Efficient location determination for mobile units
DC CAFCFirst Claim
1. A method for use in providing location information regarding mobile units in a telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:
- first obtaining identification information regarding a mobile unit to be located and parameter information comprising a spatial accuracy of the location information;
second obtaining first location information regarding said mobile unit from a first source, said first source being associated with a first expected lag time relating to providing the first location information and a first expected resource requirement related to system resources involved in providing the first location information;
performing a comparison of the first location information to the parameter information;
based on said comparison, selectively obtaining second location information regarding said mobile unit from a second source different than said first source, said second source being associated with a second expected lag time relating to providing the second location information and a second expected resource requirement related to system resources involved in providing the second location information;
where at least one of the first expected lag time and first expected resource requirement is greater than at least one of the second expected lag time and second expected resource requirement; and
providing an output related to said location request based on at least one of said first location information or said second location information.
4 Assignments
Litigations
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The inventive system allows for more efficient use of resources for providing location information in a wireless network where multiple sources of such information may be available. In one implementation, a first source of location information such as Cell ID information is used to monitor the location of a mobile unit. The first source may provide sufficient location information in many instances. For example, in the case of a location-based billing application, Cell ID information may be sufficient in some cases to indicate that a subscriber is within or outside of a home zone. In other cases, more accurate information may be required to make such a determination. When required, a more accurate source of information such as TDOA or GPS information may be invoked. The invention allows for more efficient use of the multiple sources by allowing for reduction of the instances where a high resource location information source is accessed.
-
Citations
32 Claims
-
1. A method for use in providing location information regarding mobile units in a telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:
-
first obtaining identification information regarding a mobile unit to be located and parameter information comprising a spatial accuracy of the location information; second obtaining first location information regarding said mobile unit from a first source, said first source being associated with a first expected lag time relating to providing the first location information and a first expected resource requirement related to system resources involved in providing the first location information; performing a comparison of the first location information to the parameter information; based on said comparison, selectively obtaining second location information regarding said mobile unit from a second source different than said first source, said second source being associated with a second expected lag time relating to providing the second location information and a second expected resource requirement related to system resources involved in providing the second location information; where at least one of the first expected lag time and first expected resource requirement is greater than at least one of the second expected lag time and second expected resource requirement; and providing an output related to said location request based on at least one of said first location information or said second location information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 31)
-
-
15. A method for use in providing location information regarding mobile units in a telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:
-
obtaining identification information regarding a mobile unit to be located and parameter information regarding the desired location information, wherein the parameter information comprises at least one of a measure of system resources utilized to obtain the location information, a lag time for obtaining the location information, or an accuracy of the location information; monitoring information from at least a first source over time to obtain successive instances of first location information regarding said mobile unit; performing a comparison to determine whether a location of said mobile unit as indicated by said monitored information satisfies a defined relationship relative to the parameter information; based on said comparison, selectively obtaining second location information regarding said mobile unit from at least a second source different than said first source; and providing an output related to said location request based on said second location information. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 32)
-
-
19. A method for use in providing location information regarding mobile units in a telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:
-
first obtaining identification information regarding a mobile unit to be located and parameter information regarding system resources utilized to obtain the desired location information; second obtaining first location information identifying an approximate location of said mobile unit based on a network subdivision of said telecommunications network; performing a comparison of the first location information to the parameter information; based on said comparison, selectively obtaining second location information, where said second location information has a location accuracy greater than that of said first location information; and providing an output related to said location request based on said second location information. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. A method for use in providing location information for mobile units in a wireless network, comprising the steps of:
-
receiving first information regarding a location of interest for a first mobile unit; receiving a first indication of a location of said first mobile unit at a first time; and based on said first information regarding said location of interest and said first indication regarding said first location of said first mobile unit at said first time, determining a timing for obtaining a second indication of a second location of said first mobile unit. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
-
-
28. A method for use in providing location information regarding mobile units in a telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:
-
providing an interface for use in obtaining location information from a first source and a second source, said first source having a first quality of service characteristic and said second source having a second quality of service characteristic; utilizing said first source to perform a first location operation to locate a first mobile unit; determining a required quality of service for said first location operation; and based on said required quality of service, selectively using said interface to obtain said location information from said second source. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
-
Specification