Location service providing system and method for providing triggered location request service

• US 8,989,777 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2007
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Joo-Young, Jun, Hae-Young, Kim, Wuk
• Primary Examiner(s): Shen, Qun
• Application Number:
  US11/757,783
• Publication Number:
  US 20070281662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,850 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-4563, 455/456.5, 455/433
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

Disclosed are a location service providing system and a method for providing a triggered location request service. An H-SLP sets a priority order of a plurality of positioning methods which a target terminal supports according to a set priority order set condition and transmits priority order information according to respective positioning methods to the target terminal. Further, the target terminal may receive information about the positioning methods including the priority order and select a positioning method having the highest priority order among the positioning methods, which can be used in its current electric wave environment. Moreover, the H-SLP and the target terminal may calculate a location of the target terminal according to a positioning method that the target terminal has selected. Accordingly, although it is difficult to calculate the location of the target terminal according to the positioning method that the target terminal has selected, a location service of the target terminal can be continuously provided.

Claims

1. A location server for providing a location information service to a terminal comprising:

an interface for receiving and transmitting messages from/to a target terminal;

a location server memory unit for storing priority order set condition information which is set according to a service provider'"'"'s policy or a user'"'"'s selection to calculate a current location of the target terminal; and

a location server controller for;

transmitting an initial location service request message to the target terminal;

receiving a location information providing service start message as response to the initial location service request message from the target terminal, the location information providing service start message including information with respect to positioning methods that the target terminal supports;

generating a priority order list including information of the positioning methods received from the target terminal and priority order information corresponding to the received positioning methods, wherein the priority order list is generated by comparing the priority order set condition information with the location information providing service start message received from the target terminal, and setting a priority order with respect to the received positioning methods;

transmitting a location information providing service response message including the priority order list to the target terminal by the location server; and

receiving information with respect to a specific positioning method from the target terminal, the specific positioning method being selected by the target terminal from the positioning methods in the location information providing service response message based on a condition of the target terminal.

2. The location server according to claim 1, wherein the location server controller selects at least one of the positioning methods received from the target terminal according to at least one of a providing possibility, the service provider'"'"'s preference, or the service provider'"'"'s policy.

3. The location server according to claim 1, wherein the priority order set condition is a condition with respect to a plurality of positioning methods having a priority order of which is previously set by a selection of an administrator of the location server, the service provider, or the user.

4. The location server according to claim 1, wherein the location server either directly calculates the location of the target terminal using the specific positioning method selected by the target terminal or provides auxiliary location information for calculating the current location to the target terminal so that the target terminal calculates the current location itself.

5. The location server according to claim 1, wherein the priority order list is a list in which the information of the positioning methods is arranged according to the priority order.

6. The location server according to claim 1, wherein the location server is a home-secure user plane location platform or a visited-secure user plane location platform.

7. The location server according to claim 1, wherein the location server is a home-secure user plane location platform or a home-secure user plane location center.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the location information service provides current location information of the target terminal according to whether a time period set to provide location information of the target terminal expires or the target terminal reaches a specific position.

8. A target terminal for providing a location information service comprising:

an interface for transmitting and receiving a message to/from a location server;

a memory unit for storing information on at least one positioning method that the target terminal supports and information on at least one positioning method that the location server supports;

a selector for selecting a specific positioning method that exists in both the at least one positioning method that the target terminal supports and the at least one positioning method that the location server supports, from a list received from the location server, based on a condition of the target terminal;

a message generator for generating messages to be transmitted to the location server including a first message including the at least one positioning method that the target terminal supports, and a second message including information of the specific positioning method; and

a controller for controlling the selector to select the specific positioning method from among the at least one positioning method that the target terminal and the location server support, from the list received from the location server,

wherein the list includes information of the at least one positioning method that the target terminal supports and priority order information corresponding to the at least one positioning method that the target terminal supports, and

wherein the list is generated at the location server by comparing priority order set condition information, which is set according to a service provider'"'"'s policy or a user'"'"'s selection to calculate a current location of the target terminal, with the first message, and setting a priority order with respect to the at least one positioning method that the target terminal supports.

10. The target terminal according to claim 8, wherein the selector includes a location calculation environment sensor for checking a current electric wave environment and for determining whether the at least one positioning method can be used according to an electric wave environment sensing result of the location calculation environment sensor.

11. The target terminal according to claim 8, wherein the controller calculates the current location itself using the specific positioning method when auxiliary location information is received from the location server after the controller transmits the specific positioning method to the location server for providing a location service.

13. The target terminal according to claim 8, wherein the memory unit stores a priority order of the information on the at least one positioning method that the location server supports.

12. A method for providing a location information providing service to a terminal, the method comprising the steps of:

(i) transmitting an initial location service request message to a target terminal by a location server;

(ii) receiving, by the location server, a location information providing service start message as response to the initial location service request message from the target terminal, the location information providing service start message including information with respect to positioning methods that the target terminal supports;

(iii) generating a priority order list including information of the positioning methods received from the target terminal and priority order information corresponding to the received positioning methods, wherein the priority order list is generated by comparing priority order set condition information, which is set according to a service provider'"'"'s policy or a user'"'"'s selection to calculate a current location of the target terminal, with the location information providing service start message, and setting a priority order with respect to the received positioning methods;

(iv) transmitting a location information providing service response message including the priority order list to the target terminal by the location server; and

(v) receiving, by the location server, information with respect to a specific positioning method from the target terminal, the specific positioning method being selected by the target terminal from the positioning methods in the location information providing service response message based on a condition of the target terminal.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the target terminal requests the location information providing service.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein step (iii) includes:

extracting the information of the positioning methods from the location information providing service start message received from the target terminal by the location server; and

loading the priority order set condition information stored in a memory unit of the location server by the location server.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein step (iii) includes:

selecting at least one of the received positioning methods for inclusion in the priority order list according to any one of a providing possibility, an enterpriser'"'"'s preference, or an enterpriser'"'"'s policy.

17. The method according to claim 12, wherein the location information is provided according to whether a time period set to provide location information of the target terminal expires or the target terminal reaches a specific position.

18. The method according to claim 12, wherein the location server is a home-secure user plane location platform or a visited-secure user plane location platform.

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein the location server is a home-secure user plane location platform or a home-secure user plane location center.