Apparatus and method for providing position information in a mobile communication system

• US 20110077023A1
• Filed: 11/29/2010
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Won, Young-Min
• Granted Patent: US 8,750,907 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• 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 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• 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

A method and an apparatus for providing position information in a mobile communication system includes setting, at a mobile communication terminal which requests to provide the position information, a position condition to provide the position information. The mobile communication terminal generates a message including the position condition, and sends the generated message to a correspondent terminal of which the position information is to be acquired. The mobile communications terminal also receives a position information request message including the position condition from a correspondent terminal, determines whether the position condition is violated or not by periodically acquiring its position information, and sends a message informing of the position information violation to the correspondent terminal when the position condition is violated.

Claims

1. A method of a mobile communication terminal requesting to provide position information, the method comprising:

generating a message comprising a position condition for a correspondent terminal;

sending the generated message to the correspondent terminal; and

receiving a message indicating whether the position condition is violated, from the correspondent terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the position condition comprises at least one of a service type, an appointed time, a designated radius, a designated position region, a Short Message Service automatic transmission setting, and memo information, and

the designated position region is designated by a screen touch of a user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the message comprising the position condition is a message requesting to provide the position information using a message type.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

requesting the correspondent terminal to periodically provide the position information;

periodically receiving the position information of the correspondent terminal; and

calculating and displaying a distance and a direction of the correspondent terminal with respect to the terminal using the position information of the correspondent terminal and position information of the terminal.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

calculating and displaying a distance and a direction of the correspondent terminal with respect to at least one of a designated radius and a designated position region of the position condition.

6. A method of a mobile communication terminal requested to provide position information, the method comprising:

receiving a message comprising a position condition from a correspondent terminal;

determining whether the position condition is violated by periodically acquiring position information of the terminal; and

sending a message indicating whether the position condition is violated to the correspondent terminal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the position condition comprises at least one of a service type, an appointed time, a designated radius, a designated position region, a Short Message Service automatic transmission setting, and memo information, and

the designated position region is designated by a screen touch of a user.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

when the position condition is violated, displaying a message informing of the position condition violation or producing a warning sound.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein determining whether the position condition is violated by periodically acquiring the position information of the terminal comprises:

when the service type is a position warning service and the terminal does not move out of at least one of the designated radius and the designated position region within the appointed hour, determining that the position condition is violated; and

when the service type is a position monitoring service and the terminal moves out of at least one of the designated radius and the designated position region within the appointed hour, determining that the position condition is violated.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving a message requesting a periodic position report from the correspondent terminal;

determining whether the correspondent terminal is authorized to monitor the position of the terminal; and

periodically transmitting position information of the terminal to the correspondent terminal.

11. An apparatus for use in a mobile communication terminal capable of requesting to provide position information, the apparatus comprising:

a controller configured to generate a message comprising a position condition for a correspondent terminal; and

a transceiver configured to send the generated message to the correspondent terminal under the control of the controller and further configured to receive a message from the correspondent terminal, the message indicating whether the position condition is violated.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the position condition comprises at least one of a service type, an appointed time, a designated radius, a designated position region, a Short Message Service automatic transmission setting, and memo information, and

the designated position region is designated by a screen touch of a user.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the message comprising the position condition is a message requesting to provide the position information using a message type.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the controller requests the correspondent terminal to periodically provide the position information, periodically receives the position information of the correspondent terminal through the transceiver, and calculates a distance and a direction of the correspondent terminal with respect to the terminal using the position information of the correspondent terminal and position information of the terminal, further comprising:

a display part configured to display the distance and the direction calculated at the controller.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the controller calculates a distance and a direction of the correspondent terminal with respect to at least one of a designated radius and a designated position region of the position condition.

16. An apparatus of a mobile communication terminal requested to provide position information, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver configured to receive a message comprising a position condition from a correspondent terminal;

a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver configured to acquire position information of the terminal; and

a controller configured to determine whether the position condition is violated by periodically acquiring the position information of the terminal through the GPS receiver, and configured to control the transceiver to send a message indicating whether the position condition is violated to the correspondent terminal.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the position condition comprises at least one of a service type, an appointed time, a designated radius, a designated position region, a Short Message Service automatic transmission setting, and memo information, and

the designated position region is designated by a screen touch of a user.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a display part configured to, when the position condition is violated, display a message informing of the position condition violation under control of the controller; and

an alarm part configured to produce a warning sound notifying the position condition violation under the control of the controller.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein, when the service type is a position warning service and the terminal does not move out of at least one of the designated radius and the designated position region within the appointed hour, the controller determines that the position condition is violated, and

when the service type is a position monitoring service and the terminal moves out of the designated radius within the appointed hour, the controller determines that the position condition is violated.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller determines whether the correspondent terminal is authorized to monitor the position of the terminal when receiving a message requesting a periodic position report from the correspondent terminal, and controls a function to periodically transmit the position information of the terminal to the correspondent terminal.