FINDING MOBILE STATION FOR DEVICE-TO-DEVICE COMMUNICATION

• US 20110191187A1
• Filed: 09/30/2009
• Published: 08/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Tao, Charbit, Gilles
• Granted Patent: US 8,818,861 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/23 for mobile advertising
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

According to one example, a method may comprise receiving, by an advertising mobile station in a wireless network, a master profile message from an access node, the master profile message comprising, for each of a plurality of mobile stations in the wireless network, a timing parameter and at least one profile element; selecting at least one receiving mobile station from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing parameter of the receiving mobile station to the timing parameter of the advertising mobile station and checking the at least one profile element of the receiving mobile station against a proposed advertisement; sending a location request message to the at least one receiving mobile station; receiving the location message from the at least one receiving mobile station, the location message indicating a location of the at least one receiving mobile station.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by an advertising mobile station in a wireless network, a master profile message from an access node, or from an access-node designated group master mobile station, the master profile message comprising, for each of a plurality of mobile stations in the wireless network, a timing parameter and at least one profile element;

selecting at least one receiving mobile station from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing parameter of the receiving mobile station to the timing parameter of the advertising mobile station and checking the at least one profile element of the receiving mobile station against a proposed advertisement;

sending a location request message to the at least one receiving mobile station; and

receiving the location message from the at least one receiving mobile station, the location message indicating a location of the at least one receiving mobile station.

2. The method of claim 0 further comprising synchronizing with the access node.

3. The method of claim 0 further comprising synchronizing with the access node, the synchronizing comprising sending at least one profile element for the advertising mobile station to the access node.

4. The method of claim 0 further comprising sending, to the access node, a service request message.

5. The method of claim 0 further comprising sending, to the access node, an advertising mobile station profile message, the advertising mobile station profile message comprising at least one profile element for the advertising mobile station.

6. The method of claim 0 wherein:

the receiving the master profile message comprises receiving, by the advertising mobile station in the wireless network, the master profile message from the access node, or from the access-node designated group master mobile station, the master profile message comprising, for each of the plurality of mobile stations in the wireless network, a timing parameter and at least one profile element, the timing parameter comprising a timing advance parameter; and

the selecting comprises selecting the at least one receiving mobile station from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing advance parameter of the receiving mobile station to the timing advance parameter of the advertising mobile station, and checking the at least one profile element of the receiving mobile station against the proposed advertisement.

7. The method of claim 0 wherein:

the receiving comprises receiving, by the advertising mobile station in the wireless network, the master profile message from the access node, or from an access-node designated group master mobile station, the master profile message comprising, for each of the plurality of mobile stations in the wireless network, the timing parameter, the at least one profile element, and a connection identifier; and

the selecting comprises selecting at least one receiving mobile station from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing parameter of the receiving mobile station to the timing parameter of the advertising mobile station and checking the at least one profile element of the receiving mobile station against the proposed advertisement, and the connection identifier of the receiving mobile station.

8. The method of claim 0 wherein the receiving the master profile message comprises receiving the master profile message the master profile message comprising, for each of the plurality of mobile stations within a device-to-device group, the timing advance parameter and the at least one profile element, the device-to-device group also comprising the advertising mobile station.

9. The method of claim 0 wherein the receiving the location message comprises receiving the location message from the at least one receiving mobile station, the location message indicating global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the at least one receiving mobile station.

10. The method of claim 0 wherein:

the selecting the at least one receiving mobile station comprises selecting multiple receiving mobile stations from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing advance parameters of the multiple receiving mobile stations to the timing advance parameter of the advertising mobile station and checking the at least one profile element of each of the multiple receiving mobile stations against the proposed advertisement;

the sending the location request messages comprises sending location request messages to each of the multiple receiving mobile stations; and

the receiving the location message comprises receiving location messages from each of the multiple receiving mobile stations, the location messages indicating a location of each of the multiple receiving mobile stations.

11. The method of claim 0 further comprising generating the proposed advertisement based on a user input.

12. The method of claim 0 further comprising:

determining, based on the location indicated by the location message, that the location of the at least one receiving mobile station is within a maximum advertising distance from the advertising mobile station; and

synchronizing, based on the determining, with the receiving mobile station for device-to-device communication.

13. The method of claim 0 further comprising:

determining, based on the location indicated by the location message, that the location of the at least one receiving mobile station is within a maximum distance from the advertising mobile station; and

sending, based on the determining, an advertisement message to the receiving mobile station.

14. The method of claim 0 wherein the sending the location request message and the receiving the location message are comprised in a synchronization process initiated by the advertising mobile station with the receiving mobile station.

15. The method of claim 0 wherein the wireless network comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network.

16. A method comprising:

sending, by a receiving mobile station in a wireless network, a receiving mobile station profile message to an access node, the receiving mobile station profile message comprising at least one profile element;

receiving, from an advertising mobile station, a location request message; and

sending, in response to the receiving the location request message, a location message to the advertising mobile station, the location message indicating a location of the receiving mobile station.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising synchronizing with the access node.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the sending the receiving mobile station profile message to the access node is comprised in a synchronization process with the access node.

19. The method of claim 16 further comprising receiving a master profile message from the access node or from an access-node designated group master mobile station.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the receiving the location request message comprises receiving the location request message, the location request message being broadcast to a plurality of other mobile stations.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein the sending the location message comprises sending the location message to the advertising mobile station, the location message indicating global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the receiving mobile station.

22. The method of claim 16 further comprising generating the at least one profile element based on user input.

23. The method of claim 16 further comprising synchronizing with the advertising mobile station.

24. The method of claim 16 further comprising receiving an advertisement message from the advertising mobile station.

25. The method of claim 16 wherein the wireless network comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network.

26. The method of claim 16 wherein the receiving the location request message and the sending the location message are comprised in a synchronization process initiated by the advertising mobile station with the receiving mobile station.

27. An apparatus comprising:

a controller configured to;

process a master profile message received from an access node or from an access-node designated group master mobile station, the master profile message comprising, for each of a plurality of mobile stations in the wireless network, a timing parameter and at least one profile element;

select at least one receiving mobile station from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing parameter of the receiving mobile station to the timing parameter of the advertising mobile station and checking the at least one profile element of the receiving mobile station against a proposed advertisement;

generate a location request message for the at least one receiving mobile station; and

process the location message received from the at least one receiving mobile station, the location message indicating a location of the at least one receiving mobile station; and

a transceiver configured to send messages generated by the controller and receive and forward messages to the controller.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the transceiver comprises a wireless transceiver.

29. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the controller is further configured to synchronize with the access node.

30. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the controller is further configured to synchronize with the access node, the synchronizing comprising sending at least one profile element for the advertising mobile station to the access node.

31. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the controller is further configured to generate, for the access node, a service request message.

32. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the controller is further configured to generate, for the access node, an advertising mobile station profile message, the advertising mobile station profile message comprising at least one profile element for the advertising mobile station.

33. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein:

the master profile message comprises, for each of the plurality of mobile stations in the wireless network, a timing parameter and at least one profile element, the timing parameter comprising a timing advance parameter; and

the controller is configured to select the at least one receiving mobile station from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing advance parameter of the receiving mobile station to the timing advance parameter of the advertising mobile station, and checking the at least one profile element of the receiving mobile station against the proposed advertisement.

34. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein:

the master profile message comprises, for each of the plurality of mobile stations in the wireless network, the timing parameter, the at least one profile element, and a connection identifier; and

the controller is configured to select at least one receiving mobile station from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing parameter of the receiving mobile station to the timing parameter of the advertising mobile station and checking the at least one profile element of the receiving mobile station against the proposed advertisement, and the connection identifier of the receiving mobile station.

35. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the master profile message comprises, for each of the plurality of mobile stations within a device-to-device group, the timing advance parameter and the at least one profile element, the device-to-device group also comprising the advertising mobile station.

36. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the location message indicates global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the at least one receiving mobile station.

37. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the controller is configured to:

select multiple receiving mobile stations from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing advance parameters of the multiple receiving mobile stations to the timing advance parameter of the advertising mobile station and checking the at least one profile element of each of the multiple receiving mobile stations against the proposed advertisement;

generate sending location request messages for each of the multiple receiving mobile stations; and

process location messages received from each of the multiple receiving mobile stations, the location messages indicating a location of each of the multiple receiving mobile stations.

38. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the controller is further configured to generate the proposed advertisement based on a user input.

39. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine, based on the location indicated by the location message, that the location of the at least one receiving mobile station is within a maximum advertising distance from the advertising mobile station; and

synchronize, based on the determining, with the receiving mobile station for device-to-device communication.

40. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine, based on the location indicated by the location message, that the location of the at least one receiving mobile station is within a maximum distance from the advertising mobile station; and

generate, based on the determining, an advertisement message for the receiving mobile station.

41. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the controller is further configured to generate the location request message and receive the location message as part of a synchronization process initiated by the advertising mobile station with the receiving mobile station.

42. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the apparatus comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile station.

43. An apparatus comprising:

a controller configured to;

generate a receiving mobile station profile message for an access node, the receiving mobile station profile message comprising at least one profile element;

process a location request message received from an advertising mobile station; and

generate, in response to processing the location request message, a location message for the advertising mobile station, the location message indicating a location of the receiving mobile station; and

a transceiver configured to send messages generated by the controller and receive and forward messages to the controller.

44. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the transceiver comprises a wireless transceiver.

45. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the controller is further configured to synchronizing with the access node.

46. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the controller is configured to generate the receiving mobile station profile message for the access node as part of a synchronization process with the access node.

47. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the controller is configured to process a master profile message received from the access node or from an access-node designated group master mobile station.

48. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the controller is configured to process the location request message, the location request message being broadcast to a plurality of other mobile stations.

49. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the location message indicates global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the receiving mobile station.

50. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the controller is further configured to generate the at least one profile element based on user input.

51. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the controller is further configured to synchronize with the advertising mobile station.

52. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the controller is further configured to process an advertisement message received from the advertising mobile station.

53. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the apparatus comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile station.

54. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein the controller is configured to process the location request message and generate the location message as part of a synchronization process initiated by the advertising mobile station with the apparatus.

55. A computer program product for device-to-device communication between mobile stations, the computer program product being tangibly embodied on a computer storage medium and comprising executable code that, when executed, is configured to cause an advertising mobile station to:

receive, by the advertising mobile station in a wireless network, a master profile message from an access node, or from an access-node designated group master mobile station, the master profile message comprising, for each of a plurality of mobile stations in the wireless network, a timing parameter and at least one profile element;

select at least one receiving mobile station from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing parameter of the receiving mobile station to the timing parameter of the advertising mobile station and checking the at least one profile element of the receiving mobile station against a proposed advertisement;

send a location request message to the at least one receiving mobile station; and

receive the location message from the at least one receiving mobile station, the location message indicating a location of the at least one receiving mobile station.

56. The computer program product of claim 55 further configured to cause the advertising mobile station to synchronize with the access node.

57. The computer program product of claim 55 further configured to cause the advertising mobile station to synchronize with the access node, the synchronizing comprising sending at least one profile element for the advertising mobile station to the access node.

58. The computer program product of claim 55 further configured to cause the advertising mobile station to send, to the access node, a service request message.

59. The computer program product of claim 55 further configured to cause the advertising mobile station to send, to the access node, an advertising mobile station profile message, the advertising mobile station profile message comprising at least one profile element for the advertising mobile station.

60. The computer program product of claim 55 wherein:

the receiving the master profile message comprises receiving, by the advertising mobile station in the wireless network, the master profile message from the access node, or from the access-node designated group master mobile station, the master profile message comprising, for each of the plurality of mobile stations in the wireless network, a timing parameter and at least one profile element, the timing parameter comprising a timing advance parameter; and

the selecting comprises selecting the at least one receiving mobile station from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing advance parameter of the receiving mobile station to the timing advance parameter of the advertising mobile station, and checking the at least one profile element of the receiving mobile station against the proposed advertisement.

61. The computer program product of claim 55 wherein:

the receiving comprises receiving, by the advertising mobile station in the wireless network, the master profile message from the access node, or from an access-node designated group master mobile station, the master profile message comprising, for each of the plurality of mobile stations in the wireless network, the timing parameter, the at least one profile element, and a connection identifier; and

the selecting comprises selecting at least one receiving mobile station from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing parameter of the receiving mobile station to the timing parameter of the advertising mobile station and checking the at least one profile element of the receiving mobile station against the proposed advertisement, and the connection identifier of the receiving mobile station.

62. The computer program product of claim 55 wherein the receiving the master profile message comprises receiving the master profile message the master profile message comprising, for each of the plurality of mobile stations within a device-to-device group, the timing advance parameter and the at least one profile element, the device-to-device group also comprising the advertising mobile station.

63. The computer program product of claim 55 wherein the receiving the location message comprises receiving the location message from the at least one receiving mobile station, the location message indicating global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the at least one receiving mobile station.

64. The computer program product of claim 55 wherein:

the selecting the at least one receiving mobile station comprises selecting multiple receiving mobile stations from the plurality of mobile stations based, at least in part, on comparing the timing advance parameters of the multiple receiving mobile stations to the timing advance parameter of the advertising mobile station and checking the at least one profile element of each of the multiple receiving mobile stations against the proposed advertisement;

the sending the location request messages comprises sending location request messages from each of the multiple receiving mobile stations; and

the receiving the location message comprises receiving location messages from each of the multiple receiving mobile stations, the location messages indicating a location of each of the multiple receiving mobile stations.

65. The computer program product of claim 55 further configured to cause the advertising mobile station to generate the proposed advertisement based on a user input.

66. The computer program product of claim 55 further configured to cause the advertising mobile station to:

determine, based on the location indicated by the location message, that the location of the at least one receiving mobile station is within a maximum advertising distance from the advertising mobile station; and

synchronize, based on the determining, with the receiving mobile station for device-to-device communication.

67. The computer program product of claim 55 further configured to cause the advertising mobile station to:

determine, based on the location indicated by the location message, that the location of the at least one receiving mobile station is within a maximum distance from the advertising mobile station; and

send, based on the determining, an advertisement message to the receiving mobile station.

68. The computer program product of claim 55 wherein the sending the location request message and the receiving the location message are comprised in a synchronization process initiated by the advertising mobile station with the receiving mobile station.

69. The computer program product of claim 55 wherein the wireless network comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network.

70. A computer program product for device-to-device communication between mobile stations, the computer program product being tangibly embodied on a computer storage medium and comprising executable code that, when executed, is configured to cause a receiving mobile station to:

send, by the receiving mobile station in a wireless network, a receiving mobile station profile message to an access node, the receiving mobile station profile message comprising at least one profile element;

receive, from an advertising mobile station, a location request message; and

send, in response to the receiving the location request message, a location message to the advertising mobile station, the location message indicating a location of the receiving mobile station.

71. The computer program product of claim 70 further configured to cause the receiving mobile station to synchronize with the access node.

72. The computer program product of claim 70 wherein the sending the receiving mobile station profile message to the access node is comprised in a synchronization process with the access node.

73. The computer program product of claim 70 further configured to cause the receiving mobile station to receive a master profile message from the access node or from an access-node designated group master mobile station.

74. The computer program product of claim 70 wherein the receiving the location request message comprises receiving the location request message, the location request message being broadcast to a plurality of other mobile stations.

75. The computer program product of claim 70 wherein the sending the location message comprises sending the location message to the advertising mobile station, the location message indicating global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the receiving mobile station.

76. The computer program product of claim 70 further configured to cause the receiving mobile station to generate the at least one profile element based on user input.

77. The computer program product of claim 70 further configured to cause the receiving mobile station to synchronize with the advertising mobile station.

78. The computer program product of claim 70 further configured to cause the receiving mobile station to receive an advertisement message from the advertising mobile station.

79. The computer program product of claim 70 wherein the wireless network comprises a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network.

80. The computer program product of claim 70 wherein the receiving the location request message and the sending the location message are comprised in a synchronization process initiated by the advertising mobile station with the receiving mobile station.