Mobile communication terminal and positional information providing method

• US 7,949,349 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2004
• Issued: 05/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujita, Manabu, Kariya, Aki, Murata, Katsutoshi, Menjo, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan; Huy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Choo; Munsoon
• Application Number:
  US10/574,225
• Publication Number:
  US 20070123269A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,426 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.2, 4554561-4562, 4554142-4143, 340/988, 342/457
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• 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

Abstract

An object is to provide a cell phone capable of achieving improvement in efficiency of communication and improvement in user'"'"'s operability on the occasion of providing location information. A cell phone 10 has a data transmitter 101 for transmitting user data to a content delivery server 30, using a user channel, a location request part 102 for transmitting request information to request calculation of location information about the cell phone 10, to a GPS server 40 in accordance with the transmission of the user data, using a control channel, a location acquiring part 103 for acquiring the location information calculated based on the request information by the GPS server 40, using the control channel, and a location transmitter 105 for transmitting the location information to the content delivery server 30, using the control channel.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a communication partner equipment;

a portable communication terminal communicatively coupled to the communication partner equipment,

the portable communication terminal including,

data transmitting means for transmitting picture data from the portable communication terminal to a communication partner equipment, using a user channel for transmission of picture data,

location requesting means for transmitting request information to request calculation of location information about the portable communication terminal, the request information being transmitted from the portable communication terminal to a location information calculating server for calculating the location information over a control channel for transmission of control data, wherein the communication partner equipment is not part of the location information calculating server,

location acquiring means for acquiring, at the portable communication device, the location information over the control channel from the location information calculating server in parallel with the data transmitting means transmitting the picture data to the communication partner over the user channel, the location information having been calculated based on the request information in the location information calculating server, and

location transmitting means for transmitting, from the portable communication device over the control channel, the location information acquired by the location acquiring means from the location information calculating server to the communication partner equipment in parallel with the data transmitting means transmitting the picture data to the communication partner over the user channel; and

the communication partner equipment stores the picture data in association with the location information received from the location transmitting means of the portable communication device, and the communication partner equipment transmits the picture data together with the location information to a receiver terminal.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the location requesting means continues to transmit the request information at predetermined intervals while the data transmitting means transmits the picture data.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the portable communication terminal further comprises:

movement detecting means for detecting a movement state of the location of the portable communication terminal, based on the location information acquired by the location acquiring means,

wherein the location transmitting means transmits the location information in accordance with the detected movement state.

4. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the picture data is motion picture data taken as a picture of a subject and the data transmitting means transmits the taken motion picture data in real time.

5. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the request information contains a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite.

7. The system according to claim 4, wherein the request information contains a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the picture data is motion picture data.

6. A location information providing method for providing location information from a portable communication terminal to a communication partner equipment, comprising:

transmitting, with a transmitter of the portable communication terminal, picture data to the communication partner equipment over a user channel for transmission of picture data;

transmitting request information to request calculation of location information about the portable communication terminal, the request information being transmitted from the portable communication terminal to a location information calculating server for calculating the location information over a control channel for transmission of control data, wherein the communication partner equipment is not part of the location information calculating server;

acquiring, at the portable communication terminal, the location information over the control channel from the location information calculating server in parallel with transmitting the picture data to the communication partner over the user channel, the location information having been calculated based on the request information in the location information calculating server;

transmitting, from the portable communication device over the control channel, the location information acquired by the acquiring step from the location information calculating server to the communication partner equipment in parallel with transmitting the picture data to the communication partner over the user channel;

storing, at the communication partner equipment, the picture data in association with the location information received from the portable communication device; and

transmitting, at the communication partner equipment, the picture data together with the location information to a receiver terminal.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the picture data is motion picture data.

8. A system comprising:

a communication partner equipment;

a portable communication terminal communicatively coupled to the communication partner equipment,

the portable communication terminal including,

a data transmitting unit configured to transmit picture data from the portable communication terminal to a communication partner equipment, using a user channel for transmission of picture data,

a location requesting unit configured to transmit request information to request calculation of location information about the portable communication terminal, the request information being transmitted from the portable communication terminal to a location information calculating server for calculating the location information using a control channel for transmission of control data, wherein the communication partner equipment is not part of the location information calculating server,

a location acquiring unit configured to acquire, at the portable communication device, the location information over the control channel from the location information calculating server in parallel with the data transmitting unit transmitting the picture data to the communication partner over the user channel, the location information having been calculated based on the request information in the location information calculating server, and

a location transmitting unit configured to transmit, from the portable communication device over the control channel, the location information acquired by the location acquiring unit from the location information calculating server to the communication partner equipment in parallel with the data transmitting unit transmitting the picture data to the communication partner over the user channel; and

the communication partner equipment stores the picture data in association with the location information received from the location transmitting means of the portable communication device, and the communication partner equipment transmits the picture data together with the location information to a receiver terminal.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the picture data is motion picture data.