Technique for displaying information ancillary to a location of an entity in a communication network

• US 20070026847A1
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Published: 02/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jennings, Cullen, Polk, James
• Granted Patent: US 8,190,134 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.200
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

A technique for displaying information ancillary to an entity'"'"'s location. A request for information ancillary to the location of a communication unit in a communication network is generated by the communication unit wherein the request contains a location of the communication unit as well as specifies the information ancillary to the communication unit'"'"'s location that is sought. The request is forwarded to an information server in the communication network which may be a “trusted source” meaning that the communication unit considers the information server a reliable (trustworthy) source of information. The information server receives the request and identifies the requested information using the location information contained in the request. A response (notification) containing the identified information is then generated by the information server and forwarded to the communication unit. The communication unit receives the notification and processes it accordingly, including displaying the identified information in a manner that indicates the requested information is available. If the requested information is not available, the communication unit provides a display indicating the information is not available.

Claims

1. A method of displaying information ancillary to a location of a first entity in a communication network, the method comprising:

generating a first request containing a location of the first entity to request information ancillary to the location of the first entity;

forwarding the first request to a second entity;

receiving a notification from the second entity containing the requested information ancillary to the location of the first entity;

generating a display based on the received information ancillary to the location of the first entity; and

displaying the generated display at the first entity.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the information includes information about a public safety answering point (PSAP).

3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the second entity is a trusted source.

4. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

determining the location of the first entity.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

generating a second request for the location of the first entity;

forwarding the second request to a third entity; and

receiving a response containing the first entity'"'"'s location.

6. A method as defined in claim 5 wherein the second request is a Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) message.

7. A method as defined in claim 6 wherein the message contains a coordinate location information (LCI) option for holding information associated with the first entity.

8. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the first request message is a Session Initiation Protocol subscribe message.

9. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the first request message specifies information requested for a PSAP associated with the first entity'"'"'s location.

10. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the specified information requested for the PSAP includes a description of the PSAP.

11. A method as defined in claim 9 wherein the information specified for the PSAP includes a Universal Resource Indicator (URI) associated with the PSAP.

12. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

waiting for the notification for up to a period of time; and

if the notification is not received within the period of time, displaying an indication that the requested information is not available.

13. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

determining if the notification indicates the information is not available; and

if the notification indicates the information is not available, displaying an indication that the requested information is not available.

14. A method as defined in claim 13 wherein the indication is displayed as a disabled icon.

15. A method as defined in claim 13 wherein the indication is displayed using a coloring scheme that indicates the information is not available.

16. A communication unit comprising:

a processor configured to;

(a) generate a first request containing a location of the first entity to request information ancillary to the location of the first entity,

(b) forward the first request to a second entity,

(c) receive a notification from the second entity containing the requested information ancillary to the location of the first entity,

(d) generate a display based on the received information ancillary to the location of the first entity; and

a display unit configured to;

(a) display the generated display at the first entity.

17. A communication unit as defined in claim 16 wherein the processor is further configured to determine the location of the first entity.

18. A communication unit as defined in claim 16 wherein the processor is further configured to:

(a) generate a second request for the location of the first entity,

(b) forward the second request to a third entity, and

(c) receive a response containing the first entity'"'"'s location.

19. A communication unit as defined in claim 16 wherein the processor is further configured to wait for the notification for up to a period of time and the display unit is further configured to display an indication on the display that the requested information is not available if the notification is not received within the period of time.

20. A communication unit as defined in claim 16 wherein the processor is further configured to determine if the notification indicates the information is not available and the display unit is further configured to display an indication that the requested information is not available if the notification indicates the information is not available.

21. An apparatus comprising:

means for generating a first request containing a location of the first entity to request information ancillary to the location of the first entity;

means for forwarding the first request to a second entity via a communication network;

means for receiving from the second entity via the communication network a notification containing the requested information ancillary to the location of the first entity;

means for generating a display based on the received information ancillary to the location of the first entity; and

means for displaying the generated display at the first entity.

22. An apparatus as defined in claim 21 further comprising:

means for determining the location of the first entity.

23. An apparatus as defined in claim 21 further comprising:

means for generating a second request for the location of the first entity;

means for forwarding the second request to a third entity; and

means for receiving a response containing the first entity'"'"'s location.

24. An apparatus as defined in claim 21 further comprising:

means for waiting for the notification for up to a period of time; and

means for displaying an indication that the requested information is not available, if the notification is not received within the period of time.

25. An apparatus as defined in claim 21 further comprising:

means for determining if the notification indicates the information is not available; and

means for displaying an indication that the requested information is not available, if the notification indicates the information is not available.