Method and system for controlling location-determination in a wireless communication system

• US 7,130,641 B1
• Filed: 01/07/2004
• Issued: 10/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Burpee, Brent, Al-Khashti, Khaled, Moll, Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): Gelin, Jean
• Application Number:
  US10/753,177
• Time in Patent Office: 1,028 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/456.5, 455/456.6, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/412.1, 701/207, 701/211, 701/213, 340/990, 340/995, 342/357.13
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method and system for controlling location-determination in a wireless communication system. A rules engine can be positioned in a communication path between a location-based service (such as a PSAP) and a location-determination system (such as an MPC) and can cache the location of a wireless communication device as determined by the location-determination system. The next time the location-based service sends a position request to the location-determination system, the rules engine can then intercept the request and provide the cached location in a response without passing the request along to the location-determination system. In another embodiment, a rules engine external to a location-determination system can push logic to the location-determination system, to cause the location-determination system to carry out useful functions such as determining if a wireless communication device is fixed or mobile, setting a cache timer, and/or setting an overlap threshold for use in an overlapping circles analysis.

Claims

1. A method of precluding repeated dips into a location-determination system, the method comprising at a rules engine:

receiving a first position response message that is being communicated from the location determination system to a location-based service in response to a first position request from the location-based service;

reading from the first position response message a location of a wireless communication device, caching the location, and forwarding the first position response message along to the location-based service; and

receiving a second position request that is being communicated from the location-based service to the location-determination system, and generating and sending to the location-based service a second position response message specifying the cached location, without sending the second position request along to the location-determination system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location-determination system comprises a

mobile positioning center, and wherein the location-based service comprises a public safety access point.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein caching the location comprises caching the location for only a set period of time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second position request comprises an ESPOSREQ request.

5. In a system of the type comprising a wireless serving network, a location-determination system and a location-based service, wherein the wireless serving network provides connectivity between a wireless communication device and the location-based service, a method comprising:

providing a rules engine in a communication path between the location-based service and the location-determination system;

receiving into the rules engine a first position request that is being communicated from the location-based service to the location-determination system to seek a location of the wireless communication device, and forwarding the first position request from the rules engine along to the location-determination system;

receiving into the rules engine a first position response that is being communicated from the location-determination system to the location-based service in response to the first position request, wherein the first position response specifies a determined-location of the wireless communication device;

caching at the rules engine the location specified by the first position response;

thereafter receiving into the rules engine a second position request that is being communicated from the location-based service to the location-determination system to seek a location of the wireless communication device; and

in response to the second position request, generating and sending from the rules engine to the location-based service a second position response that specifies the cached location.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the location-determination system comprises a mobile positioning center, and wherein the location-based service comprises a public safety access point.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein caching the location comprises caching the location for only a set period of time.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the second position request comprises an ESPOSREQ request.

9. A method of precluding repeated efforts to determine a location of a wireless communication device, the method comprising, at a rules engine external to a location-determination system:

receiving a first response that is being communicated from the wireless communication device to the location-determination system in response to a first request for the wireless communication device to report its current location;

reading from the first response a location of a wireless communication device, caching the location, and forwarding the first response along to the location-determination system; and

receiving a second request that is being communicated from the location-determination system to the wireless communication device, and generating and sending to the location-determination system a second response specifying the cached location, without sending the second request along to the wireless communication device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the location-determination system comprises a mobile positioning center.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein caching the location comprises caching the location for only a set period of time.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the second request is carried in a Short Message Delivery Post to Post (SMDPP) message.

13. In a system of the type comprising a wireless serving network, a location-determination system and a location-based service, wherein the wireless serving network provides connectivity between a wireless communication device and the location-based service, wherein the location-based service sends a position request to the location-determination system to seek a location of the wireless communication device, and wherein the location-determination system responds to the position request by determining the location of the wireless communication device and sending a position response to the location-based service specifying the determined location of the wireless communication device, the improvement comprising:

a rules engine disposed in a communication path between the location-based service and the location-determination system;

caching logic executable by the rules engine upon receipt of a first position response being communicated from the location-determination system to the location-based service, to read the determined location specified by the first position response, and to cache the determined location, wherein the rules engine forwards the first position response along the communication path to the location-based service;

response logic executable by the rules engine upon receipt of a second position request being communicated from the location-based service to the location-determination system, to generate and send to the location-based service a second position response specifying the cached location, without sending the second position request along to the location-determination system.

14. The improvement of claim 13, wherein the location-determination system comprises a mobile positioning center, and wherein the location-based service comprises a public safety access point.

15. The improvement of claim 13, wherein the caching logic caches the location for only a set period of time.

16. The improvement of claim 13, wherein the second position request comprises an ESPOSREQ request.

17. In a system of the type comprising a wireless serving network, a location-determination system and a location-based service, wherein the wireless serving network provides connectivity between a wireless communication device and the location-based service, and wherein the location-determination system determines the location of the wireless communication device, a method comprising:

providing a rules engine external to the location-determination system;

providing in the rules engine a set of rules data that specifies logic that the location-determination system should carry out when determining the location of the wireless communication device; and

arranging the location-determination system to dip into the rules engine each time the location-determination system receives a position request, and to execute particular logic indicated by the rules data wherein the particular logic comprises a routine that sets a cache timer indicating how long the location-determination system will cache the determined location of the wireless communication device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the rules data comprises a table that correlates wireless communication device identifiers with rules, and wherein arranging the location-determination system to dip into the rules engine comprises:

arranging the location-determination system to refer to the table so as to discern a set of one or more rules corresponding to an identifier of the wireless communication device.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the rules data comprises a table that correlates location-based services with rules, and wherein arranging the location-determination system to dip into the rules engine comprises:

arranging the location-determination system to refer to the table so as to discern a set of one or more rules corresponding to the location-based service.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

storing the particular logic in the rules engine.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

storing the particular logic in the location-determination system.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the particular logic comprises a routine that determines whether the wireless communication device is a fixed wireless communication device or a mobile wireless communication device.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the particular logic comprises a routine that sets an overlap-threshold for use by the location-determination system when conducting an overlapping-circles analysis.

24. In a system of the type comprising a wireless serving network, a location-determination system and a location-based service, wherein the wireless serving network provides connectivity between a wireless communication device and the location-based service, and wherein the location-determination system determines the location of the wireless communication device, the improvement comprising:

a rules engine external to the location-determination system;

a set of rules data within the rules engine, the rules data specifying logic that the location-determination system should carry out when determining the location of the wireless communication device; and

program logic in the location-determination system, arranged to dip into the rules engine each time the location-determination system receives a position request, and to execute particular logic indicated by the rules data wherein the particular logic comprises a routine that sets an overlap-threshold for use by the location-determination system when conducting an overlapping-circles analysis.

25. The improvement of claim 24, wherein the particular logic comprises a routine that determines whether the wireless communication device is a fixed wireless communication device or a mobile wireless communication device.

26. The improvement of claim 24, wherein the particular logic comprises a routine that sets a cache timer indicating how long the location-determination system will cache the determined location of the wireless communication device.