Method and system for conveying location-granularity preferences with location-based service requests

• US 7,801,534 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2003
• Issued: 09/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Miller, Robert Howard, Thenthiruperai, Balaji S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng; George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Iqbal; Khawar
• Application Number:
  US10/734,700
• Publication Number:
  US 20050136895A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,476 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412.2, 455/412.1, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/414.3, 4554561-4566, 455/466, 455/419
• 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 and system for conveying location-granularity preferences with location-based service requests. A client station will detect a request to initiate a voice call, and before actually initiating the call the client station will send a message into a network indicating how to carry out a location-based service. In this manner, each time the client station accesses a location-based service, the client station will automatically send the instruction message to the service provider directing the provider how to carry out the service. Upon receiving the instructions, the location-based service provider may proceed to determine the location of the client station. The location-based service provider may then adjust the location of the client station according to the instructions. The service provider could then return the location of the client station, adjusted according to the instructions, directly to a location-based application, to provide the requested location-based service to the client station.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

in a client station, detecting a request to initiate a voice call;

responsive to the request and before initiating the voice call, retrieving a location granularity preference of a user of the client station from memory of the client station and sending from the client station into a network a message indicating the location granularity preference of the user, wherein the memory of the client station includes a plurality of location granularity preferences and each location granularity preference corresponds to a respective location application; and

after sending the message indicating the location granularity preference of the user into the network, sending an origination message to initiate the voice call.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the request to initiate the voice call comprises receiving a set of dialed digits from the user of the client station.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising comparing the set of dialed digits to sets of dialed digits stored in a database of the client station.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising recognizing that the set of dialed digits corresponds to a selected telephone number.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein sending the message from the client station into the network comprises sending the message from the client station to a location-based service provider associated with the selected telephone number.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the message directs the network to determine a location of the client station.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the message directs the network not to determine a location of the client station.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the message indicates a location determination consent level of a user of the client station.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the location granularity preference instructs the network to determine a location of the client station, and based on the location, to provide a randomly adjusted location of the client station to a location-based application that corresponds to the voice call.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a location based service in response to the message from the network.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the location granularity preference on the client station.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the user modifying the location granularity preference on the client station.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a response to the message from the network indicating a location of the client station.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the message from the client station into the network comprises sending a short message service (SMS) message into the network.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the message from the client station into the network comprises sending an HTTP message into the network.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the message from the client station into the network comprises sending an SIP message into the network.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein sending from the client station into the network the message indicating how to carry out the location-based service comprises sending the message via a communication path comprising an air interface.

18. A client station comprising:

a processor;

data storage; and

program logic stored in the data storage and executable by the processor, to;

(i) detect a request to initiate a voice call, (ii) responsive to the request and before initiating the voice call, retrieve a location granularity preference of a user of the client station from memory of the client station and send into a network a message indicating the location granularity preference of the user, wherein the memory of the client station includes a plurality of location granularity preferences and each location granularity preference corresponds to a respective location application, (iii) and after sending the message indicating the location granularity preference of the user into the network, sending an origination message to initiate the voice call.

19. The client station of claim 18, wherein the client station is selected from the group consisting of a mobile station and a landline station.