Location logging and location and time based filtering

• US 10,158,970 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2016
• Issued: 12/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Gillies, Donald William, Lo, Charles, Edge, Stephen William
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAHEED, KHALID W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilford, K
• Application Number:
  US15/011,034
• Publication Number:
  US 20160150364A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

Techniques for performing location logging and location and time based filtering are described. In one design of location logging, a terminal periodically determines its location, e.g., during its paging slots. The terminal determines whether there is a change in its location and stores its location if a change in location is detected. In one design of location and time based filtering, the terminal obtains a location and time criterion with a target area and a time period. The terminal determines its location during the time period, e.g., based on the location log. The terminal evaluates the location and time criterion based on the target area and its location during the time period, e.g., based on at least one sector ID for the target area and one or more sector IDs for its location. The terminal determines whether to download and/or present broadcast information based on the result of the evaluation.

Claims

1. A method for use in obtaining information about a location of a terminal, the method comprising, at the terminal:

determining a location of the terminal during a plurality of paging slots in which the terminal listens for pages from a wireless network, wherein the terminal is configured with the paging slots repeating periodically according to a paging cycle, and wherein determining the location of the terminal during the paging slots comprises determining the location of the terminal during a logging interval in which at least one location change is logged, the logging interval spanning multiple paging slots;

determining whether the location of the terminal as determined during a second paging slot is different from the location of the terminal as determined during a first paging slot, the second paging slot being subsequent to the first paging slot; and

in response to a determination that the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot is different from the location of the terminal as determined during the first paging slot, storing information associated with the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information associated with the location of the terminal comprises a timestamp associated with the second paging slot.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodically waking up the terminal in preparation for determining the location of the terminal during the paging slots.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the location of the terminal during the plurality of paging slots comprises:

determining, based on pilot strength measurements made during a paging slot, whether a neighbor sector is more suitable to serve the terminal than a current serving sector for the terminal;

logging a change to a new serving sector; and

determining the location of the terminal based on a coverage area of the new serving sector.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot is different from the location of the terminal as determined during the first paging slot is based, at least in part, on a determination that a change in a serving sector for the terminal has occurred between the first paging slot and the second paging slot, and the information associated with the location of the terminal comprises a sector identity corresponding to the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining probability distribution information for a particular time duration based, at least in part, on the stored information associated with the location of the terminal, the probability distribution information comprising a plurality of entries, each entry indicating an area corresponding to the location of the terminal and an indication of the particular time duration that the terminal was determined to be within the area.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the information associated with the location of the terminal comprises representative data that has been encrypted.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the information associated with the location of the terminal comprises representative data that has been processed to remove redundant location information common for two or more of a plurality of entries.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after logging a change to a new serving sector, preventing further serving sector changes from being logged until after the logging interval has ended.

9. A terminal comprising:

memory;

a receiver; and

a processor connected to the memory and the receiver, the processor being configured to;

determine a location of the terminal during a plurality of paging slots in which the terminal listens for pages from a wireless network using the receiver, wherein the terminal is configured with the paging slots repeating periodically according to a paging cycle, and wherein the processor is configured to determine the location of the terminal during a logging interval in which at least one location change is logged, the logging interval spanning multiple paging slots;

determine whether the location of the terminal as determined during a second paging slot is different from the location of the terminal as determined during a first paging slot, the second paging slot being subsequent to the first paging slot; and

in response to a determination that the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot is different from the location of the terminal as determined during the first paging slot, provide, to the memory for storage therein, information associated with the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot.

10. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the information associated with the location of the terminal comprises a timestamp associated with the second paging slot.

11. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to periodically wake up the terminal in preparation for determining the location of the terminal during the paging slots.

12. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to:

determine, based on pilot strength measurements made during a paging slot, whether a neighbor sector is more suitable to serve the terminal than a current serving sector for the terminal;

log a change to a new serving sector; and

determine the location of the terminal based on a coverage area of the new serving sector.

13. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to:

determine whether the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot is different from the location of the terminal as determined during the first paging slot based, at least in part, on a determination that a change in a serving sector for the terminal has occurred between the first paging slot and the second paging slot, and the information associated with the location of the terminal comprises a sector identity corresponding to the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot.

14. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to:

determine probability distribution information for a particular time duration based, at least in part, on the information associated with the location of the terminal, as stored in the memory, the probability distribution information comprising a plurality of entries, each entry indicating an area corresponding to the location of the terminal and an indication of the particular time duration that the terminal was determined to be within the area.

15. The terminal of claim 9, wherein at least a portion of the information associated with the location of the terminal comprises representative data that has been encrypted.

16. The terminal of claim 9, wherein at least a portion of the information associated with the location of the terminal comprises representative data that has been compressed to remove redundant location information common for two or more of a plurality of entries.

20. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to, after logging a change to a new serving sector, prevent further serving sector changes from being logged until after the logging interval has ended.

17. An apparatus for use in obtaining information about a location of a terminal, the apparatus comprising:

means determining a location of the terminal during a plurality of paging slots in which the terminal listens for pages from a wireless network, wherein the terminal is configured with the paging slots repeating periodically according to a paging cycle, and wherein determining the location of the terminal during the paging slots comprises determining the location of the terminal during a logging interval in which at least one location change is logged, the logging interval spanning multiple paging slots;

means determining whether the location of the terminal as determined during a second paging slot is different from the location of the terminal as determined during a first paging slot, the second paging slot being subsequent to the first paging slot; and

in response to a determination that the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot is different from the location of the terminal as determined during the first paging slot, means storing information associated with the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having code stored therein which is executable by a processor of a terminal to:

determine a location of the terminal during a plurality of paging slots in which the terminal listens for pages from a wireless network, wherein the terminal is configured with the paging slots repeating periodically according to a paging cycle, and wherein determining the location of the terminal during the paging slots comprises determining the location of the terminal during a logging interval in which at least one location change is logged, the logging interval spanning multiple paging slots;

determine whether the location of the terminal as determined during a second paging slot is different from the location of the terminal as determined during a first paging slot, the second paging slot being subsequent to the first paging slot; and

in response to a determination that the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot is different from the location of the terminal as determined during the first paging slot, store information associated with the location of the terminal as determined during the second paging slot.