Positional information providing method and positional information providing system

• US 7,149,532 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2004
• Issued: 12/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Akama, Katsuaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Lester G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): La, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US10/939,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20050032529A1
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-4562, 455/414.1, 455/41.2, 455/500, 455518-520
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• 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 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

In a positional information providing method, an information sending server transmits desired decision positional information and unique information on a designated mobile terminal device to a positional information providing server, and a mobile terminal device transmits unique information thereon to the positional information providing server, and when the designated unique information and the unique information agree with each other, the positional information providing server makes a decision as to whether or not there is a point of agreement between the decision positional information and the positional information on the mobile terminal device and, when the decision indicates that there is a point of agreement between the decision positional information and the positional information on the mobile terminal device, the positional information providing server notifies the decision result through a network to the information sending server, thereby providing the positional information.

Claims

1. A positional information providing method configured to provide positional information on a desired mobile terminal device to an information sending server through the use of a positional information providing server connected through a network to said information sending server, comprising:

a position decision request step in which said information sending server transmits desired decision positional information and unique information on a designated mobile terminal device through said network to said positional information providing server;

a registration step in which a mobile terminal device transmits unique information thereon through said network to said positional information providing server;

a position decision step in which, when said designated unique information and said unique information agree with each other, said positional information providing server decides as to whether there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and positional information on said mobile terminal device;

a positional information providing step in which, when the decision shows there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and said positional information on said mobile terminal device, said positional information providing server notifies a result of the decision through said network to said information sending server for providing positional information; and

a positional information registration step in which a specified terminal device existing in a short-distance radio-communicable range with respect to said mobile terminal device transmits group identification information to be used for grouping mobile terminal devices existing in said short-distance radio-communicable range and positional information thereon through said network to said positional information providing server,

wherein said registration step further comprises said mobile terminal device receiving said group identification information transmitted from said specified terminal device through short-distance radio communication unit and transmitting said group identification information and unique information thereon through said network to said positional information providing server for conducting group registration,

wherein in said position decision step, when said designated unique information and said unique information agree with each other, said positional information providing server makes a decision as to whether or not there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and positional information on said specified terminal device, and

wherein in said positional information providing step, when the decision shows that there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and said positional information on said specified terminal device, said positional information providing server notifies a result of the decision through said network to said information sending server for providing the positional information.

2. A positional information providing system to provide positional information on desired mobile terminal devices for receiving information corresponding to positions of the desired mobile terminal devices, comprising:

a positional information providing server;

an information sending server to transmit desired decision positional information and unique information on a designated mobile terminal device through said network to said positional information providing server;

a mobile terminal device to transmit unique information thereon through said network to said positional information providing server; and

a specified terminal device, existing in a short-distance radio-communicable range with respect to said mobile terminal device, configured to transmit group identification information to be used for grouping mobile terminal devices existing in said short-distance radio-communicable range and positional information thereon through said network to said positional information providing server,

wherein the positional information providing server, when said designated unique information and said unique information agree with each other, decides whether there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and positional information on said mobile terminal device, and when according to the decision there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and said positional information on said mobile terminal device, said positional information providing server notifies a result of the decision through said network to said information sending server for providing positional information,

wherein said mobile terminal device is configured to receive said group identification information transmitted from said specified terminal device through short-distance radio communication unit and transmits said group identification information and unique information thereon through said network to said positional information providing server,

wherein said positional information providing server is configured to, when said designated unique information and said unique information agree with each other, decide whether there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and said positional information on said specified terminal device, and

wherein said positional information providing server is configured to, when the decision shows there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and said positional information on said specified terminal device, notify a result of the decision through said network to said information sending server for providing positional information.

3. The positional information providing system according to claim 2, wherein, in a case in which said specified terminal device is a vehicle-mounted terminal device placed in a public transportation facility and a person possessing said mobile terminal device takes a ride in said public transportation facility, said mobile terminal device is configured to receive said group identification information transmitted from said vehicle-mounted terminal device through said short-distance radio communication unit and to transmit said group identification information and unique information thereon through said network to said positional information providing server.

4. The positional information system according to claim 2, wherein said specified terminal device comprises

a basic radio communication unit configured to receive information from said information sending server;

and

a short-distance radio communication unit configured to make short-distance radio communication with respect to a mobile terminal device existing in a short-distance radio-communicable range and configured to transmit group identification information to be used for grouping mobile terminal devices existing in said short-distance radio-communicable range to a short-distance radio-communicable mobile terminal device.

5. The positional information providing system according to claim 4, wherein said basic radio communication unit of the specified terminal device further includes a positional information transmission processing unit configured to transmit positional information to a server configured to manage positional information on mobile terminal devices, and

said positional information transmission processing unit is configured to transmit said group identification information together with said positional information.

6. The positional information system according to claim 2, wherein said mobile terminal device comprising:

a basic radio communication unit configured to receive information from said information sending server and configured to transmit said group identification information and unique information thereon; and

a short-distance radio communication unit configured to make short-distance radio communication with respect to said specified terminal device and configured to receive group identification information to be used for grouping mobile terminal devices existing in a short-distance radio-communicable range with respect to said specified terminal device.

7. A positional information providing server connected through a network to an information sending server to provide positional information on a desired mobile terminal device to said information sending server, comprising:

a decision condition storing unit configured to store desired decision positional information and unique information on a designated mobile terminal device in a state associated with each other;

an information storing unit configured to store unique information and positional information on a mobile terminal device in a state associated with each other; and

a position decision unit configured to decide as to whether there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information stored in said decision condition storing unit and said positional information on said mobile terminal device stored in said information storing unit, when said designated unique information stored in said decision condition storing unit and said unique information stored in said information storing unit agree with each other,

wherein when the decision shows there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and said positional information on said mobile terminal device, said position decision unit notifies a result of the decision through said network to said information sending server for providing positional information,

wherein said information storing unit is a group information storing unit configured to store unique information on each mobile terminal device, group identification information to be used for grouping mobile terminal devices existing in a short-distance radio-communicable range with respect to a specified terminal device and positional information on said specified terminal device in a state associated with each other,

wherein said position decision unit is configured to, when said designated unique information stored in said decision condition storing unit and said unique information stored in said group information storing unit agree with each other, decide as to whether there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information stored in said decision condition storing unit and said positional information on said specified terminal device stored in said group information storing unit, and

wherein when the decision shows there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and said positional information on said specified terminal device, said position decision unit notifies a result of the decision through said network to said information sending server for providing positional information.

8. The positional information providing server according to claim 7, further comprising:

a decision condition managing unit configured to store said decision positional information and said designated unique information in said decision condition storing unit in a state associated with each other, when said decision positional information and said designated unique information are transmitted from said information sending server; and

a group information managing unit configured to carry out position registration processing in which, when said group identification information and said positional information are transmitted from said specified terminal device, said group identification information and said positional information are stored in said group information storing unit in a state associated with each other and further configured to carry out group registration processing in which, when said group identification information and said unique information are transmitted from said mobile terminal device, said group identification information and said unique information are stored in said group information storing unit in a state associated with each other.

9. The positional information providing server according to claim 8, wherein said group information managing unit deletes said unique information stored in said group information storing unit to cancel group registration when receiving, from said mobile terminal device, a notification to the effect that a reception level of an electric wave used for short-distance radio communication with respect to said specified terminal device falls below a predetermined level.

10. A positional information providing method comprising configured to provide positional information on a desired mobile terminal device to an information sending server in a state connected through a network to the information sending server, comprising:

a decision condition registration step of, when desired decision positional information and unique information on a designated mobile terminal device are transmitted from said information sending server, storing said decision positional information and said designated unique information in said decision condition storing unit in a state associated with each other;

a registration step of, when unique information and positional information are transmitted from a mobile terminal device, storing said unique information and said positional information in an information storing unit in a state associated with each other;

a position decision step of, when said designated unique information stored in said decision condition storing unit and said unique information stored in said information storing unit agree with each other, deciding whether there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information stored in said decision condition storing unit and said positional information on said mobile terminal device stored in said information storing unit;

a positional information providing step of, when the decision in said position decision step shows there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and said positional information on said mobile terminal device, notifying a result of the decision through said network to said information sending server for providing positional information; and

a positional information registration step of, when group identification information to be used for grouping mobile terminal device existing in a short-distance radio-communicable range and positional information are transmitted from a specified terminal device, storing said group identification information and said positional information in said information storing unit in a state associated with each other,

wherein said registration step is configured as a group registration step of, when said group identification information and said unique information are transmitted from each mobile terminal device, storing said group identification information and said unique information in said information storing unit in a state associated with each other for group registration,

wherein said position decision step is configured to, when said designated unique information stored in said decision condition storing unit and said unique information stored in said information storing unit agree with each other, make a decision as to whether or not there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information stored in said decision condition storing unit and said positional information on said specified terminal device stored in said information storing unit, and

wherein said positional information providing step is configured to, when the decision in said position decision step shows that there is a point of agreement between said decision positional information and said positional information on said specified terminal device, notify a result of the decision through said network to said information sending server for providing positional information.