SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR E911 LOCATION PRIVACY PROTECTION

• US 20110212703A1
• Filed: 07/01/2010
• Published: 09/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gardner, Michael R., Merchant, Zaffer S., Ballantyne, Wayne W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,774,828 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3805 with built-in auxiliary receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/16 selectively restricting mobility data tracking

Abstract

The invention relates to a system that enables power to be selectively applied to GPS circuitry in a cellular telephone or other mobile device only when a specific user input is detected. In one embodiment, power to the GPS circuitry may be enabled only when the user strikes the keys “9-1-1.” In other embodiments, other types of GPS enablement or disablement may be employed, such as selectively decoupling the GPS antenna. In another embodiment, the user may depress a privacy bypass button, which alternately enables and disables power to the GPS circuitry. Cellular telephones or other communication devices may therefore activate GPS location service during an emergency call, or when a user wishes to allow their location to be determined, but protect the privacy of that user'"'"'s location and movement at other times.

Claims

1. A user interface system for enabling GPS circuitry in a communications device, the user interface system comprising:

input means for selectively disabling or enabling the GPS circuitry responsive to a user input to control the selectively disabling or enabling of the GPS circuitry;

privacy bypass means for temporarily enabling the GPS circuitry over the input means when the input means has disabled the GPS circuitry, the privacy bypass means responsive to a user input to temporarily enable the GPS circuitry over the input to disable the GPS circuitry at the input means; and

a keypad matrix including a plurality of keys coupled to communications circuitry and the GPS circuitry, at least one of the communications circuitry and the GPS circuitry being enabled by the detection, via a detect/control circuitry, of the action of the plurality of keys in a predetermined sequence representing an emergency number.

2. The user interface system of claim 1, wherein the enablement of at least one of the communications circuitry and the GPS circuitry is controlled by at least one of software logic and a physical switch.

3. A GPS reporting in a mobile wireless device, the mobile wireless device having radio frequency circuitry for communicating over a radio channel, the system comprising:

GPS circuitry;

a location avoidance mechanism coupled to the GPS circuitry, the location avoidance mechanism operative to selectively disable and enable the GPS circuitry responsive to a user input to selectively disable or enable the GPS circuitry; and

a privacy bypass button for overriding the location avoidance mechanism; and

wherein power to the GPS circuitry is enabled despite the location avoidance mechanism if the privacy bypass button is in a predetermined “

on”

state responsive to a user input, and the GPS circuitry then determining a present location of the mobile wireless device; and

wherein the present location of the mobile wireless device is reported over the radio channel in further response to the privacy bypass button being in the “

on”

state.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the system comprises a physical switch.