(12) United States Patent
`Moles et al.
`
`US006505048B1
`(10) Patent No.:
`US 6,505,048 B1
`(45) Date of Patent:
`Jan. 7, 2003
`
`(54) LOCATION PRIVACY FEATURE FOR
`WIRELESS MOBILE STATIONS AND
`
`METHOD OF OPERATION
`
`(75) Inventors: Bryan J. Moles, Dallas, TX (US);
`Sudhindra P. Herle, Plano, TX (US)
`
`(73) ASSignee: sing Electronics Co., Ltd., Suwon
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/477,796
`(22) Filed:
`Dec. 30, 1999
`7
`(51) Int. Cl." .................................................. H04Q 7/20
`(52) U.S. Cl. ....................... 455/456; 455/421; 455/432;
`455/414
`(58) Field of Search ................................. 455/421, 432,
`455/435, 456, 457, 414
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4/2000 Stewart ...................... 455/456
`6,049,718 A
`6,138,003 A * 10/2000 Kingdon ..................... 455/410
`
`6,226,589 B1 * 5/2001 Maeda - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 701/207
`
`6,311,069 B1 10/2001 Havinis ...................... 455/456
`6,360,102 B1
`3/2002 Havinis et al. ............. 382/173
`2- Y-Y-2
`:
`6,366,781 B1
`4/2002 Hussain et al. ............. 455/414
`* cited by examiner
`Primary Examiner Edward F. Urban
`Assistant Examiner-Khawar Iqbal
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`In a wireleSS mobile Station of the type having a position
`locating System capable of determining the location of the
`wireleSS mobile Station, there is disclosed control circuitry
`capable of being Selectively Set to disable the transmission
`of information concerning the location of the wireleSS
`mobile Station. The control circuitry also comprises a direc
`tory of telephone numbers of locations authorized to receive
`information concerning the location of the wireleSS mobile
`Station. Also disclosed is control circuitry capable of receiv
`ing a code that causes the wireleSS mobile Station to transmit
`information concerning the location of the wireleSS mobile
`Station. Also disclosed are methods for Selectively disabling
`the transmission of information concerning the location of
`the wireless mobile station.
`
`6,009,091 A * 12/1999 Stewart ...................... 370/342
`
`20 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
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`300
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`
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`305
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`310
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`32O
`
`330
`
`340
`
`
`
`390
`
`OVERRIDE MYES
`CODE 2
`
`NO
`
`EMERGENCY V YES
`CALL2
`
`NO
`
`PRIVLEGED MYES
`CALL2
`
`NO
`
`LOCATION
`PRIVACY
`ENABLED 2
`
`NO
`
`NULL
`CODE
`ALLOWED 2
`
`TRANSMT
`NULL CODE
`
`PREPARE
`SUBSTITUTE
`LOCATION
`
`TRANSMIT
`SUBSTITUTE
`LOCATION
`
`
`
`GET LOCATION
`FROM GPS
`
`TRANSMT
`LOCATION
`
`Apple Exhibit 1005
`Page 1 of 11
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 7, 2003
`
`Sheet 1 of 3
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`US 6,505,048 B1
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`140
`
`y
`
`
`
`TO PUBLIC
`TELEPHONE
`SYSTEM
`
`
`
`101
`
`|
`
`\
`W
`V
`V
`N
`Y.
`
`n
`
`e
`
`<
`
`N
`
`N 123
`-
`V
`V
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`103
`
`f
`M
`114 /
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`Apple Exhibit 1005
`Page 2 of 11
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 7, 2003
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`Sheet 2 of 3
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`US 6,505,048 B1
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`112
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`220
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`
`
`RF
`TRANSCEIVER
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`210
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`215
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`225
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`
`
`230
`
`MCROPHONE
`MICROPHONE
`
`TX PROCESSING
`CIRCUITRY
`
`RX PROCESSING
`CIRCUITRY
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`SPEAKER
`
`niece
`/O
`INTERFACE
`
`
`
`MAN
`CONTROLLER
`
`KEYPAD - Nu 250
`255
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`GPS
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`260
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`265
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`
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`MEMORY
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`271
`272
`273
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`274
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`275
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`276
`277
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`BASIC OPERATING SYSTEM
`LOCATION PRIVACY FLAG
`NULL CODE UNIT
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`EMERGENCY NUMBER
`DIRECTORY
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`PRIVLEGED NUMBER
`DIRECTORY
`
`CODE AUTHORIZATION
`PRIVACY FLAG RECORD
`
`FIG 2
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`Apple Exhibit 1005
`Page 3 of 11
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jan. 7, 2003
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`Sheet 3 of 3
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`US 6,505,048 B1
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`300
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`
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`
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`305
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`
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`310
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`32O
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`330
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`
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`OVERRIDE \ YES
`CODE 2
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`NO
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`EMERGENCY \YES
`CALL 2
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`NO
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`PRIVILEGED VYES
`CALLP
`
`LOCATION
`PRIVACY
`ENABLED 2
`
`340
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`NULL
`CODE
`ALLOWED 2
`
`
`
`
`
`
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`390
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`TRANSMT
`NULL CODE
`
`
`
`GEAN
`
`NSMIT
`TRA
`LOC
`ATION
`
`PREPARE
`SUBSTITUTE
`LOCATION
`
`TRANSMIT
`SUBSTITUTE
`LOCATION
`
`FIG. 3
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`Apple Exhibit 1005
`Page 4 of 11
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`US 6,505,048 B1
`
`1
`LOCATION PRIVACY FEATURE FOR
`WIRELESS MOBILE STATIONS AND
`METHOD OF OPERATION
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention is directed, in general, to wireleSS
`communication Systems and, more Specifically, to a System
`and method for Selectively disabling the transmission of
`information concerning the location of a wireleSS mobile
`Station.
`
`2
`the accident. If the user were to be involved in an accident
`or emergency, the user could call an emergency number Such
`as 911 and the GPS unit in the wireless mobile station would
`give the exact location of the mobile Station.
`The location of a wireless mobile station may also be of
`interest to the operator of the wireless network. If the
`operator of the wireleSS network wishes to check the Signal
`Strength that the wireleSS mobile Stations are receiving from
`the base Station transmitters, it would be advantageous to the
`operator to know the exact distance of each of the wireleSS
`mobile Stations to the nearest base Station transmitter. To
`obtain this information the operator could Send a signal to
`each individual wireless mobile station to ask each GPS unit
`to transmit to the operator the exact location of the wireleSS
`mobile station in which the GPS unit is located.
`A GPS unit is a Specific example of a position locating
`System that is capable of locating a wireleSS mobile Station.
`Other types of position locating Systems exist that are also
`capable of locating a wireleSS mobile Station.
`Many users of wireless mobile stations will not want their
`location to be available to the operator of the wireless
`network (or to any other party). Many users believe that the
`exact location of their wireleSS mobile Station as determined
`by a position locating System is private information and is
`not to be divulged to any party without the user's consent.
`As the number of wireless mobile stations with a position
`locating System increases over time, there will very likely be
`an increase in the number of users who desire to control the
`disclosure of the location of their wireless mobile station.
`Therefore, in a wireleSS mobile Station of the type having
`a position locating System that is capable of determining the
`location of the wireleSS mobile Station, there is a need for an
`apparatus and method for Selectively disabling the transmis
`Sion of information concerning the location of the wireleSS
`mobile station. Because there will be instances when the
`user of the wireless mobile station will want the location of
`the wireleSS mobile Station to be transmitted, there is also a
`need for a user to have the ability to selectively transmit the
`location of the wireleSS mobile Station to authorized parties.
`This is especially true in cases where an emergency exists
`and the user wants his or her location known immediately.
`In situations where the wireless mobile station has been
`lost or Stolen, there is a need for the user to have a code
`Stored in the wireleSS mobile Station that can be used to
`cause the wireleSS mobile Station to transmit its location to
`the nearest base Station. In Such cases the user would contact
`the base Station operator and give the user's code to the base
`Station operator. Then the base Station operator would trans
`mit the code to override the location privacy feature and
`locate the wireless mobile station. After the user had recov
`ered the lost or Stolen wireleSS mobile Station, then the user
`would change the code and maintain the privacy of the
`location of the wireless mobile station as before.
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`Reliable predictions indicate that there will be over three
`hundred million (300,000,000) cellular telephone customers
`worldwide by the year 2000. Within the United States,
`cellular service is offered by cellular service providers, by
`the regional Bell companies, and by the national long
`distance operators. The enhanced competition has driven the
`price of cellular Service down to the point where it is
`affordable to a large Segment of the population.
`The current generation of cellular phones is used prima
`rily for Voice conversations between a party using a Sub
`Scriber handset (a wireless mobile station) and another party
`using the same type of Subscriber handset. The Voice con
`25
`Versations take place through the wireleSS network. A
`Smaller number of wireleSS mobile Stations are data devices,
`Such as personal computers (PCs) equipped with cellular/
`wireless modems. Because the bandwidth for a current
`generation wireleSS mobile Station is typically limited to a
`few tens of kilobits per Second (Kbps), the applications for
`the current generation of wireleSS mobile Stations are rela
`tively limited.
`However, this is expected to change in the next (or third)
`generation of cellular/wireleSS technology, Sometimes
`referred to as “3G” cellular/wireless, where a much greater
`bandwidth will be available to each wireless mobile station
`(e.g., 125 Kbps or greater). The higher data rates will make
`Internet applications for wireleSS mobile Stations much more
`common. For instance, a 3G cell phone (or a PC with a 3G
`cellular modem) may be used to browse web sites on the
`Internet, to transmit and receive graphics, to execute Stream
`ing audio and/or Video applications, and the like. In Sum, a
`much higher percentage of the wireless traffic handled by 3G
`cellular systems will be Internet protocol (IP) traffic and a
`lesser percentage will be traditional voice traffic.
`The availability of greater bandwidth is making new
`features available for wireless mobile stations. One of the
`new features that has begun to appear in wireleSS mobile
`stations is the global positioning system (GPS) unit. GPS is
`a well known Satellite based System for determining the
`geographic location of a transmitter in terms of latitude and
`longitude. A GPS unit in a wireless mobile station is capable
`of receiving signals from several GPS satellites and deter
`mining the location of the wireleSS mobile Station to within
`a few meters.
`Information from a GPS unit concerning the location of a
`wireleSS mobile Station in terms of latitude and longitude
`may be displayed on the display unit of the wireless mobile
`station. Location information from the GPS unit may be very
`useful to the user of the wireless mobile station. For
`example, if the user of the wireleSS mobile Station were to
`get lost in a wilderness area, the GPS unit in the wireless
`mobile Station could give the user his exact location. If the
`user were to witness an automobile crash or other similar
`accident in a rural area where there are no Street names, the
`user could call for assistance and give the exact location of
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`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`To address the needs described above, it is a primary
`object of the present invention to provide, for use in a
`wireleSS mobile Station of the type having a position locating
`System that is capable of determining the location of the
`wireleSS mobile Station, an apparatus and method for Selec
`tively disabling the transmission of information concerning
`the location of the wireless mobile station.
`It is an additional object of the present invention to
`provide control circuitry in a wireleSS mobile Station com
`prising a controller and a memory unit having a location
`privacy flag in which a value Set in the location privacy flag
`
`Apple Exhibit 1005
`Page 5 of 11
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`

`3
`determines whether information concerning the location of
`the wireless mobile station is to be transmitted.
`It is another object of the present invention to provide a
`directory of authorized telephone numbers in a wireleSS
`mobile Station that are authorized to receive information
`concerning the location of the wireleSS mobile Station.
`It is still another object of the present invention to provide
`a directory of emergency telephone numbers in a wireleSS
`mobile Station that are always automatically authorized to
`receive information concerning the location of the wireleSS
`mobile Station.
`It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
`control circuitry in a wireleSS mobile Station capable of
`causing the wireleSS mobile Station to transmit either a null
`code or a null message that indicates that information
`concerning the location of the wireleSS mobile Station is not
`being transmitted.
`It is also an object of the present invention to provide
`control circuitry in a wireleSS mobile Station capable of
`receiving a code that causes the wireleSS mobile Station to
`transmit information concerning the location of the wireleSS
`mobile Station.
`It is an additional object of the present invention to
`provide control circuitry in a wireleSS mobile Station for
`determining that a code transmitted to and received by the
`wireleSS mobile Station is the code that authorizes the
`transmission of information concerning the location of the
`wireleSS mobile Station.
`It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
`control circuitry for recording the date and time when the
`location privacy feature of the present invention has been
`enabled and disabled.
`It is also another object of the present invention to provide
`control circuitry for Selectively transmitting a Substitute
`location of a wireleSS mobile Station instead of transmitting
`the actual location of the wireleSS mobile Station.
`It is another object of the present invention to provide for
`use in a wireleSS mobile Station of the type having a position
`locating System capable of locating the wireleSS mobile
`Station, a method for Selectively disabling the transmission
`of information concerning the location of the wireleSS
`mobile Station.
`The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and
`technical advantages of the present invention So that those
`skilled in the art may better understand the detailed descrip
`tion of the invention that follows. Additional features and
`advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter
`that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those
`skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use
`the conception and the Specific embodiment disclosed as a
`basis for modifying or designing other Structures for carry
`ing out the Same purposes of the present invention. Those
`skilled in the art should also realize that Such equivalent
`constructions do not depart from the Spirit and Scope of the
`invention in its broadest form.
`Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF
`THE INVENTION below, it may be advantageous to set
`forth definitions of certain words and phrases used through
`out this patent document: the terms “include” and
`“comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion
`without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning
`and/or; the phrases "asSociated with and "asSociated
`there with, as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to
`include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be
`contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be
`
`4
`communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose,
`be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property
`of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device,
`System or part thereof that controls at least one operation,
`Such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or
`Software, or Some combination of at least two of the same.
`It should be noted that the functionality associated with any
`particular controller may be centralized or distributed,
`whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words
`and phrases are provided throughout this patent document,
`those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in
`many, if not most instances, Such definitions apply to prior,
`as well as future uses of Such defined words and phrases.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`For a more complete understanding of the present
`invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now
`made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with
`the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers desig
`nate like objects, and in which:
`FIG. 1 illustrates a general Overview of an exemplary
`wireleSS network according to one embodiment of the
`present invention;
`FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the circuitry of a
`wireleSS mobile Station comprising the apparatus of one
`embodiment of the present invention; and
`FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic of the
`operation of the apparatus of one embodiment of the present
`invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`FIGS. 1 through 3, discussed below, and the various
`embodiments used to describe the principles of the present
`invention in this patent document are by way of illustration
`only and should not be construed in any way to limit the
`scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will under
`Stand that the principles of the present invention may be
`implemented in any Suitably arranged wireleSS mobile Sta
`tion.
`FIG. 1 illustrates a general Overview of an exemplary
`wireless network 100 according to one embodiment of the
`present invention. The wireless telephone network 100 com
`prises a plurality of cell Sites 121-123, each containing one
`of the base stations, BS 101, BS 102, or BS 103. Base
`stations 101-103 are operable to communicate with a plu
`rality of wireless mobile stations (MS) 111-114. Wireless
`mobile stations 111-114 may be any suitable wireless com
`munication devices, including conventional cellular
`telephones, PCS handset devices, portable computers,
`telemetry devices, and the like.
`Dotted lines show the approximate boundaries of the cell
`sites 121-123 in which base stations 101-103 are located.
`The cell Sites are shown approximately circular for the
`purposes of illustration and explanation only. It should be
`clearly understood that the cell Sites also may have irregular
`shapes, depending on the cell configuration Selected and
`natural and man-made obstructions.
`In one embodiment of the present invention, BS 101, BS
`102, and BS 103 may comprise a base station controller
`(BSC) and a base transceiver station (BTS). Base station
`controllers and base transceiver Stations are well known to
`those skilled in the art. A base Station controller is a device
`that manages wireleSS communications resources, including
`the base transceiver Station, for Specified cells within a
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`US 6,505,048 B1
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`Apple Exhibit 1005
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`wireleSS communications network. A base transceiver Sta
`tion comprises the RF transceivers, antennas, and other
`electrical equipment located in each cell Site. This equip
`ment may include air conditioning units, heating units,
`electrical Supplies, telephone line interfaces, and RF trans
`mitters and RF receivers, as well as call processing circuitry.
`For the purpose of Simplicity and clarity in explaining the
`operation of the present invention, the base transceiver
`station in each of cells 121, 122, and 123 and the base station
`controller associated with each base transceiver Station are
`collectively represented by BS 101, BS 102 and BS 103,
`respectively.
`BS 101, BS 102 and BS 103 transfer voice and data
`Signals between each other and the public telephone System
`(not shown) via communications line 131 and mobile
`switching center (MSC) 140. Mobile Switching center 140 is
`well known to those skilled in the art. Mobile Switching
`center 140 is a Switching device that provides Services and
`coordination between the Subscribers in a wireleSS network
`and external networks, Such as the public telephone System
`and/or the Internet. Communications line 131 may be any
`Suitable connection means, including a T1 line, a T3 line, a
`fiber optic link, a network backbone connection, and the
`like. In Some embodiments of the present invention, com
`munications line 131 may be several different data links,
`25
`where each data link couples one of BS 101, BS 102, or BS
`103 to MSC 140.
`In the exemplary wireless network 100, MS 111 is located
`in cell site 121 and is in communication with BS 101, MS
`113 is located in cell site 122 and is in communication with
`BS 102, and MS 114 is located in cell site 123 and is in
`communication with BS 103. MS 112 is also located in cell
`site 121, close to the edge of cell site 123. The direction
`arrow proximate MS 112 indicates the movement of MS 112
`towards cell site 123. At some point, as MS 112 moves into
`cell site 123 and out of cell site 121, a “handoff will occur.
`As is well known, the “handoff procedure transfers
`control of a call from a first cell to a second cell. For
`example, if MS 112 is in communication with BS 101 and
`Senses that the Signal from BS 101 is becoming unaccept
`ably weak, MS 112 may then Switch to a base station that has
`a stronger Signal, Such as the Signal transmitted by BS 103.
`MS 112 and BS 103 establish a new communication link and
`a signal is sent to BS 101 and the public telephone network
`to transfer the on-going voice, data, or control signals
`through BS 103. The call is thereby seamlessly transferred
`from BS 101 to BS 103. An "idle' handoff is a handoff
`between cells of a wireleSS mobile Station that is commu
`nicating in the control or paging channel, rather than trans
`mitting voice and/or data Signals in the regular traffic chan
`nels. In the description that follows wireless mobile station
`MS 112 will be in communication with wireless network
`base Station BS 103.
`FIG. 2 sets forth a block diagram illustrating the circuitry
`of wireless mobile station 112 where the MS designation has
`been dropped for convenience. Wireless mobile station 112
`comprises radio frequency (RF) transceiver 210 coupled to
`antenna 205 for receiving a forward channel signal from
`wireless network base station BS 103 and for sending a
`reverse channel Signal to wireleSS network base Station BS
`103 in accordance with well known principles.
`RF transceiver 210 is coupled to receiving processing
`circuitry 225 which, in turn, is coupled to speaker 230 and
`main controller 240. Main controller 240 is coupled to
`transmission processing circuitry 215 which, in turn, is
`coupled to microphone 220 and RF transceiver 210. Main
`
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`6
`controller 240 controls the reception of forward channel
`Signals and the transmission of reverse channel Signals in
`accordance with well known principles. Main controller 240
`is also coupled to I/O interface 245, keypad 250 and display
`unit 255. Main controller 240 controls the transmission of
`Signals to and from these elements with methods well known
`in the art.
`Global positioning system (GPS) 260 is coupled to main
`controller 240. Global positioning system 260 is a well
`known System for determining the geographic location of
`mobile station 112 in terms of latitude and longitude. When
`tasked to do So by main controller 240, global positioning
`system 260 receives GPS signals from two or more GPS
`satellites via RF transceiver 210 and receiver processing
`circuitry 225. Global positioning system 260 uses the
`received GPS Signals to determine latitude and longitude
`using well known techniques. The latitude and longitude of
`wireless mobile station 112 may then be displayed on
`display unit 255 for the user.
`The user of wireless mobile station 112 may initiate a
`request for location information at any time by accessing a
`location request menu (not shown) on display unit 255 and
`by typing the request on keypad 250.
`Global positioning System 260 is a specific example of a
`position locating System that is capable of locating a wire
`leSS mobile Station. Other types of position locating Systems
`exist that are also capable of locating a wireleSS mobile
`station. For example, the IS-801 communication standard
`(formerly known as the PN4535 communication standard) is
`capable of defining messages for a wireleSS mobile Station
`and a wireleSS network to request information from each
`other So that the wireleSS network can determine the location
`of the wireless mobile station.
`An advantageous embodiment of the present invention
`will be shown and described in which the position locating
`System is a global positioning System. It is understood,
`however, that the present invention is not limited to use in
`a wireleSS mobile Station having a global positioning System.
`The present invention may be used in a wireleSS mobile
`Station having any type of position locating System that (1)
`requires the wireleSS mobile Station to determine its position,
`or (2) requires the wireless mobile station to Send at least
`Some information to the wireless network in order for the
`wireless network to be able to determine the position of the
`wireleSS mobile Station.
`In order to control the transmission of information con
`cerning the location of wireleSS mobile Station 112, wireleSS
`mobile station 112 comprises memory unit 265 coupled to
`main controller 240. As shown in FIG. 2, an advantageous
`embodiment of memory unit 265 comprises seven subunits.
`The first subunit is basic operating system 271. Basic
`operating System 271 comprises those portions of memory
`unit 265 that are accessed by main controller 240 during
`ordinary operations of wireleSS mobile Station 112.
`The second subunit of memory unit 265 is location
`privacy flag 272. Location privacy flag 272 may be Selec
`tively set to cause wireless mobile station 112 to not transmit
`information concerning the location of wireleSS mobile
`station 112. The user can selectively set the value of location
`privacy flag 272 by entering data through keypad 250 in
`response to a menu displayed on display unit 255. For
`example, a user can type the letters “no' on keypad 250 in
`response to a question on a transmission Status menu (not
`shown) on display unit 255 asking whether location infor
`mation is to be transmitted. Later, if the user desires to allow
`the transmission of location information, the user can access
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`the transmission Status menu and type the letters “yes” in
`response to the same question on the transmission Status
`menu. When the user makes Such changes, main controller
`240 updates the status of location privacy flag 272 in
`memory unit 265.
`Whenever main controller 240 is preparing a communi
`cation for transmission through transmission processing
`circuitry 215 and RF transceiver 210 and antenna 205, main
`controller 240 first tests the status of location privacy flag
`272. If the value of location privacy flag 272 indicates that
`location information is to be transmitted, then the commu
`nication will be transmitted with the latitude and longitude
`information from global positioning System 260 concerning
`the location of wireless mobile station 112.
`If the value of location privacy flag 272 indicates that
`location information is not to be transmitted, then the
`communication will be transmitted without any information
`concerning the location of wireleSS mobile Station 112.
`The third subunit of memory unit 265 is null code unit
`273. Null code unit 273 contains a code that indicates that
`wireleSS mobile Station 112 is not transmitting information
`concerning the location of wireless mobile station 112. The
`code in null code unit 273 will usually be a binary number
`Such as "000111’ or some other similar number. In cases in
`which main controller 240 is to send a transmission without
`Sending any information concerning the location of wireleSS
`mobile station 112, main controller 240 accesses the code in
`null code unit 273 of memory 265 and transmits the code in
`null code unit 273.
`In an alternative embodiment of the present invention,
`null code unit 273 contains a String of characters that
`indicates that wireleSS mobile Station 112 is not transmitting
`information concerning the location of wireleSS mobile
`Station 112. For example, the String of characters contained
`within null code unit 273 could be the letters “null' or the
`letters "location not Sent' or other letterS Spelling out a
`Similar message. In this alternative embodiment of the
`present invention, the user can change the characters within
`null code unit 273 by typing new characters on keypad 250
`in response to a question on a transmission status menu (not
`shown) on display unit 255.
`There may be cases in which a base station will be
`programmed to not accept a null code (or other message)
`indicating that location information will not be transmitted.
`For example, base station BS 103 may be programmed so
`that any failure of wireless mobile station 112 to send the
`requested location information may cause base Station BS
`103 to drop wireless mobile station 112 from wireless
`network 100.
`To avoid this result in Such cases, an advantageous
`embodiment of the present invention prepares and sends
`Substitute location information. Substitute location informa
`tion is prepared by obtaining the actual location information
`from global positioning System 260 and altering the infor
`mation before it is transmitted. The Substitute location
`information is prepared by main controller 240. Because the
`Substitute location information is sent when the null code
`will not be accepted by a base Station, the Substitute location
`information may be stored in null code unit 273.
`A base Station that is programmed to not accept a null
`code (or other message) will be expecting to receive location
`information that gives the latitude and longitude of a posi
`tion within the base station's cell site. Therefore, Substitute
`location information for wireless mobile station 112 will
`preferably locate wireless mobile station 112 within its
`current cell Site. This may be accomplished by altering the
`values of the longitude and latitude by relatively small
`amountS.
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`45
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`50
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`55
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`60
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`8
`Because global positioning System 260 is accurate to
`within a few meters, the amount of alteration required to
`alter the actual location information may be as little as one
`hundred yards (100 yds) and still provide adequate location
`privacy for the user. The amount of alteration required to
`alter the actual location information can range from as little
`as one hundred yards (100 yds) up to ten miles (10 mi)
`depending on the size of the cell Site involved. The amount
`of alteration in each case can be selected as necessary. Main
`controller 240 may be programmed to make the proper
`amount of alteration in each case.
`In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention,
`the user can Select the amount of alteration required to alter
`the actual location information to create the Substitute loca
`tion information to be transmitted. The user can type letters
`or numbers (or a combination of both letters and numbers)
`on keypad 250 in response to a question on a Substitute
`location menu (not shown) on display unit 255 asking for the
`amount of the alteration. For example, the user could type
`“100 yards north” and this entry would cause the Substitute
`location to be reported as one hundred yards (100 yds) north
`of the actual location.
`Later, if the user desires to change the amount of alter
`ation required to the actual location information to create the
`Substitute location information, the user can access the
`Substitution location menu and type in a new value for the
`amount of alteration. When the user makes Such changes,
`main controller 240 updates the current value of the amount
`of alteration in null code unit 273 in memory unit 265.
`The fourth subunit of memory unit 265 is emergency
`number directory 274. The telephone numbers in emergency
`number directory 274 are the telephone numbers of locations
`that provide emergency Services Such as emergency medical
`Services, police Services, fire department Services, and Simi
`lar Services. The most well known emergency number in
`many locations in the United States is 911. The user of
`wireless mobile system 112 can add his or her own emer
`gency numbers to the emergency number directory 274.
`Each emergency telephone number in emergency number
`directory 274 is always authorized to receive information
`concerning the location of wireless mobile station 112. That
`is, any call or communication to one of the emergency
`telephone numbers will always cause main controller 240 to
`transmit information concerning the location of wireleSS
`mobile station 112.
`The fifth subunit of memory unit 265 is privileged number
`directory 275. The telephone numbers in privileged number
`directory 275 are telephone numbers that the user has
`previously determined are authorized to receive information
`concerning the location of wireleSS mobile Statio