Private information supplying system for mobile stations, method for displaying private information and method for roughly positioning users

• US 7,039,427 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2002
• Issued: 05/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Tachikawa, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, David Q.
• Application Number:
  US10/154,855
• Publication Number:
  US 20020183052A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,435 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422, 455/459, 455/458, 455/456, 455/426, 455/414.02, 455/404.2, 455/410, 455/411, 455/432.3, 455/407, 455/408, 455/414.1
• US Class Current: 455/457
• 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 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 private information supplying system is established in a mobile telephone network, and the mobile stations are assumed to be at the positions of base stations presently communicating; an information service center produces a piece of relative position between users on the basis of the current positions, and transmits the piece of relative position when the user permits the other user to acquire it; the private information supplying system does not require any assistance of the GPS so that the system is economical and does not disturb the privacy.

Claims

1. A private information supplying system for supplying a piece of private information of a first user to a second user, comprising:

plural base stations assigned areas, respectively;

plural mobile stations movable in said areas and outside of said areas, and having respective display panels for producing visual images representative of at least first sub-pieces of private information each indicative of a relative position between said first user and said second user, each of said plural mobile stations communicating with one of said plural base stations while each of said plural mobile stations is moving in the area assigned to one of said plural base stations; and

an information service center communicable through said plural base stations with said plural mobile stations, producing each of said first sub-pieces of private information of said first user on the basis of current positions determined through communication between the mobile stations of said first user and said second user and the base stations communicating therewith when said second user requests said information service center to supply each of said first sub-pieces of private information, and transmitting said first sub-pieces of private information through the associated base station to said mobile station of said second user if said first user permits said second user to access said first sub-pieces of private information, wherein the first user permits said second user to access said first sub-pieces of private information when said mobile station of said first user is listed in a file of a private record of said mobile station of said second user.

2. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 1, wherein in which said information service center has private records assigned to said plural mobile stations, respectively, and each of said private records has a file of mobile stations permitting associated one of said plural mobile stations to access the pieces of first private information respectively including the first sub-pieces of private information, and said information service center checks the private record of the mobile station used by said second user to see whether or not said first user has already permitted said second user to access the piece of private information owned by said first user before transmitting each of said first sub-pieces of private information to said mobile station of said second user.

3. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 2, in which said plural mobile stations are respectively assigned discriminative codes so that the discriminative codes of said mobile stations are stored in said file.

4. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 2, in which each of said private records further has a data block where conditions of the access are stored.

5. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 4, in which said information service center asks said mobile station of said first user whether or not said first user presently permits said second user to access said piece of private information when said conditions are negative.

6. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 1, in which the mobile stations in said areas are assumed to be at the base stations presently communicable with said mobile stations, and the positions of said base stations are reported from said mobile stations to said information service center as said current positions.

7. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 6, in which said base stations further report current status of the users to said information service center together with said current positions, and said information service center further produces second sub-pieces of private information representative of said current status of said users so as to transmit the second sub-piece of private information representative of said current status of said first user to said second user together with said each of said first sub-pieces of private information.

8. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 7, in which said current status selectively represents at least idling state, busy state, working state and sleeping state.

9. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 1, in which said information service center determines a distance between said current position of said first user and said current position of said second user and a compass bearing of said first user with respect to said second user, and stores said distance and said compass bearing in each of said first pieces of private information.

10. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 9, in which said base stations further report current status of the users to said information service center together with said current positions, and said information service center further produces second sub-pieces of private information representative of said current status of said users so as to transmit the second sub-piece of private information representative of said current status of said first user to said second user together with each of said first sub-pieces of private information.

11. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 10, in which said current status selectively represents at least idling state, busy state, working state and sleeping state.

12. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 1, in which said plural base stations communicate with the mobile stations in said areas through radio channels.

13. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 12, in which said plural base stations have directional antennas, respectively, and each of said current positions is determined on the basis of the directions of the radio channels of at least two of said plural base stations.

14. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 1, in which at least one local area network serves as one of said plural base stations, and is connected through a server computer to said information service center.

15. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 14, in which said at least one local area network is communicable with at least one of said plural mobile stations through a wireless channel.

16. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 14, in which said at least one local area network has a transmitter and receiver designed in accordance with a specification of Bluetooth.

17. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 1, in which said first user and said second user are communicable with one another through said mobile stations and said base stations.

18. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 17, in which at least one of telephone network and e-mail network is used for the communication between said first user and said second user.

19. A private information supplying system for supplying a piece of private information of a first user to a second user, comprising:

plural base stations assigned areas, respectively;

plural mobile stations movable in said areas and outside of said areas, and having respective display panels for producing visual images representative of at least first sub-pieces of private information each indicative of a position of said first user, each of said plural mobile stations communicating with one of said plural base stations while said each of said plural mobile stations is moving in the area assigned to said one of said plural base stations;

an information producing means associated with said plural mobile stations, and producing each of said first sub-pieces of private information of said first user on the basis of a current position determined through communication between the mobile station of said first user and the base station communicating therewith when said second user requests said information producing means to produce said each of said first sub-piece of private information; and

an information transmitting and receiving means associated with said plural mobile stations and said information producing means, and supplying said each of said first sub-pieces of private information to one of said mobile stations of said second user if said first user permits said second user to access said each of said first sub-pieces of private information, wherein the first user permits said second user to access each of said first sub-pieces of private information by the first user providing a private record assigned to said first user and stored at the information service center, the private record having a file of mobile stations permitting associated one of said plural mobile stations to access the pieces of first private information respectively including the first sub-pieces of private information.

20. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 19, in which said information transmitting and receiving means are partially incorporated in an information service center connected to said plural base stations and partially in said plural mobile stations.

21. The private information supplying system as set forth in claim 19, in which said information transmitting and receiving means are incorporated in said plural mobile stations.