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`US006937869Bl
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Rayburn
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,937,869 Bl
`Aug. 30, 2005
`
`(54) ROUTE PLANNING SYSTEM FOR MOBILE
`TELECOMMUNICATIONS
`
`2002/0168986 Al • 11/2002 Lau et al. ................... 455/456
`2003/0216145 Al • 11/2003 Cox et al. ................ 455/456.1
`
`(75)
`
`Inventor: Terry Rayburn, Kansas City, MO (US)
`
`(73) A5signee: Sprint Spectrum L.P., Overland Park,
`KS (US)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S .C. 154(b) by 557 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/843,261
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Apl~ 26, 2001
`
`Related U.S. Applicat.ion Data
`(60) Provisional application No. 60/203,491, filed on May
`10, 2000.
`
`(51) Int. Cl.7
`..... H04Q 7/20
`... .................
`(52) U.S. Cl. ....... ......... 455/457; 455/456.3; 455/456.1;
`455/414.3; 340/990; 340/995.23; 340/993;
`701/200
`(58) Field of' Search
`................
`455/456.3, 456.1,
`455/457, 414.1, 456.6; 340/993, 995.23,
`340/990; 701/200--202, 209
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,155,689 A • 10/1992 Wortham ................. 455/456.3
`5,353,023 A • 10/1994 Mitsugi ...................... 340/989
`3/1999 Nimura el al. .............. 701/211
`5,890,088 A •
`2/2000 Takaki ..................... 455/456.1
`6,029,069 A •
`7/2000 Savery et al . ............ 455/456.1
`6,085,097 A •
`6,456,854 Bl •
`9/2002 Chern et al. ................ 455/457
`6,625,457 Bl •
`9/2003 Raith ...................... 455/456.1
`6,633,763 82 • 10/2003 Yoshioka ...... .............. 455/457
`2001/0044310 Al• 11/2001 Lincke ....................... 455/456
`2001/0046884 Al• 11/2001 Yoshioka .................... 455/564
`2002/0160790 Al • 10/2002 Schwartz et al. ........... 455/456
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Lawrence Harle et al., "Cellular and PCS-The Big Pic(cid:173)
`ture," p. 11 (McGraw-Hill 1997).
`Nicole Harris, "Snap Track Inc. Finds a Way to Locate
`Cell-Phone Callers,"The Wall Street Jouma!Jun. 25, 1999.
`Finance Home- Yahoo!- Help, Yahoo Press Release, Mar.
`27, 2001.
`"Enhanced Wireles.5 9-1-1 Phase 2- J-STD-036" , Electron(cid:173)
`ics Industry Association/Telecommunications Industry As(cid:173)
`sociation, Jul. 2000.
`* cited by examiner
`Primary Examiner- William Trost
`Assistant Examiner--Sharad Rampuria
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A route planning system for use in mobile tele.communica(cid:173)
`tions is disclosed. A user of a mobile station such as a
`wireless telephone, PDA, pager or computer, initiates a route
`planning service request and provides a destination tele(cid:173)
`phone number. A switching center responsively initiates an
`asynchronous position request of a mobile positioning sys(cid:173)
`tem, which identifies and stores the mobile station position.
`The switching center connects the mobile station to a route
`planning application server. The route planning application
`server obtains the mobile station position by querying the
`mobile positioning system. The route planning application
`server further obtains the destination telephone number and
`queries a location system to determine the destination posi(cid:173)
`tion corresponding to the destination telephone number. The
`route planning application server in turn generates a route
`plan for travel from the mobile station position to the
`destination position and conveys the route plan to the user by
`any suitable means.
`
`32 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
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`US 6,937,869 Bl
`
`1
`ROUTE PIANNING SYSTEM FOR MOBILE
`TELECOMMUNICATIONS
`
`REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICAJ'IONS
`
`The inventor claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent
`Application No. 60/203,491, filed May 10, 2000.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention relates in general to telecommuni(cid:173)
`cations systems and more particularly to methods and sys(cid:173)
`tems for generating and providing route plans to a mobile
`telecommunications subscribers. The invention facilitates
`providing directions for a mobile telecommunicatio115 sub(cid:173)
`scriber to travel from the subscriber's current location to a
`destination represented by a destination telephone number.
`2. Description of Related Art
`Recent developmenL5 in wireless telecommunicatio115
`have ushered in a new era of mobility. The advent of cellular
`and personal communications services have enabled people
`to maintain communication from virtually any location.
`Further, advanced technology bas facilitated not only wire(cid:173)
`less voice communication but also wireless data communi(cid:173)
`cation, such as the ability to communicate over computer
`networks and to send and receive faxes and text messages.
`Wireless communications systems have existed for many
`years. In general, a wireless communications system uses
`mobile or fixed radios that communicate with a fixed radio
`tower that is in rurn interconnected to a larger telecommu(cid:173)
`nications network. Such systems can take a variety of forms .
`For example, traditional cellular communications systems
`provide radio coverage to a wide area, such as a city, through
`use of many radio towers. As another example, wireless
`office systems typically use 5 to 20 small radio base statio115
`to offer radio coverage in small areas such a5 a school
`campus or hospital building. As yet another example, cord(cid:173)
`less telephones typically allow one handset to communicate
`with a single radio base station within a home. Most
`recently, personal communicatio11s services (" PCS") have
`arisen as an integration of cellular, wireless office and
`cordless with the addition of advanced information services.
`Typically, subscribers to wireless service are equipped
`with one or more wireless terminals or mobile stations,
`which may take any of a variety of forms. By way of
`example, a mobile station may be a telephone, a pager, a
`computer, a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), or any
`combination of these or other devices. The mobile station
`may be arranged to receive and/or convey information such
`as voice and data (e.g., fax, e-mail and other text mes.5ages)
`and/or other media (e .g., audio, video and graphics) and may
`therefore include input and output facilities such as a touch(cid:173)
`pad, a keyboard, a camera, a display, a microphone and/or a
`speaker. Some advanced mobile stations recently available 55
`are even equipped with web browsing software to allow
`subscribers to communicate with web servers over the
`Internet.
`In
`traditional cellular radio-telephone systems, geo(cid:173)
`graphic areas are split into smaller areas called cell5, each of 60
`which is assigned a specific frequency range or code (e.g.,
`pseudo-random number) for communication. Noncontigu(cid:173)
`ous cells may reuse the same frequencies, thus avoiding
`interference between cells while making efficient use of
`allocated frequencies. The size and shape of each cell .is 65
`defined by the range of a base station or radio port estab(cid:173)
`lished by a wireless service provider at the core of the cell.
`
`2
`Mobile stations are adapted to communicate over an air
`interface with these base stations, switching to the frequen(cid:173)
`cies or codes of various cells as they travel from one cell to
`another. In addition, cells may be split into even smaller
`s areas called sectors, by use of directional antennas or other
`technology.
`One or more base stations in a given service area may be
`interconnected to a base station controller, which serves as
`an aggregation point for communications traffic. In turn, the
`10 base station controller is interconnected with a mobile
`switching center ("MSC'). The MSC is then interconnected
`to other switching point5 in the wireless network and/or a
`landline network, to facilitate interconnecting communica(cid:173)
`tions traffic between mobile stations and other switching
`1s points.
`In use, when a mobile station is located in a given cell, the
`mobile station communicates with the MSC via the base
`station and base station controller. The MSC serves to
`interconnect traffic between the mobile station and other
`20 points in the wireless network or in another network. For
`instance, the MSC may convey traffic between two mobile
`stations in its service area; alternatively, the MSC may
`convey traffic between a mobile station in its service area
`and another switching point in the same or another network.
`25 (Alternatively, the base station controller may be intercon(cid:173)
`nected to a transport network through another gateway, such
`as a packet data serving node (PDSN) for instance, thereby
`bypassing the MSC.)
`As the mobile station moves from one cell to another, a
`30 band-off takes place that allows that mobile station to be
`assigned a free channel in the new cell. In particular, as the
`signal strength between the mobile station and the base
`station controller becomes weaker, the MSC i5 informed.
`The MSC then initiates procedures to pass the connection to
`35 a cell that ba5 a strong reception of the mobile station's
`frequency. Once the unit bas been given a new channel in the
`new cell, the old channel in the old cell is released and made
`available for another user in that cell.
`In order to facilitate call routing and billing in wireless
`40 communications systems, information about the subscriber
`and the mobile station is typically stored in a home location
`register (" HLR") in the subscriber's home service area. This
`information includes (i) unique identifiers of the mobile
`station (including mobile identification number ("MIN")
`45 and mobile serial number ("MSN")), (ii) profile information
`(including an identification of the calling services available
`lo the mobile station, and billing information enabling
`wireless service providers to charge the subscriber for use of
`the services), and (iii) location information indicating the
`50 cell and sector in which the mobile station is currently
`located.
`As the mobile station moves outside the home service
`area, the mobile station registers with a visitor location
`register ("VLR") in the current service area. The serving
`VLR in tum notifies the HLR of the current location (e.g.,
`cell and sector) of the mobile station and obtains service
`profile information from the HLR. Thus, for instance, when
`a call is placed to the mobile station, the call can be relayed
`to an MSC in the mobile station's current service area as
`identified in the mobile station's HLR.
`Most recently, wireless telecommunications networks
`have advanced to include intelligent network ("IN") tech(cid:173)
`nology similar to that used for years in the wireline tele(cid:173)
`communications system. A core component of an IN is a
`service control point ("SCP"), which provides fast, central(cid:173)
`ized processing and acts as an interface into various tele-
`communications databases, including, in some arrange-
`
`

`

`US 6,937,869 Bl
`
`3
`ments, the HLR and VLR. Toe SCP may respond to call
`origination requests from an MSC by sending call-setup
`instructions to the MSC and facilitating other services.
`While advances in wireless communications have advan(cid:173)
`tageously given rise to increased mobility, an issue remains:
`how can a mobile subscriber determine how to get from the
`subscriber's current location to another location? Various
`methods of establishing route or travel plans exist. At a most
`basic level, the subscriber can consult a map, pinpoint hi5 ( or
`her) current location and a destination location, and manu(cid:173)
`ally generate a route plan to get from one location to the
`other. Unfortunately, however, mobile subscribers usually
`do not have access to maps as they travel. Further, although
`a mobile subscriber may know where he wants to go, the
`subscriber may not know where he i5, or the subscriber may
`not be where he thinks he is. Additionally, the subscriber
`may not know the particular address of hi5 destination. Still
`further, if the subscriber is driving, the subscriber may not be
`able to concurrently drive, refer to map, identify a route on
`the map, and record-directions.
`Rather than consulting a map, the subscriber may use a
`specially equipped wireless communications device to con(cid:173)
`tact a route planning service. For example, a mobile station
`may be specially equipped with hardware and software
`necessary to interact with the Global Positioning Satellite
`(GPS) system. With an appropriate arrangement, the sub(cid:173)
`scriber could then specify a destination location, and the
`GPS system, knowing where the subscriber is located, could
`generate real-time directions to get the subscriber from his
`current location to the destination location.
`As another example, provided with a wireless PDA or
`wireless computer that is arranged to provide Internet
`access, the mobile subscriber can navigate to a routing
`engine site on the world wide web and request directions. An
`example of an existing routing engine on the world wide
`web i5 located at www.mapquest.com and is hosted by
`MapQuest.com, Inc. Like other routing engines,
`the
`MapQuest site prompL5 a user to enter a starting address and
`a destination addres.5. MapQuest then generates a map as
`well as turo-by-turo directions to travel from the starting
`address to the destination address. Additionally, MapQuest
`facilitates downloading the directions for use on a PDA.
`Unfortunately, many mobile subscribers do not have
`access to the advanced wireless communications devices
`necessary to gain access to the GPS system or to an Internet
`site such a5 MapQuest. Further, most mobile stations are not
`currently equipped to enable a subscriber to enter text
`information such as starting and destination addresses. Still
`further, obtaining directions through interaction with an
`Internet site such as MapQuest suffers from some of the
`same deficiencies identified above. Namely, the subscriber
`may not know precisely where he is currently located or
`where he wants to go and may therefore be unable to provide
`the required input to the routing engine.
`Still others have suggested having a subscriber commu(cid:173)
`nicate with a mapping or routing center in order to obtain
`directions. As described in Lawrence Harte et al., Cellular
`and PCS- The Big Picture, 11 (McGraw-Hill 1997), for
`instance, a dispatch center can provide directions to a
`subscriber automatically or upon request, and, unlike com(cid:173)
`puter-based mapping systems, the directions can be adjusted
`for traffic, weather and construction changes. In particular,
`as explained by Harte et al., "Point to point message services
`can send directions directly to the requesting subscriber. The
`subscriber could use a map to find a reference marker ... and
`enter the reference mark via the keypad. Dispatch centers
`would then send directions to the individual or multiple
`
`s
`
`4
`vehicles. The dispatcher could also send delivery directions
`10 a truck or pickup directions for a taxi."
`Unfortunately, this method also suffers from some of the
`same flaws identified above. Namely, the method assumes
`that the subscriber can identify where the subscriber wants
`to go (e.g., a reference marker from a map) and can readily
`provide that destination location in order to facilitate gen(cid:173)
`eration of a route plan.
`The wireless telecommunications industry bas recognized
`10 a need to provide location-based services. In this regard, the
`industry has fortunately been saddled with regulatory
`requirements that can facilitate some of those services. In
`particular, in 1996, the U.S. Federal Communications Com(cid:173)
`mission handed down an "E-911" (enhanced 911) mandate,
`1s which requires that wireles.5 carriers (i) identify the location
`of a mobile station from which a 9-1-1 emergency call is
`placed and (ii) deliver the location (as x, y coordinates) to
`the called 9-1-1 emergency center. The mandate wa5 divided
`into two phases. According to Phase 1, the location must be
`20 identified with an accuracy of at least cell and sector. As this
`information is readily available from the HLR, Phase l
`presents little technical challenge. According to Phase 2, the
`location must be provided with an accuracy of at least 100
`meters ( or 50 meters for handset-originated methods such as
`25 GPS), which is fa r more granular than the cell and sector
`information maintained in the HLR. lo response, the Tele(cid:173)
`communications Industry Association (TIA) has now pro(cid:173)
`posed a new standard for "Enhanced Wireless 9-1-1, Phase
`2," now entitled " Wireless Enhanced Emergency Services"
`30 or "TIA/EIAJIS-J-STD-036" (J-STD-036), the entirety of
`which is hereby incorporated by reference.
`According to J-STD-036, several new elements and mes(cid:173)
`sages are introduced into the wireless network to facilitate
`delivery of caller location to 9-1-1 emergency service ceo-
`35 ters. Two of the new elements are the mobile position center
`("MPC") and the position determining entity ("PDE") . A5
`defined by J -STD-036, the MPC "determines the position or
`geographic location of a wireless terminal using a variety of
`techniques. The MPC selects a PDE to determine the posi-
`40 tion of a Mobile Station (MS) . . . . The MPC is the point of
`interface of the wireless network for the exchange of geo(cid:173)
`graphic position information." (See J-STD-036, Definitions
`and Acronyms"). Tbe PDE in turn "determines the precise
`position or geographic location of a wireless terminal when
`45 the MS starts a call or while the MS is engaged in a call.
`Each PDE support5 one or more position determining tech(cid:173)
`nologies. Multiple PDEs may serve the coverage area of an
`MPC and multiple PDEs may serve the same coverage area
`of an MPC utilizing different position determining technolo-
`so gies." (Id.)
`J-STD-036 presents numerous call-flows detailing the
`signaling messages that may pass between MSs, MSCs,
`MPCs, PDEs and emergency services bureaus. Generally
`speaking, J-STD-036 specifies that a network entity (such as
`55 an MSC or an emergency services entity) may query the
`MPC for the location of a mobile station, and the MPC may
`in tum query the PDE for the location of the mobile station
`in order to provide a response to the querying network entity.
`By way of example, when a caller dial5 9-1-1 from a mobile
`60 station, the originating MSC may send a position request to
`the :MPC, and the :MPC may responsively instruct the PDE
`to identify the location of the mobile station. In turn, the
`PDE may locate the mobile station and provide the
`requested position information to the MPC, the :MPC may
`65 convey the position information to the MSC, and the MSC
`may forward the position information to the emergency
`services entity together with a call setup message. Thus,
`
`

`

`US 6,937,869 Bl
`
`5
`when a 9-1-1 services operator receives the call, the location
`of the calling subscriber may be displayed on a map at the
`operator's workstation.
`The industry has recognized that the burden imposed by
`the FCC E-911 mandate can be leveraged to achieve not
`only safety but also commercial advantage. In particular, if
`the emergency services network elements are replaced with
`commercially useful elements (such as gateways to 4-1-1
`information centers, short message services or the Internet),
`assorted location-based services may become possible.
`Those of ordinary skill in the art have thus contemplated as
`possible services: personal security and response, roadside
`assistance, 9-1-1 call routing, mobile yellow pages, stolen
`vehicle recovery, direction assistance, personal/commercial
`valuables monitoring and recovery, and carrier zone billing.
`(See, e.g., http://w,V\v.accucomw.com/h3.htm).
`As a specific example, those skilled in the art have
`recognized that real-time location data facilitated by J-STD-
`036 may enable a telecommunications service provider to
`offer a "call routing to closest location" service. According
`to that service, a caller may dial a special service number
`from the mobile station. In response, a trigger in the network
`would cause the MPC to obtain the mobile s tation's current
`location and forward the location to a service bureau (e.g.,
`an interactive voice response unit ("IVRU")) as the MSC
`routes the call to the service bureau. Upon connection, the
`service bureau would engage in a dialog with the caller,
`allowing the caller to specify a desired facility, such as a
`particular type of restaurant. In response, given the caller's
`current location ( as provided by the MPC), the service
`bureau could identify the restaurant of that type closest to the
`caller. The service bureau could then either signal the MSC
`to forward the call to that restaurant or send directions to the
`caller for downloading to a mobile device such as a PDA.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`Although the capability thus exists to provide powerful
`location based services for mobile subscribers, deficiencies
`still remain. Io particular, in many cases, a subscriber may
`not know the precise location of his destination or may be
`unable to convey the precise location of his destination. Of
`course, if the subscriber wishes merely to be connected or
`directed to the nearest service facility of a type identified
`(e.g., the nearest pizza restaurant), then existing systems
`may meet the subscriber's needs. But often, a mobile
`subscriber may not want to go simply to the generic " near(cid:173)
`est'' facility. Instead, the subscriber may wish to go to a
`particular destination. Unfortunately, however, the only
`information that the subscriber may have about the destina(cid:173)
`tion may be the telephone number of the destination. This L-;
`particularly the case if the destination location is itself a
`mobile station.
`The present invention solves this problem by providing an
`improved route planning system for mobile telecommuni(cid:173)
`cations. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention,
`a person may initiate a route planning service request from
`a mobile station to a route planning application server
`("RPAS") . In response to the dialed digits of the service
`request, the MSC may trigger an asynchronous position
`request of the :tvlPC. If the MPC does not have a current
`location for the person's mobile station, the MPC may
`acquire one through the PDE and store the location in a
`location database, keyed to an identifying-parameter such as
`a mobile station identifier or call identifier for instance.
`In tum, when the call is completed to the RPAS, the RPAS
`may initiate a query of the location database to identify the
`
`5
`
`6
`location of the mobile station. In addition, the RPAS may
`engage in a data-session or voice-session dialog with the
`person in order to determine the telephone number of the
`destination. Provided with the destination telephone number,
`the RPAS may initiate a query of an appropriate database to
`determine the location of the destination. If the destination
`telephone number is a wireles.s number, then the RPAS may
`send a position request to an MPC, which may consult a
`PDE and return the position of the destination mobile
`10 station. If the destination telephone number is a wireline
`number, then the RPAS may query a wireline location server
`to determine the service address of the destination telephone
`number.
`Provided with the locations of the mobile station and the
`1s destination, the RPAS may then establish a route plan for the
`person to get to the destination location. In turn, the RPAS
`may deliver the route plan to the person by any suitable
`means. In one embodiment, for instance, the RPAS may
`convey the route plan to the person via the existing connec-
`20 tioo between the mobile station and the RPAS. In another
`embodiment, the RPAS may convey the route plan to the
`person by sending the route plan in synthesized voice form
`to the person's voice mail box for later retrieval and replay.
`In yet another embodiment, the RPAS may convey the route
`25 plaa to the person by sending the route plan in text form to
`the person via conventional short message service for later
`retrieval and replay.
`More particularly, the present invention may be a method
`of responding to a route planning service request initiated
`30 from a mobile station, where the mobile station is located at
`a mobile station position, and the route-planning service
`request defines an identifying-parameter. Further, the mobile
`station may be a wireless telephone, a personal digital
`assistant, a pager, a personal computer, or another device.
`35 The method may include (i) identifying the mobile station
`position based on the identifying-parameter, (ii) receiving a
`destination telephone number, (iii) identifying a destination
`position corresponding to the destination telephone number,
`(iv) generating a route plan for travel from the mobile station
`40 position to tbe destination position, and (v) conveying the
`route plan for receipt by a person.
`According to an exemplary embodiment, the identifying(cid:173)
`parameter may comprise a code uniquely identifying the
`mobile station or a code uniquely identifying a communi-
`45 cation session in which the mobile station is engaged.
`Further, the process of identifying tbe mobile station posi(cid:173)
`tion based on the identifying-parameter may comprise (i) a
`mobile positioning system determining the position of the
`mobile station having the mobile station identifier, and (ii) a
`so machine querying the mobile positioning system by a query
`keyed to the identifying-parameter so as to obtain the mobile
`station position determined by the mobile positioning sys(cid:173)
`tem.
`In addition, receiving a destination telephone number can
`55 take various forms. For example, it may comprise receiving
`the destination telephone number from the person via the
`mobile station. As another example, it may comprise (i) a
`machine engaging in a dialog with the person via a com(cid:173)
`munications link with the mobile station and (ii) the machine
`60 receiving the destination telephone number from the person
`through the dialog. Io that case, the dialog could be a data
`session or a voice session. In a voice session, the mobile
`station could display a data form in which the person enters
`the destination telephone number, and the mobile station
`65 could convey the entered destination telephone number via
`the data session to the machine. In a voice session, the
`machine could verbally ask the person for the destination
`
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`US 6,937,869 Bl
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`7
`telephone number and the person could responsively provide
`the destination telephone number to the machine by a
`voice-band message, such as through voice over IP.
`Still further, identifying a destination position corre(cid:173)
`sponding to the destination telephone number may comprise
`a machine querying a location system for the destination
`position by a query keyed to the destination telephone
`number. In that regard, the destination telephone number
`could be a telephone number of a second mobile station, and
`the location system could comprise a mobile positioning
`system, such that the mobile positioning may responsively
`determine a location of the second mobile station and return
`the location to the machine as the destination position.
`Alternatively, the destination telephone number could be a
`landline telephone number, and the location system may
`comprise a landline location system, such that the landline
`location system may responsively determine a location
`corresponding to the landline telephone number and return
`the location to the machine as the destination position.
`Further, the mobile station position roay be represented by
`latitude and longitude information. In that case, the method
`may include converting the mobile station position to a
`street address corresponding to the latitude and longitude.
`In addition, the process of generating a route plan for
`travel from the mobile station position to the destination
`position may comprise applying a routing engine, and the
`routing engine may receive as input the mobile station
`position and the destination position and provide as output
`a route plan. To apply the routing engine, a service request
`may be sent to a routing engine such as MapQuest.com (or
`others, such as Mapsonus.com (http://www.mapsonus.com)
`or Mapblast.com (http://www.mapblast.com, powered by
`Vicinity Corp.)), for instance, to trigger the route generation.
`Alternatively or additionally, applying the routing engine
`could involve running a software application programmed to
`compute a route from a starting position to a destination
`position. (Alternatively, rather than actually computing a
`route from one location to another, the act of "generating" or
`"establishing" a route plan for travel from one location to
`another can simply be the act of obtaining or requesting such
`a route plan, without regard to who or what computes the
`route.)
`Finally, conveying the resulting route plan for receipt by
`a person could comprise conveying the route plan to the
`person via an IP network connection or via service such as
`voice mail, e-mail or short roes.sage service. Jo addition,
`conveying the route plan for receipt by a person may involve
`sending the route plan to machine for later retrieval by the
`person.
`In another exemplary embodiment, the invention may be 50
`a route planning application server for assisting a mobile
`station user to get from a current mobile station position to
`a destination position. The route planning application server
`may comprise (i) a processor, (ii) a data storage medium, and
`several sets of machine language instructions stored in the 55
`data storage medium and executable by the processor. Afust
`set of instructions may facilitate receiving a route planning
`service request and responsively initiating a route planning
`session. A second set of instructions may facilitate providing
`a mobile station position inquiry and for receiving in 60
`response an indication of the mobile station position, so that
`the mobile station position inquiry may be forwarded to a
`mobile positioning system for identification of the mobile
`station position. A third set of instructions roay facilitate
`receiving a destination telephone number and responsively 65
`initiating a inquiry to identify a destination position corre(cid:173)
`sponding to the destination telephone number. A fourth set
`
`8
`of instructions may facilitate generating a route plan for
`travel from the mobile station position to the destination
`position. And a fifth set of instructions may facilitate pro(cid:173)
`viding the route plan for receipt by the user. In this way, the
`s route plan may advantageously assist the user to travel from
`the mobile station position to the destination position.
`In addition to generating and providing a user with a route
`plan to indicate how to get from one location to another, the
`present invention can be applied to provide route guidance,
`10 which involves monitoring the source position as it changes
`and providing incremental route planning. For instance, with
`the benefit of the present invention, a route planning server
`can determine a destination location based on a dest