Methods and devices for interworking of wireless wide area networks and wireless local area networks or wireless personal area networks

• US 20070010261A1
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Published: 01/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Nanda, Sanjiv, Dravida, Subrahmanyam, Surineni, Shravan, Walton, Jay
• Granted Patent: US 8,126,477 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.300
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• 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 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• 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 48/20 Selecting an access point
• 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 8/245 from a network towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

Embodiments describe methods, systems, and devices that utilize positional information to determine location of other device and/or to provide a location-based message. A method can include receiving a location information of a mobile device and using an access point to transmit location information to one or more other devices that do not include location functionality that are in communication with the mobile device. The method can further include transmitting a message to the mobile device based at least in part on the received access location information. In another embodiment, the method can include receiving a user preference data from the mobile device or one or more other devices and transmitting a communication to the mobile device or one or more other devices that conforms to the user preference data.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting location information of a mobile device, comprising:

receiving location information of a mobile device; and

using an access point to transmit location information to one or more other devices that do not include location functionality that are in communication with the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a message to the mobile device based at least in part on the received access location information.

3. The method of claim 2, the transmitted message is one or more of a location-based service, a location-based marketing, and a location-based sales message.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a multimedia message to the one or more other devices based in part on the transmitted location information of the other devices in proximity to the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

supplying a retail offer to the mobile device or the one or more other devices based on the location information and a user preference.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user preference data from the mobile device or one or more other devices; and

transmitting a communication to the mobile device or one or more other devices that conforms to the user preference data.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

estimating the location information of the one or more other devices based on the location information from the mobile device.

8. The method of claim 1, the location information is obtained through a WWAN or GPS or through a WLAN for non-location based devices.

9. A method for determining a device location;

comprising requesting position estimation of a mobile device that does not have location functionality; and

receiving the position estimation from an access point, the position estimation based on position information received from a device with location functionality.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

generating voice data for communication along with the location information.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a user preference relating to a messages to transmit to the user; and

determining whether to transmit a message to the user based in part on the user preference.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transferring a message to the user if it is a message that conforms to the user preference.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

disregarding the message if the message does not conform to the user preference.

14. The method of claim 11, the message is transmitted through a WWAN or a WLAN access point.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining whether to utilize WWAN or WLAN based upon applications available at the mobile device location.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining whether to utilize WWAN or WLAN based on network characteristics received from the access point.

17. The method of claim 16, the network characteristics include network type, cost of service, signal strength, number of identified access points, bandwidth, and available applications.

18. The method of claim 9, the device with location functionality obtains the position estimation through a WWAN or GPS and the device that does not have location functionality obtains the position estimation through a WLAN.

19. A mobile device, comprising:

a memory that stores information related to a user multimedia preference; and

a processor that analyzes information stored in the memory and determines if a received multimedia message should be communicated to a user of the mobile device based in part on a user location.

20. The mobile device of claim 19, further comprising:

a WLAN component configured to-provide WLAN functionality;

a WWAN component configured to provide WWAN functionality; and

a transceiver coupled to the WWAN component and WLAN component, the transceiver configured to transmit location information of the mobile device generated with respect to the WWAN component.

21. The mobile device of claim 20, the WLAN component generates voice data that is provided to the transceiver for communication along with the location information.

22. The mobile device of claim 20, further comprising a GPS component configured to provide the location information coupled with the transceiver.

23. The mobile device of claim 20, the WLAN component comprises a WPAN component configured to provide WPAN functionality.

24. The mobile device of claim 20, the mobile device determines whether to utilize WLAN or WWAN based upon applications available through the WWAN or the WLAN at the location of the mobile device.

25. The mobile device of claim 20, the location information is transmitted to a device capable of communicating with the WLAN functionality component.

26. The mobile device of claim 19, the multimedia message is one or more of a location-based service, a location-based marketing, and a location-based sales message.

27. The mobile device of claim 19 is a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone.

28. The mobile device of claim 19, the user location is obtained through one of a WWAN component, a GPS component, or a WLAN component.

29. An apparatus for receiving multimedia content based on location and a user preference;

comprising;

means for generating apparatus location information;

means for transmitting the location information through a WLAN component that provides WLAN functionality;

means for receiving a location-based multimedia content; and

means for selectively communicating the multimedia content to a user.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, the means for selectively communicating the location-based multimedia content to a user communicates the location-based multimedia content over the air to a user if the notification matches the predefined user preference.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, the means for selectively communicating the location-based multimedia content to a user does not communicate the location-based multimedia content to a user if the notification does not match the predefined user preference.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

means for determining a network to utilize based at least in part on applications available at the apparatus location.

33. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

means for coupling a WPAN component that provides WPAN functionality to the WLAN component

34. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for:

communicating position information to an access point;

storing a user-preference relating to location-based messages; and

selectively accepting a location-based message based in part on the user-preference.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 34, the location-based message is accepted if it conforms to the user-preference.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 34, the location-based message is not accepted if it does not conform to the user-preference.

37. A processor that executes instructions for determining a location in a wireless communication network, comprising:

requesting position estimation from an access point;

receiving the position estimation from an access point, the position estimation based on position information received from a device with location functionality; and

communicating the position estimation with a voice message.

38. A method for providing location-based services, comprising:

establishing a wireless communication network between a first device and at least a second device;

communicating location information associated with the first device to the at least a second device; and

tailoring a location-based service for the second device based in part on the communicated location information associated with the first device.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

tailoring a location-based service for the first device based in part on the communicated location information associated with the first device;

communicating over the air the location-based service to the second device; and

transmitting the location-based service from the second device to the first device.

40. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

communicating the location information associated with the first device from the second device over the air to at least a third device; and

tailoring the location-based service for the third device based in part on the location information associated with the first device.

41. The method of claim 38, the location-based service is a multimedia message.