Apparatus and method for mapping a location of wireless base stations in a mobile communication system

• US 7,305,232 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2003
• Issued: 12/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Seto, Ichiro, Yoshida, Hiroshi, Ito, Kuniaki, Sekine, Shuichi, Toyoda, Takehiko, Ono, Naoko, Shoki, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost; William
• Assistant Examiner(s): BALAOING, ARIEL A
• Application Number:
  US10/715,395
• Publication Number:
  US 20040152472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,476 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-457, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/552.1, 455/41.2, 455/566
• US Class Current: 455/414.2
• 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 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

The present invention is intended to provide a mobile communication terminal permitting a user to obtain location information of wireless base station which provides contents data in certain areas. The terminal accumulates identification information of wireless base stations when wireless services are received. The invention has functions of interrelating the identification information with location information of the terminal when the services are received and of storing both kinds of information. Wireless LAN service areas are displayed together with map information.

Claims

1. An apparatus used in a first mobile communication system with a plurality of wireless base stations, the first mobile communication system operated by a first provider, the apparatus comprising:

an acquiring unit configured to acquire identification information of the plurality of wireless base stations;

a location detecting unit configured to detect a present location of the apparatus on acquiring the identification information of the plurality of wireless base stations;

a storing unit configured to store first service location information with respect to the first provider in which the identification information acquired by the acquiring unit is associated with the present location of the apparatus detected by the location detecting unit; and

a location information providing unit configured to calculate locally a location of the plurality of wireless base stations using the detected present location of the apparatus stored in the storing unit, and to exchange locally calculated first service location information and second service location information with respect to a second provider through an ad hoc network with a second apparatus in a second mobile communication system that is operated by the second provider, wherein

the location information providing unit is configured to provide a user with information based on the first service location information and the second service location information.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the location information providing unit has map information, and is configured to add information of the calculated location of the plurality of wireless base stations to the map information.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the location information providing unit is configured to display the map information indicating the calculated location of the plurality of wireless base stations.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mobile communication system is a wireless local area network system being compliant with a standard of IEEE 802.11.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit configured to communicate with the plurality of wireless base stations, the communication unit being adapted to a standard of IEEE 802.11.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cellular telephone unit configured to perform cellular communication with a cellular base station being a part of a cellular network.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring unit is configured to acquire identification information of the plurality of wireless base stations which is included in a signal transmitted from the plurality of wireless base stations.

8. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the acquiring device is configured to acquire identification information of the plurality of wireless base stations which is included in a signal transmitted from the cellular base station.

9. A method used by an apparatus in a first mobile communication system with a plurality of wireless base stations, the first mobile communication system operated by a first provider, comprising:

acquiring identification information of the plurality of wireless base stations;

detecting a present location of the apparatus on acquiring the identification information of the plurality of wireless base stations;

storing first service location information with respect to the first provider in which the acquired identification information is associated with the detected present location;

locally calculating a location of the plurality of wireless base stations using the detected present location to generate first service location information; and

exchanging locally calculated first service location information and second service location information with respect to a second provider through an ad hoc network with a second apparatus in a second communication system that is operated by the second provider, wherein

the step of providing the calculated location includes providing a user with information based on the locally calculated first service location information and the second service location information.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

adding information of the calculated location of the wireless base stations to map information.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

displaying the map information indicating the calculated location of the wireless base stations.