User-tagging of cellular telephone locations

• US 7,444,156 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2001
• Issued: 10/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Cheng, Lili, Milstein, David, Marcjan, Cezary, Odinak, Gilad, Boss, Jerome
• Primary Examiner(s): Coleman; Eric
• Application Number:
  US09/789,434
• Publication Number:
  US 20020115446A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,807 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/217, 709/224, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/456.1, 455/456.6, 455/456.5, 455/456, 455/456.4, 455/404.2, 455/457, 455/435.1, 455/435.2, 712/1, 700/90, 701/200, 701/201, 701/202, 701/203, 701/204, 701/205, 701/208, 701/213, 340/573.1, 456/456.1, 456/456.2, 456/456.3, 456/456.4, 456/456.5, 456/404.2, 456/457, 456/435.1, 456/435.2
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/14 between corresponding nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/16 selectively restricting mobility data tracking

Abstract

A user-controlled cellular telephone positioning feature allows a cellular telephone user to correlate a user-specified location name with a cellular telephone location among one or more cells of a cellular telephone network. In one implementation, a cellular telephone location tagging application is stored and operated on a cellular telephone. The application obtains a cell identification string corresponding to a cell of a cellular telephone system with which cell the cellular telephone is in communication and allows the user to associate a location name and the cell identification string as location information for a selected location. Location data are maintained on a user'"'"'s cellular telephone, and the user can selectively make the location information available others.

Claims

1. In a computer readable medium of a cellular telephone, a cellular telephone location tagging application comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed on a computer, perform the following steps:

obtaining location information data corresponding to a plurality of locations of the cellular telephone in a cell of a cellular telephone system, wherein the location information data for each of the plurality of locations includes plural cell identification strings corresponding to plural cells of a cellular telephone system with which the cellular telephone is in communication and in which the plural cell identification strings are associated with each location within the cell;

associating on the cellular telephone a location name with the location information data corresponding to each of the plurality of locations; and

selectively providing the location information data to one or more users over a communication channel.

2. The medium of claim 1 further comprising instructions to perform a step of separately establishing a user-specified location status indication with the location information data.

3. The medium of claim 1 further comprising instructions to perform a step of receiving an identity of a user-specified recipient of the location information.

4. The medium of claim 3 in which the user-specified recipient is a telephonic or computer network address associated with a particular user.

5. The medium of claim 3 in which the user-specified recipient is a computer network service or telephonic service.

6. The medium of claim 1 further comprising instructions for performing steps of:

obtaining on the cellular telephone a cell signal characteristic that characterizes a cellular transmission signal for each of the plural cells with which the cellular telephone is in communication; and

associating on the cellular telephone the cell signal characteristic with the location name and each corresponding cell identification string.

7. The medium of claim 6 in which the cell signal characteristic includes signal strength.

8. The medium of claim 1 further comprising instructions for performing a step of establishing a computer network instant messaging service as a recipient of the location information data.

9. The medium of claim 1, wherein the associating step further comprises receiving the location name from a user.

10. A method for use in a cellular telephone, comprising:

establishing communication with a cellular telephone system;

obtaining location information data corresponding to a plurality of locations of the cellular telephone in a cell of a cellular telephone system, wherein the location information data for each of the plurality of locations includes plural cell identifications strings corresponding to plural cells of a cellular telephone system with which the cellular telephone is in communication and in which the plural cell identification strings are associated with each location within the cell;

associating a location name with the location information data corresponding to each of the plurality of locations; and

selectively transmitting the location information data from the cellular telephone.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising obtaining and storing on the cellular telephone a user-specified recipient of the location information.

12. The method of claim 11 in which the user-specified recipient is a telephonic or computer network address associated with a person.

13. The method of claim 11 in which the user-specified recipient is a computer network or telephonic service.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

obtaining on the cellular telephone a cell signal characteristic that characterizes a cellular transmission signal for each of the plural cells with which the cellular telephone is in communication; and

associating on the cellular telephone the cell signal characteristic with the location name and each corresponding cell identification string.

15. The method of claim 14 in which the cell signal characteristic includes signal strength.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising establishing a computer network instant messaging service as a recipient of the location information.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising obtaining the location name from a user of the cellular telephone.

18. A computer readable medium on a cellular telephone having computer executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, perform steps comprising:

(a) obtaining location information data corresponding to a plurality of locations of the cellular telephone in a cell of a cellular telephone system, wherein the location information data for each of the plurality of location includes plural cell identification strings corresponding to plural cells of a cellular telephone system with which the cellular telephone is in communication and in which the plural cell identification strings are associated with each location within the cell;

(b) associating on the cellular telephone the location service request and the plural cell identification strings as a localized location service request; and

(c) transmitting the localized location service request to a cellular telephone location information service provider.

19. The medium of claim 18, further comprising obtaining a cellular transmission signal for each of the plural cells with which the cellular telephone is in communication;

and

associating on the cellular telephone the cell signal characteristic with the location service request and each corresponding cell identification string.

20. A method comprising:

(a) receiving at a service center, location information from a cellular telephone, the location information corresponding to a plurality of locations of the cellular telephone in a cell of a cellular telephone system, wherein the location information data for each of the plurality of locations includes plural cell identification strings corresponding to plural cells of a cellular telephone system with which the cellular telephone is in communication and in which the plural cell identification strings are associated with each location within the cell;

(b) selectively forwarding the location information to a recipient identified by the cellular telephone.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising receiving from the cellular telephone, a location status indication, and in which selectively forwarding includes selectively forwarding the location information based upon the location status indication.

22. The method of claim 20 further comprising associating the location information with one or more network identities of a user of the cellular telephone.

23. The method of claim 20 in which selectively forwarding includes selectively forwarding the location information to the recipient at a computer network address.

24. The method of claim 20 in which selectively forwarding includes selectively forwarding the location information to the recipient at a telephonic address.