Method and apparatus for providing position-related information to mobile recipients
First Claim
1. A mobile communication device configured to selectively report position information, comprising:
- a receiver configured to receive position signals;
a processor coupled to the receiver and responsive to the position signals to determine position information indicative of a present position of the mobile communication device;
a modulator/demodulator configured to automatically transmit the position information to a destination over a communication network in accordance with a reporting schedule;
a control unit configurable by a user to selectively override at least one scheduled transmission of the position information to prevent transmission of the position information while the mobile communication device is operational; and
an enable/disable switch coupled to the control unit to selectively enable and disable transmission of the position information.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for providing position-related information to a mobile user includes a mobile unit and a central site server. The mobile unit includes circuitry for determining present position information from position signals which may emanate from, for example, GPS satellites. The mobile unit further includes circuitry for establishing a wireless bidirectional communications link with the central site server via a terrestrial network, which may be accessed via a cellular telephone network. The central site server includes circuitry for receiving the present position information from the mobile unit. A table stored at the central site server includes different response information in correspondence with possible positions of the mobile unit. The response information may further be in correspondence with user preferences. The central site server uses the received present position information to retrieve corresponding response information from the table, and sends the retrieved response information to the mobile unit via the bidirectional communications link. The mobile unit further includes circuitry, such as a loudspeaker, for supplying the response information to the mobile user. In another aspect of the invention, communications between the mobile unit and the central site server are encrypted. Furthermore, the mobile unit may include components for preventing position information from being supplied to the loudspeaker, thereby eliminating distracting noise from being presented to the user.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A mobile communication device configured to selectively report position information, comprising:
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a receiver configured to receive position signals; a processor coupled to the receiver and responsive to the position signals to determine position information indicative of a present position of the mobile communication device; a modulator/demodulator configured to automatically transmit the position information to a destination over a communication network in accordance with a reporting schedule; a control unit configurable by a user to selectively override at least one scheduled transmission of the position information to prevent transmission of the position information while the mobile communication device is operational; and an enable/disable switch coupled to the control unit to selectively enable and disable transmission of the position information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of selectively reporting position information from a mobile communication device, comprising:
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receiving position signals; determining position information in response to the position signals, the position information indicating a present position of the mobile communication device; transmitting the position information automatically to a destination over a communication network in accordance with a reporting schedule; and selectively overriding, in accordance with a setting configurable by a user of the mobile communication device, at least one scheduled transmission of the position information to prevent transmission of the position information while the mobile communication device is operational, wherein selectively enabling and disabling the transmission of the position information is performed in accordance with an enable/disable switch configurable by the user. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A mobile communication device for selectively reporting position information, comprising:
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means for receiving position signals; means for determining position information in response to the position signals, the position information indicating a present position of the mobile communication device; means for automatically transmitting the position information to a destination over a communication network in accordance with a reporting schedule; and means for selectively overriding, in accordance with a setting configurable by a user of the mobile communication device, at least one scheduled transmission of the position information to prevent transmission of the position information while the mobile communication device is operational, wherein the means for selectively enabling and disabling comprises switching means configurable by the user to toggle between an enable and disable state. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program code, which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations for selectively reporting position information from a mobile communication device, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:
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program code to receive position signals; program code to determine position information in response to the position signals, the position information indicating a present position of the mobile communication device; program code to automatically transmit the position information to a destination over a communication network in accordance with a reporting schedule; and program code to selectively override, in accordance with a setting configurable by a user of the mobile communication device, at least one scheduled transmission of the position information to prevent transmission of the position information while the mobile communication device is operational, wherein a program code to selectively enable and disable is configured to selectively enable and disable the transmission of the position information in accordance with a switch configurable by the user to toggle between an enable and disable state. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification