US 12,189,048 B2Granted

Services and applications for a communications network

OwnerDennis J. Dupray, Sheldon F. Goldberginventors

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A location system is disclosed for commercial wireless telecommunication infrastructures. The system is an end-to-end solution having one or more location centers for outputting requested locations of commercially available handsets or mobile stations (MS) based on, e.g., CDMA, AMPS, NAMPS or TDMA communication standards, for processing both local MS location requests and more global MS location requests via, e.g., Internet communication between a distributed network of location centers. The system uses a plurality of MS locating technologies including those based on: (1) two-way TOA and TDOA; (2) pattern recognition; (3) distributed antenna provisioning; (5) GPS signals, (6) angle of arrival, (7) super resolution enhancements, and (8) supplemental information from various types of very low cost non-infrastructure base stations for communicating via a typical commercial wireless base station infrastructure or a public telephone switching network. Accordingly, the traditional MS location difficulties, such as multipath, poor location accuracy and poor coverage are alleviated via such technologies in combination with strategies for: (a) automatically adapting and calibrating system performance according to environmental and geographical changes; (b) automatically capturing location signal data for continual enhancement of a self-maintaining historical data base retaining predictive location signal data; (c) evaluating MS locations according to both heuristics and constraints related to, e.g., terrain, MS velocity and MS path extrapolation from tracking and (d) adjusting likely MS locations adaptively and statistically so that the system becomes progressively more comprehensive and accurate. Further, the system can be modularly configured for use in location signaling environments ranging from urban, dense urban, suburban, rural, mountain to low traffic or isolated roadways. Accordingly, the system is useful for 911 emergency calls, tracking, routing, people and animal location including applications for confinement to and exclusion from certain areas.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A method for providing, for each mobile unit (M) of a plurality of wireless telecommunication mobile units, a corresponding notification to at least one entity, the corresponding notification related to an instance for a product or service, wherein there is a network having a plurality of geographically spaced apart stationary network access units for receiving wireless communication from the mobile units, comprising performing, for the mobile unit M, (a) through (d) following by computational equipment:

(a) receiving, by an application connected to the network for providing the instance, input data indicative of one or more electronic inputs from the mobile unit M;
wherein a data content in a persistent machine data storage is accessible to the application, the data content used for determining the corresponding notification;
wherein the data content includes:
(i) an identification of the mobile unit M or of a user of the mobile unit M, and (ii) data indicative of the at least one entity;
(b) authorizing the user or the application to access the data content;
(c) allocating the instance of the product or service to the user, the allocating dependent upon electronically stored data indicative of a preference for the instance for access by the user, the electronically stored data including (i) quality data indicative of a quality for the instance, or (ii) availability data for identifying when the user is available for accessing a location for the instance;
wherein location information is transmitted via wireless communication from the user's mobile unit M and received by the network, wherein the location information is dependent upon wireless signal location dependent measurements received from, or transmitted to, the user's mobile unit M;
wherein the allocating includes evaluating one or more proximity conditions, the proximity conditions being satisfied for a geographical location for the instance when the location for the user's mobile unit M as identified by the location information, and the geographical location are (i) within a preferred geographical extent of one another, or (ii) within a preferred time of travel of one another;
wherein the allocating includes preferring the user, for the instance, the preferring based on a performance by the user related to accessing one or more instances of at least one product or service, the instances of the at least one product or service previously identified to the user, wherein identification of the previously identified instances depends upon corresponding location information indicative of one or more locations for the user's mobile unit M;
and
(d) when a first result is obtained from the preferring, electronically transmitting the corresponding notification to the at least one entity, the corresponding notification for providing data for bringing, geographically, the user and the instance together.

8 more elements

A method for providing, for each mobile unit (M) of a plurality of wireless telecommunication mobile units, a corresponding notification to at least one entity, the corresponding notification related to an instance of a resource, wherein there is a network having a plurality of geographically spaced apart stationary network access units for receiving wireless communication from the mobile units, comprising performing, for the mobile unit M, (a) through (d) following by computational equipment:

(a) receiving, by an application connected to the network for providing the instance, input data indicative of one or more electronic inputs from the mobile unit M;
wherein a data content in a persistent machine data storage is accessible to the application, the data content used for determining the corresponding notification;
wherein the data content includes:
(i) an identification of the mobile unit M or of a user of the mobile unit M, and (ii) data indicative of the at least one entity;
(b) authorizing the user or the application to access the data content;
(c) allocating the instance of the resource to the user, the allocating dependent upon electronically stored data indicative of a preference for the instance for access by the user, the electronically stored data including (i) quality data indicative of a quality for the instance, or (ii) availability data for identifying when the user is available for accessing a location for the instance;
wherein location information is transmitted via wireless communication from the user's mobile unit M and received by the network, wherein the location information is dependent upon wireless signal location dependent measurements received from, or transmitted to, the user's mobile unit M;
wherein the allocating includes evaluating one or more proximity conditions, the proximity conditions being satisfied for a geographical location for the instance when the location for the user's mobile unit M as identified by the location information, and the geographical location are (i) within a preferred geographical extent of one another, or (ii) within a preferred time of travel of one another;
wherein the allocating includes preferring the user, for the instance, the preferring based on a performance by the user related to accessing one or more instances of at least one resource, the instances of the at least one resource previously identified to the user, wherein identification of the previously identified instances depends upon corresponding location information indicative of one or more locations for the mobile unit M;
and
(d) when a first result is obtained from the preferring, electronically transmitting the corresponding notification to the at least one entity, the corresponding notification for providing data for bringing, geographically, the user and the instance together.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/866,223Filed 4 May 2020 · continuation
Priority: 16 Aug 2006
Published: US 2020/0333426 A122 Oct 2020
Granted: 7 Jan 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

G01S 5/0258
Hybrid positioning: by combining or switching between measurements derived from different systems
G01S 5/0278
Using radio waves: involving statistical or probabilistic considerations
G01S 19/48
Determining position: by combining or switching between position solutions derived from the satellite radio beacon positioning system and position…
H04W 4/029
Services making use of location information: location-based management or tracking services

Family

Application11/464,880Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 16 Aug 2006
Application11/838,213Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 13 Aug 2007
Application13/037,337Parent of this continuation · filed 28 Feb 2011
US 7,903,029 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 8 Mar 2011
US 8,135,413 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 13 Mar 2012
US 2020/0333426 A1Pre-grant publication · published 22 Oct 2020
US 10,641,861 B2Parent of this continuation
Application13/037,337Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2006/0276201 A1Published application
US 2007/0287473 A1Published application
US 2012/0058775 A1Published application
US 12,189,048 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.