Method for the determination of a receiver for location information

• US 8,606,504 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2012
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: De Luca, Enrico, Lala, Alessandro, Israelsson, Martin, Molander, Anders, Iovieno, Maurizio, Kormos, Arpad
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): PECHE, JORGE O
• Application Number:
  US13/358,082
• Publication Number:
  US 20120122488A1
• Time in Patent Office: 685 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/207, 455/456.1, 455/456.3, 455/456.5, 455/414.1, 455/433, 455/502, 370/328
• US Class Current: 701/408
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for distinguishing between LOCATION_REPORT messages to avoid ambiguities. Therefore, a value of an information element of request type is returned by a radio network controller, depending on an intended receiver of the location information. A control node receiving the information element value analyses said value and determines the receiver depending on the result of said analysis.

Claims

1. A method, in a mobile telecommunication network operating according to Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) specification, of determining a receiver for user equipment location information, the telecommunication network comprising at least one control node for handling location service requests and an interface connected via an access network to an external entity that uses location information, the method comprising the control node:

sending a LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message, comprising a request type information element identifying a type of location request, to at least one radio network controller of the access network;

receiving at the at least one radio network controller a LOCATION_REPORT message comprising a location information and the request type information element; and

analyzing a value of the request type information element received in the LOCATION_REPORT, wherein

if the request type information element indicates sending location information as a direct response to the LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message, sending the location information to the external entity and

if the request type information element indicates sending location information as a result of the user equipment changing service area, using the location information in the at least one control node in the telecommunication network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the request type information element sent in the LOCATION_REPORT message always comprises an identification of the type of location request.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the request type information element sent in the LOCATION_REPORT message comprises an identification of the type of location request in the case that the location information is intended for a network node.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control node is a mobile services switching center.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control node is a serving general packet radio service support node.

6. A method of answering a LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message for a radio network controller (RNC) in a mobile telecommunication network operating according to Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) specification, the telecommunication network comprising at least one control node for handling location service requests and an interface connected to an external entity that uses location information, the method comprising the radio network controller executing the steps of:

receiving from the at least one control node a LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message, comprising a request type information element for indicating the type of location request; and

analyzing a value of the request type information element received in the LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message, wherein

if the request type information element indicates sending location information as a direct response to the LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message, the RNC sending the requested location information to the external entity; and

if the request type information element indicates sending location information at a change of service area by the user equipment, the RNC determining the requested location information if the user equipment changes the service area; and

sending a LOCATION_REPORT message comprising the location information and a request type information element to the at least one control node for handling location service requests.

7. The radio network controller of claim 6, wherein the request type information element is one of:

a recipient of a location information;

identity of a type of location request;

an indication to send a LOCATION_REPORT message;

to report upon change of Service area, or

to stop reporting at change of Service Area.

8. A computer program product comprising instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium, adapted to control an access node utilizing the instructions within the computer readable medium for:

receiving from a control node a LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message, comprising a request type information element for indicating the type of location request,

determining the requested location information, and

sending a LOCATION_REPORT message comprising the location information and a request type information element wherein the value in the request type information element depends on an intended receiver of the location information.

9. A computer program product, stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium associated with a computing device and adapted to control a control node in a telecommunication network, utilizing instructions stored in the computer readable medium for:

sending a LOCATION_REPORTING_CONTROL message, comprising a request type information element for indicating the type of location request, to at least one radio network controller of an access network,

receiving from a control node a LOCATION_REPORT message comprising a location information and a request type information element,

analyzing a value of the request type information element received in the LOCATION_REPORT, and

determining a receiver of the location information sent in the LOCATION_REPORT based on the result of the analysis.

10. The computer program product according to claim 9, wherein instructions for sending the LOCATION_REPORT message, including the request type information element, always comprises an identification of the type of location request.

11. The computer program product according to claim 10, wherein the request type information element in the LOCATION_REPORT message comprises an identification of the type of location request and

if the receiver is external to the telecommunication network, sending the LOCATION_REPORT message to the determined receiver, or

if the receiver is internal to the telecommunication network sending the LOCATION_REPORT message on a specified trigger event.

12. The computer program product according to claim 9, wherein the control node is a mobile services switching center.

13. The computer program product according to claim 9, wherein the control node is a serving general packet radio service support node.