GPS proxy for location-unaware devices

• US 8,483,705 B1
• Filed: 02/06/2007
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Cope, Warren Bruce, Werner, Shane Robert, Habib, Ahsan, Olding, Douglas Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, MONG-THUY THI
• Application Number:
  US11/671,517
• Time in Patent Office: 2,345 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/428, 455/521, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/41.2, 455/455, 4554562-4566, 455/457, 455/411, 370/352
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A communication system, media, and methods that proxy location information to location unaware devices are provided. The communication system includes a wireless device that connects to a cellular network and personal area network. The cellular network includes a Global Positioning System server that provides location information based on the current location of the wireless device. A location-unaware device communicates with the wireless device to receive location information via the wireless device when the wireless device is within a predetermined distance of the location-unaware device. The location unaware device connects to a service database to store the location information and queries the service database to complete communication requests generated by a plain-old-telephone-system device that is connects to the location unaware device.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of providing location information, the method comprising:

receiving a request for location information from a location-unaware device at a wireless device proximate to the location-unaware device;

authenticating the location-unaware device by the wireless device, the location-unaware device is one of a set-top box or modem that facilitates telephony communications over the Internet;

from the wireless device, transmitting location information through a personal area network to the location-unaware device such that said location information is stored in a service database, wherein the wireless device utilizes the location-unaware device as a proxy to initiate or complete data communications with other communication devices when the wireless device is within a predetermined distance of the location-unaware device.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein an analog phone is connected to the location-unaware device.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein authenticating the location-unaware device includes checking a device class associated with location-unaware device.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein the service database provides location information utilized by emergency call centers.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein the location information is checked to determine whether the transmitted location information is substantially different from a location previously stored in the service database.

6. The media of claim 1, wherein transmitting location information to the location-unaware device such that said location information is stored in the service database comprises generating a timestamp that reflects a date and time of an update to the location information.

7. The media of claim 1, wherein transmitting location information to the location-unaware device such that said location information is stored in the service database comprises receiving said location information from a global positioning system and communicating said location information to a wireless device that proxies said location information over a personal area network to the location-unaware device, which stores said location information in the service database, wherein the service database is accessible to an emergency call center.

8. The media of claim 1, wherein an analog phone connects to the location-unaware device to initiate and complete VOIP calls having location information added to the call by the location-unaware device based on the location information stored in service database.

9. One or more non-transitory computer-storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of routing emergency service communications, the method comprising:

receiving a request for emergency services from an analog device that is connected to a location-unaware device that receives location information for storage in a service database from a wireless device when the location-unaware device successfully authenticates itself to the wireless device;

accessing the service database to obtain the location information received from the wireless device in response to the request for emergency services received at the location-unaware device; and

routing the request for emergency services and the location information associated with the location-unaware device that is connected to the analog device to an emergency call center that utilizes the location information to locate the analog device.

10. The media of claim 9, wherein the wireless device proxies location information generated by a Global Positioning System server to the analog device via the location-unaware device.

11. The media of claim 9, wherein the location information includes a timestamp that represents a freshness associated with the location information.

12. The media of claim 11, wherein utilizing the location information comprises checking the timestamp and a threshold to verify that the threshold is not exceeded and checking the location information to verify that the location is associated with a plausible physical address associated with a directory listing.

13. The media of claim 9, wherein the location information included with the request for emergency service is verified by checking a business and home directory prior to transmitting the request to the emergency call center.

14. A communication system having one or more wireless devices that provide location information to one or more location-unaware devices, the communication system comprising:

a wireless network;

a personal area network;

one or more wireless devices configured to connect to the wireless network and the personal area network;

one or more location-unaware devices configured to connect the wireless device over the personal area network, wherein the one or more wireless devices are configured to provide the location information to the one or more location-unaware devices over the personal area network and to offset the load on a location-unaware device by operating as a proxy to complete data communications received at the location-unaware device over the wireless network; and

a service database configured to store and correlate the location information with an identifier for the location-unaware device, wherein the service database stores a timestamp that reflects a date and time of an update to the location information to maintain a freshness of the location information by requesting updates to the location information when a specified period of time expires.

15. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the wireless network is one of a radio frequency network or a cellular network.

16. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the personal area network IS one of a Bluetooth-compatible network or a Zigbee-compatible network.

17. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the wireless network includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) server.

18. The communication system of claim 17, wherein the wireless device is configured to receive location information from the GPS server.

19. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the one or more location-unaware devices are configured to transmit the location information received via the wireless device to the service database.

20. The communication system of claim 14, further comprising an image capture device that connects to the personal area network, receives location information via the wireless device, and requests location-specific content based o the received location information via the location-unaware device.