System and method for the exchange of location information in a telephone network
First Claim
1. In a wireless communications system, a method for a mobile station to determine proximity to a telephone, the method comprising:
- a first mobile station determining its position;
the first mobile station requesting the position of a telephone;
the telephone accessing a record of trust relationships regarding the communications system to determine a trust level for the first mobile station;
the first mobile station receiving the position of the telephone if the first mobile station meets a selected level of trust; and
the first mobile station calculating the distance to the telephone.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A wireless communications system is presented where a mobile station is able to automatically determine its proximity to a second mobile station or landline telephone. Once the proximity determination command has been given, no further actions are required by the users of either telephone. A GPS receiver connected to the first mobile station is able to provide that mobile with its position and direction. The first mobile station makes a request to the other telephone for its position, through SMS messaging for example. A GPS receiver connected to the second mobile station is able to provide the second mobile station with data to enable the position request. Trust determinations can be enabled so that position data is sent to a restricted list of requesting telephone numbers. Likewise, the second mobile station can request position data from the first mobile station. When position information is requested from a landline telephone, the request can be fulfilled by the landline telephone service provider. A method for automatically exchanging position information is also provided.
-
Citations
34 Claims
-
1. In a wireless communications system, a method for a mobile station to determine proximity to a telephone, the method comprising:
-
a first mobile station determining its position; the first mobile station requesting the position of a telephone; the telephone accessing a record of trust relationships regarding the communications system to determine a trust level for the first mobile station; the first mobile station receiving the position of the telephone if the first mobile station meets a selected level of trust; and the first mobile station calculating the distance to the telephone. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
9. In a wireless communications system, a method for a first mobile station to determine proximity to a second mobile station, the method comprising:
-
the first mobile station connected to a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver, the first mobile station receiving data from the GPS receiver for determining its position; the first mobile station requesting the position of the second mobile station, the second mobile station connected to a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and receiving data from the GPS receiver for determining its position; the second mobile station determining a trust level that it has in the first mobile station; the second mobile station automatically sending the position of the second mobile station to the wireless communications system in response to a determination of an acceptable trust level; the wireless communications system collecting and storing the position of the second mobile station; and the first mobile station calculating the distance to the second mobile station. - View Dependent Claims (10)
-
-
12. In a wireless communications system, a method for a first mobile station to determine proximity to a second mobile station, the method comprising:
-
the first mobile station connected to a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver, the first mobile station receiving data from the GPS receiver for determining its positions; the first mobile station requesting the position of the second mobile station, the second mobile station connected to a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and receiving data from the GPS receiver for determining its position; the second mobile station determining a trust level that it has in the first mobile station, the second mobile station including a memory and maintaining a record of trust relationships in the memory of the second mobile station, wherein determining the level of trust that the second mobile station has in the first mobile station includes the second mobile station determining the trust level in response to accessing the record of trust relationships; the second mobile station sending the position of the second mobile station to the first mobile station in response to a determination of an acceptable trust level; the wireless communications system collecting and storing the position of the second mobile station; the wireless communications system sending the position of the second mobile station to the first mobile station; and the first mobile station calculating the distance to the second mobile station.
-
-
24. In a wireless communications second mobile station, a method of sending the position of a second mobile station to a first mobile station, the method comprising:
-
a second mobile station receiving a request for position from a first mobile station; determining a trust level that the second mobile station has in the first mobile station; the second mobile station automatically sending its position to the first mobile station, wherein sending the second mobile station position to the first mobile station includes sending the position in response to the determined trust level; maintaining a record of trust relationships in the memory of the second mobile station; and wherein determining the trust level that the second mobile station has in the first mobile station includes the second mobile station determining the trust level by accessing the record of trust relationships in memory. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
-
-
31. In a wireless communications system, a mobile station capable of determining its distance from another mobile station, the system comprising:
-
a first mobile station having an input for receiving data to determine its own position and a port to request the position of a second mobile station which is automatically sent to the first mobile station in response to the request for position; the second mobile station including a memory of trust relationships, and wherein the second mobile station sends its position in response to accessing the memory to determine the level of trust with the first mobile station; and wherein the first mobile station determines the distance to the second mobile station in response to receiving the position of the second mobile station. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
-
-
34. In a wireless communications system, a mobile station capable of determining its distance from another mobile station, the system comprising:
-
a first mobile station having an input for receiving data to determine its own position and a port to request the position of a second mobile station and including a memory of trust relationships and wherein the first mobile station sends its position in response to accessing the memory to determine the second mobile station level of trust; the second mobile station having a position, which is automatically sent to the wireless communication system in response to the request for position; and wherein the second mobile station calculates the distance to the first mobile station in response to receiving the first mobile station position.
-
Specification