METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING A MOBILE STATION PRESENCE IN A SPECIAL AREA

• US 20100190508A1
• Filed: 03/27/2007
• Published: 07/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avant Location Technologies LLC (Anjay Venture Partners LLC)
• Original Assignee: Afirma Consulting & Technologies S.l
• Inventors: Pérez Lafuente, Carlos Alberto
• Granted Patent: US 8,738,040 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Method for monitoring the presence of a mobile station (200) in at least one special area (203, 203b), wherein a radio communication defining device (212, 212b) transmits one radio distinctive defining signal (214, 214b) that defines the special area by its coverage, the mobile station processes a signal received in order to determine whether or not it is a defining signal and more precisely a distinctive one that defines the special area, the mobile station sends an updating signal to a mobile telephone network, the network routes the updating signal to special operating means that adapt the value of an operating parameter. According to the invention, the special area is associated to the mobile station by transmitting to the mobile station a checking data used by the mobile station for determining whether or not the defining signal received is a distinctive defining signal.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring the presence of a mobile station (100, 200, 300) in at least one special area (104, 203, 203b, 304) associated to the mobile station, the method comprising the following steps :

(a) at least one radio communication defining device (105, 212, 212b, 305) transmits repeatedly in at least a channel one radio distinctive defining signal (214, 214b) that defines the special area by its coverage,

(b) (512) the mobile station observes the channel and process any signal received in order to determine whether or not it is receiving any defining signal,

(c) the mobile station processes any defining signal received in order to determine whether or not the defining signal received is a distinctive defining signal that defines the special area,

(d) (526) the mobile station sends an updating signal to a mobile telephone network about its presence in the special area,

(e) the mobile telephone network routes the updating signal to special operating means (600, 700) that adapt the value of at least one operating parameter (612/606, 612/608, 712/706, 712/708) depending on the presence of the mobile station in the special area,

the said method is characterized in that the special area is associated to the mobile station by transmitting to the mobile station a checking data (408, 454), this checking data being used (518) by the mobile station for determining whether (524) or not (522) the defining signal received is a distinctive defining signal that defines, alone or with other distinctive defining signals, the special area associated to the mobile station and the same checking data being sent to any mobile station whose presence in this special area is monitored.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the special area (104, 203, 203b, 304) is deactivated (440) for the mobile station by the mobile telephone network sending a deactivation signal to the mobile station (100, 200, 300) to stop the mobile station from recognizing a defining signal that defines that special area as a distinctive one.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the special operating means acknowledge (531) the reception of the updating signal and transmit an acknowledgement signal to the mobile station.

4. A method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that at least one radio communication defining device is a wireless device (212, 212b) whose radio distinctive defining signal that defines the special area is a distinctive wireless signal (214, 214b) transmitted by the wireless device in a frequency range outside the frequency range allocated for the mobile telephone network, the said distinctive wireless signal contains wireless device identification data and reliable information confirming that the wireless device is effectively located into a predetermined environment (204, 230), the checking data associated to this wireless device (212, 212b) includes this wireless device identification data.

5. A method according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least one radio communication defining device is a base station (105) whose radio distinctive defining signal that defines the special area (104) is a distinctive signal comprising a special mobile telephone network identification code, the checking data associated to this base station (105) includes this special mobile telephone network identification code.

6. A method according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one radio communication defining device is a base station (305) whose radio distinctive defining signal that defines the special area (304) is a distinctive base station identity signal comprising an identification code of the base station, the checking data associated to this base station includes this base station identification code.

7. A method according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the special operating means store a parameters database (600, 700) linking the special area (104, 203, 203b, 304) to the mobile station (100, 200, 300) and to a set of at least the operating parameter (612/606, 612/608, 712/706, 712/708);

and the special operating means adapt the value of at least an operational parameter of this set when they receive an updating signal signalling that the mobile station exits or enters the special area.

8. A method according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the operating parameter is a tariff (616/606, 616/608) flag or a service flag (620/606, 624/606, 620/608, 624/608) that enables or disables a special tariff (‘

XXX’

,‘

PPP’

) or a service (‘

YYY’

,‘

ZZZ’

,‘

QQQ’

,‘

RRR’

) for the mobile station (100, 200, 300).

9. A method according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the updating signal includes a request to access to a service (‘

AAA’

, ‘

BBB’

) or to a multimedia content (‘

AAA’

, ‘

BBB’

) and the mobile telephone network routes this request to a part of the special operating means (700) that allow or forbid the provision of this service or multimedia content depending on. whether or not the mobile station (100, 200, 300) is into the special area (104, 203, 203b,304).

10. A method according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the transmission of the checking data to the mobile station (100, 200, 300) is done via the mobile telephone network or via a signal of a at least one radio device or via a person introducing the checking data in the mobile station.

13. A mobile system according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the mobile system carries out a method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

15. A radio communication defining device (105, 212, 212b,305), characterized in that it carries out a method according to any one of the claims 1 to 10.

16. A radio communication defining device according to claim 15, characterized in that the said radio communication defining device is a wireless device (212, 212b) and it contains means for transmitting a distinctive wireless signal (214, 214b) that defines the special area (203, 203b) and means for obtaining reliable information indicating whether or not the said wireless device is located into a predetermined environment (204, 230).

17. A mobile station, characterized in that this mobile station is suitable to carry out a method according to any one of the claims 1 to 10.

11. A mobile system for monitoring the presence of a mobile station (100, 200, 300) in a special area (104, 203, 203b, 304) defined for this mobile station, said system comprising:

checking means for detecting the presence of the mobile station in the special area associated to this mobile station, said checking means including ;

At least one radio communication defining device (105, 212, 212b, 305) transmitting repeatedly in at least a channel a radio distinctive defining signal (214, 214b) that defines the special area,

in the mobile station, observing means for observing the channel and processing means for processing any signal received in the channel in order to determine whether or not the signal received is a defining signal and, if the signal received is a defining signal, whether or not the signal received is a distinctive defining signal that defines the special area,

transmission means for sending an updating signal regarding the presence of the mobile station in the special area from the processing means to special operating means included at least partly in data processing means of the mobile telephone network,

the special operating means for adapting the value of at least one operating parameter (612/606, 612/608, 712/706, 712/708) depending on the presence of the mobile station in the special area,

characterized in that the said mobile system comprises storing means for storing a checking data in the mobile station, the processing means include means for using this checking data for determining whether or not the defining signal received is a distinctive defining signal that defines, alone or with other distinctive defining signals, the special area and the same checking data is sent to any mobile station whose presence in this special area is monitored.

12. A mobile system according to claim 11, characterized in that the mobile system comprises special area location monitoring means (205, 212) for monitoring the correct location of at least a part of the special area (212).

14. A server, characterized in that it contains at least some of the special operating means included in the mobile system according to any one of claims 11 to 13.