Method for determining a location

• US 7,308,273 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2004
• Issued: 12/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Zhang, Honglei
• Primary Examiner(s): Gelin, Jean
• Assistant Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Application Number:
  US10/867,071
• Publication Number:
  US 20050277427A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,275 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-457, 455/466, 455/404.2, 455/41.2, 455/422.1, 455/550.1, 455/553, 370/328, 370/389, 370/401, 370/342, 370/338, 370351-352, 701/200, 701/207, 701/213, 340/539.23, 340/539.19, 709/206, 709/223
• 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

A method for providing a mobile telecommunications terminal with location information is disclosed. The mobile telecommunication terminal is adapted to communicate with a base station via a first wireless communication protocol. The method includes transmitting, from the mobile telecommunications terminal via a second wireless communication protocol, a location information request to at least one device being enabled to share location information, and receiving, in the mobile communications terminal, location information from the at least one device.

Claims

1. A method for providing a mobile telecommunications terminal with location information comprising:

communicating, through the mobile telecommunications terminal, with a base station via a first wireless communication protocol used for mobile telephony in a mobile telecommunications network;

transmitting, from the mobile telecommunications terminal via a second wireless communication protocol, a location information request to at least one device being enabled to share location; and

receiving, in the mobile telecommunications terminal, the location information via the second communication protocol, the location information corresponding to a current position of the at least one device, from the at least one device; and

in response to an initiation of a telephone call via the first wireless communication protocol automatically transmitting the location information request via the second communication protocol if the initiated telephone call corresponds to one or more pre-determined telephone numbers;

wherein a control unit is adapted to determine if the initiated telephone call corresponds to one or more pre-determined telephone numbers stored in a storage, and as a result of a match instruct the second transceiver to transmit the location information request.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the location information request is automatically transmitted via the second wireless communication protocol in response to an initiation of a telephone call via the first communication protocol.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the telephone call initiating the transmittal of the location information request corresponds to one or more predetermined telephone numbers.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the received location information is transferred to the destination of the initiated telephone call.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the received location information is sent by means of a messaging system.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the messaging system is a short message service (SMS), enhanced messaging service (EMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS) or GPRS (general packet radio service) data packets.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the provided location information relates to one or more location based services.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein communication via the second communication protocol has shorter range than communication via the first communication protocol.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second communication protocol is a short-range communication protocol.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein communication via the second communication protocol has a range of less than 150 m .

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the short range communication protocol is an IrDA, Bluetooth, WLAN, or HomeRF communication protocol.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein communication via the second

communication protocol has a range of approximately 10 m.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received location information is transferred to the base station via the first wireless communication protocol.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein one or more telephone communication links are established, via the first communication protocol, to one or more parties operatively coupled to the mobile communications network prior to transmitting the location information request via the second wireless communication protocol, and wherein the received location information is transferred to the one or more parties via the one or more established communication links.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the location information request is transmitted from the mobile telecommunications terminal, via a third wireless communication protocol having longer range than the second wireless communication protocol, to at least one device being enabled to share location information.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the second wireless communication protocol is selected from one of at least one wireless communication protocol of the mobile telecommunications terminal, the selected wireless communication protocol being the protocol that is configured to transmit with a shortest range out of all of the at least one wireless communication protocols of the mobile telecommunication terminal.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein selecting the second wireless communication protocol further comprises determining if a response is received from the at least one device to a transmission with a first selected second wireless communication protocol, and if no response is received, selecting a next protocol that has a longer range than the first selected protocol.

18. A mobile telecommunications terminal comprising:

a first transceiver adapted to communicate with a base station via a first wireless communication protocol for mobile telephony in a mobile telecommunications network;

a second transceiver adapted to communicate with one or more devices via a second wireless communication protocol, the one or more devices being enabled to share location information;

wherein the second transceiver is adapted to transmit a location information request to the one or more devices via said second wireless communication protocol; and

wherein the second transceiver is adapted to receive location information from one or more of the one or more devices via said second wireless communication protocol, the location information identifying a respective position of the one or more devices;

a control unit is adapted to automatically instruct the second transceiver to transmit the location information request via the second wireless communication protocol in response to an initiation of a telephone call via the first communication protocol if the initiated telephone call corresponds to one or more pre-determined telephone numbers;

comprising a storage, wherein the control unit is adapted to determine if the initiated telephone call corresponds to one or more ore-determined telephone numbers stored in the storage, and as a result of a match instruct the second transceiver to transmit the location information request.

19. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 18, wherein said storage further comprises a memory, wherein the control unit is adapted to determine if the initiated telephone call corresponds to one or more pre-determined telephone numbers stored in the memory.

20. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 18, wherein the second transceiver is adapted to receive location information in the form of one or more location based services.

21. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 18, wherein the second transceiver has shorter range than the first transceiver.

22. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 18, wherein the second transceiver is adapted to communicate via a short-range communication protocol.

23. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 22, wherein the second transceiver has a range of less than 150 m.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein the short range communication protocol is an IrDA, Bluetooth, WLAN, or HomeRF communication protocol.

25. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 22, wherein the second transceiver has a range of approximately 10 m.

26. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 18, wherein the mobile telecommunications terminal is adapted to transfer to the received location information to the base station via the first wireless communication protocol.

27. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 18, wherein the mobile telecommunications terminal is adapted to transfer the received location information to the destination of the initiated telephone call via the first wireless communication protocol.

28. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 27, wherein the mobile telecommunications terminal is adapted to send the received location information via the first wireless communication protocol by means of a messaging system.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the messaging system is a short message service (SMS), enhanced messaging service (EMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS) or GPRS (general packet radio service) data packets.

30. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 18, wherein the mobile telecommunications terminal is adapted to establish one or more telephone communication links, via the first communication protocol, to one or more parties operatively coupled to the mobile communications network prior to transmitting the location information request via the second wireless communication protocol, and

wherein the mobile telecommunications terminal is adapted to transfer the received location information to the one or more parties via the one or more established communication links.

31. The mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 18, wherein the mobile telecommunications terminal is adapted to transmit the location information request via a third wireless communication protocol having longer range than the second wireless communication protocol to at least one device being enabled to share location information.