Extended triggered position method and device

• US 8,160,612 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2011
• Issued: 04/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: YAN, Xiaolu
• Primary Examiner(s): Gelin, Jean
• Application Number:
  US13/157,552
• Publication Number:
  US 20110244886A1
• Time in Patent Office: 312 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/456.4, 455/456.5, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/412.1, 455/412.2, 455/414.1, 455/414.2
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• 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 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks

Abstract

An extended triggered location method and device is provided. The device includes the following: a location calculating unit to calculate location of the target terminal and determine the location information, and a third party location reporting unit to send the location information of the target terminal to the third party terminal periodically or only when the area triggered condition is sufficed. With the present invention, the third party terminal can obtain the location information of the target terminal periodically or receive the notice of the target terminal'"'"'s entry into/exit from a target area, in accordance with the principles of periodical location or area trigger location. Thereby, the invention supplies new location service application and satisfies the subscriber'"'"'s demand for different location service applications.

Claims

1. A triggered location method, comprising:

pre-specifying information of a third party that requires location notification of a target SET;

sending, by a location server, location information of the target SET to the third party, wherein the location information of the target SET is sent periodically after the location information of the target SET is obtained according to periodically triggered calculation of a location of the target SET, or when an area event triggering condition is met,

wherein the pre-specifying information of the third party that requires the location notification of the target SET further comprises;

for a SET-initiated triggered location, specifying the third party in a trigged location start message sent from the target SET to the location server or specifying the third party in private setting of the target SET;

or

for a network-initiated triggered location, specifying the third party in a Mobile Location Protocol Triggering Location Report Request (MLP TLRR) message sent from a Security User Plane Location (SUPL) agent to the location server, and making, by the location server, the setting to instruct notifying the third party of the location information via a triggered location start message that carries the information in the MLP TLRR message.

2. The triggered location method according to claim 1, wherein, the private setting of the target SET comprises at least one of the group consisting of:

whether notification and verification are both required for one of a location requester and the third party to be notified of the location;

whether to notify and verify once in an initial stage of a triggered location procedure or whenever a location session starts; and

whether to notify the target SET of the location result that is sent to the third party.

3. The triggered location method according to claim 2, further comprising:

for a network-initiated periodical location or an area event triggered location, sending a message carrying parameters of one of the notification and the verification to the target SET, in the initial stage of the location or whenever the location starts, if the private setting of the target SET specifies the verification from the target SET is required for one of the requester and the third party;

receiving an SUPL triggered start message, in which the parameters indicate whether to permit one of the notification and the verification is carried, from the target SET;

sending an SUPL triggered response message to the target SET, if the target SET permits one of the notification and the verification;

not sending the location information or the triggered event to the third party when the location procedure is terminated or the area event is triggered, if the target SET verifies to reject the request for sending the location information to the third party.

4. The triggered location method according to claim 1, wherein, the process of sending the location information to the third party further comprises:

sending, by the location server, to the third party a location notification message and carrying in the location notification message a target SET ID, and the location information of the target SET.

5. The triggered location method according to claim 4, wherein, the location notification message is carried via one of a Short Messaging Service, (SMS), a Wireless Access Protocol Push (WAP PUSH), and an Internet Protocol network (IP).

6. The triggered location method according to claim 4, wherein, if multiple third parties requiring the location notification are specified, the location server sends the location notification message to each of the third party in sequence.

7. The triggered location method according to claim 4, further comprising:

returning an acknowledge notification from the third party to the location server, when the third party receives the location notification message sent from the location server;

for the SET-initiated triggered location, sending an SUPL report message from the location server to the target SET, to notify the target SET that the third party has received the location information, and then terminating the location process, when the location server receives the acknowledge notification from the third party;

for the network-initiated triggered location, sending an Mobile Location Protocol Triggering Location Report (MLP TLREP) message from the location server to the SUPL agent, to notify the SUPL agent that the third party has received the location notification message, and then terminating the location process, when the location server receives the acknowledge notification from the third party.

8. The triggered location method according to claim 7, further comprising:

resending the location notification message for predefined times, by the location server, to the third party, if the location server cannot receive the acknowledge notification from the third party within a first predefined time; and

returning, by the location server, a failure notification message to the target SET and preserving the obtained location information of the target SET locally or in the target SET, if the location server still cannot receive any acknowledge notification from the third party after the location server resends the location notification message to the third party for the predefined times.

9. The triggered location method according to claim 8, further comprising:

if any other SET requests historical location information of the target SET from the home location server for the target SET, determining, by the home location server for the target SET, whether it is allowed to provide the historical location information of the target SET to the requesting SET, and, if allowed, sending the historical location information of the target SET that is stored locally or in the target SET to the requesting SET, by the home location server.

10. The triggered location method according to claim 1, wherein, the step of sending the location information to the third party further comprises:

sending, by the location server, the location information of the target SET to the third party over the IP network.

11. The triggered location method according to claim 1, wherein, the location server comprises the home location server for the target SET or the visit location server if the target SET is in a roaming state.

12. The triggered location method according to claim 1, wherein the step of sending the location information to the third party further comprises:

sending, by the home location server for the target SET, the location information of the target SET to the home location server for the third party; and

sending, by the home location server for the third party, the location information to the third party, if the third party and the target SET are not under the same location server.

13. A triggered location device, comprising:

a location calculating unit, configured to calculate location information of a target SET to obtain a location of the target SET;

a location notifying unit, configured to send the location information of the target SET to a third party periodically according to periodically triggered calculation of the location of the target SET, or configured to send the location information to the third party when an area event triggering condition is met; and

a location policy negotiating unit, configured to make a setting to instruct the location notifying unit to notify the third party of the location information of the target SET;

wherein the third party is specified in at least one of the following;

a triggered location start message sent from the target SET to a location server, a private setting of the target SET, and a mobile location protocol triggering location report request message.