Providing a location service in a wireless communications network using an indication of whether the location service is an emergency-related location service or a law enforcement-related location service

• US 20040180655A1
• Filed: 03/12/2004
• Published: 09/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Wang, Chung-Ching, Jang, Ke-Chi, Denman, Robert E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,738,855 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

In a wireless communications network, a method of performing a location service with respect to a mobile station includes communicating a paging message containing an indication of whether the paging message is related to at least one of an emergency-related location service and a law enforcement-related location service. In another aspect, a mobile station in a wireless communications network communicates messaging to move the mobile station to a traffic channel in response to a callback by at least one of an emergency services entity and a law enforcement entity. The mobile station also receives a location request on the traffic channel, the location request containing an indication of whether the location request is related to at least one of an emergency-related location service and a law enforcement-related location service.

Claims

1. A method of performing a location service with respect to a mobile station, comprising:

communicating a paging message in a mobile communications network containing an indication of whether the paging message is related to at least one of an emergency-related location service and a law enforcement-related location service; and

communicating information regarding the location of the mobile station.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating the paging message comprises a base station sending a page containing the indication to a mobile station.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein sending the page containing the indication comprises sending one of a general page message (GPM) containing the indication and a universal page message (UPM) containing the indication.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein sending the page comprises sending the page containing a first information element to identify service option 35 or service option 36, and a second information element to indicate whether the page is related to the emergency-related location service or law enforcement-relate location service.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising a base station setting a state of the second information element based on a state of a field in a paging request from a mobile switching center indicating whether the paging request is related to the emergency-related location service or the law enforcement-related service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating the paging message comprises sending a paging request containing the indication from a mobile switching center to a base station.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein sending the paging request comprises sending an IS-2001 paging request containing the indication.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

the mobile switching center receiving a position request containing a field indicating whether the position request is related to at least one of the emergency-related location service and the law enforcement-related location service; and

the mobile switching center setting a state of the indication in the paging request based on the field contained in the position request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving the position request comprises receiving an InterSystemPositionRequest INVOKE (ISPOSREQ) message containing a CTYP field, the CTYP field indicating whether the position request is related to at least one of the emergency-related location service and the law enforcement-related location service.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising the mobile switching center receiving a position request capable of containing a field indicating whether the position request is related to at least one of the emergency-related location service and the law enforcement-related location service;

and

the mobile switching center setting a state of the indication in the paging request based on absence of the field in the paging request.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a position determination data message (PDDM) containing an indication of whether the PDDM is related to at least one of an emergency-related location service and a law enforcement-related location service.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein sending the PDDM message comprises sending an TIA/EIA/IS-801 PDDM message.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a position request containing a field indicating whether the position request is related to at least one of the emergency-related location service and the law enforcement-related location service; and

setting a state of the indication in the PDDM based on a state of the field in the position request.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the position request containing the field comprises receiving a GeoPositionRequest INVOKE (GPOSREQ) message containing a CTYP field.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the paging message by the mobile station that is not on a traffic channel and that is configured to accept an emergency-related location service or a law enforcement-related location service but not a value-added service location service; and

the mobile station responding to the paging message by sending a page response with one of service option 35 and 36.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the mobile station determining, by examining the paging message, that a location service-related service option requested in the paging message should be accepted, based on association of the paging message with either an emergency-related location service or a law enforcement-related location service.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile station is not on a traffic channel and is configured to accept only an emergency-related location service or a law enforcement-related location service, the method further comprising:

the mobile station communicating position determination data messages (PDDMs) on an assigned traffic channel with a position determination entity (PDE);

the mobile station determining whether one or more received PDDMs are related to the emergency-related location service or law enforcement-related location service; and

in response to determining that the one or more received PDDMs are related to the emergency-related location service or law enforcement-related location service, the mobile station accepting request elements in the one or more received PDDMs.

18. An article comprising at least one storage medium containing instructions that when executed cause a mobile station in a wireless communications network to:

communicate messaging to move the mobile station to a traffic channel in response to a callback by at least one of an emergency services entity and a law enforcement entity;

receive a location request on the traffic channel containing an indication of whether the location request is related to at least one of an emergency-related location service and a law enforcement-related location service; and

send location information of the mobile station in response to the location request.

19. The article of claim 18, wherein receiving the location request comprises receiving a position determination data message (PDDM) containing the indication.

20. The article of claim 18, wherein the mobile station has been configured to accept an emergency-related location service or a law enforcement-related location service but not a value-added service location service,

the instructions when executed causing the mobile station to determine whether to accept the location request based on the indication contained in the location request,

wherein sending the location information is performed in response to determining that the location request is to be accepted.

21. The article of claim 18, wherein the instructions when executed cause the mobile station to further:

receive a page from a base station, the page containing an indication that the page is associated with at least one of an emergency-related location service and a law enforcement-related location service; and

respond to the page by accepting a service option of the page based on the indication.

22. A system comprising:

an interface to communicate a paging message; and

a controller to set an indication in the paging message for indicating whether the paging message is related to at least one of an emergency-related service and a law enforcement-related location service.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the controller is adapted to send the paging message to a mobile station in response to an idle-mode query initiated by an emergency services entity to a mobile station.

24. The system of claim 22, comprising a mobile switching center including the interface and controller, wherein the paging message comprises a paging request sent from the mobile switching center to a base station.

25. The system of claim 22, comprising a base station including the interface and controller, wherein the paging message comprises a page from the base station to the mobile station.

26. The system of claim 22, wherein the controller is adapted to send data over a traffic channel, the data comprising a position determination data message (PDDM) containing an indication of whether the PDDM is related to emergency services.

27. A mobile station comprising:

an interface to receive a page containing an indication of whether the page is related to at least one of an emergency-related location service and a law enforcement-related location service; and

a controller to respond to the page based on the indication.

28. The mobile station of claim 27, wherein the mobile station is configured to accept a service option specified by a page relating to an emergency-related location service or a law enforcement-related location service, but not to accept another service option specified by a page relating to a value-added location service,

the controller to accept the page in response to the indication indicating that the page is related to the emergency-related location service or law enforcement-related location service.

29. The mobile station of claim 28, wherein the page contains a first information element to indicate that the page is location-related, and a second information element to indicate that the page relates to an emergency service or a law enforcement service.

30. The mobile station of claim 27, comprising one of a mobile phone, a portable computer with a wireless modem, a wireless-enabled personal digital assistant (PDAs), and a global positioning system (GPS) device.