Location system with enhanced security

• US 20030153310A1
• Filed: 02/13/2003
• Published: 08/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ishii, Kenichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,869,815 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/435.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• 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 8/16 selectively restricting mobility data tracking
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

In a location system, gateways maintain privacy settings of mobile terminals. On receiving a location request from a client terminal, each gateway determines which of the gateways maintains the privacy settings of a target mobile terminal specified in the request, and transmits the location request to a gateway if the latter maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal. The gateway performs a first privacy check on a location request received either from the client terminal or from other gateway using the privacy settings of the target mobile terminal, transmits the request to a positioning system to obtain a measurement result indicating the location of the target mobile terminal if the request conforms to the privacy settings, and performs a second privacy check on the measurement result using the privacy settings. A result of the second privacy check is then communicated to the client terminal.

Claims

1. A location system comprising:

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a client terminal for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request; and

a gateway for holding privacy settings of the mobile terminals, performing a first privacy check on a location request of the client terminal using the privacy settings of a target mobile terminal specified by the request, transmitting said location request to the positioning system to obtain said location information, and performing a second privacy check on said location information using the privacy settings of said target mobile terminal.

6. The location system of claim 1 or 2, wherein each of said gateways is arranged to transmit a copy of said request at periodic intervals to said positioning system if the gateway maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal.

7. The location system of claim 1 or 2, wherein each of said gateways is arranged to:

transmit an event-triggered location request to said positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal if a specified event occurs in the target mobile terminal,

perform said second privacy check on said location information if the privacy settings of the target mobile terminal is not altered before said location information is obtained from the positioning system, and

transmit a cancellation request to said positioning system if the privacy settings of the target mobile terminal is altered before said location information is obtained from the positioning system.

19. The location system of claim 1, wherein said gateway performs said second privacy check if the location request conforms to said privacy settings.

2. A location system comprising:

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a plurality of client terminals for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request; and

a plurality of gateways for maintaining privacy settings of the mobile terminals,

each gateway receiving a location request from a client terminal, determining which of the gateways maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, and transmitting the location request to a gateway which maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal,

each gateway, which maintains privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, performing a first privacy check on a location request received either from the client terminal or from other gateway using the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal maintained in the gateway, transmitting the request to the positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal, and performing a second privacy check on said location information using the privacy settings maintained in the gateway.

3. The location system of claim 2, wherein the location request transmitted to the gateway that maintains the privacy settings of the target mobile terminal includes information as to the client terminal indicating functionality of the client terminal.

4. The location system of claim 2, wherein each of said gateways is arranged to transmit a copy of said request to said positioning system at periodic intervals to obtain a plurality of location information of the target mobile terminal, regardless of whether said request has been received from a client terminal or from other gateway.

5. The location system of claim 2, wherein each of said gateways is arranged to transmit a copy of said request at periodic intervals to a gateway of an external network if the gateway of the external network maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal.

8. The location system of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of databases for maintaining the privacy settings of the mobile terminals and collaborating with a corresponding one of said gateways to perform said first and second privacy check.

9. The location system of claim 2, wherein said positioning system comprises a plurality of mobile switching systems, and wherein each of said gateways is connected to one or more of said mobile switching systems.

10. The location system of claim 2, wherein said gateways respectively belong to different networks.

11. The location system of claim 9, wherein said mobile switching systems respectively belong to said different networks.

20. The location system of claim 2, wherein each of said gateways, which maintains privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, performs said second privacy check if the location request conforms to said privacy settings.

12. A method of protecting privacy of the location of mobile terminals in a location system which includes a gateway and a positioning system, comprising:

a) receiving, at said gateway, a location request from a client terminal specifying a target mobile terminal;

b) performing a first privacy check on the location request using the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal;

c) transmitting the location request to the positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal; and

d) performing a second privacy check on said location information using the privacy settings of said target mobile terminal.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said location system includes a plurality of gateways for respectively maintaining privacy settings of the mobile terminals and a positioning system,

wherein step (a) further comprises determining which of said gateways maintains the privacy settings of the specified mobile terminal,

wherein step (b) comprises performing said first privacy check on the location request using the privacy settings maintained in the determined gateway for the specified target mobile terminal, and

wherein step (d) comprises performing said second privacy check on the measurement result from said positioning system using the privacy settings maintained in the determined gateway for said target mobile terminal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said positioning system comprises a plurality of mobile switching systems and wherein each of said gateways is connected to one or more of said mobile switching systems, wherein step (c) further comprises determining which of the mobile switching systems the target mobile terminal is accessible, and transmitting said request to the determined mobile switching system to obtain said location information.

15. The method of claim 12 or 13, further comprising, following step (d), transmitting a copy of said location request to said positioning system at periodic intervals to obtain a plurality of location information of the target mobile terminal and transmitting the location information obtained for each of the transmitted copy to said client terminal.

16. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein step (d) further comprises processing said location information obtained from said positioning system according to privacy settings of said client terminal if the location information conforms to the privacy settings of said target mobile terminal, and transmitting the processed location information to the client terminal.

17. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein said location request transmitted to said positioning system is an event-triggered location request to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal if a specified event occurs with respect to the target mobile terminal, and wherein step (d) further comprises performing said second privacy check on the location information if the privacy settings of the target mobile terminal is not altered before the location information is obtained from the positioning system, and transmitting a cancellation request to said positioning system if the privacy settings of the target mobile terminal is altered before the location information is obtained from the positioning system.

18. A gateway of a location system, wherein the gateway is one of a plurality of gateways of the location system, wherein the gateways respectively maintain privacy settings of the mobile terminals, comprising:

means for receiving a location request from a client terminal specifying a target mobile terminal and determining which of said gateways maintains the privacy settings of the specified mobile terminal;

means for performing a first privacy check on the location request using the privacy settings maintained by the gateway for the specified target mobile terminal;

means for transmitting the location request to the positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal if the request conforms to said privacy settings; and

means for performing a second privacy check on said location information using the privacy settings maintained in the gateway for said target mobile terminal.

21. A location system comprising:

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a client terminal for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request; and

a plurality of gateways for holding privacy settings of the mobile terminals, transmitting the location request to the positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal, and performing a privacy check on said location information using the privacy settings of said target mobile terminal.

22. A location system comprising:

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a client terminal for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request;

a plurality of privacy managers for maintaining the privacy settings of the mobile terminals and performing a privacy check using the privacy settings of a target mobile terminal; and

a plurality of gateways for transmitting said location request to the positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal, and requesting the privacy managers to perform a privacy check on the obtained location information.

23. A location system comprising:

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a client terminal for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request;

a plurality of privacy managers for maintaining the privacy settings of the mobile terminals and performing a privacy check using the privacy settings of a target mobile terminal; and

a plurality of gateways for requesting said privacy manager, which maintains the privacy settings of a target mobile terminal specified by the request, to perform a first privacy check on a location request of the client terminal, transmit said location request to the positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal, and requesting said means to perform a second privacy check on the location information of the target mobile terminal.

24. A location system comprising:

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a client terminal for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request;

a plurality of gateways for maintaining privacy settings of the mobile terminals,

each gateway receiving a location request from a client terminal, determining which of the gateways maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, and transmitting the location request to a gateway which maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal,

each gateway, which maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, performing a first privacy check on a location request received either from the client terminal or from other gateway using the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, transmitting the request to the positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal, and performing a second privacy check on said location information using the privacy settings maintained in the gateway.

25. A location system comprising:

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a client terminal for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request;

a plurality of gateways for maintaining privacy settings of the mobile terminals,

each gateway receiving a location request from a client terminal, determining which of the gateways maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, and transmitting the location request to a gateway which maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal,

each gateway, which maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, transmitting said location request to the positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal, and performing a privacy check on the location information of the target mobile terminal using the privacy settings maintained in the gateway.

26. A location system comprising:

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a client terminal for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request;

a plurality of privacy managers for maintaining the privacy settings of the mobile terminals and performing a privacy check using the privacy settings of a target mobile terminal; and

a plurality of gateways,

each gateway receiving a location request from a client terminal, determining which of the gateways is associated with the privacy manager which maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, and transmitting the location request to the determined gateway,

each gateway, associated with the privacy manager which maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, requesting the associated means to perform a first privacy check on a location request of the client terminal, transmitting the location request to the positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal, and requesting the associated means to perform a second privacy check on the obtained location information using said privacy settings.

27. A location system comprising:

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a client terminal for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request;

a plurality of privacy managers for maintaining the privacy settings of the mobile terminals and performing a privacy check using the privacy settings of a target mobile terminal; and

a plurality of gateways,

each gateway receiving a location request from a client terminal, determining which of the gateways is associated with the privacy manager which maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, and transmitting the location request to the determined gateway,

each gateway, associated with the privacy manager which maintains the privacy settings of the specified target mobile terminal, requesting the associated means to perform a first privacy check on a location request of the client terminal, transmitting the location request to the positioning system to obtain location information of the target mobile terminal, and requesting the associated means to perform a second privacy check on the obtained location information using said privacy settings.

28. A location system comprising:

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a client terminal for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request;

a home register which stores identity of a gateway which maintains privacy settings of the mobile terminals; and

a plurality of gateways for maintaining privacy settings of the mobile terminals,

each gateway receiving a location request from a client terminal, sending an enquiry message to the home register to obtain the identity of the gateway if said identity is not known, and transmitting the location request to a gateway identified by the obtained identity.

29. A location system comprising;

a plurality of mobile terminals;

a client terminal for transmitting a location request specifying a target mobile terminal;

a positioning system accessible to said mobile terminals for producing location information of the target mobile terminal in response to a location request;

a home register which stores identity of a gateway which maintains privacy settings of the mobile terminals;

a privacy manager for maintaining privacy settings of the mobile terminals and performing a privacy check using the privacy settings of a target mobile terminal;

a home register for maintaining identity of a gateway which accesses the privacy manager that maintains privacy settings of the mobile terminals; and

a plurality of gateways, each gateway receiving a location request from the client terminal, sending a message to the home register that stores the identity of the gateway which accesses the a privacy manager which maintains privacy settings of the target mobile terminal to obtain the identity of the gateway if the identity is not known, and transmitting the location request to a gateway identified by the obtained identity.

30. A location method, comprising;

receiving a location request from a client terminal;

obtaining location information of a target mobile terminal specified by the location request; and

performing a privacy check on the location information of the target mobile terminal.

31. A location method, comprising;

transmitting a location request to a location system, whereby the location system obtains location information of a target mobile terminal specified by the location request and performs a first privacy check before obtaining the location information and a second privacy check after obtaining the location information; and

receiving the location information from the location system after the first and second privacy checks.