Location services gateway server

• US 9,191,520 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2011
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Titus, Mark, Hines, Gordon John, Thompson, Paul, Hannan, Joseph P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ajibade Akonai, Olumide T
• Application Number:
  US13/374,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20120149325A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,436 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/445, 4554561-4566, 370/352
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/206 composed of PSTN and wireless network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• 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 method and apparatus for steering location requests to a serving one of a plurality of possible location positioning devices. A location request may be steered base on an emergency status of the location request, whether or not the subscriber device has a valid data plan established, based on the device type of the wireless device, or based on the type of application running on the wireless device. A location request may also be steered to a fallback location device if a steering to a primary selected location device fails and sufficient time remains to locate via the fallback location device.

Claims

1. A method of directing a location request in a wireless system to a serving location server based on emergency status, comprising:

steering a given location request to a first network-based location server if said location request is a non-emergency location request; and

if said location request is related to an emergency, instead steering said location request to a different, second network-based location server.

2. A method of directing a location request in a wireless system to a serving location server based on data plan status, comprising:

steering a location request of a subscriber wireless device that has a valid data plan, to a first network-based location server using a control plane; and

if said location request is related to a subscriber wireless device that has no valid data plan, instead steering said location request to a different, second network-based location server.

3. A method of directing a location request in a wireless system to a serving location server based on device type, comprising:

steering a location request of a subscriber wireless device of a first network protocol type, to a first network-based location server; and

if said location request is related to a subscriber wireless device of a second network protocol type, instead steering said location request to a different, second network-based location server.

4. A method of directing a location request in a wireless system to a serving location server based on application type, comprising:

steering a location request of a subscriber wireless device running an application of a first type, to a first network-based location server; and

if said location request is related to a subscriber wireless device running an application of a different, second type, instead steering said location request to a different, second network-based location server.

5. A method of directing a location request in a wireless system to a serving location server with a fallback, comprising:

steering a location request of a subscriber wireless device, to a first network-based location server; and

if said steered location request fails, and sufficient time remains, instead steering said location request to a different, second network-based location server.