US007072667B2
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`(12) United States Patent
`Olrik et al.
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`(10) Patent No.:
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`(45) Date of Patent:
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`US 7,072,667 B2
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`Jul. 4, 2006
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`(56)
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`References Cited
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`U. S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`455/456.1
`6,847,823 B1*
`1/2005 Lehikoinen et al.
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`2002/0042277 A1*
`4/2002 Smith ....................... .. 455/456
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`2003/0060212 A1*
`3/2003 Thomas . . . . . . . . .
`. . . . . .. 455/456
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`6/2003 Petty et al.
`2003/0108172 A1*
`.......... .. 379/142.08
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`2004/0203900 A1* 10/2004 Cedervall et al.
`...... .. 455/456.1
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`2004/0249846 A1* 12/2004 Randall et al.
`........... .. 707/102
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`* cited by examiner
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`Primary Examiner—Keith Ferguson
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Alston & Bird LLP
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`(57)
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`ABSTRACT
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`A cellular telecommunications network provides a location
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`information service. A landmark location server (11) has an
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`associated data store (12) of data concerning location infor-
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`mation associated with individual cells of the network. The
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`server (11) is responsive to a request for location inforrna-
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`tion from a mobile station (MS1). The request is sent as a
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`SMS through the network (PLMN1). The server (11) obtains
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`location information from the data store (12) based on the
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`cell (C1) occupied by MS1 or another mobile station (MS2).
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`The network is configured to send the location information
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`as a SMS to the mobile station (MS1) that requested the
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`information, without having to pre-register the mobile sta-
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`tion for the location information service.
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`15 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
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`LOCATION INFORMATION SERVICE FOR A
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`CELLULAR TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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`NETWORK
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`Inventors: Jakob Olrik, Copenhagen (DK);
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`Christian Kraft, Hvidovre (DK)
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`Assignee: Nokia Corporation, Espoo (Fl)
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`Notice:
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`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
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`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
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`U.S.C. 154(b) by 485 days.
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`Appl. No.: 10/029,940
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`Filed:
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`Dec. 31, 2001
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`Prior Publication Data
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`Us 2003/0125042 A1
`Jul. 3, 2003
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`Int. Cl.
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`(2006.01)
`H04Q 7/20
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`455/456.1; 455/456.2;
`............................. ..
`U.S. Cl.
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`455/456.3; 455/414.1; 455/422.1; 455/414.2;
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`455/404.1; 455/404.2; 709/203; 709/218;
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`709/219
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`Field of Classification Search ........... .. 455/435.1,
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`455/422.1, 403, 4561-457, 414.1, 466, 404.1,
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`455/404.2, 432.2, 432.3, 433, 550.1, 412.1,
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`455/412.2, 556.1, 557, 500, 517, 73, 414.4;
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`709/203, 218, 219, 228
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`See application file for complete search history.
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`(75)
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`(*)
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`(65)
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`(58)
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`MS1
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`12
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`Location
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`messaging
`39 W81’
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`11
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`Page 1 of 9
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`Goog|e_LG Exhibit 1001
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`Google_LG Exhibit 1001
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 4,2006
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`US 7,072,667 B2
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`12
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` Location
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`Fig- 1
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`an,
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`U.S. Patent
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`Sheet 2 of 4
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`US 7,072,667 B2
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`873°
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`S 34
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`Fig. 3
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`M81
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`PLMN 1
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`34.1
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`Fig. 4
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`U.S. Patent
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`Sheet 3 of 4
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`US 7,072,667 B2
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`M81
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`M82
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`PLMN 1
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`“$50
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`Locafion
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`Sewer11
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`8117
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`$515
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`M31
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`S 8.1
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`SEET
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`Sheet 4 of 4
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`US 7,072,667 B2
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`BT82
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`messaging
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`Fig. 7
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`Third party
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`application
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`14
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`Third party
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`US 7,072,667 B2
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`2
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`vidual mobile station can make use of the location informa-
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`tion service without having to pre-register.
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`The request from the mobile station may be for informa-
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`tion concerning its own location, in which case the retrieved
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`data is sent to the mobile station that made the request.
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`Alternatively, the request may be for data concerning the
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`location of another mobile station, in which case, data is
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`retrieved from the data store based on the cell occupied by
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`the other mobile station, and the retrieved data is sent to the
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`mobile station that made the request. A check may be carried
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`out to determine whether the other mobile station permits
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`data concerning its location to be sent to others in order to
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`provide privacy, if required.
`Instead of retrieving the data from the data store, the other
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`mobile station may itself provide the data concerning its
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`location to the mobile station that made the request.
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`In another aspect, the invention provides a method of
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`providing privacy in a location information service to
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`mobile stations in a cellular telecommunications network. In
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`a first mode, the invention includes sending a request for
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`location information from a mobile station as a message
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`through the network to a location message server, deriving
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`location information based on the location of at least one
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`mobile station, sending the location information to a third
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`party application, using the third party application to
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`develop data based on the location information, and sending
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`the data through the network from the location message
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`server as a message to the mobile station that requested the
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`information.
`In a second mode,
`the invention includes
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`inhibiting data from the third party application being sent, in
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`response to a privacy request from said at least one mobile
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`station.
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`In order that the invention may be more fully understood,
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`an embodiment thereof will now be described by way of
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`example with reference to the accompanying drawings in
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`which:
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`FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a cellular mobile
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`telecommunications network that includes a location infor-
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`mation service in accordance with the invention;
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`FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an individual
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`cell for the network shown in FIG. 1;
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`FIG. 3 is a flow diagram concerning a location request
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`from mobile station MS1, concerning its own location;
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`FIG. 4 is a schematic flow diagram for a process in which
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`mobile station MS1 requests location information concem-
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`ing mobile station MS2, when MS2 agrees to the request;
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`FIG. 5 corresponds to FIG. 4 in a situation where MS2
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`does not agree to the request made by MS1;
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`FIG. 6 corresponds to FIG. 4, in which mobile station
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`MS2 provides the location information requested by mobile
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`station MS1; and
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`FIG. 7 is another schematic block diagram of a cellular
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`mobile telecommunications network that includes a location
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`information service in accordance with the invention.
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
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`INVENTION
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`FIG. 1 illustrates a public land mobile network PLMN1
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`that provides a cellular mobile telecommunication service to
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`mobile stations in the form of mobile handsets MS1, MS2.
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`The PLMN1 may be of any of the well known types such as
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`GSM, DAMPS or UMTS and in the following description,
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`a GSM network is described by way of example. The
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`LOCATION INFORMATION SERVICE FOR A
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`CELLULAR TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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`NETWORK
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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`1. Field of the Invention
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`This invention relates to a location information service for
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`a cellular telecommunications network, which enables indi-
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`vidual mobile stations to receive information about their
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`location within the network.
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`2. Description of the Prior Art
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`A number of proposals have been made to locate the
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`position of mobile stations within a cellular telecommuni-
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`cations network. Each cell of the network corresponds to a
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`particular geographical area and the cells are provided with
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`individual identification codes. Thus, when a mobile station
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`communicates through a particular cell, a rough estimate of
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`its geographical
`location can be obtained using the cell
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`identity. In urban situations, the cells may have an approxi-
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`mate diameter of the order of 200 meters.
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`A number of methods have been proposed to improve the
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`locational accuracy. For example, the timing advance used
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`in communications between the mobile station and the
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`transmitter for the cell, can be monitored to determine
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`whether the mobile station is relatively near to or far away
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`from the transmitter. Also, schemes have been proposed to
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`introduce an angular resolution around the transmitter. Other
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`schemes involve a triangulation method using transmissions
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`received from adjacent cells.
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`A location finding service is being offered commercially
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`by Cell Point Systems AB of Kista, Sweden and reference is
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`directed to W0 01/31966. The system is marketed under the
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`name FinderTM. Groups of subscribers can find out
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`location of members of the group from a mobile telephone.
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`The user starts by defining a list of friends that they want to
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`be able to locate, be seen by or communicate with. This
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`involves a pre-registration procedure with the vendor of the
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`Finder service. When a user wants to know the location of
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`a friend, colleague or family member, the user initiates a
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`request through their mobile telephone or computer and
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`selects a name or names. The Finder system then locates
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`both the user and the friend and calculates the distance and
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`direction to the friend. The result is communicated back to
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`the user as a text message.
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`A disadvantage of this system is that the user needs to
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`pre-register with the system and only has access to the
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`location of members of the relevant group.
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`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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`The invention provides a location information service for
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`mobile stations in a cellular telecommunications network
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`that is provided independently of an aforesaid vendor. A
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`request for location information may be sent from a mobile
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`station as a short message (SMS) through the network to a
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`location message server with an associated data store that
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`contains location information based on the cells of the
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`network. Location information based on the cell occupied by
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`at least one mobile station is derived from the data store and
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`sent through the network from the location message server
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`as a SMS to the mobile station that requested the informa-
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`tion. According to the invention, the service is provided
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`without requiring pre-registration of the subscriber that uses
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`the mobile station.
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`Thus, in accordance with the present invention, there is no
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`need to form pre-registered groups of users and each indi-
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`60
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`US 7,072,667 B2
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`4
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`example, if the user of MS1 has requested landmark data D1,
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`a message such as “St. Marks Church is nearby” is provided
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`to indicate that church 15 is within cell 13. Alternatively, if
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`the user has requested information D2 about railway sta-
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`tions, data “Newtown Station” may be provided. Further, if
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`information D3 regarding restaurants has been requested,
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`appropriate restaurant data may be supplied.
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`The SMSC 10 then creates a SMS text message 19
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`containing the retrieved data from the location messaging
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`server 11. The resulting SMS is sent at step S3.5 to PLMN1
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`and thence as SMS message 20 to the MSISDN of MS1 to
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`be received by MS1, as shown at step S3.6. The short
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`message can be then displayed by MS1 and if appropriate
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`stored therein for future use.
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`FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative process by which the user
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`of mobile station MS1 obtains information concerning the
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`location of mobile station MS2. At step S4.1 a request 21 is
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`sent by mobile station MS1 to the network PLMN1, to be
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`routed at step S4.2 as request 22 to SMSC 10. The requests
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`21 contain the MSISDNs of MS1 and MS2 together with the
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`data D1, D2 or D3 concerning the requested category of data
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`i.e. landmark data or other data such as railway stations or
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`restaurants relevant to the location of mobile station MS2.
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`At step S4.2, reference is made to the network in order to
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`determine the identity of the cell currently occupied by
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`mobile station MS2. This is incorporated into the request
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`sent as request 22 to SMSC 10.
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`Then, at step S4.3, SMSC 10 sends a request 23 to the
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`PLMN 1 that is routed to mobile station MS2, as request 24,
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`at step S4.4, in order to determine whether the user of MS2
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`is content to allow its positional information to be commu-
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`nicated to others. If MS2 is happy to release this informa-
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`tion, a response 25 is sent at step S4.5, to the PLMN1 and
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`forwarded as response 25 to SMSC 10 at step S4.6.
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`Having received clearance from MS2, the SMSC 10 at
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`step S4.7, refers a request 27 to the location messaging
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`server 11 in order to obtain landmark or other data pertinent
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`to the cell occupied by MS2, which is returned as message
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`28 to SMSC 10, at step S4.8.
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`The SMSC 10 at step 4.9 assembles a SMS message 29
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`containing the fetched data, which is then sent to network
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`PLMN1 and forwarded at step S4.10 as message 30 to be
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`received by the mobile station MS1. The resulting data is
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`displayed by MS1 to the user thus providing information
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`about the location of MS2 to the user of MS1.
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`FIG. 5 illustrates the process when the user of MS2 does
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`not wish its location information to be made available to
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`others. When MS1 requests data concerning MS2, request
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`21 is sent at step S5.1, as previously described with refer-
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`ence to FIG. 4 and is sent as request 22 to SMSC 10. Then
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`as described with reference to FIG. 4, requests 23 and 24 are
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`sent to MS2, at steps S5.3 and S5.4, in order to request
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`whether MS2 is prepared to release its positional informa-
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`tion to others. At step S5.5, MS2 sends message 31 indi-
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`cating that it is not prepared to release its positional infor-
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`mation to others, and this message is transferred at step S5.6,
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`as message 32, to the SMSC 10.
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`The SMSC 10 then does not refer to the location mes-
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`saging server 11 but instead sends message 33 at step S5.7
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`to the PLMN1, to be transferred at step S5.8 as message 34
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`to the mobile station MS1. Message 34 comprises a SMS
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`notifying the user of MS1 that data concerning the location
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`of MS2 is not available.
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`In another modification shown in FIG. 6, MS1 is provided
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`with positional information concerning MS2 derived from
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`MS2 rather than the location messaging server 11. At step
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`S6.1, MS1 sends an SMS message 35 to the network
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`3
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`network is shown schematically that includes base transmit-
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`ter stations BTS1, BTS2 which, as illustrated provide a radio
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`link to the handsets MS1, MS2. PLMN 1 also includes base
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`station controllers, mobile switching centers and a home
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`location register as well known in the art. These features are
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`not illustrated in the drawing and since they are very well
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`known, will not be described further herein.
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`GSM networks support a short message service (SMS) by
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`which text messages can be communicated between mobile
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`stations, in addition to the usual speech communication. In
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`accordance with the invention, a SMS message center
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`(SMSC) 10 is connected to the PLMN1 to process SMS
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`messages concerning location requests and responses, as
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`will be explained hereinafter. The SMSC 10 is connected to
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`a location messaging server 11 with an associated location
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`database 12.
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`Referring to FIG. 2, the configuration of an individual cell
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`associated with the base station controller BTS1 is shown
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`schematically. The transmitter BTS1 has a usable range
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`illustrated schematically by hatched outline 13. Thus, if the
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`handset MS1 is communicating over a radio link with the
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`network through BTS1, it is within the circular area 13 of the
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`cell associated with BTS1. In accordance with the GSM
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`Recommendations, each cell has an individual
`identity
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`25
`known to the network. In this example, the cell shown in
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`FIG. 2 has a cell identity C1. Thus, when the handset MS1
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`communicates with BTS1, the cell identity corresponds to a
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`rough geographical location for the handset. Typically, in
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`urban situations, the cell 13 has a radius of 100 meters. The
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`actual cell size depends upon the configuration of the
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`network and as well known in the art, the cellular dimen-
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`sions are made smaller in regions of high population density
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`and larger in rural areas. As shown in FIG. 2, a distinctive
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`landmark in the form of a church 14—St. Mark’s Church—
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`is located within the cellular area 13.
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`In accordance with the invention, the user of handset MS1
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`can send a request to the landmark location messaging
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`server 11 to obtain details of local landmarks in the form of
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`a SMS. This process will now be described in more detail
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`with reference to FIG. 3.
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`At step S3.1, the mobile station MS1 sends a request 15
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`in the form of a SMS over the radio link to BTS1 to the
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`network PLMN 1 and thence to the SMSC 10 at step S3.2,
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`as request 16. The request 15 contains the telephone number
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`(MISDN) of MS1 together with category data D1, D2 or D3
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`discussed in more detail below. The request 16 contains the
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`data from request 15 and the cell identity; cell C1 in this
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`example, obtained from the network PLMN 1.
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`The SMSC 10 refers the request to the location messaging
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`server 11 which refers to the database 12 in order to fetch
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`stored data corresponding to the cell concerned, namely cell
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`C1. The data in the database 12 may be arranged as shown
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`in Table l, in which landmark data corresponding to indi-
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`vidual cells is stored, together with other data relevant to the
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`cells such as local restaurants, railway stations and the like.
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`50
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`55
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`60
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`65
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`TABLE 1
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`D2 - Railway
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`station
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`Newtown station
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`D1 - Landmark
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`data
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`St. Mark’s Church
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`is nearby
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`D3 - Restaurant
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`data
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`1. Pizza Place
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`2. Wong’s Chinese
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`Cell
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`Identity
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`Cl
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`C2
`Cn
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`At step S3.4, the location server provides relevant data 18
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`to the SMSC 10 in response to the location request. For
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`Page 7 of 9
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`10
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`15
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`20
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`35
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`40
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`45
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`Page 7 of 9
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`US 7,072,667 B2
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`5
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`PLMN1 containing the MSISDN of MS1 together with the
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`MSISDN of MS2. At step S6.2 a message 36 containing the
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`data from message 35 together with positional information
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`concerning the cell occupied by MS2, is transmitted as SMS
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`message 36 to SMSC 10. Then, at step S6.3 SMSC 10 routes
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`a request message 37 to PLMN1 which in turn, at step S6.4
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`routes the message as message 38 to MS2.
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`At step S6.5, MS2 may decide to provide positional
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`information from its own memory to MS1, in response to the
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`request 38. For example, as previously described with
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`reference to FIG. 3, the message 20 may be stored in the
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`memory of MS1 for subsequent re-use. Alternatively, the
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`stored message 20 may be modified by the user to provide
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`more precise or personalised location information. The
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`resulting positional information is transmitted as SMS 39 to
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`PLMN1 and then at step S6.6 is sent as message 40 to
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`SMSC10.
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`At step S6.7, the SMSC 10 develops an SMS message
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`containing the data received from MS2 about its location.
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`The resulting message 41 is transmitted through PLMN1
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`and then, as step S6.8 to MS1, as SMS 42 to be displayed
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`by the user of MS1.
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`It will be understood that with the described system, there
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`is no need to pre-register with the location service that may
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`be provided free of charge by the network operator, or at the
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`usual tariff for SMS messages.
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`The system provides information about any mobile sta-
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`tion currently using the network, without the requirement to
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`form groups of “friends” or other group identities. Further-
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`more, privacy is assured for individual users who do not
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`wish to release their location information to others. Many
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`modifications and variations fall within the scope of the
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`invention. For example, more precise positional information
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`may be achieved by the use of angular resolution within
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`individual cells or by monitoring the timing advance setting
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`for the individual mobile station during transmission.
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`Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 7.
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`The arrangement is generally similar to that of FIG. 1 and
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`the same reference numbers are used for corresponding
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`components in the two Figures. The arrangement of FIG. 7
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`has a position server 13 additionally shown, which provides
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`the positional data corresponding to the position of the
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`mobile station(s). This can be based on the cell identity as
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`previously described or may include other positional data
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`that may be provided by the use of angular resolution within
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`individual cells or by monitoring the timing advance setting
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`for the individual mobile station during transmission, or
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`possibly GPS fixes for the mobile stations, regularly updated
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`to the server 13. This positional data is provided by the
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`server 13 to the location messaging server 11 so that
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`landmark messages can be supplied to the mobile stations in
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`response to a request from the SMSC 10 as previously
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`described.
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`The location messaging server 11 may also supply the
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`positional data from the server 13 and/or the landmark data
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`from the store 12 to third party applications illustrated
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`schematically as applications 14 and 15. These applications
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`may be run on separate servers as shown or as applications
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`on the server 11. The system normally operates in a first
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`mode whereby third party applications provide additional
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`information to the mobile stations based on their position.
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`For example, the third party application 14 may compute a
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`route to be followed when either walking or travelling in a
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`vehicle, in order to travel from the location of mobile station
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`MS1 to MS2. This may be requested by MS1 in the manner
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`10
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`15
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`20
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`25
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`30
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`35
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`40
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`45
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`50
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`55
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`60
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`65
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`6
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`previously described, and the computed route is forwarded
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`by the location messaging server 11 to MS1 as series of route
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`directions in a SMS.
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`Other third party applications are possible. For instance,
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`when a mobile station requests particular landmark infor-
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`mation, merchants may wish to provide advertising or other
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`promotional messages to a mobile station that is provided
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`with particular landmark data. Considering the example
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`described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, Wong’s Chinese
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`restaurant may wish to send details of its special offers in
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`response to a request from mobile stations for information
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`about restaurants, that are provided with landmark data for
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`St Mark’s Church that
`is nearby the restaurant. In this
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`situation, third party application 15 develops data about the
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`special offer and forwards the data to the server 11 so that it
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`is forwarded to MS1 in a SMS.
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`The system may be configured to operate in a second
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`mode that ensures that the individual mobile stations are
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`ensured privacy in respect of the third party applications. For
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`example, if MS2 does not want its location to be made
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`available to third party application 13, for route computa-
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`tions, MS2 may block the transfer of its positional informa-
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`tion to the server 11, in the manner described with reference
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`to FIG. 5. Similarly,
`if MS1 does not wish to receive
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`promotional information from third party application 15,
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`MS1 may provide a privacy request message to the server
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`in order to block the sending of promotional or like
`11,
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`messages to it from server 15. Thus, privacy is assured for
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`those individual users who do not wish to release their
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`location information to others.
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`It will be understood that with the system described with
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`reference to FIG. 7, there is no need to pre-register with the
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`location service. Both the location service and the third party
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`applications may be provided free of charge, or at the usual
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`tariff for SMS messages.
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`The invention claimed is:
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`1. A method of providing a location finding service to
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`mobile stations in a cellular telecommunications network,
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`comprising:
`sending a request for location finding information from a
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`mobile station as a message through the network to a
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`location message server;
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`retrieving data from a data store corresponding to the
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`location finding information based on the cell occupied
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`by at least one mobile station; and
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`sending the data through the network from the location
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`message server as a message to the mobile station that
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`requested the location finding information; and wherein
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`the method is performed without pre-registering the
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`mobile station for the location finding service.
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`2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the request
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`from the mobile station is for information concerning its
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`own location, and the method includes sending the retrieved
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`data to the mobile station that made the request.
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`3. A method according to claim 1 wherein the request
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`from the mobile station is for data concerning the location of
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`another mobile station, and the method includes retrieving
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`location data from the data store based on the cell occupied
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`by the other mobile station, and sending the retrieved data
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`concerning the other mobile station to the mobile station that
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`made the request.
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`4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the request
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`from the mobile station is for data concerning the location of
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`another mobile station, and the method includes checking
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`whether the other mobile station permits data concerning its
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`location to be sent to others.
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`Page 8 of 9
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`Page 8 of 9
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`US 7,072,667 B2
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`8
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`12. A method of operating a mobile station to receive
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`location information from a location finding service in a
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`cellular telecommunications network, comprising:
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`sending a request for location finding information from a
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`mobile station as a message through the network to a
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`location message server; and
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`receiving from the location message server, a message
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`containing the location finding information based on
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`the cell occupied by at least one mobile station; and
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`wherein
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`the method is performed without pre-registering the
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`mobile station for the location finding service.
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`13. A mobile station for receiving location finding infor-
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`mation from a location finding service