Deriving location information about a communicating entity

• US 7,050,815 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2001
• Issued: 05/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Thomas, Andrew, McDonnell, James Thomas Edward, I'Anson, Colin, Hawkes, Rycharde Jeffery, Waters, John Deryk, Crouch, Simon Edwin
• Primary Examiner(s): Ferguson, Keith
• Application Number:
  US09/821,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20010041576A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,881 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/456.5, 455/456.6, 455/457, 455/403, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/412.1, 455/412.2, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/422.1, 455/426.1, 455/426.2, 455/550.1, 455/552.1, 455/517, 455/433, 455/405, 455/446, 455/432.1, 455/435.1, 455/445
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Location information about a communicating entity (41), in particular a mobile entity, is derived by identifying intermediate nodes (42) along the communication path being used by the entity, and then looking up, in a database (44), the geographic significance of at least one of these nodes when considered in a direction along the communication path towards the entity of interest. Preferably, account is taken of any identified downstream/upstream nodes to refine the geographic significance of a node. The geographic significance information can be compiled by taking location fixes at a plurality of endpoint locations and associating the location data thus obtained with the intermediate nodes traversed when communication is effected from the corresponding endpoint locations.

Claims

1. A method of discovering geographic significance information about nodes in a communications infrastructure, comprising the steps of:

(a) deriving location data about a first entity forming one endpoint of an actual or potential path through the communications infrastructure to a second endpoint entity;

(b) identifying one or more intermediate nodes along said path;

(c) associating the location data with each said intermediate node; and

(d) repeating steps (a) to (c) multiple times for different first-entity locations and thereafter consolidating for each node, the associated location data into location zone data constituting said geographic significance data for the node.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein step (c) involves for each node with which location data is associated, noting the identity of any upstream/downstream node along said path towards the first entity;

step (d) providing the location zone data for the node for access according to upstream/downstream node.