Granted Patent B2

US 7,840,222 · App. 11/437,153 · Granted Nov 23, 2010

Abstract

Claims (38)

1. A method of providing location-based services, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving requests to initiate location-based services for respective ones of a plurality of mobile user devices associated with a wireless network wherein each of said requests would ordinarily require delivery of at least one location query to a corresponding one of the plurality of mobile user devices;

prior to delivering the location queries to the plurality of mobile user devices, identifying a subset of the plurality of mobile user devices, the subset containing particular ones of the plurality of mobile user devices for which sufficient location-indicative information is available from which a general location of said particular devices can be inferred without delivering the corresponding location queries to said particular devices; and

preventing delivery of the location queries to said particular mobile user devices in the identified subset;

wherein a number of location queries required for provision of the requested location-based services is reduced relative to a number of location queries which would otherwise be required without the identifying and preventing steps; and

wherein the step of preventing delivery of location queries comprises preventing delivery of forward lookup location requests.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of controlling delivery of at least one message to a given one of the mobile user devices in the identified subset based on the general location of said device as inferred from the location-indicative information.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the location-indicative information comprises information indicating which of the mobile user devices are registered in one of a home location register and a visitor location register of a given cell of the wireless network.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the location-indicative information comprises a list of currently-registered mobile user devices.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the location-indicative information comprises signaling data records of the wireless network.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the signaling data records are stored in a switching element of the wireless network.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the signaling data records comprise at least one of a roundtrip delay measurement and a pilot strength measurement.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied therein executable program code which when executed by at least one processing device implements the method of claim 1 .

9. An apparatus for use in providing location-based services, the apparatus comprising:

a location-based services system comprising at least one processing device having a processor coupled to a memory;

wherein the location-based services system is adapted to receive requests to initiate location-based services for respective ones of a plurality of mobile user devices associated with a wireless network wherein each of said requests would ordinarily require delivery of at least one location query to a corresponding one of the plurality of mobile user devices, and prior to delivery of the location queries to the plurality of mobile user devices, to identify a subset of the plurality of mobile user devices, the subset containing particular ones of the plurality of mobile user devices for which sufficient location-indicative information is available from which a general location of said particular devices can be inferred without delivering the corresponding location queries to said particular devices;

wherein the location-based services system is further adapted to prevent delivery of the location queries to said particular mobile user devices in the identified subset;

wherein a number of location queries required for provision of the requested location-based services is reduced relative to a number of location queries which would otherwise be required without the subset identification and delivery prevention; and

wherein the location-based services system is further adapted to prevent delivery of location queries to the mobile user devices in the identified subset by preventing delivery of forward lookup location requests to said devices.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the location-based services system is external to the wireless network.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the location-based services system is implemented using a layered architecture comprising at least an application support layer, an application enabling layer, a location-based service enabling layer and a network connectivity layer.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the network connectivity layer comprises a location and presence query module adapted to obtain mobile user device location and presence information.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the location-based services system is further adapted to control delivery of at least one message to a given one of the mobile user devices in the identified subset based on the general location of said device as inferred from the location-indicative information.

14. An apparatus for use in providing location-based services, the apparatus comprising:

a location-based services system comprising at least one processing device having a processor coupled to a memory;

wherein the location-based services system is adapted to receive requests to initiate location-based services for respective ones of a plurality of mobile user devices associated with a wireless network wherein each of said requests would ordinarily require delivery of at least one location query to a corresponding one of the plurality of mobile user devices, and prior to delivery of the location queries to the plurality of mobile user devices, to identify a subset of the plurality of mobile user devices, the subset containing particular ones of the plurality of mobile user devices for which sufficient location-indicative information is available from which a general location of said particular devices can be inferred without delivering the corresponding location queries to said particular devices;

wherein the location-based services system is further adapted to prevent delivery of the location queries to said particular mobile user devices in the identified subset;

wherein a number of location queries required for provision of the requested location-based services is reduced relative to a number of location queries which would otherwise be required without the subset identification and delivery prevention;

wherein the location-based services system is implemented using a layered architecture comprising at least an application support layer, an application enabling layer, a location-based service enabling layer and a network connectivity layer; and

wherein the location-based service enabling layer comprises a location server adapted to limit location-related communications between the mobile user devices and base stations of the wireless network by at least one of eliminating duplicate location queries and prioritizing location queries.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a mobile user device associated with a wireless network, the mobile user device being configured for operation as one of a plurality of mobile user devices associated with the wireless network, requests to initiate location-based services being received for respective ones of the plurality of mobile user devices wherein each of said requests would ordinarily require the delivery of at least one location query to a corresponding one of the plurality of mobile user devices, the mobile user device being one of a subset of particular ones of said plurality of mobile user devices that are identified as having sufficient location-indicative information available from which a general location of said particular devices can be inferred without delivering the corresponding location queries to said particular devices;

wherein delivery of location queries to said identified mobile user devices of said subset is prevented;

wherein a number of location queries required for provision of the requested location-based services is reduced relative to a number of location queries which would otherwise be required without the subset identification and delivery prevention; and

wherein said preventing delivery of location queries comprises preventing delivery of forward lookup location requests.

16. The mobile user device of claim 15 wherein the location-indicative information for said mobile user device comprises information indicating if said mobile user device is registered in one of a home location register and a visitor location register of a given cell of the wireless network.

17. The mobile user device of claim 15 wherein the location-indicative information for said mobile user device comprises information indicating if said mobile user device is on a list of currently-registered mobile user devices.

18. The mobile user device of claim 15 wherein the location-indicative information for said mobile user device comprises a signaling data record of the wireless network.

Assignments (9)