Apparatus, and associated method, for displaying positional data associated with mobile stations of a radio communication system

• US 6,718,176 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2001
• Issued: 04/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Wikstedt, Heikki, Michaud, Russ
• Primary Examiner(s): Gelin, Jean
• Application Number:
  US09/797,092
• Publication Number:
  US 20020123356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,132 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404, 455/420, 455/422, 455/456, 455/457, 455/458, 455/459, 455/9, 455/12.1, 455/427, 455/518, 455/519, 342/357--35, 701/200, 701/208, 340/988, 340/989, 340/990, 340/991, 340/992, 340/993
• US Class Current: 455/457
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Apparatus, and an associated method, by which to display positional data related to one or more mobile stations operable in a cellular or other radio communication system. The positional data is displayed at a display device of the selected mobile station. The positional data is overlaid upon, or otherwise displayed together with, a map display of an area encompassing the location at which the mobile station is identified to be positioned. A user of the mobile station at which the positional data and map display are displayed is able to ascertain the position of the mobile station merely by viewing the display.

Claims

1. In a radio communication system having at least a first mobile station operable by a first user to communicate therewith by way of network infrastructure and at least a second mobile station operable by a second user to communicate therewith by way of the network infrastructure, an improvement of apparatus for facilitating identification of location at the first mobile station of at least the second mobile station to the first user of the first mobile station, said apparatus comprising:

a position indication detector located at the first mobile station, said position indication detector coupled at least to receive indications of the location of both of the first mobile station and the second mobile station, said position indication detector for detecting the locations of both of the first mobile station and the second mobile station;

a map display generator located at the first mobile station, said map display generator for generating and displaying at the first mobile station a map display, the map display including a mapped area including the location at which both of the first mobile station and the second mobile station are positioned; and

a position indicator coupled to said position indication detector, said position indicator for indicating on the map display generated by said map display generator the location of the at least the second mobile station, thereby simultaneously to identify to the first user of the first mobile station the location of both of the first mobile station and the second mobile station upon the mapped area of the map display formed by said map display generator.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the indications of the location of the at least the second mobile station are transmitted to the first mobile station by the network infrastructure of the radio communication system.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein overhead signaling is communicated between the network infrastructure and the first mobile station and wherein the location of the at least the second mobile station is determined at the network infrastructure.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least the second mobile station further comprises GPS (global positioning system) receiver circuitry operable to receive GPS signals and wherein the location of the at least the second mobile station is determined at the GPS receiver circuitry.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein indications of determinations made at the second mobile station of the location of the at least the second mobile station are communicated to the network infrastructure and wherein the indications of the location of the at least the second mobile station are transmitted to the first mobile station by the network infrastructure and are of values responsive to determinations made at the GPS receiver circuitry and communicated to the network infrastructure.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a visual display device coupled to said map display generator, said visual display device for displaying the map display generated by said map display generator.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the location of the at least the second mobile station indicated on the map display by said position indicator is displayed upon said visual display device.

8. In a method for communicating in a radio communication system having a first mobile station operable by a first user to communicate therewith by way of network infrastructure and at least a second mobile station operable by a second user to communicate therewith by way of the network infrastructure, an improvement of a method for facilitating identification of location at the first mobile station of at least the second mobile station to the user of the first mobile station, said method comprising:

detecting, at the first mobile station, the locations of both of the first mobile station and the second mobile station;

displaying at the first mobile station a locally-generated map display, the map display including a mapped area including the locations detected during said operation of detecting, at which the first mobile station and the second mobile station are positioned; and

indicating on the map display displayed during said operation of displaying the locations of both of the first mobile station and the second mobile station, thereby to identify to the first user the location of the first mobile station and the second mobile station.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the operation, prior to said operation of detecting, of sending indications of the location of the at least the second mobile station to the first mobile station via the network infrastructure.

10. The method of claim 9 comprising the additional operation, prior to said operation of sending, of determining, at the network infrastructure, the location of the at least the second mobile station.