System and method for use of override keys for location services

• US 6,195,557 B1
• Filed: 04/20/1998
• Issued: 02/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Hayes, Stephen, Roel-Ng, Maya, Havinis, Theodore
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): WASHINGTON, ERIKA ALISE
• Application Number:
  US09/062,962
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456, 455/410, 455/411, 455/433, 342/457
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• 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 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A telecommunications system and method is disclosed for implementing Location Override Key(s) (LOKs) within location services in order to determine whether certain checks on subscriber limitations and/or system default behavior are applicable or not for a particular location request. Each LOK can either have the value override or not override associated therewith, and each Location Application (LA) can be associated with a particular value of an LOK. In addition, an LOK can be accompanied by one or more additional parameters related to the particular LOK. For example, location services can provide LAs with a Privacy Override Key (POK), which can have a value of “override” or “not override”. If the POK is set to “override”, the privacy settings of the subscriber to be positioned shall be overridden for the particular positioning request in most cases only if the subscriber to be positioned is in the same Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) as the Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) that received the positioning request.

Claims

1. A telecommunications system for locating a mobile terminal within a cellular network by overriding subscriber parameters associated with said mobile terminal, said telecommunications system comprising:

a home location register in wireless communication with said mobile terminal, said home location register storing said subscriber parameters therein; and

a gateway mobile location center connected to said home location register for receiving said subscriber parameters, said gateway mobile location center having a database therein for storing a location override service parameter defined by and associated with a location node in communication with said gateway mobile location center, said location node sending a positioning request to said gateway mobile location center, said gateway mobile location center processing said positioning request without checking said subscriber parameters when said location override service parameter has an override value associated therewith; and

a serving mobile location center in communication with said gateway mobile location center and a mobile switching center in wireless communication with said mobile terminal, said gateway mobile location center sending said positioning request to said serving mobile location center via said mobile switching center, said serving mobile location center instructing said mobile switching center to obtain location data associated with the location of said mobile terminal and transmit said location data back to said serving mobile location center for use in calculating the location of said mobile terminal, said serving mobile location center forwarding the location of said mobile terminal to said location node.

2. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said serving mobile location center is located in an additional cellular network, said gateway mobile location center sending said positioning request and said location override service parameter to said serving mobile location center.

3. The telecommunications system of claim 2, wherein said serving mobile location center converts said override value associated with said location override service parameter to a not override value, said serving mobile location center receiving said subscriber parameters from said home location register, said mobile location center not determining the location of said mobile terminal when said subscriber parameters restrict positioning of said mobile terminal.

4. The telecommunications system of claim 2, wherein said serving mobile location center rejects said positioning request and sends a rejection message to said location node when said location override service parameter has said override value.

5. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said location override service parameter is a privacy override key.

6. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said gateway mobile location center checks said subscriber parameters when said location override service parameter has a not override value associated therewith, said gateway mobile location center not processing said positioning request when said subscriber parameters limit positioning of said mobile terminal.

7. A method for determining the location of a mobile terminal within a cellular network by overriding subscriber parameters associated with said mobile terminal, said method comprising the steps of:

storing, within a database in a gateway mobile location center, a location override service parameter defined by and associated with a location node in communication with said mobile location center;

receiving, by said gateway mobile location center, a positioning request from said location node;

receiving, by said gateway mobile location center, said subscriber parameters from a home location register in wireless communication with said mobile terminal and in communication with said mobile location center;

forwarding, by said gateway mobile location center, said positioning request to a serving mobile location center via a mobile switching center in wireless communication with said mobile terminal without checking said subscriber parameters when said location override service parameter has an override value associated therewith;

instructing, by said serving mobile location center, said mobile switching center to obtain location data associated with the location of said mobile terminal;

calculating, by said serving mobile location center, the location of said mobile terminal using said location data; and

forwarding, by said serving mobile location center, the location of said mobile terminal to said location node.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said serving mobile location center is located in an additional cellular network, and wherein said step of forwarding further comprises the step of:

sending, by said gateway mobile location center, said positioning request and said location override service parameter to said serving mobile location center.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising, after said step of sending said positioning request and said location override service parameter, the steps of:

converting, by said serving mobile location center, said override value associated with said location override service parameter to a not override value; and

receiving, by said serving mobile location center, said subscriber parameters from said home location register, said step of determining the location of said mobile terminal not being performed when said subscriber parameters restrict positioning of said mobile terminal.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising, after said step of sending said positioning request and said location override service parameter, the steps of:

rejecting, by said serving mobile location center, said positioning request; and

sending, by said serving mobile location center, a rejection message to said location node when said location override service parameter has said override value.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein said location override service parameter is a privacy override key.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising, before said step of forwarding, the step of:

checking, by said gateway mobile location center, said subscriber parameters when said location override service parameter has a not override value associated therewith, said step of forwarding not being performed when said subscriber parameters limit positioning of said mobile terminal.