is the part of the service that involves determining the geographic location of the MS and transferring that information to the service machine (i.e., service machine 46). MSC-S 50 and service machine 46 are involved in this portion of the service. MSC-S 50 is responsible for det~rminin~ the geographic location of MS 52 and sending that information to service machine 46. The MSC-S can deterrnine the geographic location of the MS via a variety of possibletechniques, including techniques such as signal strength triangulation, directional ~nt~nn~e, and so forth. Thus, one skilled in the art can appreciate that any number of geographic locator methods can be utilized to perform this operation. The GlobalPositioning System (GPS) is another example of a technique that can be utilized to calculate the latitude and longitude of the MS. GPS is a United States federal-government-sponsored system that enables the identification and determination of the position of a mobile transmitter anywhere on or near the Earth's surface. SignalIntercept from Low Orbit (SILO) can be utilized in association with the GPS. SILO
is a tracking beacon that utilizes GPS signals to determine the location of an object, such as a mobile communications device, and transmits GPS location data with a unique identification code utili7ing an ultrahigh frequency (UHF) carrier. SILO can receive signals from space, airborne, or ground systems, and is roughly the size of a video cassette.
Those skilled in the art will of course appreciate that GPS is but one geographic locator method that can be utilized in association with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. GPS is not a necessary feature of the present invention. Rather, GPS is one technique available to gather geographic location information related to the position of the MS. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, GPS and other geographic locator methods are utilized to determine the geographic location of the MS.
SMS is utilized to transmit this information to a user of a mobile cellular telephone in a manner that allows this information to be displayed textually for the user. Signal CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 strength triangulation as described herein is another technique that can be utilized in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention to determine thelatitude and longitude of the MS. The service machine is responsible for receiving and storing information about the geographic location of the MS.
FIG. 7 depicts a message sequencing diagram 62 representative of steps involved in updating geographic location information on mobile station (MS) accesses, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As indicated at step a, the serving MSC (i.e., MSC 50) is accessed by MS 52. This access is indicated by arrow 68. As indicated at step b, if a profile indicates that MS 52 has this service, and it is appropriate (i.e., time has expired, the mobile communications device has moved sufficiently, or other potential trigger) that MSC 50 inform service machine 46 of the new location of MS 52, then MSC 50 sends a "LOCNOT" (i.e. location notification)message to service machine 46. This step is specifically described at arrow 66. As indicated at step c, service machine 46 stores the new location of MS 52 and returns a "locnot" (i.e., response) to MSC 50. The "locnot" response message sent by service machine 46 to MSC 50 is specifically indicated by arrow 64. At this point, the service machine can initiate delivery of location information.
The part of the service involved in the delivery of location information to the MS
involves taking the geographic location information that has already been collected, tr~n~l~ting it into appropriate text desired by the user, and providing this information to the MS. The service machine, message center, HLR and MSC-S are involved in this portion of the service. The service machine is responsible for converting the geographic location information into appropriate text that can be read by the user, determining when it is a~prop~iate to inform the user (i.e., based on time, distance moved, etc), and sending an appropliate "SMDPP" message to the message center.
Examples of appropliate text that may useful for a user include the name of the city in CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 which the MS is located, the street name in which the MS is located, street names that are nearest the closest major intersection, longitude and latitude, distance from a fixed point, or any combination of the above.
The message center is responsible for receiving this text from the service machine, determining the current SMS address that utilized to converse with the mobile station, constructing the correct SMS message, and then sending the message to the MSC-S.The HLR is responsible for providing that current SMS address utilized to send SMS
messages to the MS. The MSC-S is responsible for receiving the SMS message and transmitting it to the MS.
FIG. 8 illustrates a message sequencing diagram 70 representative of steps involved in the delivery of mobile station (MS) geographic location data in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As indicated at step a, service machine 46 determines that it is time to send location information (i.e., the text) to MS
52. Thus, service machine 46 sends this information to message center 42, as indicated specifically by arrow 72. Arrow 72 depicts sending of an "SMDPP" message. Note that this message can be an IS-41 message, or it can be sent via another method for transferring data, such as over a remote computer network.
As indicated at step b, message center 42 responds by verifying that it has received the data that needs to be sent to MS 52. This response is indicated specifically by arrow 74. This response is an "smdpp" response message. As indicated at step c, if message center 42 does not have the current SMS address of the MS (i.e. MS 52), message center 42 then sends an "SMSREQ" message to HLR 44, which is specifically indicated at arrow 76. As indicated at step d, HLR 44 sends an "smsreq" responsemessage to message center 42. The "smsreq" response message contains the currentSMS address of MS 52. Sending of the "smsreq" response message is indicated at CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 arrow 78. As indicated at step e, message center 42 sends an SMDPP message to the serving MSC (i.e. MSC 50) with the text formatted correctly according to the type of MS. For exarnple MS 52, may only allow text of a few words to be passed for display to the mobile communications device user. The display may only mention text suchas "Located in X City," or "Located near N Street and Y Street."
Sending of the "SMDPP" message by message center 42 to MSC 50 is specifically indicated by arrow 80. As indicated at step f, the serving MSC (i.e, MSC
50) sends the text to MS 52 11tili7.ing air interface, well known in the art of communication networking. The act of sending text to MS 52 from MSC 50 is specifically indicated by the sending of an "SMD-REQ" message as indicated by arrow 82. As indicated at step g, M S 52 response with an indication that it has received the text. This response is specifically indicated by the response message "SMD-ACK" as indicated by arrow 84. Finally, as indicated at step h, the serving MSC notifiesmessage center 42 that MS 52 received the message. This notification is specifically indicated by arrow 86.
It can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the processes depicted herein present a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, although not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times by those skilled in the art, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropliate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as adding or comparing, which are commonly associated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No such capability of a human operator is necessary or desirable in most cases in any of the operations described herein which form part of the present invention; the operations are machine operations. Useful m~chines for perforrning operations of a preferred embodiment of the present invention include data-processing systems such as general purpose digital colllpuL~l~ or other similar devices.
In all cases, the distinction between the method of operations in operating a computer and the method of computation itself should be borne in mind. The present invention relates to method steps for processing electrical or other (e.g. mechanical, chemical) physical signals to generate other desired physical signals, and can be implemented via a computer such as microcomputer 130 depicted in FIG. 2. However, it is not necessary to m~int:~in within a computer memory of a cellular telephone, instructions implementing these method steps. Such instructions can be m~int~ined with l S a computer memory at a cellular telephone base station or a central broadcasting center from which such base stations receive instructions. Implementation of the methoddescribed herein is left to the discretion of a particular wireless communications system deslgner.
It can be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the methods or processes described herein can be implemented as a program product, such as a control program residing within a computer memory and cont~ining instructions that when executed on a CPU contained within a microcomputer or computer system such as a personal computer or workstation, will carry out the operations depicted in the logic flow charts described herein. For example, microcomputer 130 contains a CPU (i.e., not shown in FIG. 2) which can carry out the operations depicted in the logic flow charts. It is important to note that, while the present invention can be described in the context of CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 a fully functional computer system, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the present invention applies equally, regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing media utilized to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of signal-bearing media include: recordable-type media, such as floppy disks, hard-disk drives and CD ROMs, and tr~n~mi~ion-type media, such as digital and analog communication links. Specific examples of tr~n~mis~ion-type media include communication devices such as modems.
Preferred implementations ofthe invention include implementations as a computer system or microcomputer programmed to execute the method or methods described herein, and as program product. According to the computer system or microcomputer implementation, sets of instructions for executing the method and methods are resident resident in a memory of one or more computer systems conf1gured generally as described above. Until required by the computer system, the set of instructions may be stored as a computer-program product in another computer memory such as a disk drive (which may include a removable memory such as an optical disk or floppy disk for eventual utilization in the disk drive).
The computer-program product can also be stored at another computer and tr~n~mitted when desired to the user's workstation by a network or by an external communications network. One skilled in the art can appreciate that the physical storage of the sets of instructions physically changes the medium upon which it is stored so that the medium carries computer-readable information. The change may be electrical, magnetic, chemical, or some other physical change. While it is convenient to describe the invention in terms of instructions, symbols, characters, or the like, the reader should remember that all of these and similar terms should be associated with the appropriate physical elements.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 ~R1188 -28-The embo.liments and examples set forth herein are presented in order to best explain the present invention and its practical application and to thereby enable those skilled in the art to make and utilize the invention. However, those skilled in the art S will recognize that the foregoing description and examples have been presented for the purposes of illustration and example only. The description as set forth is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the following claims.
Cordless telephone systems are well-known in the prior art. A cordless telephonesystem generally includes a portable cordless handset and a cordless base station connected to a telephone company phone system by a landline. The cordless base station has an assigned landline telephone number that allows users of the portable cordless handset to place and receive calls within a limited range of the cordless portable base station, such as within a home or office. However, due to the limited range present within such systems, a cordless portable handset provides the user with only relatively local radio-telephone communication.
Radio-telephone communication outside the range of a cordless telephone system may also be provided to the user via a cellular telephone system. Cellular radio is a radiotelephone communications system that began to develop rapidly in the early 1 980s.
Basically, a cellular radiotelephone system is a small-scale, "cellular" version of the communication linkage provided by large radio-broadcasting systems. In a typicalcellular system, a geographical area is divided into smaller units, called cells, that each can have a radius of about 13 to 19 km (8 to 12 mi). Each cell has its own small radio transceiver. If necessary, each cell can be further subdivided into smaller cells. In this way, a honeycomb pattern of cells is created that repeatedly utilizes the same range of radio frequencies without interfering with one another, so long as neighboring cells do not utilize precisely the same radio channels. Persons equipped with small mobile communication devices such as mobile cellular telephones can utilize this system in the same way that telephone calls are made ~ltili7ing standard carriers.
Computerized switching is essential to the operation of cellular radio, so that when mobile-unit calls are switched from one cell to the next, the transfer in channels can take place without interruption, or at most a brief delay. The growth of electronic switching systems and the development of microprocessors have made this possible.
For each area to be covered by cellular radio, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses different types of organizations. For example, one type of org~ni7~tion must be a telephone company, while another, a business that agrees to construct the necessary radio system. In recent years, the FCC has awarded newerfrequency bands that also utilize cellular technology.
A cellular telephone system typically includes cellular subscriber units which may be mobile or portable and cellular base stations which are connected to the public telephone company via one or more cellular switching networks. Each cellular subscriber has an assigned cellular telephone number that allows the user to place and receive calls within a widespread range of the cellular base stations, such as throughout a metropolitan area.
Cellular telephone systems are thus based on a structure of associated cells. The cells are specified geographic areas that (a) are defined for a specific mobile communication system; and (b) each have their own base station and a single controller interconnected with a public telephone network. Cellular telephone systems are CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 particularly advantageous in providing eellular mobile service, a comrnunications service that allows users to aeeess telephone networks from a stationary or moving vehiele, and which is based on a combination of radio tr~ncmiccion and telephone switching. As a user passes from eell to eell, the eellular mobile serviee allows ealls in progress to be handed over without interruption to adjaeent base stations.
In wireless eommunieations, it is often desirable to determine the location of amobile eommunieations device. A number of methods currently exist that can be utilized to determine the geographie loeation of the mobile eommunieations deviee. For example, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is one method for determining the geographie location of a mobile communieations deviee. GPS, while useful in determining the geographie loeation of a mobile communications device, is not useful in delivering geographic location data direetly to such mobile eommunieation deviees, particularly existing mobile communications devices, without the purchase and operation of expensive external devices.
Of eourse, simple methods for determining an individual's location have always existed. Reading street signs is one method by whieh an individual ean loeate himself or herself. This method is limited because it is not useful in assoeiation with existing eommunieation hardware sueh as eellular telephones or portable eomputers. For example, this method is not useful for utilization by a eomputer that updates a map display. Such information, gleaned manually by a user, is not always aeeurate and ean be especially misleading when signs are missing. This method is not specifie enough to be of any praetieal benefit to a user on a long-term basis.
From the foregoing, it ean be appreeiated that a need exists for a method and system in a wireless eommunieations network for determining the loeation of a mobile eommunieations deviee on a substantially eontinuous basis. Sueh a method and system, CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 if implemented, would provide users with accurate geographical location information via their mobile communication devices. The inventor is aware of no attempts to date which actively utilize existing mobile communication devices in a wireless communications system to determine and report the geographical location of a mobile S communications device to users.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved wireless communication system.
It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide an improved cellular telephone system.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved cellular telephone system in which users of mobile communication devices can be informed of a geographic location of the mobile communication devices on a substantially continuous basis.
The above and other objects are achieved as is now described. A method and system are presented in a ~,vireless communications network for providing the geographic location of a mobile comrnunications device having an output device to a user on a substantially continuous basis. Data indicative of a geographic location of the mobile communications device is periodically compiled. The data indicative of the geographic location of the mobile communications device is thereafter converted into output data. Next, the output data is transferred to the mobile communications device.
The mobile communications device includes an output device. The output data is then provided to the user via the output device such that the output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of the mobile communications device. The output device can include a visual display unit. The output device can also include an audio unit. The output data can also include human discernable output data such as text that can be displayed on the visual displayed unit or armounced to a user via the audio unit.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features believed characteristic of this invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 illuskates a block diagram illuskative of a cellular telephone system in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented;
FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram illustrative of a cellular telephone which may beimplemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates a pictorial representation illustrative of a cellular telephone system in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented;
FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of operations illustrative of a method for providing geographic location data to a mobile communications device ~Itili7ing a short message service (SMS).
FIG. 5 depicts a pictorial representation illustrative of the various network entities involved in deterrnining the location of a mobile communications device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 illustrates a profile transfer diagram on mobile station (MS) call originations in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 FIG. 7 depicts a mes.s~ging sequence diagram representative of steps involved inupdating geographic location information on mobile station (MS) accesses in accordance with a ~l~r~ d embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 8 illustrates a mes.~ing sequence diagram representative of steps involved S in the delivery of mobile station (MS) geographic location data in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference now to the figures and in particular with reference to FIG. 1, there is depicted a block diagram of a cellular telephone system 10 in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented. The cellular telephone system 10 depicted in FIG. 1 includes a telephone company phone system (TELCO) 14, connected by telephone l~n-llines to a control terminal 16 which in turn is coupled, also by telephone landlines, to a cellular base station 18 that is geographically located in a cell of a mobile cellular telephone system.
Cellular telephone 12 communicates with cellular base station 18 via antennas 22 and 24. Antennas 22 and 24 can be implemented as telescopic whip antennas that extend or retract (i.e., lengthen or shorten), by being constructed in the form of overlapping concentric cylinders that slide inside of each other and make electrical contact with each other. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that such antennas are, of course, only examples of antennas that can be utilized with a cellular telephone system such as cellular telephone system 10. A wide variety of other antennae can also be utilized in conjunction with a wireless communication system such ascellular telephone system 10. Also, the landlines utilized in association with cellular telephone system 10 are lines that can be placed in areas on land or inland waterways, and can include twisted-pair lines, coaxial cables, and fiber optic cables utilized in overhead, direct buried, underground, microwave, and satellite applications.
Additional cellular base stations may be located throughout a geographic area toprovide telephone service to cellular telephones 12. Cellular base station 18 incorporates both a receiver antenna 22 and a transmitter antenna 24 for communicating with cellular telephones 12. Mobile cellular telephone 12 can be a mobile unit installed in a vehicle, a transportable unit that includes a mobile unit and battery installed in a CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 carrying case, or a hand-held portable unit. Mobile cellular telephone 12 includes an ~ntf~nn~ 20 for the cellular radio charmels. In the United States, cellular radio channel frequencies are located in the frequency band range of ~plo~illlately 824 MHz to 894 MHz. More particularly, in the United States, a total bandwidth of 50 MHz is allocated for cellular mobile services such that the 50 MHz is distributed between 824 MHz and 849 MHz, and 869 MHz and 894 MHz of the frequency spectrum. Recently, the FCC
has auctioned off bandwidths in the l.9 GHz range. All of these bands can be utilized in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile cellular telephone 12 that can be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Mobile cellular telephone 12 is one type of a mobile communications device. Mobile cellular telephone 12 includes antenna 20, cellular telephone transceiver 120, microcomputer 130, keypad 140, display 180, audio switch 150, and handset 160, including speaker 162 and microphone 164. Microcomputer 130 is a computer constructed about a single-chip microprocessor. Less powerful than a mini-computer or a mainframe computer, microcomputer 130 is nevertheless capable of complex tasks involving the processing of logical operations. Microcomputer 130 includes a central processing unit (CPU), which is the computational and control unit of microcomputer 130, and which interprets and executes instructions for mobile cellular telephone 12.
The CPU is not shown in FIG. 2.
Altematively, cellular telephone transceiver 120 may be coupled to a single antenna 119 in place of antenna 20 and by way of high-pass filter 187, respectively High-pass filter 187 is utilized to filter only those signals which fall within a frequency range utilized by cellular telephones in the United States. High-pass filter 187 can be further modified to allow for cellular telephone frequency ranges of countries other than the United States. Specific design parameters of such a high-pass filter are left to the CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 RR1188 -ll-discretion of the manufacturer of a cellular telephone such as mobile cellular telephone 12. Display 180 can be any type of display device or visual display unit that visually presents data to a cellular telephone user. Display devices such as a light-emitting diode panel or a liquid crystal display can be utilized to implement display 180.
Speaker 162 constitutes an audio unit that presents audible messages to users. Both the audio unit and display 180 constitute output devices that present information to the users of mobile cellular telephone 12. Keypad 140 is a set of keys that are mounted on a small keyboard and are dedicated to a specific purpose, such as inserting numbers.
Keypad 140 is preferably modeled on the standard telephone keypad.
Control signals 131 TX ENABLE and 132 RX ENABLE of microcomputer 130 enable cellular transmitter 124 and cellular receiver 122, respectively. In addition to control signals 131 and 132 to cellular transceiver 120, microcomputer 130 also monitors control signals 133 RSSI, 134, RX DATA, and 135 TX DATA for detecting signal strength, for detecting receive data and for sending transmit data, respectively, utilized in operation of cellular transceiver 120. Cellular transceiver 120 is composed of cellular receiver 122, cellular transmitter 124, and audio circuitry 126. RX AUDIO
and TX AUDIO signal lines couple audio circuitry 126 to audio switch 150. An RX
AUDIO signal is transmitted to audio switch 150 at node Al. A TX AUDIO signal istransmitted to audio circuitry 126 from audio switch 150 from node Bl. Additional signal lines connect cellular transmitter 124 and cellular receiver 126 to audio circuitry 126. Note that the example depicted in FIG. 2 merely describes one form of a cellular telephone that can be utilized in accordance with the method and system of the present invention. One skilled in the art will appreciate that other types of cellular telephone systems can be implemented with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as long as the particular cellular telephone system utilized features a method and system for providing the geographic location of a mobile communications device to a mobile communications device user on a substantially continuous basis.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 FIG. 3 depicts a pictorial representation illustrative of a cellular telephone system 30 in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented.
Cellular telephone system 30 is composed of a variety of cells 34. Each cell encompasses a specified geographic area. Each geographic area has its own base station 36 and a single controller (not shown) interconnected with a public telephone network.
Each cell 34 sits adjacent another cell to create a honeycomb pattern of cells. Cells 34 can cover a large metropolitan area. Each cell 34 can have a radius of about 13 to 19 km (8 to 12 miles), depending upon the strength of each base station 36.
Such specific distances, however, are not necessary features of the present invention. Cells can have ranges from as low as several hundred feet up to approximately 25 miles in radius. The specific numbers described herein are for demonstrative purposes only and are not necessary limitations of the present invention.
Although not depicted in FIG. 3, each cell 34 can be further subdivided into still smaller cells. In this way, a honeycomb pattern of cells is formed such that each cell repeatedly utilizes the same range of radio frequencies without interfering with one another, so long as neighboring cells do not utilize precisely the same radio channels.
This is true particularly for analog mobile phone service/time division media access (AMPS/TDMA), a type of wireless communications service well known in the art of communication systems.
Those skilled in the art, however, will appreciate that the example depicted in FIG. 3 is illustrative only, and is not a necessary feature of the invention. Other types of wireless communication services such as those that incorporate code division multiple access (CDMA) can be utilized in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. CDMA can utilize the same frequencies (i.e., broadband) to transmit calls in adjacent cells. CDMA does not utilize frequencies to separate calls, but utilizes - a special algorithm that "pulls" a single call from a spread spectrum signal that multiple CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 mobile communication devices can utilize to transmit simultaneously. CDMA is thus another type of wireless communications service that can be utilized in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Although not shown in FIG. 3, each cell 34 can include six directional antennas,centrally located in each cell 34, each r~ ting into a sixty degree section of each cell.
A plurality of cells 34 are combined to form cellular telephone system 30 that encompasses a particular geographic area. This cellular system enables mobile cellular telephone traffic to communicate with landline telephone networks and other mobile cellular telephones while moving through the geographic area. Each cell 34 also has a number of frequencies, transmitted by low power transmitters, assigned to it that cannot be utilized in adjacent cells because of frequency interference problems. Due to the low power of each cell's transmitter, however, the same frequency can be re-utilized in other cells, referred to as co-channel cells in the same metropolitan area.
Cellular telephone system 30 is an example of a cellular mobile service, a communications service that allow users of mobile communication devices such as mobile cellular telephones to access the public telephone network from a stationary or moving vehicle. Cellular telephone system 30 is based on a combination of radio tr~n.~mi.~sion and telephone switching. Individuals with small mobile telephones can utilize cellular telephone system 30 in the same way that telephone calls are made tili7inp standard carriers. Cellular telephone system 30 is thus a wireless mobile service that provides a communications link to a mobile communications device user by segmenting a large geographic area into smaller areas (i.e., cells). Cellular telephone system 30 includes cellular subscriber units that may be mobile or portable. Each base station 36 is connected to the public telephone company (i.e., TELCO) via one or more cellular switching networks (not shown). Each cellular subscriber has an assigned CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 cellular telephone number that allows the user to place and receive calls within a widespread range of each base station 36, such as throughout a metropolitan area.
During a cellular telephone call, when a mobile communications device moves from one cell to another, the mobile communications device must be "handed-off" to the next cell in order to continue communicating. However, problems can be encountered when a mobile subscriber utili7ing a mobile communications device travels from one cell to another during a mobile telephone call. Since adjacent areas do not utilize identical radio channels, a call must either be dropped or transferred from one radio channel to another when a user crosses the boundary between adjacent cells.
Because dropping the call is unacceptable, the process of "handoff" solves this problem.
Handoff occurs when the mobile telephone network automatically transfers a call from radio channel to radio channel as the mobile communications device crosses from one cell into an adjacent cell.
During a cellular communications transaction (i.e. a cellular telephone call), two parties to the cellular communications transaction share a single voice channel (i.e., transmit and receive are on a single voice charmel). If the two parties happen to be users l~tili7inp mobile communications devices, the users utilize two voice channels.
If the two parties did not utilize two voice channels, they would interfere with one another. When the mobile unit moves out of the coverage area of a given cell site, the reception becomes weak. At this point, the cell site requests a handoff. The cellular telephone system then switches the call to a stronger-frequency channel in a new site without interrupting the call or alerting the user. The call continues as long as the user of the mobile communications device continues talking. In such an instance, the user of the mobile communications device may not notice the handoff at all. In most cellular telephone systems, however, during a handoff procedure, the signal usually becomes temporarily weak. The signal quality improves abruptly when the handoff is completed. Mobile cellular telephone users often experience a short mute period (i.e., no voice) when the mobile-unit transfers to a new frequency.
In the example depicted in FIG. 3, a road 32, such as a metropolitan highway, extends through cells 34 of cellular telephone system 30. A user of a mobile communications device travelling along road 32 through each cell 34 can, while travelling, perform cellular mobile telephone operations. Cellular telephone system 30 further includes a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO) 33, a central office for mobile switching in cellular telephone system 30. MTSO 33 houses a mobile switching center (MSC) 37, and fielded monitoring and relay stations (not shown) for switching calls from cell sites to wireline central offices such as (TELCO) 14 depicted in FIG.
1, or a public switched telephone network (PSTN), made up of local networks, exchange area networks, and long-haul networks that interconnect telephones and other communication devices on a worldwide basis. MSC 37 can control system operationsin analog cellular networks. For example, MSC 37 can control calls, track billing information, and locate mobile cellular telephone subscribers. MSC 37 is thus a switch that provides services and coordination between mobile communications device users in a network such as cellular telephone system 30 and external networks.
FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of operations 41 illustrative of a method for providing geographic location data to a mobile cornmunications device l~ti~ ing a short message service (SMS). In the art of wireless communication, the acronym SMS
represents the phrase "short message service." SMS is well known in the art of wireless communication as a service that provides the capability of delivering messages to a mobile communications device such that the messages received by the mobile communications device are displayed as text for a user of the mobile communications device. SMS converts communications data to text format for utilization by the mobile CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 communications device user. As illustrated at block 43, those mobile communication devices capable of receiving SMS messages are determined.
As depicted at block 45, a list of SMS capable mobile communication devices desiring the service described herein is compiled. The service described herein is a location notification service and is provided by a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As described at block 47, a user of a mobile communications device can activate the mobile communications device by placing the device in an "on" state. As illustrated at block 49, a test is performed to determine whether the mobile communications device activated by the user is included among the list of SMS capable mobile communication devices. If it is determined that the mobile communicationsdevice is not contained in the list, then the process ends. However, if it is determined that the mobile communications device is contained in the compiled list of SMS capable mobile communication devices, then as described at block 51, the geographic location of the mobile communications device is determined. In other words, data indicative of the geographic location of the mobile communications device is compiled utili~ing a geographic locator method.
Any number of geographic locator methods can be utilized to perform this operation, such as, for example, determining the latitude and longitude of the mobile communications device via signal strength triangulation. Signal strength triangulation, a technique well known in the art of communications, involves obtaining a fix on a transmitter by plotting, on a map, the bearings of the transmitter from the plotted positions of the stations that are taking and reporting the bearings, and determining the geographic location of the intersection of those bearings. Of course, those skilled in the art can appreciate that signal strength triangulation can be performed via a variety of different techniques. For example, instead of l~tili7illg a map, table of longitude and latitude can be utilized, or the intersection point can be calculated by utili7in~ the known positions and bearings. The intersection is a point that is common to t~,vo or more sectors that are defined by the bearings that are taken. If bearings are taken from three or more stations, the intersections will define an area whose size depends on the precision of the bearing instrurnents.
As illustrated at block 53, data related to the geographic location of the mobile communications device is converted into a~propliate text that can be displayed for a mobile communications device user. The operation described at block 53 involves converting data indicative of the geographic location of the mobile communications device into output data that can be utilized later by a user of the mobile communications device. The output data is thus data that can be displayed as text via a visual display unit coupled to the mobile communications device, or announced via an audio unit also coupled to the mobile communications device.
As described at block 55, the text is then transmitted to the mobile communications device. The operation illustrated at block 55 involves transferring the output data (i.e. the text) to the mobile communications device. The text constitutes human discernable output data that can be interpreted by a human operator via the visual display unit. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that although the output data transferred to the mobile communications device can include human discernable output data in the form of readable text, such output data can col1~Lilul~ data that cannot be understood by humans, but can be utilized by devices such as computers, either attached directly to the mobile communications device or which incorporate the mobile communications device in some form. For example, it is conceivable that a computer can utilize this output data to update a display map, which is then displayed for a user.
A human operator may not initially be able to understand the output data transferred from the SMS, but will understand the data when displayed on the display map.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 However, for illustrative purposes, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the output data can be transferred to the mobile communications device and converted into some form of human discernable output data. For exarnple, the SMScan transfer the output data to the mobile communications device, which in turn, via S audio ciL-;uiky such as audio circuitry 126 depicted in FIG. 2, converts the output data to audible output. In such a case, the human discernable output data is transferred as text to the mobile communications device and converted into an audible output. Thus, the audio circuitry can be implemented to provide text-to-speech conversion that allows a human operator to "hear" the geographic location information. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that visual displays such as display 180 of FIG. 2 iscommonly utilized to relay information to human operators as displayed text, as opposed to providing text-to-speech conversion.
The audio circuitry described herein can also include the capability of indicating to a human operator that an SMS message has in fact arrived at the mobile communications device. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, audiocilcuil~y such as audio CiLCuilly 126 would signal, via for example a "beep," that the SMS message has arrived, and a visual display such as display 180 can display the current geographic location of the mobile communications device as text for the user.
As depicted at block 57, a test is performed to determine whether or not to update the current position of the mobile communications device.
If it is determined to update the current position of the mobile communications device, the operations described in blocks 51, 53 and 55 are repeated, after a wait period, as described at block 38, is performed. The wait period, illustrated at block 38, allows time to update the geographic location of the mobile communications device, particularly in those cases where the mobile communications device moves a greatdistance in a short period of time. If it is determined not to update the current position CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 of the mobile communications device, the process termin~tes, based on the subscriber preference. The test described at block 57 allows data indicative of the geographic location of the mobile communications device to be periodically compiled (i.e., updated) such that the geographic location of the mobile communications device can be provided to the user thereof on a substantially continuous basis.
FIG. 5 depicts a pictorial representation 40 illustrative of the various networkentities involved in deterrnining the location of a mobile communications device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a service is provided that can be compartmentalized into three sections: subscription, geographic location collection, and delivery of location data to a mobile station (MS). In the pictorial representation 40 of FIG. 5, a home location register (HLR) 44 is coupled to a visiting location register (VLR) 48, also connected to a serving mobile switching center (MSC-S) 50. MSC-S
40 is one form of a mobile switching center (MSC), which is an automatic system that constitutes an interface for user traffic between the cellular network and other public switched netwo~ks or other MSC's in the sarne or other networks.
MSC-S 50 is in turn coupled to a message center 42, which in turn is coupled to HLR 44 and a service machine 46. Service machine 46 is connected to MSC-S 50.
HLR 44 is a location register to which a user identity may be assigned for record purposes, such as subscriber information. A register is a device that is accessible to a number of input circuits, accepts and stores data, and is usually utilized only as a device for the temporary storage of data. Subscriber inforrnation can include serial number, MS
directory number, profile information, current location, authorization period, and so forth.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 In general, an HLR may or may not be located within and be indistinguishable from an MSC. Further, an HLR may serve more than one MSC and can be distributed over more than one physical entity. HLR 44 thus provides profile information. VLR
48 stores this profile information, and MSC-S 50 reports the location information to the S service machine. The service machine tells message center 42 to send an SMS message to the MS. Message center 42 sends the SMS message to the MSC-S 50, and MSC-S
50 forwards the SMS message to the MS.
The subscription portion of the service provides the necessary inforrnation to the various entities involved as to which mobile stations have subscribed to the service.
HLR 44, VLR 48, and service machine 46 are involved in this portion of the service.
HLR 44 is responsible for provisioning for the new service. This means that HLR 44 provides an external interface that allows an HLR operator the capability of specifying which mobile communications device will have the new service, and which mobile stations will not have the new service.
The information specifying subscription includes the address of the service machine and how the information should be reported (e.g, based on time, distancemoved, and so forth). The HLR is responsible for informing the VLR in the profile whether or not a particular MS has subscribed to the service and the address of the service machine. Depending upon a desired implementation of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the HLR may or may not be responsible for providing the subscription information to the service m~l~hine.
VLR 48 is responsible for storing the new subscription information from the enhanced profile when HLR 44 informs VLR 48 that an MS has subscribed to the newfeature. VLR 48 is responsible for making this information available to the MSC.Service machine 46 is responsible for deterrnining the subscription information for mobile switches. This may be done by fetching the profile from HLR 44 or it may be done by providing an external interface where the service machine operator can design~te which mobile stations are provided with the service.
Note that in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8, like parts are referred to by like reference numerals. FIG. 6 illustrates a profile transfer diagram 54 of mobile station (MS) call originations in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Diagram 54 includes mobile station (MS) 52, MSC 50, VLR 48 and HLR
44. Diagram 54 depicts a modified IS-41 mesc~ging sequence utilizes by HLR 44 and VLR 48 to transfer the profile that includes subscription information. IS-41 is the Cellular Radiotelecommunications Intersystems Operations standard well known in the art of wireless communication networks.
In FIG. 6, as indicated at step a, the serving MSC (i.e., MSC 50) receives a call origination from MS 52. The call origination is specifically indicated by arrow 56. As indicated at step b, if the profile of MS 52 is unknown to MSC 50, a "QUALREQ" is sent to VLR 48, as specifically indicated by arrow 58. As indicated at step c, and specifically by arrow 59, if the profile of MS 52 is unknown to VLR 48, VLR 48 sends a "QUALREQ" to HLR 44. HLR 44 is an HLR associated with VLR 48. As indicated at step d, HLR 44 then sends a "qualreq" to VLR 48. The "qualreg" response sent by HLR 44 is specifically indicated by arrow 61. The subscription information for the new service is included with the "qualreq" message. As indicated at step e, VLR 48 stores the subscription information and sends back the "qualreq" to MSC 50. The "qualreg"
response sent by VLR 48 to MSC 50 is specifically indicated by arrow 60. Note that messages in all capital letters (e.g. "QUALREQ") are invoking messages requesting that a particular action be taken. Capital letter messages are invocation messages. Messages in all lower case (e.g. "qualreq") are return results (i.e., responses), giving the data requested or information related to what happened as a result of the request.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 "Geographic location collection" is the part of the service that involves determining the geographic location of the MS and transferring that information to the service machine (i.e., service machine 46). MSC-S 50 and service machine 46 are involved in this portion of the service. MSC-S 50 is responsible for det~rminin~ the geographic location of MS 52 and sending that information to service machine 46. The MSC-S can deterrnine the geographic location of the MS via a variety of possibletechniques, including techniques such as signal strength triangulation, directional ~nt~nn~e, and so forth. Thus, one skilled in the art can appreciate that any number of geographic locator methods can be utilized to perform this operation. The GlobalPositioning System (GPS) is another example of a technique that can be utilized to calculate the latitude and longitude of the MS. GPS is a United States federal-government-sponsored system that enables the identification and determination of the position of a mobile transmitter anywhere on or near the Earth's surface. SignalIntercept from Low Orbit (SILO) can be utilized in association with the GPS. SILO
is a tracking beacon that utilizes GPS signals to determine the location of an object, such as a mobile communications device, and transmits GPS location data with a unique identification code utili7ing an ultrahigh frequency (UHF) carrier. SILO can receive signals from space, airborne, or ground systems, and is roughly the size of a video cassette.
Those skilled in the art will of course appreciate that GPS is but one geographic locator method that can be utilized in association with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. GPS is not a necessary feature of the present invention. Rather, GPS is one technique available to gather geographic location information related to the position of the MS. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, GPS and other geographic locator methods are utilized to determine the geographic location of the MS.
SMS is utilized to transmit this information to a user of a mobile cellular telephone in a manner that allows this information to be displayed textually for the user. Signal CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 strength triangulation as described herein is another technique that can be utilized in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention to determine thelatitude and longitude of the MS. The service machine is responsible for receiving and storing information about the geographic location of the MS.
FIG. 7 depicts a message sequencing diagram 62 representative of steps involved in updating geographic location information on mobile station (MS) accesses, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As indicated at step a, the serving MSC (i.e., MSC 50) is accessed by MS 52. This access is indicated by arrow 68. As indicated at step b, if a profile indicates that MS 52 has this service, and it is appropriate (i.e., time has expired, the mobile communications device has moved sufficiently, or other potential trigger) that MSC 50 inform service machine 46 of the new location of MS 52, then MSC 50 sends a "LOCNOT" (i.e. location notification)message to service machine 46. This step is specifically described at arrow 66. As indicated at step c, service machine 46 stores the new location of MS 52 and returns a "locnot" (i.e., response) to MSC 50. The "locnot" response message sent by service machine 46 to MSC 50 is specifically indicated by arrow 64. At this point, the service machine can initiate delivery of location information.
The part of the service involved in the delivery of location information to the MS
involves taking the geographic location information that has already been collected, tr~n~l~ting it into appropriate text desired by the user, and providing this information to the MS. The service machine, message center, HLR and MSC-S are involved in this portion of the service. The service machine is responsible for converting the geographic location information into appropriate text that can be read by the user, determining when it is a~prop~iate to inform the user (i.e., based on time, distance moved, etc), and sending an appropliate "SMDPP" message to the message center.
Examples of appropliate text that may useful for a user include the name of the city in CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 which the MS is located, the street name in which the MS is located, street names that are nearest the closest major intersection, longitude and latitude, distance from a fixed point, or any combination of the above.
The message center is responsible for receiving this text from the service machine, determining the current SMS address that utilized to converse with the mobile station, constructing the correct SMS message, and then sending the message to the MSC-S.The HLR is responsible for providing that current SMS address utilized to send SMS
messages to the MS. The MSC-S is responsible for receiving the SMS message and transmitting it to the MS.
FIG. 8 illustrates a message sequencing diagram 70 representative of steps involved in the delivery of mobile station (MS) geographic location data in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As indicated at step a, service machine 46 determines that it is time to send location information (i.e., the text) to MS
52. Thus, service machine 46 sends this information to message center 42, as indicated specifically by arrow 72. Arrow 72 depicts sending of an "SMDPP" message. Note that this message can be an IS-41 message, or it can be sent via another method for transferring data, such as over a remote computer network.
As indicated at step b, message center 42 responds by verifying that it has received the data that needs to be sent to MS 52. This response is indicated specifically by arrow 74. This response is an "smdpp" response message. As indicated at step c, if message center 42 does not have the current SMS address of the MS (i.e. MS 52), message center 42 then sends an "SMSREQ" message to HLR 44, which is specifically indicated at arrow 76. As indicated at step d, HLR 44 sends an "smsreq" responsemessage to message center 42. The "smsreq" response message contains the currentSMS address of MS 52. Sending of the "smsreq" response message is indicated at CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 arrow 78. As indicated at step e, message center 42 sends an SMDPP message to the serving MSC (i.e. MSC 50) with the text formatted correctly according to the type of MS. For exarnple MS 52, may only allow text of a few words to be passed for display to the mobile communications device user. The display may only mention text suchas "Located in X City," or "Located near N Street and Y Street."
Sending of the "SMDPP" message by message center 42 to MSC 50 is specifically indicated by arrow 80. As indicated at step f, the serving MSC (i.e, MSC
50) sends the text to MS 52 11tili7.ing air interface, well known in the art of communication networking. The act of sending text to MS 52 from MSC 50 is specifically indicated by the sending of an "SMD-REQ" message as indicated by arrow 82. As indicated at step g, M S 52 response with an indication that it has received the text. This response is specifically indicated by the response message "SMD-ACK" as indicated by arrow 84. Finally, as indicated at step h, the serving MSC notifiesmessage center 42 that MS 52 received the message. This notification is specifically indicated by arrow 86.
It can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the processes depicted herein present a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, although not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times by those skilled in the art, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropliate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as adding or comparing, which are commonly associated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No such capability of a human operator is necessary or desirable in most cases in any of the operations described herein which form part of the present invention; the operations are machine operations. Useful m~chines for perforrning operations of a preferred embodiment of the present invention include data-processing systems such as general purpose digital colllpuL~l~ or other similar devices.
In all cases, the distinction between the method of operations in operating a computer and the method of computation itself should be borne in mind. The present invention relates to method steps for processing electrical or other (e.g. mechanical, chemical) physical signals to generate other desired physical signals, and can be implemented via a computer such as microcomputer 130 depicted in FIG. 2. However, it is not necessary to m~int:~in within a computer memory of a cellular telephone, instructions implementing these method steps. Such instructions can be m~int~ined with l S a computer memory at a cellular telephone base station or a central broadcasting center from which such base stations receive instructions. Implementation of the methoddescribed herein is left to the discretion of a particular wireless communications system deslgner.
It can be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the methods or processes described herein can be implemented as a program product, such as a control program residing within a computer memory and cont~ining instructions that when executed on a CPU contained within a microcomputer or computer system such as a personal computer or workstation, will carry out the operations depicted in the logic flow charts described herein. For example, microcomputer 130 contains a CPU (i.e., not shown in FIG. 2) which can carry out the operations depicted in the logic flow charts. It is important to note that, while the present invention can be described in the context of CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 a fully functional computer system, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the present invention applies equally, regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing media utilized to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of signal-bearing media include: recordable-type media, such as floppy disks, hard-disk drives and CD ROMs, and tr~n~mi~ion-type media, such as digital and analog communication links. Specific examples of tr~n~mis~ion-type media include communication devices such as modems.
Preferred implementations ofthe invention include implementations as a computer system or microcomputer programmed to execute the method or methods described herein, and as program product. According to the computer system or microcomputer implementation, sets of instructions for executing the method and methods are resident resident in a memory of one or more computer systems conf1gured generally as described above. Until required by the computer system, the set of instructions may be stored as a computer-program product in another computer memory such as a disk drive (which may include a removable memory such as an optical disk or floppy disk for eventual utilization in the disk drive).
The computer-program product can also be stored at another computer and tr~n~mitted when desired to the user's workstation by a network or by an external communications network. One skilled in the art can appreciate that the physical storage of the sets of instructions physically changes the medium upon which it is stored so that the medium carries computer-readable information. The change may be electrical, magnetic, chemical, or some other physical change. While it is convenient to describe the invention in terms of instructions, symbols, characters, or the like, the reader should remember that all of these and similar terms should be associated with the appropriate physical elements.
CA 02240803 l998-06-l6 ~R1188 -28-The embo.liments and examples set forth herein are presented in order to best explain the present invention and its practical application and to thereby enable those skilled in the art to make and utilize the invention. However, those skilled in the art S will recognize that the foregoing description and examples have been presented for the purposes of illustration and example only. The description as set forth is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the following claims.
Claims (20)
What is claimed is:
1. A method in a wireless communications network for providing the geographic location of a mobile communications device having an output device to a user on a substantially continuous basis, comprising the steps of:
periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device;
converting said data indicative of said geographic location of said mobile communications device into output data;
transferring said output data to said mobile communications device; and providing said output data to said user via an output device such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device.
periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device;
converting said data indicative of said geographic location of said mobile communications device into output data;
transferring said output data to said mobile communications device; and providing said output data to said user via an output device such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of converting said data indicative of said geographic location of said mobile communications device into output data, further comprises the step of:
converting said data indicative of said geographic location of said mobile communications device into output data that comprises human discernable output data.
converting said data indicative of said geographic location of said mobile communications device into output data that comprises human discernable output data.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of providing said output data to said user via an output device such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device, further comprises the step of:
providing said output data to said user via an output device that includes a visual display unit such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device.
providing said output data to said user via an output device that includes a visual display unit such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device, further comprises the step of:
periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device comprising a mobile cellular telephone.
periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device comprising a mobile cellular telephone.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of providing said output data to said user via an output device such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device, further comprises the step of:
providing said output data to said user via an output device that includes an audio unit such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device.
providing said output data to said user via an output device that includes an audio unit such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device, further comprises the step of:
periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device that comprises a mobile cellular telephone.
periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device that comprises a mobile cellular telephone.
7. A system in a wireless communications network for providing the geographic location of a mobile communications device having an output device to a user on a substantially continuous basis, comprising:
compiling means for periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device;
conversion means for converting said data indicative of said geographic locationof said mobile communications device into output data;
transfer means for transferring said output data to said mobile communications device; and output means for providing said output data to said user via an output device such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device.
compiling means for periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device;
conversion means for converting said data indicative of said geographic locationof said mobile communications device into output data;
transfer means for transferring said output data to said mobile communications device; and output means for providing said output data to said user via an output device such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device.
8. The system of claim 7 wherein said conversion means for converting said data indicative of said geographic location of said mobile communications device into output data, further comprises:
conversion means for converting said data indicative of said geographic locationof said mobile communications device into output data that comprises human discernable output data.
conversion means for converting said data indicative of said geographic locationof said mobile communications device into output data that comprises human discernable output data.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein said output device comprises a visual display unit.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein said mobile communications device comprises a mobile cellular telephone.
11. The system of claim 8 wherein said output device comprises an audio unit.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein said mobile communications device comprises a mobile cellular telephone.
13. A program product residing in computer memory in a computer system in a wireless communications network for providing the geographic location of a mobile communications device having an output device to a user on a substantially continuous basis, said program product comprising:
compiling means for periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device;
conversion means for converting said data indicative of said geographic locationof said mobile communications device into output data;
transfer means for transferring said output data to said mobile communications device;
output means for providing said output data to said user via an output device such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device; and signal bearing media bearing said compiling means, said conversion means, said transfer means, and said output means.
compiling means for periodically compiling data indicative of a geographic location of a mobile communications device;
conversion means for converting said data indicative of said geographic locationof said mobile communications device into output data;
transfer means for transferring said output data to said mobile communications device;
output means for providing said output data to said user via an output device such that said output data includes data indicative of a current geographic location of said mobile communications device; and signal bearing media bearing said compiling means, said conversion means, said transfer means, and said output means.
14. The program product of claim 13 wherein said conversion means for convertingsaid data indicative of said geographic location of said mobile communications device into output data, further comprises:
conversion means for converting said data indicative of said geographic locationof said mobile communications device into output data that comprises human discernable output data.
conversion means for converting said data indicative of said geographic locationof said mobile communications device into output data that comprises human discernable output data.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein said output device comprises a visual displayunit.
16. The system of claim 15 wherein said mobile communications device comprises a mobile cellular telephone.
17. The system of claim 14 wherein said output device comprises an audio unit.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein said mobile communications device comprises a mobile cellular telephone.
19. The program product of claim 14 wherein said signal bearing media further comprises transmission media.
20. The program product of claim 14 wherein said signal bearing media further comprises recordable media.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US89023597A | 1997-07-09 | 1997-07-09 | |
| US08/890,235 | 1997-07-09 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2240803A1 true CA2240803A1 (en) | 1999-01-09 |
Family
ID=25396438
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002240803A Abandoned CA2240803A1 (en) | 1997-07-09 | 1998-06-16 | Method and system in a wireless communications network for providing a geographic location of a mobile communications device to a user thereof on a substantially continuous basis |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2240803A1 (en) |
-
1998
- 1998-06-16 CA CA002240803A patent/CA2240803A1/en not_active Abandoned
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