Wireless chat automatic status tracking

• US 9,473,450 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2013
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Ung, Dara, Titus, Mark, Wilson, Johanna
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peaches, Randy
• Application Number:
  US14/071,311
• Publication Number:
  US 20140135045A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,079 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 with dynamic range variability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/085 involving hierarchical organized mobility servers, e.g. hierarchical mobile IP [HMIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 : Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 : Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A technique and apparatus to provide status tracking of presence and/or location of wireless devices to requesting entities inside and/or outside a particular wireless system. Presence and/or location information is provided to entities outside a particular servicing wireless network via mechanisms of call processing components of a mobile network and standard mechanisms available to any appropriately conforming MSC element. In one embodiment, a wireless chat automatic status tracking system utilizes a change in mobile registration status to automatically forward or copy a registration notification (REGNOT) message to an external IP application, to notify a chat group system outside the wireless network of current status information activity regarding a relevant device. Change in mobile registration is communicated via a suitable signaling link between a HLR and the chat group system. REGNOT messages are pushed over TCP/IP connections to external applications to automatically notify the external system of a particular user'"'"'s location.

Claims

1. A method of tracking a status of a mobile device, comprising:

receiving, at a mobile activity status tracker (MAST) system, a registration notification (REGNOT) message for said mobile device from a signaling transfer point (STP), wherein said registration notification (REGNOT) message is provided via a Signal System Number 7 (SS7) connection; and

communicating, from said MAST system via an Internet Protocol (IP) connection, a location of said mobile device obtained from said registration notification (REGNOT) message, to a service provider-specific application;

wherein said location of said mobile device, received at a message distribution server executing said service provider-specific application, notifies a group of message subscriber devices of said location of said mobile device;

wherein said STP provides said registration notification (REGNOT) message to said MAST system in response to receipt of said registration notification (REGNOT) message from a mobile switching center (MSC) that is in communication with said mobile device and said STP provides said registration notification (REGNOT) message to a home location register (HLR) of said mobile device.

2. The method of tracking a status of a mobile device according to claim 1, wherein:

said service provider-specific application is communicated with in response to said receiving of said registration notification (REGNOT) message.

3. The method of tracking a status of a mobile device according to claim 1, wherein:

said group of message subscriber devices each belong to a given Internet-addressed group.

4. The method of tracking a status of a mobile device according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing a copy of registration notification (REGNOT) messages received by said mobile switching center.

5. The method of tracking a status of a mobile device according to claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting from said MAST system, said registration notification (REGNOT) message over said IP connection.

6. A mobile activity status tracker (MAST) system, comprising:

a status change receiver of said MAST system to receive a status change registration notification (REGNOT) message associated with a mobile device from a signaling transfer point (STP), wherein said registration notification (REGNOT) message is provided via a Signal System Number 7 (SS7) connection; and

a status change notification message communicator of said MAST system to communicate, via an Internet Protocol (IP) connection, a status change activity associated with said mobile device to a service provider-specific application, said status change activity being a change in location;

wherein said status change activity, received at a message distribution server executing said service provider-specific application, notifies a group of message subscriber devices of said location of said mobile-device;

wherein said STP provides said registration notification (REGNOT) message to said status change receiver of said MAST system in response to receipt of said registration notification (REGNOT) message from a mobile switching center (MSC) that is in communication with said mobile device and said STP provides said registration notification (REGNOT) message to a home location register (HLR) of said mobile device.

7. The MAST system according to claim 6, wherein:

said service provider-specific application is communicated with in response to said receiving of said status change registration notification (REGNOT) message.

8. The MAST system according to claim 6, wherein:

said group of message subscriber devices each belong to a given Internet-addressed group.

9. The MAST system according to claim 6, wherein:

said status change notification message communicator retains a copy of status change registration notification (REGNOT) messages received by a mobile switching center.

10. The MAST system according to claim 6, wherein said status change notification message communicator is further to transmit said status change registration notification (REGNOT) message over said IP connection.

11. The MAST system according to claim 10, further comprising:

a registration notification message handler of said MAST system in communication with said status change notification message communicator.

12. A method of tracking a status of a mobile device, comprising:

receiving, at a mobile activity status tracer (MAST) system, a status change registration notification (REGNOT) message associated with a mobile device from a signal transfer point (STP), wherein said registration notification (REGNOT) is provided via a Signal System Number 7 (SS7) connection, said status change registration notification (REGNOT) message including a location of said mobile device; and

communicating, from said MAST system, via an Internet Protocol (IP) connection, a status change activity associated with said message subscriber device to a service provider-specific application, said status change activity being a change in location;

wherein said status change activity, received at a message distribution server executing said service provider-specific application, notifies a group of message subscriber devices of said location of said mobile device;

wherein said STP provides said registration notification (REGNOT) message to said MAST system in response to receipt of said registration notification (REGNOT) message from a mobile switching center (MSC) that is in communication with said mobile device and said STP provides said registration notification (REGNOT) message to a home location register (HLR) of said mobile device.

13. The method of tracking a status of a mobile device according to claim 12, wherein:

said service provider-specific application is communicated with in response to said receiving of said status change registration notification (REGNOT) message.

14. The method of tracking a status of a mobile device according to claim 12, wherein:

said group of message subscriber devices each belong to a given Internet-addressed group.

15. The method of tracking a status of a mobile device according to claim 12, further comprising:

storing, at said MAST system, a copy of status change registration notification (REGNOT) messages received by a mobile switching center.

16. The method of tracking a status of a mobile device according to claim 12, further comprising:

transmitting from said MAST system, said status change registration notification (REGNOT) message over said IP connection.