Methods and devices for interworking of wireless wide area networks and wireless local area networks or wireless personal area networks

• US 8,126,477 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Issued: 02/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Dravida, Subrahmanyam, Walton, Jay Rodney, Nanda, Sanjiv, Surineni, Shravan K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Application Number:
  US11/240,323
• Publication Number:
  US 20070010261A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,342 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.3
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

Embodiments describe methods, systems, and devices that utilize positional information to determine location of other device and/or to provide a location-based message. A method can include receiving a location information of a mobile device and using an access point to transmit location information to one or more other devices that do not include location functionality that are in communication with the mobile device. The method can further include transmitting a message to the mobile device based at least in part on the received access location information. In another embodiment, the method can include receiving a user preference data from the mobile device or one or more other devices and transmitting a communication to the mobile device or one or more other devices that conforms to the user preference data.

Claims

1. A method for determining a location of a mobile device, comprising:

receiving position information from a first mobile device; and

transmitting the position information of the first mobile device using a first wireless network to a collocated second mobile device, the second mobile device lacking location functionality,

wherein the position information is operable by the second mobile device to determine whether to access a second wireless network, selected from one or more of a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN).

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a call initialization from the second mobile device and, in response, transmitting the position information to the second mobile device.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

transmitting a message to the second mobile device, the transmitted message selected from the group consisting of a location-based service, a location-based marketing, and a location based sales message.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a multimedia message to the second mobile device based in part on the position information.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

supplying a retail offer to the second mobile device based on the position information and a user preference.

7. The method of claim 1, the position information is obtained through a WWAN or GPS or through a WLAN for non-location based devices.

6. The method of claim further comprising:

receiving a user preference from the second mobile device; and

transmitting a message to the second mobile device that conforms to the user preference.

8. A method for determining a location of a mobile device, comprising:

requesting a position estimate by the mobile device using a first wireless network, the mobile device lacking location functionality;

receiving using the first wireless network the position estimate from an access point, the position estimate based on position information of a collocated second mobile device; and

determining by the mobile device based on the received position estimate whether to access a second wireless network selected from-one or more of a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN).

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting a user preference to the access point; and

receiving a message from the access point, the message based in part on the user preference.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the message is transmitted through a WWAN or a WLAN or a WPAN access point.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining whether to utilize the WWAN or the WLAN or the WPAN based upon applications available according to the position estimate.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining whether to utilize the WWAN or the WLAN or the WPAN based on network characteristics received from the access point.

13. The method of claim 12, the network characteristics comprise network type, cost of service, signal strength, number of identified access points, bandwidth, or available applications.

14. A mobile device, comprising:

a memory that stores information related to a user multimedia preference;

a receiver operable to receive using a first wireless network a position estimate of the mobile device, the position estimate being based on position information of a collocated second mobile device; and

a processor configured to

determine based on the received position estimate whether to access a second wireless network, selected from one or more of a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN), and

determine if a multimedia message received via the second wireless network should be presented to a user of the mobile device based in part on the position estimate and the information.

23. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether to utilize the WWAN or the WLAN or the WPAN based upon applications available according to the position estimate.

24. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether to utilize the WWAN or the WLAN or the WPAN based on network characteristics.

25. The mobile device of claim 24, wherein the network characteristics comprise at least one of network type, cost of service, signal strength, number of identified access points, bandwidth, or available applications.

15. An apparatus for receiving multimedia content based on location and a user preference, comprising:

means for generating apparatus position estimate, the position estimate being based on position information of a collocated mobile device;

means for transmitting the position estimate through a WLAN component that provides WLAN functionality;

means for determining based on the received position estimate whether to access a second wireless network, selected from one or more of a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN);

means for receiving a location-based multimedia content via the selected second wireless network; and

means for selectively presenting the location-based multimedia content to a user.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

means for storing a user preference;

wherein the means for selectively presenting the location-based multimedia comprises means for determining whether the location-based multimedia content matches the user preference.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

means for determining a network to utilize based at least in part on applications available at the apparatus location.

18. A processor that executes instructions for determining a location in a wireless communication network, comprising:

requesting a position estimate from an access point for a first mobile device, the position estimate based on position information of a collocated second mobile device having location functionality;

receiving the position estimate;

determining, for the first mobile device and based on the received position estimate whether to access a second wireless network, selected from one or more of a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN); and

transmitting the position estimate with a voice message using the selected second wireless network.

19. A method for providing location-based services, comprising:

establishing a wireless communication link between a first device and at least a collocated second device via a first wireless network;

communicating position information associated with the first device to the at least a second device via the first wireless network;

determining based on the received position information whether to access a second wireless network, selected from one or more of a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN); and

tailoring a location-based service via the selected second wireless network for the second device based in part on the communicated position information associated with the first device.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

tailoring the location-based service for the first device based in part on the position information associated with the first device;

transmitting the location-based service to the second device; and

transmitting the location-based service from the second device to the first device.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

transmitting the position information associated with the first device from the second device to at least a third device; and

tailoring the location-based service for the third device based in part on the position information associated with the first device.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the location-based service comprises a multimedia message.

26. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for determining a location of a mobile device comprising:

receiving position information from a first mobile device; and

transmitting the position information of the first mobile device using a first wireless network to a collocated second mobile device, the second mobile device lacking location functionality,

wherein the position information is operable by the second mobile device to determine whether to access a second wireless network, selected from one or more of a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN).

27. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for determining a location of a mobile device comprising:

requesting a position estimate by the mobile device using a first wireless network, the mobile device lacking location functionality;

receiving using the first wireless network the position estimate from an access point, the position estimate based on position information of a collocated second mobile device; and

determining by the mobile device based on the received position estimate whether to access a second wireless network selected from-one or more of a wireless wide area network

(WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN).