System and method for providing multi-carrier tracking of wireless devices during an emergency

• US 9,769,781 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2013
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Morrill, Robert J., Greene, Lynn T., Ray, Amar Nath
• Primary Examiner(s): Pappas, Claire X
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham Lu, Ngan T
• Application Number:
  US13/867,351
• Publication Number:
  US 20130237183A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,611 Days
• Field of Search: 4554042, 4554561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A system and method for tracking a wireless communications device of a user may include, in response to receiving a request to track the wireless communications device, notifying a plurality of wireless networks of different communications carriers to collect geographic coordinates at which a wireless communications device is located. Geographic coordinates of the wireless communications device may be collected from at least one of the wireless networks and communicated to a requestor for tracking the wireless communications device.

Claims

1. A method for tracking a wireless communications device of a user, comprising:

receiving a request to track the wireless communications device, wherein the request is received from an authorized government agency, sent through a government agency server and received at a tracker server in communication with a plurality of wireless networks of different communications carriers, and wherein receiving the request includes receiving a security code associated with

the authorized government agency, and further comprises validating the security code with the tracker server, and wherein receiving the request further comprises receiving from the authorized government agency an identifier associated with the wireless communications device which is to be tracked, and wherein the request further comprises an alphanumeric event type indicator selected from a plurality of alphanumeric event type indicators maintained in a database in communication with the tracker server, which alphanumeric event type indicator indicates an event type selected from a plurality of event types which qualify the authorized government agency to track the wireless communications device by a plurality of wireless networks of different communications carriers and further comprises validating the alphanumeric event type indicator with the tracker server by comparing the alphanumeric event type indicator with the plurality of alphanumeric event type indicators maintained in the database in communication with the tracker server;

communicating the validated request from the tracker server to the plurality of wireless networks of different communications carriers to collect geographic coordinates at which the wireless communications device is located;

collecting, from two or more of the wireless networks, two or more sets of geographic coordinates of the wireless communications device;

processing the two or more sets of geographic coordinates to identify an average set of geographic coordinates;

communicating the average set of geographic coordinates of the wireless communications device from the tracker server to the government agency server;

repeatedly collecting and communicating the geographic coordinates;

stopping, collecting and communicating the geographic coordinates in response to receiving a request to stop collecting the geographic coordinates; and

storing the average set of geographic coordinates in a storage unit in communication with the government agency server and not in direct communication with the tracker server.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a current location of the wireless communications device with the tracker server; and

communicating a notification from the tracking server to at least one communications carrier to which the user is not a subscriber that operates a wireless network in an area of the current location of the wireless communications device.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising identifying the at least one communications carrier to which the user is not a subscriber that operates a wireless network in the area of the current location of the wireless communications device.

4. A tracker server for tracking a wireless communications device of a user, comprising:

a memory;

an input/ output (I/O) unit;

a processing unit in communication with said memory and I/O unit, said processing unit configured to;

receive a request from an authorized government agency, sent through a government agency server to track the wireless communications device, wherein receiving the request includes receiving a security code from the authorized government agency, and further comprises validating the security code with the tracker server, and wherein receiving the request further comprises receiving from the authorized government agency an identifier associated with the wireless communications device which is to be tracked, and wherein the request further comprises an alphanumeric event type indicator selected from a plurality of alphanumeric event type indicators maintained in a database in communication with the tracker server, which alphanumeric event type indicator indicates an event type selected from a plurality of event types which qualify the authorized government agency to track the wireless communications device by a plurality of wireless networks of different communications carriers and further comprises validating the alphanumeric event type indicator with the tracker server by comparing the alphanumeric event type indicator with the plurality of alphanumeric event type indicators maintained in the database in communication with the tracker server;

communicate the validated request from the tracker server to a plurality of wireless networks of different communications carriers to collect geographic coordinates at which the wireless communications device is located;

collect, from two or more of the wireless networks, geographic coordinates of the wireless communications device;

process the two or more sets of geographic coordinates to identify an average set of geographic coordinates; and

communicate the average set of geographic coordinates of the wireless communications device from the tracker server to the government agency server;

repeatedly collecting and communicating the geographic coordinates;

stopping, collecting and communicating the geographic coordinates in response to receiving a request to stop collecting the geographic coordinates; and

store the average set of geographic coordinates in a storage unit in communication with the government agency server and not in direct communication with the tracker server.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein said processing unit is further configured to:

determine a current location of the wireless communications device; and

notify at least one communications carrier to which the user is not a subscriber that operates a wireless network in an area of the current location of the wireless communications device.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein said processing unit is further configured to identify the at least one communications carrier to which the user is not a subscriber that operates a wireless network in the area of the current location of the wireless communications device.