Method of distributing the location data of a mobile device

• US 8,090,357 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2003
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Steel, Christopher G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gonzalez, Amancio
• Application Number:
  US10/535,327
• Publication Number:
  US 20060173612A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,979 Days
• Field of Search: 455/410, 455/411, 455/456.1, 455/457, 455/414.3, 455/456.3, 455/412.2, 701/207
• US Class Current: 455/414.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A method of distributing the location of a mobile device is disclosed together with a mobile device, a server and a remote terminal for the same. The method comprising the steps of determining the location of the mobile device; encrypting the determined location using an encryption key; transmitting the encrypted location to a server; storing the encrypted at the server; querying the server from a remote terminal; transmitting from the server to the remote terminal the encrypted location in response to the query; sharing the predetermined encryption key between the mobile device and the remote terminal but not with the server; and decrypting the location at the remote terminal using the predetermined encryption key.

Claims

1. A method of distributing the location of a mobile device comprising the steps of:

the mobile device determining its location;

the mobile device encrypting its determined location using a predetermined encryption key; and

the mobile device uploading the encrypted location and a telephone number of the mobile device to a server for storage as a record associated with the mobile device;

the mobile device communicating with a remote terminal, including sharing the predetermined encryption key with the remote terminal by attaching the encryption key to the communication, wherein the encryption key is not shared with the server; and

the remote terminal querying a database supported by the server by sending the telephone number of the mobile device in response to receiving the communication from the mobile device;

the server transmitting to the remote terminal the encrypted location of the mobile device in response to the query;

the remote terminal decrypting the encrypted location of the mobile device using the predetermined encryption key received from the mobile device.

2. A mobile device comprising:

a communications transmitter for transmitting a query to a remote server requesting the location of a mobile device, said query being made in response to receiving a communication from another mobile device with which the mobile device has shared an encryption key;

a communications receiver coupled to a communications antenna for;

i. receiving encrypted location information from the remote server in response to said transmitted query to the remote server;

ii. receiving a communication from said another mobile device with which it has shared an encryption key independently of the remote server;

a GPS receiver for determining a location of the mobile device;

a communications microprocessor for controlling the communications transmitter and communications receiver, said microprocessor performing functions including;

i. encrypting the GPS determined location of the mobile device using an encryption key not shared with the remote server;

ii. sharing the predetermined encryption key with said another mobile device by attaching the encryption key to a communication between the mobile device and said another mobile device, wherein the encryption key is not snared with the remote sever;

iii. decrypting the location information from the remote server upon receipt of said encrypted location information, wherein said encrypted location is encrypted with the encryption key not shared with the remote server.

3. The mobile device of claim 2, wherein the transmitted query is transmitted to a database associated with the remote sever.

4. The mobile device of claim 2, wherein the encrypted location information is received from the remote sever without authenticating the query.