Cellular phone tracking scope

• US 20070123271A1
• Filed: 08/21/2006
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Dickinson, Richard
• Application Number:
  US11/506,830
• Publication Number:
  US 20070123271A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• 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 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A cellular phone tracking scope tracks and visually maps the location and movement history of cellular phones in one or more cellular networks in a region of interest. The tracked cellular phones include detection and tracking of the location (latitude/longitude) of those that are not in use. With proper authorization, specific telephone numbers may be tapped, providing the ability to track an entire universe of cell phones by simultaneously displaying all phones within a specific boundary on a “tracking scope” similar to a radar scope. The tracked cellular phones that are displayed may be filtered, e.g., to show which cellular phones are those of a friend, which are those of a foe, and/or which are those of an unknown person or device. The location and phone number of desired phones can be displayed.

Claims

1. A cellular phone tracking scope, comprising:

a location probe, in communication with a cellular network, to detect a presence of cellular phones within a given area;

a location manager to request a location for each cellular phone present within said given area; and

a mapping, filtering and display module, to map said present cellular phones, subject to a filtering to a desired subset of said cellular phones present if desired.

2. The cellular phone tracking scope according to claim 1, wherein:

said given area is determined based on the location of specific radio towers used by said cellular network.

3. The cellular phone tracking scope according to claim 1, wherein:

said cellular network is a GSM wireless network.

4. The cellular phone tracking scope according to claim 1, wherein:

said cellular network is a CDMA wireless network.

5. A cellular phone tracking scope, comprising:

means for probing a cellular network for detecting a presence of cellular phones within a given area;

location management means for requesting a location for said detected present cellular phones within said given area; and

a mapping, filtering and display module, to map a location of said detected present cellular phones, subject to a filtering of said detected present cellular phones to a desired subset of said detected present cellular phones as desired.

6. The cellular phone tracking scope according to claim 5, wherein:

said given area is determined based on the location of specific radio towers used by said cellular network.

7. The cellular phone tracking scope according to claim 5, wherein:

said cellular network is a GSM wireless network.

8. The cellular phone tracking scope according to claim 5, wherein:

said cellular network is a CDMA wireless network.

9. A method of tracking a plurality of cellular phones in a given region, comprising:

detecting a presence of cellular phones within a given area;

requesting a location for each of said detected present cellular phones within said given area;

filtering said detected present cellular phones to a desired subset of said detected present cellular phones as desired; and

mapping and displaying a location of said detected present cellular phones, subject to said filtering.