Reverse lookup of mobile location

• US 20070270162A1
• Filed: 05/19/2006
• Published: 11/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDPA Holdings Incorporated (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Hampel, Karl Georg, MacDonald, William Michael, Poosala, Viswanath
• Granted Patent: US 7,840,222 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

Location-based services are provided in a communication system comprising at least a portion of at least one wireless network. In one aspect of the invention, particular ones of a plurality of mobile user devices associated with a wireless network are identified for which sufficient location-indicative information is available from which a general location of said devices can be inferred without performing actual location measurements for said devices. The delivery of location queries to the identified mobile user devices is prevented, such that a number of location queries required for provision of a given location-based service is reduced relative to a number of location queries which would otherwise be required without the delivery prevention.

Claims

1. A method of providing location-based services, the method comprising the steps of:

identifying particular ones of a plurality of mobile user devices, associated with a wireless network, for which sufficient location-indicative information is available from which a general location of said devices can be inferred without performing actual location measurements for said devices; and

preventing delivery of location queries to said identified mobile user devices;

wherein a number of location queries required for provision of a given location-based service is reduced relative to a number of location queries which would otherwise be required without the preventing step.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of controlling delivery of at least one message to a given one of the identified mobile user devices based on the general location of said device as inferred from the location-indicative information.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of preventing delivery of location queries comprises preventing delivery of forward lookup location requests.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the location-indicative information comprises information indicating which of the mobile user devices are registered in one of a home location register and a visitor location register of a given cell of the wireless network.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the location-indicative information comprises a list of currently-registered mobile user devices.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the location-indicative information comprises signaling data records of the wireless network.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the signaling data records are stored in a switching element of the wireless network.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the signaling data records comprise at least one of a roundtrip delay measurement and a pilot strength measurement.

9. An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium storing one or more software programs which when executed by at least one processing device implement the method of claim 1.

10. An apparatus for use in providing location-based services, the apparatus comprising:

a location-based services system comprising at least one processing device having a processor coupled to a memory;

wherein the location-based services system is adapted to identify particular ones of a plurality of mobile user devices, associated with a wireless network, for which sufficient location-indicative information is available from which a general location of said devices can be inferred without performing actual location measurements for said devices; and

wherein the location-based services system is further adapted to prevent delivery of location queries to said identified mobile user devices;

wherein a number of location queries required for provision of a given location-based service is reduced relative to a number of location queries which would otherwise be required without the delivery prevention.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the location-based services system is external to the wireless network.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the location-based services system is implemented using a layered architecture comprising at least an application support layer, an application enabling layer, a location-based service enabling layer and a network connectivity layer.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the location-based service enabling layer comprises a location server adapted to limit location-related communications between the mobile user devices and base stations of the wireless network by at least one of eliminating duplicate location queries and prioritizing location queries.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the network connectivity layer comprises a location and presence query module adapted to obtain mobile user device location and presence information.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the location-based services system is further adapted to control delivery of at least one message to a given one of the identified mobile user devices based on the general location of said device as inferred from the location-indicative information.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the location-based services system is further adapted to prevent delivery of location queries to the identified mobile user devices by preventing delivery of forward lookup location requests to said devices.

17. A mobile user device associated with a wireless network, the mobile user device being configured for operation as one of a plurality of mobile user devices associated with the wireless network that are identified as having sufficient location-indicative information available from which a general location of said devices can be inferred without performing actual location measurements for said devices;

wherein delivery of location queries to said identified mobile user devices is prevented; and

wherein a number of location queries required for provision of a given location-based service is reduced relative to a number of location queries which would otherwise be required without the delivery prevention.

18. The mobile user device of claim 17 wherein the location-indicative information for said mobile user device comprises information indicating if said mobile user device is registered in one of a home location register and a visitor location register of a given cell of the wireless network.

19. The mobile user device of claim 17 wherein the location-indicative information for said mobile user device comprises information indicating if said mobile user device is on a list of currently-registered mobile user devices.

20. The mobile user device of claim 17 wherein the location-indicative information for said mobile user device comprises a signaling data record of the wireless network.