Method and system for monitoring a mobile station presence in a special area

• US 8,934,922 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2014
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avant Location Technologies LLC (Anjay Venture Partners LLC)
• Original Assignee: Afirma Consulting & Technologies S.l
• Inventors: Perez Lafuente, Carlos A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu, Jinsong
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chang, Jean
• Application Number:
  US14/315,703
• Publication Number:
  US 20140308981A1
• Time in Patent Office: 201 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.4, 455/456.1, 455/433, 455/432.2, 455/406, 455/458, 455/414.1, 455/446
• US Class Current: 455/456.4
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• 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 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access 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 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Method for monitoring the presence of a mobile station in at least one special area, wherein a radio communication defining device transmits one radio distinctive defining signal that define the special area by its coverage, the mobile station processes a signal received in order to determine whether or not it is defining signal and more precisely a distinctive one that defines the special area, the mobile station sends an updating signal to a mobile telephone network, the network routes the updating signal to special operating means that adapt the value of an operating parameter. According to the invention, the special area is associated to the mobile station by transmitting to the mobile station a checking data used by the mobile station for determining whether or not the defining signal received is distinctive defining signal.

Claims

1. A method associated with one or more providers of presence related services in connection with the use of a mobile station and at least a first radio communication defining device that transmits a first distinctive defining signal and a second radio communication defining device that transmits a second distinctive defining signal, the first distinctive defining signal at least partly defines a first special area by its coverage, the second distinctive defining signal at least partly defining a second special area by its coverage, the method comprising:

electronically storing in one or more memories data capable of linking the mobile station to the first and second special areas, the data including a first checking data of the first radio communication defining device, a second checking data of the second radio communication defining device, and a first identifier related to the mobile station,

transmitting via a mobile telephone network to the mobile station at least a portion of the first checking data, and transmitting via the mobile telephone network to the mobile station at least a portion of the second checking data,

receiving from the mobile station via the mobile telephone network a first updating signal uncorrelated to any mobile station phone call establishment that identifies the mobile station'"'"'s presence in at least the first special area, and receiving from the mobile station via the mobile telephone network a second updating signal uncorrelated to any mobile station phone call establishment that identifies the mobile station'"'"'s presence in at least the second special area, the first updating signal including a second identifier related to the mobile station, the second updating signal including a third identifier related to the mobile station,

deriving from the first updating signal by one or more processing devices having access to at least a portion of the data whether or not the mobile station is present in the first special area, and deriving from the second updating signal by the one or more processing devices whether or not the mobile station is present in the second special area; and

enabling or disabling by use of the one or more processing devices a presence related service based upon the mobile station'"'"'s presence or non-presence in the first special area, and enabling or disabling by use of the one or more processing devices a presence related service based upon the mobile station'"'"'s presence or non-presence in the second special area.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data stored in the one or more memories related to the first special area is stored in a first memory or set of memories of a first provider of presence related services and the data stored in the one or more memories related to the second special area is stored in a second memory or set of memories of a second provider of presence related services.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile telephone network transmits to the mobile station the at least portion of the first checking data and the at least portion of the second checking data at different times.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processing devices has access to at least a portion of the data and updates at least one operating parameter in a database of the one or more providers of presence related services depending on the presence of the mobile station in the first special area and/or second special area.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the operating parameter is a tariff flag or a service flag that enables or disables a special tariff or a service for the mobile station.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processing devices include a first processing device associated with a first provider of presence related services and a second processing device associated with a second provider of presence related services.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the first processing device has access to at least a portion of the data and updates at least one operating parameter in a database of the first provider of presence related services depending on the presence of the mobile station in the first special area, and the second processing device has access to at least a portion of the data and updates at least one operating parameter in a database of the second provider of presence related services depending on the presence of the mobile station in the second special area.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the operating parameter is a tariff flag or a service flag that enables or disables a special tariff or a service for the mobile station.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first, second and third identifiers related to the mobile station are the same.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the enabling or disabling of the first and/or second presence related service includes transmitting via the mobile telephone network a signal to the mobile station that is capable of being used to enable or disable one or more related functions in the mobile station.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more memories and the one or more processing devices reside in one or more servers of the one or more providers of presence related services and/or in one or more servers of the mobile telephone network.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the storing of the first and second checking data in the one or more memories comprises electronically receiving from the mobile station the first and second checking data.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile telephone network is cellular.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second updating signals comprises the result of a previous determination performed by the mobile station about the mobile station'"'"'s presence in the first and second special areas, respectively.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second updating signals is received via the mobile telephone network from the mobile station at least one of (i) periodically, (ii) at times recent to when the mobile station respectively enters into or exists from the first special area and/or second special area, (iii) when the mobile station respectively remains in the first special area and/or the second special area, and (iv) when the mobile station respectively remains outside the first special area and/or second special area.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second updating signals comprises a request to access to a service or to a multimedia content and the one or more providers of presence related services enable or disable the provision of the service or multimedia content depending on the presence of the mobile station into the first and second special area, respectively.