KR20100057725A - Apparatus, system and method for providing location information - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A device, a system and a method for providing location information are provided to enable a receiving terminal user to conveniently check location of sending terminal user. CONSTITUTION: A control unit(330) checks whether a sending terminal and a receiving terminal is correspond to each other and is subscribed to a service, by referring number of the sending terminal and number of receiving terminal. A location information extracting unit(350) extracts location information of the sending terminal according to the confirming result. A message generating unit(340) generates location information message including the extracted location information. A communication unit(310) transmits the generated location information message.

Description

Apparatus, system and method for providing location information

The present invention relates to an apparatus, a system, and a method for providing location information. More particularly, when the calling terminal transmits an outgoing call or a message to the called terminal, location information for transmitting a message including the location information of the calling terminal to the called terminal. The present invention relates to a providing apparatus and a method.

The development of integrated technology has led to the emergence of various portable devices. In recent years, wireless pagers have emerged, starting with sound playback devices such as tape players and CD players, and mobile phones and MP3 players are now widely available, and portable game machines have also appeared.

In particular, in the case of a mobile phone, it can be used in various ways beyond the use as a communication means, of which the role as a watch, a digital camera, a camcorder, and an MP player is representative, and is also actively used as a message service between mobile phones.

Here, the message service includes a short message service (SMS), an enhanced message service (EMS), a multimedia message service (MMS), and the like. SMS is a service for transmitting texts composed of letters or numbers, and EMS is a melody as well as text. It is a service that transmits data such as voice information and pictures, and MMS is a service that transmits multimedia contents on a text-oriented wireless Internet.

Meanwhile, the mobile communication service subscriber may wish to receive location information of a specific terminal user. For example, parents may wish to receive and receive location information of their young children.

In addition, the position of the child may urgently want to send their location information to the parent.

Therefore, there is a need for the appearance of the invention that allows the called terminal user to easily receive the location information of the calling terminal user.

An object of the present invention is to transmit a message including the location information of the calling terminal to the called terminal when the calling terminal transmits an outgoing call or a message to the called terminal.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects which are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, the apparatus for providing location information according to an embodiment of the present invention refers to a number of a calling terminal and a called terminal that are received for an outgoing call or a message, and the calling terminal and the called terminal correspond to each other. A control unit for confirming whether or not the service is subscribed to, a location information extracting unit for extracting location information of the calling terminal according to the checking result, a message generating unit for generating a location information message including the extracted location information, and It includes a communication unit for transmitting the generated location information message.

The method for providing location information according to an embodiment of the present invention refers to whether the calling terminal and the called terminal correspond to each other and subscribe to the service by referring to the number of the calling terminal and the called terminal received for the calling call or message. Confirming, extracting location information of the calling terminal according to the verification result, generating a location information message including the extracted location information, and transmitting the generated location information message. Include.

The system for providing location information according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a home location register for confirming whether a destination terminal, which is a reception target of an outgoing call or message sent from an originating terminal, is subscribed to a service, and a service request message including the confirmation result. Confirming whether the calling terminal and the called terminal correspond to each other and subscribe to the service by referring to the mobile communication exchange transmitting the call, and the number of the calling terminal and the called terminal included in the service request message, And a location information providing apparatus extracting location information of the calling terminal and providing the same to the called terminal according to the result.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the drawings.

According to the apparatus and method for providing location information of the present invention as described above, there are one or more of the following effects.

First, when the calling terminal transmits an outgoing call or a message to the called terminal, a message including the location information of the calling terminal is sent to the called terminal, so that the called terminal user can easily check the location of the calling terminal user. have.

Second, there is an advantage in that the calling terminal user in an emergency situation can easily transmit his location information to the called terminal user.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view showing that the location information of the calling terminal is provided according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The calling terminal user may send an outgoing call to the called terminal 120 to perform a telephone call with the called terminal user, and may also send a message such as a short message or a multimedia content message, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information providing system 200 generates a message (hereinafter, referred to as a location information message) 125 including the location information of the originating terminal 110 that has sent the originating call or the message 115 to the called terminal 120. I can deliver it.

That is, when the calling terminal 110 attempts to make a call connection or sends a message to the called terminal 120, the location information providing system 200 extracts the location information of the calling terminal 110 and includes the extracted location information. After generating the location information message 125, it is transmitted to the destination terminal 120. Hereinafter, a service for transmitting location information of the calling terminal 110 to the called terminal 120 in response to a call connection attempt or a message transmission of the calling terminal 110 is called a location information providing service.

The location information providing service can be subscribed to by the user of the calling terminal 110. At this time, the calling terminal user can group the other terminals according to his or her taste. For example, when a calling terminal user attempts to make a call connection to a specific terminal, the user may transmit his location to the terminal of a preset group as a message 125.

The location information providing system 200 determines whether the calling terminal 110 is subscribed to the corresponding service, extracts the location information of the calling terminal 110, and generates the extracted location information as a message 125. Can be determined.

Thus, when the calling terminal 110 is subscribed to the service, the location information providing system 200 transmits the location information message 125 including the location information of the calling terminal 110 to the called terminal 120, and sends the calling information. If the terminal 110 is not subscribed to the service, the location information providing system 200 terminates the subsequent service providing process.

In order to subscribe to the location information providing service, the calling terminal user may use the Internet or a call center.

That is, the user accesses the website of the operator who manages the location information providing system 200 or calls the call center to indicate the intention to subscribe to the location information providing service, and then the service target number (for example, the number of the called terminal). Will be notified.

In addition, the user may subscribe to the location information providing service by sending a text message to the location information providing system 200, and provides the location information in the text message using the service reception telephone number of the location information providing system 200 as the called number. The code indicating the service and the service target number are inputted and transmitted to the location information providing system 200.

To this end, the location information providing system 200 is provided with a service reception telephone number, and preferably provided with means (not shown) for analyzing a text message.

After receiving the text message, the location information providing system 200 analyzes the text message, registers the service target number with the calling terminal number, and then makes a call from the calling terminal 110 using the corresponding service target number as the called number. Alternatively, when receiving the message 115, the service performs location information providing service and charges for the service. In this case, the charging for the service may be performed whenever the service is provided, or may be performed in a unit of a certain period such as monthly fixed amount.

In addition, the user may perform service subscription for a plurality of terminals as well as service subscription for one terminal, and may also perform service subscription for another terminal as well as service subscription for his own terminal. For example, a user may input a plurality of service target numbers or a terminal number of another person who is a service target through a web site, a call center, or a text message. Here, a separate fee may be charged when the location information providing service for a plurality of numbers is provided, and when the location information providing service for the terminal number of another person is provided, the fee is charged to the user or another person who applied for the service. Can be.

Therefore, it should be noted that the service target number of the location information providing service described below may be plural, and the terminal provided with the service may be another terminal.

When the subscription by the user is completed, the location information providing system 200 may transmit a service agreement message to a terminal having a service target number (hereinafter, referred to as a service target terminal). The service agreement message may include an announcement indicating that the service subscriber has subscribed to the location information providing service and the terminal receiving the service agreement message is designated as the service target terminal.

Upon receiving the service agreement message, the service target terminal user may determine whether to apply the service. That is, the user can call the call center to notify whether or not to agree to the service, or access the web site to select whether to agree to the service, and can notify whether to agree to the service by sending a response message to the service agreement message.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a service agreement message according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein a service target terminal user checks a message 700 and then services the service using icons 710 and 720 displayed on the screen or buttons provided in the terminal. You can decide whether to agree. When it is determined whether to agree to the service, a response message including the decision information is transmitted to the location information providing system 200.

Accordingly, even if the service subscriber subscribes to the service by designating the specific terminal number as the service target number, the service may not be applied to the terminal unless the terminal user agrees to apply the service.

The mobile communication network of the location information providing system 200 may be based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), or Global System for Mobile Telecommunication (GSM). However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the mobile communication network of the system 200 may be based on other types of mobile communication methods.

2 is a view showing a location information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, the location information providing system 200 is a base station 211, 212, Radio Network Controller (RNC) 220, mobile communication Mobile Switching Center (MSC) 230, Equipment Identity Register (EIR) 240, Service Control Point (SCP) 280, Home Location Register (HLR) 250, an authentication device (Authentication Center; AuC) 260, a short message service center (SMSC) 270, and a location information providing device 300.

The terminals 110 and 120 may be mobile communication devices such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA), and the terminals 110 and 120 may hold a terminal identifier. The terminal identifier is a unique value for identifying the terminals 110 and 120 from other terminals, and may be assigned for each terminal by the terminal manufacturer or an authorized institution when the terminals 110 and 120 are produced.

Terminals 110 and 120 may be connected with an information card including a subscriber identifier. The subscriber identifier is unique information for identifying a subscriber, for example, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). In addition, the information card may generate an authentication value using a predetermined authentication function, which may be used when authenticating a subscriber in a mobile communication network.

The information card may be detachably connected to the terminals 110 and 120, or may be fixed to the terminals 110 and 120 to prevent the subscriber from detaching the information card from the terminals 110 and 120 arbitrarily. The information card may include a memory capable of storing data and a central processing unit (CPU) capable of performing a predetermined operation. Examples of such information cards include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) card.

2, each of the devices constituting the location information providing system 200 is illustrated one by one, but this is only a basic configuration of the location information providing system 200, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, the location information providing system 200 may include a plurality of respective devices, some of the equipment may be removed and operated. In addition, the location information providing system 200 may be operated by integrating two or more pieces of equipment into one, and a function performed by one piece of equipment may be divided into a plurality of pieces of equipment.

The base stations 211 and 212 are primary access points of the terminals 110 and 120, and may transmit and receive various signals and data with the terminals 110 and 120. That is, the base stations 211 and 212 may perform a wireless modem function consisting of an antenna and a transmission / reception modem. The communication channel from the terminals 110 and 120 toward the base station is called an uplink channel, and the communication channel from the base stations 211 and 212 toward the terminals 110 and 120 is called a downlink channel.

The radio network controller 220 may control the base stations 211 and 212 and manage radio resources. More specifically, the radio network controller 220 may instruct the base stations 211 and 212 to allocate the communication channels to the terminals 110 and 120, and control the transmission output of the base stations 211 and 212. In addition, the wireless network controller 220 may support handover for the terminals 110 and 120 moving between the base stations 211 and 212.

The mobile communication exchange 230 may be connected to one or more radio network controllers 220 to relay communication between the calling terminal 110 and the called terminal 120. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the mobile communication exchange 230 may perform an authentication operation for the user of the terminal (110, 120).

The equipment identity register 240 may manage terminal identifiers of terminals produced by the terminal manufacturer. An example of the terminal identifier is IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity). The terminal identifier of the newly produced terminal may be obtained directly from the terminal manufacturer, or may be obtained from a server (not shown) that handles registration for the new terminal of each manufacturer.

In addition, the device identity register 240 may also manage the state information of the terminals (110, 120). The state information of the terminals 110 and 120 may include information for identifying whether the terminals 110 and 120 are normal. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the state information of the terminals 110 and 120 may be set to one of 'normal', 'abnormal' (Black), and 'abnormal estimation (Gray)'. The state information of the terminals 110 and 120 usable normally may be set to 'normal'. However, the status information of the terminals 110 and 120 that may cause a malfunction in the terminal or the mobile communication network where theft report is received may be set to 'abnormal'. In addition, the terminal information that does not satisfy the communication conditions required by the mobile communication network or the status information of the terminal whether it is 'normal' or 'abnormal' may be set to 'abnormal estimation'. Since the present invention is not limited by the embodiment of the method of collecting the state information of the terminals 110 and 120 by the device identity register 240, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the mobile communication network, communication between the terminals 110 and 120 having the status information 'abnormal' may be blocked. Whether or not the communication is blocked for the terminals 110 and 120 whose status information is the 'abnormal estimation' may vary according to embodiments. have.

The device identity register 240 may map the state information of the terminals 110 and 120 to the terminal identifiers of the terminals 110 and 120 to hold the mapping information. For example, when the terminal identifier of the newly generated terminal is acquired, the device identity register 240 may map 'normal' as status information to the terminal identifier. If the loss report is received for the terminals 110 and 120, the device identity register 240 may change the state information mapped to the terminal identifiers of the terminals 110 and 120 from 'normal' to 'abnormal'. .

The service control device 280 may manage the intelligent network service to be provided to the terminals 110 and 120. For example, the service control device 280 may manage a message transmission service based on a short message service (SMS) or an unstructured supplementary services data (USSD) with respect to the terminal 100.

Preferably, the service control device 280 may drive the service logic suitable for the terminal (110, 120) according to the attribute information of the terminal (110, 120). The service control device 280 may manage attribute information of various terminals produced by the terminal manufacturer. Of course, there is a separate server (not shown) that manages the attribute information, and the service control apparatus 280 may access the corresponding server to check the attribute information of the terminals 110 and 120. The attribute information may refer to a function of the terminal 110 or 120 such as a language supported by the terminal 110 or 120, a screen resolution of the terminal 110 or 120, or a type of codec included in the terminal 110 or 120. May contain information indicating performance.

The home location register 250 may manage location information of the subscriber (eg, a VLR (Visitor Location Register) address, an MSC address, etc. where the terminals 110 and 120 are currently located) and subscriber additional service information.

In addition, the home location register 250 serves to check whether or not the destination terminal 120 that is the destination of the outgoing call or message transmitted from the originating terminal 110 is subscribed to the location information providing service.

To this end, the home location register 250 refers to the called terminal (referring to the number of the called terminal 120 included in the location information request message received from the mobile communication exchange 230 to query the position of the called terminal 120). It may be determined whether or not 120 is subscribed to the location information providing service. That is, the home location register 250 checks whether the number of the called terminal 120 is a service target number.

Here, the information on the service target number may be stored in the service control device 280, accordingly, the home location register 250 tells the service control device 280 whether the number of the called terminal 120 is a service target number. You can ask whether or not.

Meanwhile, the mobile communication exchange 230 transmits an outgoing call or message to the called terminal 120 with reference to the location information response message received from the home location register 250 in response to the location information request message. Apart from the call or the message, the service subscription confirmation result received from the home location register 250 may be transmitted to the location information providing apparatus 300. Here, the message including the information transmitted to the location information providing apparatus 300 (hereinafter, referred to as a service request message) (not shown) may include the number of the calling terminal 110 and the number of the called terminal 120. The cell identifier of the base station managing the terminal 110, bearing information of the calling terminal 110, and multimedia content transmitted from the calling terminal 110 may be included.

The authentication device 260 may support authentication for the mobile subscriber and encryption function for the wireless call interval. Although the authentication device 260 is shown as an independent device from the home location register 250 in FIG. 2, the authentication device 260 may be included in the home location register 250.

When the service request message is received from the home location register 250, the mobile communication exchange 230 transmits the received service request message to the location information providing apparatus 300.

Accordingly, the location information providing apparatus 300 checks whether the calling terminal 110 is subscribed to the location information providing service by referring to the number of the calling terminal 110 included in the service request message and includes it in the service request message. It is determined whether the number of the called terminal 120 is a service target number and determines whether to provide a service according to the result.

That is, the location information providing apparatus 300 extracts the location information of the calling terminal 110 when the calling terminal 110 is subscribed to the location information providing service and the called terminal 120 is the service target terminal. In step 125, if the calling terminal 110 is not subscribed to the location information providing service or the called terminal 120 is not the service target terminal, the subsequent service providing process is terminated.

Here, the location information of the calling terminal 110 may be understood to be composed of at least one of text and multimedia content.

The location information message 125 where the insertion process of the location information is completed is transmitted to the short message service center 270. The short message service center 270 receives the location information message 125 in the form of a text message or a multimedia content message. Transmits to).

In addition, the location information message 125 may be a voice message. To this end, the location information providing apparatus 300 may be provided with a voice conversion unit (not shown), and the destination terminal 120 may be provided with a voice conversion function. It can determine whether to convert the location information into voice with reference to the presence.

Whether the terminating terminal 120 is provided with the voice conversion function may be determined by referring to the type of the terminating terminal 120, and the location information providing apparatus 300 determines whether the terminating terminal 120 has the speech conversion function. By reference, it may be determined whether voice data is inserted into the location information message 125.

3 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing location information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein the apparatus for providing location information 300 includes a communication unit 310, a storage unit 320, a controller 330, and a message generator 340. And a location information extractor 350.

The communicator 310 receives the service request message from the mobile communication exchange 230 and transmits the location information message 125 generated by the message generator 340. Here, the service request message may include the number of the calling terminal 110, the called terminal 120, indicating the cell identifier of the base station managing the calling terminal 110, bearing information of the calling terminal 110, the location The code and the multimedia content transmitted by the calling terminal 110 may be included.

The storage unit 320 stores the number of the calling terminal 110 subscribing to the service and the number of the called terminal 120 designated by the service subscriber as a service target. The storage unit 320 may store a table (hereinafter, referred to as a service subscription table (not shown)) in a form by mapping the number of the calling terminal 110 and the number of the called terminal 120 to each other.

 In addition, the storage unit 320 may store a table (hereinafter, referred to as a location information table) in which a correspondence relationship between the actual location of the calling terminal 110 and text information thereof is specified. It will be described later with reference to FIG.

The storage unit 320 may include a hard disk, a flash memory, a compact flash card (CF), a secure digital card (SD), a smart card (SM), a multimedia card (MMC) or a memory stick. May be provided inside the positional information providing apparatus 300 as a module capable of inputting / outputting, or may be provided in a separate device.

The control unit 330 refers to the number of the calling terminal 110 and the called terminal 120 received for the outgoing call or message, and the calling terminal 110 and the called terminal 120 correspond to each other and subscribe to the service. It checks whether there is. That is, the controller 330 determines whether the number of the calling terminal 110 included in the service request message received from the mobile communication exchange 230 is subscribed to the service, and the number of the calling terminal 110 subscribes to the service. If so, it is to confirm whether the number of the called terminal 120 is a service target number. To this end, the controller 330 may refer to the service subscription table stored in the storage 320.

The location information message 125 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be transmitted to the destination terminal 120 at a predetermined period, and the control unit 330 may determine the transmission period. To this end, the service subscription table stored in the storage 320 may specify the message transmission period as well as the number and service target number of the calling terminal 110 subscribed to the service.

In addition, the controller 330 may perform overall control of the communicator 310, the storage 320, the message generator 340, and the location information extractor 350. The service subscription table stored at 320 may be updated.

The location information extractor 350 extracts the location information of the outgoing call 115 or the originating terminal 110 that has sent the message according to the verification result of the controller 330. Here, the location information is preferably composed of text as information that can easily determine the location of the calling terminal 110 by the called terminal user.

In extracting the location information, the location information extraction unit 350 includes a cell identifier of a base station or a repeater that has established a session with the calling terminal 110, bearing information of the calling terminal 110 received from the calling terminal 110, and the calling terminal. The location information may be extracted by referring to at least one of the location codes received from the 110. Detailed description thereof will be described later with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

In addition, the location information extractor 350 may periodically extract the location information of the calling terminal 110 according to a control command of the controller 330.

The location information extracted by the location information extractor 350 is transmitted to the message generator 340, and the message generator 340 generates the location information message 125 based on the received location information.

Here, the message generator 340 may generate a location information message 125 including at least one of text about location information, multimedia content for location information, and multimedia content received from the calling terminal 110.

That is, the message 125 may simply include the location of the calling terminal 110 in the form of text or may be composed of multimedia content. Here, the multimedia content may be in the form of a pre-stored map or a surrounding image. That is, the message generator 340 may extract the detailed location portion of the calling terminal 110 from the previously stored full map or generate an image corresponding to the detailed location in the form of a message.

In addition, the multimedia content may be received from the calling terminal 110, the user of the calling terminal photographs the surrounding environment with a camera provided in the terminal 110, and then sends the recorded surrounding environment image to the call or message 115 Can be included and transmitted.

Accordingly, the called terminal user can check the location information and the surrounding image of the originating terminal user composed of the text or the location information in the form of a map.

In addition, the message generator 340 may generate a service agreement message according to a control command of the controller 330.

The location information message 125 generated by the message generator 340 is transmitted by the communication unit 310.

In addition, the communication unit 310 may transmit the location information message 125 to at least one predetermined destination terminal 120. That is, when the service subscriber sets a plurality of destination terminal numbers as the service target number, the communication unit 310 may transmit the location information message 125 to the plurality of destination terminals 120, and thus, the calling terminal 110. When attempting a call connection with one of a plurality of preset called terminals 120, the communication unit 310 may transmit the location information message 125 to all of the plurality of called terminals 120.

4 to 6 are diagrams showing a position information table according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 shows a table 400 in which cell identifiers and position information are associated, and FIG. 5 corresponds to the orientation and position information of the terminal. 6 illustrates a table 600 in which a location code and location information are associated with each other.

The location information table 400 of FIG. 4 includes a cell identifier field 410 and a location information field 420, in which the cell identifier of the base station or repeater is specified.

Accordingly, the location information extractor 350 may check the cell identifier of the base station or the repeater to which the corresponding originating terminal 110 belongs by referring to the cell identifier included in the service request message, and the location information corresponding to the identified cell identifier. Can be extracted from the location information field 420.

The location information table 500 of FIG. 5 includes a terminal orientation field 510 and a location information field 520, and the orientation information of the originating terminal 110 is specified in the terminal orientation field 510.

Accordingly, the location information extractor 350 may extract the location information from the corresponding location information field 520 by substituting the bearing information of the originating terminal 110 included in the service request message into the location information table 500. Will be.

Here, the bearing information can be confirmed by the calling terminal 110, for this purpose, the calling terminal 110 may be provided with a position sensing means such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.

The location information table 600 of FIG. 6 includes a location code field 610 and a location information field 620. The location code field 610 includes a unique code that can indicate the location of the calling terminal 110. FIG. Is specified.

Accordingly, the location information extractor 350 substitutes the location code of the calling terminal 110 included in the outgoing call or the message 115 into the location information table 600, thereby providing location information in the corresponding location information field 620. Can be extracted.

Here, the location code means a unique code assigned to a region or a point of interest (POI) in a predetermined range, and is preferably set in advance and stored in the calling terminal 110.

The location code may be confirmed by the calling terminal 110. For this purpose, the calling terminal 110 may be provided with a position sensing means such as a GPS receiver. That is, the calling terminal 110 checks its orientation using the GPS receiver provided, extracts the location code corresponding to the orientation, and includes the same in the calling call or message 115 for transmission. Here, the location code is included in the service request message by the mobile communication exchange 230 is transferred to the location information providing apparatus 300.

8 is a view showing a location information message composed of text according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the screen configuration of the destination terminal 120 when the location information message 125 and the outgoing call or message 115 are transmitted separately. Drawing.

The location information message 125 and the information 810 of the calling terminal user are displayed on the screen of the called terminal 120. Here, if the calling terminal number is stored in the address book of the called terminal 120, personal information of the calling terminal user may be displayed. If the calling terminal number is not stored in the address book, the personal information of the calling terminal user is omitted. Only the phone number can be displayed.

In addition, the called terminal user may be provided with detailed information about the location information of the calling terminal 110 by using an icon 820 displayed on the screen or a button provided in the terminal.

Here, the detailed information may be map information or a surrounding image of a region where the calling terminal 110 is located, and FIG. 9 illustrates a location information message composed of multimedia contents in a map form according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

That is, FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating that a map 900 corresponding to the location information is displayed on the screen of the called terminal 120, and the location information system 200 receives a request for detailed information from the called terminal 120. Then, the location information providing system 200 extracts a map of the corresponding location information and transmits it to the called terminal 120.

In addition, the receiving terminal 120 receiving the location information message 125 from the location information providing system 200 displays the received location information message 125, as shown in FIG. The user may access the web site and check the map 900 for the corresponding location information.

To this end, the location information system 200 preferably stores map information corresponding to the location information as well as location information composed of text.

In addition, even if the location information providing system 200 does not receive a request for detailed information from the called terminal 120, the location information providing system 200 receives a map 900 that is not text as it receives an outgoing call or message 115 from the calling terminal 110. It may be generated and transmitted to the called terminal 120.

10 is a diagram illustrating a location information message 125 composed of multimedia contents according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the calling terminal user may take a picture of the surrounding image by using a camera provided in the terminal 110 and then include the same in the calling call or the message 115 and transmit the same. The screen configuration of the destination terminal 120 displaying the multimedia content 1110 and the location information text 1120 included in the message 115 is illustrated. Here, the multimedia content 1110 may be a still image or a video.

When the location information extraction method using the cell identifier is used, a large error may occur in the location estimation of the calling terminal 110 according to the cell radius range. As shown in FIG. 10, the calling information is transmitted together with the surrounding environment image 1110. When the location information 1120 of the terminal 110 is received, the called terminal user can check the location of the calling terminal user in more detail.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing location information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When the service request message is received from the mobile communication exchange 230 (S1210), the location information providing apparatus 300 refers to the calling terminal number included in the service request message and the calling terminal 110 subscribes to the location information providing service. Check whether or not (S1220).

Thus, if it is determined that the service is subscribed, the location information providing device 300 checks whether the called number included in the service request message is a service target number (S1230).

The service subscription check and the service target number check may be performed by referring to a service subscription table (not shown) stored in the storage 320.

If the called number is a service target number, the location information providing apparatus 300 extracts location information of the calling terminal 110 (S1240). Here, the location information extraction may be performed using at least one of a cell identifier, originating terminal orientation information, and a location code included in the service request message.

When the location information is extracted, the location information providing apparatus 300 generates a location information message 125 including the extracted location information (S1250) and transmits it to the called terminal 120 (S1260).

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features thereof. You will understand that. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

1 is a view showing that the location information of the calling terminal is provided according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a view showing a location information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing location information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 to 6 are diagrams showing a location information table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram illustrating a service agreement message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram illustrating a location information message composed of text according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a diagram illustrating a location information message composed of multimedia content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a diagram illustrating a location information message composed of multimedia content according to another embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing location information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

310: communication unit 320: storage unit

330 control unit 340: message generating unit

350: location information extraction unit

Claims (15)

A control unit which checks whether the calling terminal and the called terminal correspond to each other and subscribe to the service by referring to the number of the calling terminal and the called terminal received for the outgoing call or message; A location information extraction unit for extracting location information of the calling terminal according to the verification result; A message generator configured to generate a location information message including the extracted location information; And And a communication unit for transmitting the generated location information message. The method of claim 1, The location information extracting unit comprises: a cell identifier of a base station or a repeater which has established a session with the originating terminal; Bearing information of the calling terminal received from the calling terminal; And And extracting the location information by referring to at least one of the location codes received from the calling terminal. The method of claim 1, And the message generating unit generates the location information message including at least one of text about the location information, multimedia content about the location information, and multimedia content received from the calling terminal. The method of claim 1, And a message received from the calling terminal is a short message or a multimedia content message. The method of claim 1, And the location information extracting unit periodically extracts location information of the calling terminal. The method of claim 1, And the communication unit transmits the location information message to at least one preset destination terminal. Checking whether the calling terminal and the called terminal correspond to each other and subscribe to a service by referring to the number of the calling terminal and the called terminal received for the outgoing call or message; Extracting location information of the calling terminal according to the verification result; Generating a location information message including the extracted location information; And Transmitting the generated location information message. The method of claim 7, wherein The extracting of the location information may include: a cell identifier of a base station or a repeater establishing a session with the calling terminal; Bearing information of the calling terminal received from the calling terminal; And Extracting the location information by referring to at least one of the location codes received from the calling terminal. The method of claim 7, wherein The generating of the message may include generating the location information message including at least one of text for the location information, multimedia content for the location information, and multimedia content received from the calling terminal. Way. The method of claim 7, wherein And a message received from the calling terminal is a short message or a multimedia content message. The method of claim 7, wherein The extracting of the location information may include periodically extracting location information of the calling terminal. The method of claim 7, wherein The transmitting of the message may include transmitting the location information message to at least one predetermined destination terminal. A home location register for confirming whether or not the called terminal, which is the recipient of the outgoing call or message sent from the calling terminal, is subscribed to the service; A mobile communication exchange transmitting a service request message including the confirmation result; And By referring to the number of the calling terminal and the called terminal included in the service request message, it is checked whether the calling terminal and the called terminal correspond to each other and subscribe to the service. And a location information providing device for extracting location information and providing the location information to the called terminal. The method of claim 13, The service request message may include a cell identifier of a base station or a repeater establishing a session with the calling terminal; Bearing information of the calling terminal; And And at least one of the location codes received from the calling terminal. 15. The method of claim 14, And the location information providing apparatus extracts location information of the calling terminal by referring to the service request message.

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