(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY(PCT)
`
`(19) World Intellectual Property Organization
`International Bureau
`
`(43) International Publication Date
`28 February 2002 (28.02.2002)
`
`
`
`PCT
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`ND AMA
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`(10) International Publication Number
`WO 02/17567 A2
`
`(1)
`
`International Patent Classification’:
`29/06, GO1S 1/02, H04Q 7/32
`
`HO4L 12/28,
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`(74)
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`SPAARGAREN, Jerome;
`Common Representative:
`Electronic Intellectual Property, Suite 308, The Foundry,
`156 Blackfriars Rd, London SE1 8EN (GB).
`
`(21)
`
`International Application Number:
`
`=PCT/GBO1/03853
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`(22)
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`International Filing Date: 28 August 2001 (28.08.2001)
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`(25)
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`Filing Language:
`
`(26)
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`Publication Language:
`
`English
`
`English
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`(81)
`
`Designated States (national): Ai, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU,
`AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, BZ, CA, CH, CN, CO, CR, CU,
`CZ, DE, DK, DM, DZ, EC, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH,
`GM, HR,HU, ID,IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC,
`LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW,
`MX, MZ, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK,
`SL, TJ, TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZA,
`ZW.
`
`(30)
`
`Priority Data:
`002 1067.4
`
`25 August 2000 (25.08.2000)
`
`GB
`
`(84)
`
`(71)
`
`Applicant (for all designated States except US): YO-
`GOGO LIMITED [GB/GB]; Suite 308, The Foundry,
`156 Blackfriars Road, London SE] 8EN (GB).
`
`(72)
`(75)
`
`Inventor; and
`SPAARGAREN,
`(for US only):
`Inventor/Applicant
`Jerome [GB/GB]; Basement Flat, 101 Earls Court Rd,
`London W8 6QH (GB).
`
`Title: DATA COMMUNICATIONS
`
`(34)
`
`Designated States (regional): ARIPO patent (GH, GM,
`KE, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG, ZW), Eurasian
`patent (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ,TM), European
`patent (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, TE,
`IT, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE, TR), OAPI patent (BF, BJ, CF,
`CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GQ, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD,
`TG).
`
`Published:
`
`without international search report and to be republished
`upon receipt of that report
`
`[Continued on next page]
`
`
`
`(57) Abstract: A system enabling the dissemination of location data between user terminals and to and from network resources,
`and the utilisation of the location data in a manner convenientto users. User terminals, such as cellular telephones, personal digital
`assistants (PDAs), personal computers, and other interactive devices, may be location-enabled or conventional user terminals capable
`of transmitting service request data to network resources. In the case of location-enabled terminals, the terminal maystore a plurality
`of items of location data, including spatial coordinate data, for dissemination to other user terminals and/or for transmission to net-
`work resources. The items of location data may be derived from systems for sensing the location of the mobile terminal, including
`satellite base positioning systems such as the global positioning system (GPS) or network-based orassisted positioning systems.
`Other sources of location data include other user terminals, network resources or manual provisioning oflocation data by the user at
`the terminal. In an alternative embodiment, user-selected location data is stored in a networkside store for use by the userin relation
`to a range of remote processes, and is made accessible to a range of other network resources or user. Items from the network-side
`store may transmitted to others for use in relation to service requests and other processes.
`
`Apple Inc. 1009
`U.S. Patent No. 9,445,251
`
`MAAAAAMA
`WO02/17567A2
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`Apple Inc. 1009
`U.S. Patent No. 9,445,251
`
`

`

`WO 02/17567 A2___
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`IMIMINNNNIINIIYTIOMNITINAMT
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`For two-letter codes and other abbreviations, refer to the "Guid-
`ance Notes on Codes and Abbreviations" appearing at the begin-
`ning ofeach regular issue of the PCT Gazette.
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`

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`WO 02/17567
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`Data Communications
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`PCT/GB01/03853
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`Field of the Present Invention
`location data in data
`The present invention relates to the management and use of geographical
`processing devices, in particular telecommunications devices, and the dissemination of geographical
`location data and the provision of geographical
`location-based services in data communications
`networks.
`Background
`Conventionally, a user of the Internet with a personal computer (PC) accesses an Internet site by
`establishing a connection to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) using a browser application running on
`the PC and by entering or selecting a network resource identifier for the required site. Generally, the
`network resource identifier is provided in the form of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) comprising a
`domain name. The domain nameis translated into an Internet Protocol (IP) address for the site by the
`browser using the domain name service (DNS). Some domain names are translated into different IP
`addresses corresponding, for example, to different servers on the basis of the identity of the ISP or IP
`subnet address. Mirror sites are known which provide the same or a similar service to users accessing
`the Internet through different ISPs or subnets. For example, multiple servers may be providedfora site
`from which users may download a new software release, each server being responsible for serving users
`accessing through ISPs in different continents. The user may be accessing the Internet from a notebook
`PC by connecting to his or her home ISP whilst travelling anywhere in the world, but the server to which
`his browser will connect will depend on the identity of the home ISP or subnet address.
`Recently, users have been provided with access to sites using mobile data processing devices such as
`wireless application protocol (WAP) -enabled mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and
`pocket PCs. Currently, WAP services andsites are fairly basic since the bandwidth to mobile devices is
`extremely limited. However, new wireless communications technologies will soon be provided such as
`the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) for second generation mobile devices and third generation
`wireless communication technologies such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
`(UMTS). These technologies and further generations of wireless communications technologies will
`provide sufficient bandwidth to make access to the Internet using wireless mobile devices feasible and
`practical.
`The provision of location-based services delivered over the Internet is known. For example, Scoot™
`offers a business directory service in which a user specifies search criteria in the form of a business
`service category or type and a geographical location using one or more Web forms presented on a
`browser application and submits the criteria as a query to a Web server.
`In response, the Web server
`provides a page listing businesses meeting the criteria in terms of business type and geographical
`location. Contact details such as postal address and telephone numbers are given as well as distances
`from a point representing the geographical location specified. A map may be displayed of the area in
`which a selected business is located based on the post code information in the postal addresses. Also,
`telephone numbers may be transmitted to mobile phones using SMS.
`Another example of location-based service provision is the mapping service offered by multimap.com.
`Multimap.com operate Web and WAP servers that can supply maps and other localised information in
`response to user queries specifying a geographical location as a post code, well known place nameor
`grid reference. Maps can be embedded into Web pages or WAP cardsofthird parties for download by
`users accessing the third party’s site. Universal Resource Locator (URL) links can also be embedded
`into third party’s Web pages or WAP cards. The embedded URLs may be downloaded by users
`accessing the third party’s site and selected as hyperlinks. The URLs generally use postal code or place
`namedata to identify the location of the map required.
`Microsoft™ Address Book provides a facility for obtaining a map on the basis of postal address
`information. On activating a button, the map is automatically requested from a predetermined remote
`Webserver which is hardcoded in the application and unalterable by the user. A similar facility is
`provided in the arrangement described in US-A-5946687, assigned to Lucent Technologies, Inc. In this
`arrangement, a personal
`information manager (PIM) program, which stores personal and business
`contacts, is geo-enabled. The PIM provides a display for selecting a contact fromalist of stored contacts
`and a number of buttons for requesting different geographic services,
`including a map service, a
`directions service, a weather service, and a yellow pages service. When the user clicks on one of the
`buttons, the PIM formats a request, including geographic information from the contacts list in the form
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`of a postal address, a town nameora postal (ZIP) code, to be sent to a geographic information server.
`The informationserver retrieves geographic information appropriate to that location, and sendsit to the
`PIM for display.
`A drawbackofthis prior art is that postal address data, town name, and postal code data, particularly in
`the form entered by a user into a contacts database, is often incomplete and insufficient to correctly
`resolve to a unique location and, in any case, requires a relatively large amount of databased information
`and processing resources to resolve. The case is even further complicated when the user wishes to access
`information relating to locations in different countries, perhaps even from various countries around the
`world, because of the different postal addressing and coding schemes used in each individual country.
`Also, the arrangements cannot deal with locations whichare not identified by postal addresses.
`The provision of location-based services delivered over cellular networks using the Short Message
`Service (SMS) or Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is known. For example, the Finnish cellular
`network operator Sonera™ have a service offering called Sonera Zed™ in which cellular subscribers
`may obtain location-based content and services using their mobile phones. For example, a cellular
`subscriber may use his or her mobile phone to view an event guide for a selected category, such as film,
`and receive details on which local cinemas are screening a selected film at which times, as well as book
`tickets and pay for them. Another service offered by Sonera is Zed Finder™, a directory service that
`allows subscribers to find personal or business contact details, such as telephone numbers and postal
`addresses, via SMS or WAP. A subscriber enters identifying information into his mobile phone, such as
`name and well-known geographical location name, and submits a search request.
`In response, an SMS
`entity or WAP proxy server returns the required contact detail to the mobile phone as an SMS or WAP
`card.
`Mobile phones with built-in GPS receivers are known. Garmin’s™ NavTalk™ product, for example,
`combines an analog cellular phone conforming to the Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) with a
`GPSreceiver.
`It is able to obtain positional data via the GPS system to an accuracy of 1-5 metres and
`velocity accuracy is about 0.1 knots.
`It is able to transmit the terminal’s current location over the
`cellular network to other Navtalk™ devices using Dual Tone Multiple Frequency (DTMF) codes. The
`Benefon Locus™, now renamed Track™ is able to transmit its current location using the Short Message
`Service (SMS)in the formal of the Mobile Phone Telematics Protocol (MPTP). Both the Navtalk™ and
`Benefon Track™ display the location of the sending terminal on a map stored in the memory of the
`recipient terminal. A problem with both of these types of devices is that they require a similar device,
`employing the same location-based protocol used for message transmission, for message receipt at the
`recipient device in order to allow the recipient device to access the location data.
`Another example of a location-based service, called TomTom™,is offered by PalmTop Software Ltd.
`The service is said to allow users of smartphones or PCs to access travel services, such as maps and
`local services directory information, specific to a current location or a location selected from a favourites
`list or a history list of locations stored at a Web or WAP server operated by TomTom on behalf of a
`registered user. According to information made available on their website www.tomtom.com on 25
`August 2000, the Web or WAP server may operate a number of modules including modules that keep
`track of favourite locations and recently visited locations for a user, and can find favourite and recently
`visited places in any particular area and near any particular location. User settings, favourite locations
`and other user-dependent information can be managed both from the phone and on the PC,providing the
`user with one central service that can be accessed wherever the user happens to be, on the moveorat
`home. However, this is an example of a “walled garden” where all the service data and content is
`provided by a centralised service.
`Information relating to the current location of a mobile device may be provided by the mobile network
`to the subscriberorto third parties. The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and UMTS,
`for example, will offer location services as described in the European Telecommunications Standards
`Institute (ETSD technical specification ETSI TS 122 071, incorporated herein by reference. A similar
`proposition is provided in the Ericsson Mobile Positioning System (MPS). Location information
`concerning a mobile device is generally private to the subscriber except for emergency services and
`various legally required or sanctioned purposes. Access to current location information concerning
`mobile devices by third parties, such as value added service providers, is generally controlled according
`to subscription profiles, or privacy settings, and maintained by the network.
`Mark-up Languages for describing location related information are known. The Point of Interest
`Exchange (POIX) language and Navigation Mark-up Language (NVML) are two such languages. A
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`3
`specification of the POIX language is available from the World Wide Web Consortium’s website
`at http://www.w3.org/TR/poix/, A specification of the NVML languageis available from the World
`Wide Web Consortium’s website at http://www.w3.org/TR/NVML
`POILX is a language, written in XML, for describing location-related information that is suitable for
`exchanging it over the Internet, e.g. via e-mail or ‘by embedding in other documents. It is capable to
`describe not only specific location information, such as latitude and longitude, but also various
`supplemental information about the target location such as route to the target location and contact
`information for the target location. The proposal also allows specification of format information such as
`geodetic datum and angle unit.
`NVML is a markup language for describing the navigation information for a variety of mobile
`information appliances, such as smart phones, PDAs equipped with GPS,andcar navigation systems.It
`is written in XML,and has the capability to describe several types of navigation information such as a
`route from the current point
`to a destination point, a way to a shop from the nearest station,
`transportation courses, sightseeing courses, and tour schedules. This language is able to describe
`location information as latitude,
`longitude, address and various additional
`items. It also has the ,
`capability to describe a route to a target location asa list of locations and additional explanations.
`A further known markup language for describing location related information is the Geographic Markup
`Language (GML) as developed by the Open Geographical Information Systems (OpenGIS) Consortium,
`GML is also written in XML.
`It is an object of the invention to provide a number of improvements in relation to user terminals and
`systems capable of processing geographic location data and to overcome drawbacks of these known
`devices and systems.
`Summary of the Invention
`Aspects of the invention are set out in the appendedclaims.
`Features and advantages of the various aspects of the present invention include functionality allowing
`items of location data,
`in particular but not exclusively spatial coordinate data,
`to be readily
`disseminated and used in manners convenient to users of devices and systems arranged in accordance
`with the invention. Use of spatial coordinate data allows locations to be specified and recognised in a
`unique and reliable manner, whilst such data can be used to specify and recognise a location on
`substantially any point of the earth’s surface or even locations remote from the earth’s surface. Aspects
`of the invention furthermore allow privacy of location data associated with a user to be maintained in
`manners convenient to users. Aspects of the invention furthermore allow openness in the use and
`dissemination of location data. Namely, locations provided by a wide range of different sources may be
`utilised by wide ranges of users to obtain wide ranges of location-based services. Embodiments of the
`invention provide “location-smart” data processing devices,
`including user terminals, capable of
`providing advanced features and functionsrelating to the processing of geographic location data.
`Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following
`description, given by way of example only, of embodiments of the present invention, made with
`reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
`Figures 1, 35, 37 and 45 are schematicillustrations of data processing systems arranged in accordance
`with embodiments of the present invention;
`Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of elements of a user
`embodiments of the present invention;
`Figure 3 showsspatial coordinate data representations used in embodiments of the invention;
`Figures 4 and 5 show user input screens for inputting a location;
`Figures 6 and 39 illustrate location data stored used in embodiments of the invention;
`Figures 7 to 23 and 34illustrate features of a graphical user interface provided by a hypermedia browser
`application arranged in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention;
`Figures 24 to 26 illustrate features of a graphical user interface provided by an e-mail application
`arranged in accordance with embodimentsofthe present invention;
`Figures 27 to 31 illustrate features of a graphical user interface provided by a cellular telephone terminal
`arranged in accordance with embodimentsofthe present invention;
`Figures 32 and 33 illustrate features of a graphical user interface provided by a terminal-based
`navigation application arranged in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention;
`
`terminal arranged in accordance with
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`4
`Figures 36, 38, 40, 41, 42 and 43 illustrate hypermedia content, as displayed on a conventional
`hypermedia browser application, provided by network services arranged in accordance with
`embodiments of the present invention; and
`Figure 44is a flow diagram illustrating procedurescarried out by data processing devices in accordance
`with different embodiments of the invention.
`Detailed Description
`Network Access Arrangements
`In embodiments of the present invention, users may make use of location and associated data with both
`"location-smart" user terminals, arranged to manage and process location and associated data in
`accordance with the present invention, and conventional or "location-dumb" user terminals. "Location-
`smart" user terminals may be data processing devices of any type, such as fixed PCs, notebooks or
`laptop computers, handheld computers, PDAs,
`fixed telephones, mobile phones,
`fax machines,
`broadcast/cable/satellite televisions and radios etc. The terminal applications that run on the user
`terminals may be peer-to-peer, client or server applications and may be capable of communicating in
`any of a number of communication application modes, such as telephony, video, e-mail, IRQ, SMS,
`Web or WAP,or transfer modes such as HITP, WAP, Telnet, Rlogin, FTP etc. Similarly, “location
`dumb”user terminals may be of any such type and run terminal applications of any such type.
`“Location smart” user terminals may store location and associated data in a local data store andutilise
`geographical location and associated data by meansof terminal-side applicationsas will be described in
`detail below. Figure 1 schematically illustrates possible arrangements of such user terminals with
`network access to various service resources and other user terminals. Four exemplary "location-smart"
`user terminals are shown - a fixed terminal 10, such as a PC or digital television with networking
`capability, a fixed telephone 11, a mobile terminal 12 able to determine its geographical location with
`equipment or programs, such as a notebook PC, PDA or mobile phone with an internal or co-located
`positioning module such as a GPS receiver or on-board triangulation-based location calculation
`equipment, and a mobile terminal 14, such as a notebook PC, PDA or mobile phone, without internal or
`co-located locating equipment, but having a positioning software application capable of receiving and
`processing data received from the mobile network indicating its current position. Fixed terminal 10 is
`connected to the Internet 20 through a PSTN 22 and ISP 24. Fixed telephone 11 is connected by a voice
`circuit
`link and PSTN 22 to other
`telephones and IVR engines in the various interconnected
`telecommunications networks. PSTN 22 is connected to a mobile network 26 via a gateway 25. Mobile
`terminals 12 and 14 are connected to the Internet through mobile network 26 and a gateway 28. Mobile
`network 26 may be any cellular network such as a GSM or UMTSnetwork. Mobile terminals 12, 14
`may be in the form of hand-held devices, or other devices carried by a user. Alternatively, mobile
`terminals 12, 14 may form part of an on-board vehicle navigational system.
`Many methods of geographically locating mobile devices are known or proposed and have varying
`levels of accuracy. For example, cellular mobile networks maintain a record ofthe currentcell in which
`a mobile terminal is located, although cells can often be several square miles in area. Location can be
`determined more accurately using other well-known methods. One such method is to use a global
`positioning system (GPS) transceiver at the mobile device. Other methods are to use measurements
`such as signal strength or timing advance in respect of communications between the mobile device and
`three (or more) base stations (BTSs) of the mobile network to triangulate (or better) the position of the
`mobile device. The location calculation may be performedeither at the mobilestation itself or at a node
`ofthe network. The location of a mobile device may be determined in three-dimensionalas well as two-
`dimensional coordinates and accuracy levels are estimated to be as good as within 5 or 10 metres in
`horizontal and vertical axes.
`Mobile terminal 12 is able to determine and communicate its location to servers 30 or 32 without
`assistance from mobile network 26 since it has location-determining capabilities itself. Mobile terminal
`14 does not have location-determining capabilities itself. However. mobile network 26 is able tn locate
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`signalling channels available in mobile
`
`5
`requested and provided to mobile device 14 via other
`network 26.
`Internet positioning server 34 is capable of taking a mobile terminal identity received in a service
`request, for example an HTTP GET request, querying location server 40, and transmitting an HTTP
`response containing the requested location data. SMSpositioning entity 36 is capable of the same type
`of interaction via SMS messages. [VR positioning engine 38 is capable of handling a call received from
`mobile terminal 14, querying location server using the CLI received in-call, and transmitting the mobile
`terminal's current location by means ofin-call signalling (e.g. DIMF tones) to the mobile terminal 14.
`Mobile terminal 14 is capable of recognising responses received from these positioning entities as
`location data and ofstoring the data as its currentposition.
`Fixed terminals 10 and 11, and indeed mobile terminals 12 and 14, may also obtain location data from
`Internet positioning server 34 or IVR positioning engine 38 without using the location server 40. The
`user may, through suitable interactions, specify a location (eg as a postcode or geographical place name)
`to the positioning entity, and receive the appropriate location data (e.g. global location coordinates) in
`return once the location has been suitably specified. In the case of IVR positioning engine 38, this
`interaction may take the form of a DITMF and/or voice interactions, whilst in the case of Internet
`positioning server 34, client-server request/response interactions such as to be described below may be
`used,
`Embodiments of the invention also include service provision nodes capable of generating location-
`dependent responses to service request messages received from user terminals. These service provision
`nodes are automated. Thus, location-based services may be obtained from Internet content servers 30
`and 32 (via client-server service request response messaging), SMS service entities 42 (via SMS
`messaging), 44 and/or IVR service engines 46, 48 (via in-call signalling messager, such as via DTMF
`tones and/or voice messages) for use in processing user requests. Each of the respective service entities
`is capable of processing the geographic location data sent by the user terminals and proving a location-
`based service response. IVR service engines 46 and 48 may be connected directly to PSTN 22 fordirect
`access by user terminals 10 and 11. Geographical location data sent by a user terminal to a service
`provisioning node may identify the current or fixed location of the user terminal, or other locations
`stored in the user terminal in the form of location data.
`User terminals 10, 12 and 14 may access content and services available at servers 30 and 32 by using
`suitable hypermedia browser terminal applications and specifying network resource identifiers addresses
`correspondingto particular content available at servers 30 and 32. For example, servers 30 and 32 may
`be Web or WAP servers and user terminals 10, 12 and 14 may run Web browser or WAP micro-browser
`terminal application programs. A Web or WAP server may respond to a terminal request, sent for
`example in an HTTP or WTP GET request message containing location data and functional data
`indicating that the service requested is a pizza delivery service, for example, by transmitting a Web page
`or WAP card or deck containing details of a pizza delivery service local to the location specified in the
`terminal request.
`Similarly, SMS service entities 42, 44 may respond to a terminal request, sent for example in an SMS
`message containing location data and functional data indicating that the service requestedis a taxi finder
`service, for example, by transmitting an SMS message containing a local taxi firm phone number.
`Similarly, IVR service engines 46, 48, may provide location-based services, such as local weather
`reports, in response to receiving DTMF location data generated by the terminal. Theparticular service
`which is requested by the user may depend on the numbercalled by the user terminal, and/or in-call
`selections made by the user, by DITMF tones or voicedindications.
`Fixed terminal 10 may also communicate its fixed location, or other stored locations, to servers 30 and
`32 when accessing content or services. Furthermore, fixed telephone 11 may communicate its location,
`or other stored locations, to IVR engines 46, 48 by DTMF signalling during a voice call. The fixed
`telephone may for example have a button or a menu option forinitiating the transmission of a stored
`location via DIMF.
`Thus, all four user terminals may readily obtain automated location-based services or content based on
`their fixed or current location or based on other locations from one or more of the service provision
`nodes.
`Also connected to the communications system is a location registration server 50, for registering unique
`location names or location-dependent names, as will be described in further detail below. Server 50
`includes a geographical location namestore 52 for storing the registration details for the names.
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`6
`Terminal Applications for Utilising Location and Associated Data
`Components of an exemplary user terminal are schematically illustrated in Figure 2. The terminal
`comprises a control unit 60 coupled to one or more non-volatile data stores, for example flash memory,
`at least one telecommunications module 64 (in the case of a mobile terminal a radio module for
`communication with radio base stations in cellular networks), and one or more man-machine interface
`components 66 (such as a screen or touch screen, a speaker, a keypad, a microphone, a camera), One or
`more terminal application programs 68-76, are stored in memory on the terminal and will be run upon
`switching the terminal on. The terminal applications comprise one or more of a hypermedia browser
`application 68, a telephony application 70, an e-mail application 72, a text message application and/or a
`mapping/navigation application 76. Each of these types of application is generally well-known and will
`not be described in detail herein. The applications present information and receive instructions from the
`user via the man-machine interface 66. Information concerning the status and functions available to the
`user are presented on the screen (for example, menu options) or through the speaker (for example,
`ringing tones or keypad presses). Instructions from the user may be given via the touchscreen, keypad
`or microphone (i.e. voice commands). Based on the instructions received, the terminal may perform
`internal processes, such as changing the data or settings stored in memory 62, or it may transmit data to
`and/or receive data from a remote data processing device via the telecommunications module. The
`remote data processing device may be a service processing node or a terminal device such as a mobile
`telephoneor a fixed telephone.
`According to one embodiment of the present invention, conventional terminal applications are adapted
`to provide extra user functionality. This may be achieved by means of replacing the conventional
`application software entirely or by means of a plug-in software module which interoperates with the
`conventional software. Alternatively, the software module may be independent of other applications
`software running on the user terminal but capable of interoperating with one or more such applications.
`In overview, the extra functionality provided by the present invention relates to functions that may be
`performed in respect of location data.
`Geographical Location Data
`According to the present invention, geographical location data, and associated data, may be used by data
`processing devices to perform location-based functions or provide location-based services or content.
`The data processing devices may be user terminal devices used by users or automated servers, for
`example. These data processing devices will in general need to store location and associated data and
`communicate location and associated data with other data processing devices.
`A geographical location may be represented in the form of data in many ways. Herein the terms
`"geographical
`location" and "location" are intended to encompass all of these, although preferred
`embodiments exclude various ofthe possibilities.
`Geographical
`location in different embodiments of the invention may be represented by spatial
`coordinate data, which are preferably constructed using a global location reference standard, i.e. a
`standard whereby substantially any location on the surface of the earth may be specified to a selected
`degree of accuracy. In particular, in preferred embodiments, the location data is derived from a global
`position reference system and is represented in a form in which a location is specified by at least two
`coordinates which, together with appropriate zone or datum data, specify a globally unique position on
`the earth's surface. Three-dimensional geographical location may be represented by combining a two-
`dimensional data representation and a representation ofaltitude or height above sealevel data (expressed
`in a standard distance unit such as metres). Spatial coordinate data may include one or more of 1)
`latitude and longitude co-ordinates; 2) polar or geodetic coordinates; 3) grid references, such as
`Ordnance Survey (TM) grid references, 4) grid zone ref