Providing location data about a mobile entity

• US 20020004399A1
• Filed: 03/23/2001
• Published: 01/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Thomas, Andrew, McDonnell, James Thomas Edward, Waters, John Deryk, Crouch, Simon E., Spratt, Michael P.
• Granted Patent: US 6,799,032 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.6
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/16 selectively restricting mobility data tracking
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A mobile entity (20) provides accuracy limit data (Q) that indicates a desired accuracy of location data (L) about the mobile entity. This data (Q) is passed, either directly or indirectly from the mobile entity (20), to a location handling system (80) which provides location data (L) about the corresponding mobile entity limited to the desired accuracy. In one embodiment, the location handling system is a location server. In another embodiment the location handling system is a decryption entity (80) for decrypting encrypted location data.

Claims

1. A method of providing location data about a mobile entity, wherein:

the mobile entity provides quality of service data, QoS data, that indicates a desired accuracy limit of location data about the mobile entity and is authenticatable as being sent by the mobile entity,

the QoS data is passed, either directly or indirectly from the mobile entity, to a location handling system, and

the location handling system authenticates the QoS data and provides location data about the corresponding mobile entity limited to an accuracy determined by the QoS data.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile entity digitally signs the QoS data, and the location handling system checks the authenticity of the QoS data on the basis of the mobile entity'"'"'s digital signature.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the location handling system is a location server, the QoS data being passed to the location server either directly from the mobile entity or via a service system contacted by the mobile entity.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the location handling system is a location server, the QoS data being passed to the location server by a service system contacted by the mobile entity and the location server returning the location data to the service system where it is used to provide a service to the mobile entity.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the location handling system is a decryption entity for decrypting encrypted location data provided to it by the mobile entity or a service system, the QoS data being passed to the location server either directly from the mobile entity or via a service system contacted by the mobile entity.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the location handling system is a decryption entity for decrypting encrypted location data, the QoS data and encrypted location data being provided by the mobile entity to a service system which passes these data to the decryption entity, and the decryption entity decrypting the location data and returning it, with an accuracy determined by the QoS data, to the service system where it is used to provide a service to the mobile entity.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the location handling system is a decryption entity for decrypting encrypted location data, the QoS data being provided by the mobile entity to a service system which obtains encrypted location data concerning the mobile entity from a location server and then passes the QoS data and encrypted location data to the decryption entity, the decryption entity decrypting the location data and returning it, with an accuracy determined by the QoS data, to the service system where it is used to provide a service to the mobile entity.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein the encrypted location data is accompanied by an indication of the accuracy of that data, the decryption entity taking account of this accuracy when processing the location data to provide the level of accuracy determined by the QoS data.

9. A method according to claim 6, wherein the encrypted location data is accompanied by an indication of the accuracy of that data, the decryption entity taking account of this accuracy when processing the location data to provide the level of accuracy determined by the QoS data.

10. A method according to claim 7, wherein the encrypted location data is accompanied by an indication of the accuracy of that data, the decryption entity taking account of this accuracy when processing the location data to provide the level of accuracy determined by the QoS data.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the location handling system limits the accuracy of the location data it provides, relative to the accuracy of the location data available to it, by combining with the components of the available location data, additional components randomised over a range set by the difference between the accuracy of the available location data and the accuracy specified in the QoS data.