Location information notifying method and location information notifying apparatus

A location information notifying method for notifying a predetermined computer of location information of a mobile communication terminal obtained on a mobile communication network which contains mobile communication terminals capable of wireless communication, said location information notifying method comprising:

• obtaining a detected location of a mobile communication terminal;
• generating location information indicative of the detected location of the mobile communication terminal;
• determining a level of precision of location information needed by a computer that is in communication with the mobile communication terminal, wherein the computer is configured to provide position related information to the mobile communication terminal based on location information that is at or above the determined level of precision;
• converting the location information to the determined level of precision;
• and
• notifying to said computer said converted location information.

A location information notifying method for notifying a predetermined computer of location information of a mobile communication terminal obtained on a mobile communication network which contains mobile communication terminals capable of wireless communication, said location information notifying method comprising:

• detecting the position of said mobile communication terminal and generating location information;
• and
• notifying said computer of said generated location information by:
• detecting a predetermined data sequence within data transmitted from said mobile communication terminal to said computer;
• and
• substituting said location information for said predetermined data sequence to add said generated location information to data transmitted from said mobile communication terminal to said computer.

A location information notifying method for notifying to a predetermined computer, location information of a mobile communication terminal obtained from a mobile communication network which contains mobile communication terminals capable of wireless communication, said location information notifying method comprising:

• relaying communication between a mobile communication terminal and a computer, wherein said communication includes identification information of said mobile communication terminal;
• receiving from said computer a request signal requesting location information of said mobile communication terminal;
• detecting the location of said mobile communication terminal in response to said request signal based on said identification information, and generating location information of said mobile communication terminal;
• detecting a predetermined data sequence within data transmitted from said mobile communication terminal to said computer;
• and
• substituting said predetermined data sequence with said identification information.

A location information notifying apparatus for notifying a predetermined computer of location information of a mobile communication terminal obtained on one of a plurality of mobile communication networks, including a first mobile communication network and a second mobile communication network with differing representational formats for location information generated thereby, that contain mobile communication terminals capable of wireless communication, said computer to which said location information is notified being a plurality of computers including a first computer capable of handling said location information in a first representational format and a second computer capable of handling said location information in a second representational format, said location information notifying apparatus comprising:

• a location information generating unit configured to detect the position of said mobile communication terminal and generate the location information thereof,
• wherein location information of a mobile communication terminal belonging to the first mobile communication network is generated in a third representational format, and location information of a mobile communication terminal belonging to the second mobile communication network is generated in a fourth representational format;
• wherein said third or said fourth representational formats comprise one of:
• a format representing identification information provided to base stations of said respective mobile communication networks;
• a format representing identification information provided to wireless communication zones of a predetermined number of said base stations;
• a format representing identification information provided to partial areas of wireless zones of said base stations;
• and
• a format representing latitude and longitude;
• a location information representational format converting unit which, in the event of notifying said location information of said mobile communication terminal belonging to said respective first or second mobile communication network to said first computer, converts said location information from said respective third or fourth representational format into said first representational format, and in the event of notifying said location information of said mobile communication terminal belonging to said respective first or second mobile communication network to said second computer, said location information is converted from said respective third or fourth representational format into said second representational format;
• and
• a first location information notifying unit for notifying said computer of said location information with the representational format thereof converted.

A location information notifying apparatus for notifying a predetermined computer of location information of a mobile communication terminal obtained on a mobile communication network which contains mobile communication terminals capable of wireless communication, said location information notifying apparatus comprising:

• a location information generating unit for detection of the position of said mobile communication terminal and generation of location information at one of a plurality of different levels of precision,
• wherein said location information generating unit is configured to determine a level of precision of said location information that is needed by said computer and,
• wherein said location information generating unit is configured to generate said location information based on the determined level of precision so that said location information is generated at or above the determined level of precision;
• and
• a position notifying unit for notification of said computer of said generated location information.

A location information notifying apparatus for notifying a predetermined computer of location information of a mobile communication terminal obtained on a mobile communication network which contains mobile communication terminals capable of wireless communication, said location information notifying apparatus comprising:

• a location information generating unit for detection of the position of said mobile communication terminal and generation of location information based on information included in communication received by said location information generating unit from said mobile communication terminal;
• and
• a location information notifying unit configured to transmit data between said mobile communication terminal and said computer, wherein said generated location information is to be added to data relayed from said mobile communication terminal to said computer by said location information notifying unit and wherein said location information notifying unit comprises:
• a detecting unit for detecting a predetermined data sequence within data transmitted from said mobile communication terminal to said computer;
• and
• a substituting unit for substituting said location information for said predetermined data sequence.

A location information notifying apparatus for notifying a predetermined computer of location information of a mobile communication terminal obtained on a mobile communication network which contains mobile communication terminals capable of wireless communication, said location information notifying apparatus comprising:

• a receiving unit configured to receive a request signal being relayed from said mobile communication terminal to said computer, wherein said request signal comprises identification information of said mobile communication terminal and a request for location information;
• a location information generating unit configured to detect the position of said mobile communication terminal in response to said request signal, wherein said location information generating unit is configured to determine and generate location information as a function of said identification information;
• and
• a location information notifying unit configured to include notification of said generated location information to said computer with said request signal, wherein said location information notifying unit comprises:
• a detecting unit for detecting a predetermined data sequence within data transmitted from said mobile communication terminal to said computer;
• and
• a substituting unit for substituting said generated location information for said predetermined data sequence.

A method for notification of a location of a mobile communication terminal, the method comprising:

• determining a location of mobile communication terminal in a communication network based on identification information of the mobile communication terminal received over the communication network;
• generating location information indicative of the determined location of the mobile communication terminal, wherein the format of the location information that is generated is selected from the group consisting of a format representing identification information provided to base stations of said mobile communication network, a format representing identification information provided to wireless communication zones of a predetermined number of said base stations, a format representing identification information provided to partial areas of wireless zones of said base stations and a format representing latitude and longitude;
• converting the location information to a format that is compatible with a computer in communication with the mobile communication terminal, wherein the computer is configured to provide position related information to the mobile communication terminal;
• and
• transmitting the converted location information over the communication network for receipt by the computer.

A method for notification of a location of a mobile communication terminal, the method comprising:

• determining a location of mobile communication terminal in a communication network based on identification information of the mobile communication terminal received over the communication network;
• generating location information indicative of the determined location of the mobile communication terminal;
• converting the location information to a format that is compatible with a computer in communication with the mobile communication terminal, wherein the computer is configured to provide position related information to the mobile communication terminal;
• detecting a determined data sequence within data being relayed from the mobile communication terminal to the computer;
• substituting the converted location information for the determined data sequence;
• and
• transmitting the converted location information over the communication network for receipt by the computer.

A system for notification of a location of a mobile communication terminal in a mobile communication network, the system comprising:

• a first computer that includes a position measurement center configured to determine a location of the mobile communication terminal operable within the mobile communication network;
• the position measurement center also configured to generate location information indicative of the determined location of the mobile communication terminal;
• the first computer also includes a location information converting device, the location information converting device configured to convert the location information to a format that is compatible with a second computer in communication with the mobile communication terminal, wherein the location information converting device is configured to convert the location information from a format selected from the group consisting of a format representing identification information provided to base stations of said mobile communication network, a format representing identification information provided to wireless communication zones of a predetermined number of said base stations, a format representing identification information provided to partial areas of wireless zones of said base stations and a format representing latitude and longitude;
• and
• the first computer also includes a location information providing unit, the location information providing unit configured to transmit the converted location information over a communication network for receipt and use by the second computer in communication with the mobile communication terminal.

A system for notification of a location of a mobile communication terminal in a mobile communication network, the system comprising:

• a first computer that includes a position measurement center configured to determine a location of the mobile communication terminal operable within the mobile communication network;
• the position measurement center also configured to generate location information indicative of the determined location of the mobile communication terminal;
• the first computer also includes a location information converting device, the location information converting device configured to convert the location information to a format that is compatible with a second computer in communication with the mobile communication terminal;
• and
• the first computer also includes a location information providing unit, the location information providing unit configured to transmit the converted location information over a communication network for receipt and use by the second computer in communication with the mobile communication terminal;
• wherein the first computer also includes a data distribution managing unit configured to substitute converted location information for a predetermined data sequence, the predetermined data sequence included in data being relayed from the mobile communication terminal to the second computer.

A location information notification method for notifying a predetermined computer of location information of a mobile communication terminal, the method comprising:

• providing a first mobile communication network and a second mobile communication network each configured to generate different formats of location information;
• generating location information of a first mobile communication terminal in a first format based on a detected position of the first mobile communication terminal in the first mobile communication network;
• generating location information of a second mobile communication terminal in a second format based on a detected position of the second mobile communication terminal in the second mobile communication network;
• wherein each of the first and second formats are one of:
• a format representing identification information provided to base stations of said respective first or second mobile communication networks,
• a format representing identification information provided to wireless communication zones of a predetermined number of said base stations,
• a format representing identification information provided to partial areas of wireless zones of said base stations, and
• a format representing latitude and longitude;
• converting the location information in the first format or the location information in the second format to a format that is compatible with a computer in communication with the mobile communication terminal, wherein the computer is configured to provide position related information to the mobile communication terminal;
• and
• transmitting the converted location information over the communication network for receipt by the computer.

A system for notification of a position of mobile communication terminals within a first mobile communication network and a second mobile communication network, wherein the first and second mobile communication networks are configured to generate different formats of location information, the system comprising:

• a location information generating unit configured to generate location information of a first mobile communication terminal in a first format based on a detected position of the first mobile communication terminal within the first mobile communication network,
• and the location information generating unit configured to generate location information of a second mobile communication terminal in a second format based on a detected position of the second mobile communication terminal within the second mobile communication network,
• wherein each of the first and second formats are one of:
• a format representing identification information provided to base stations of said respective first or second mobile communication networks, a format representing identification information provided to wireless communication zones of a predetermined number of said base stations, a format representing identification information provided to partial areas of wireless zones of said base stations, and a format representing latitude and longitude;
• a location information representational format converting unit configured to convert the location information in the first format or the location information in the second format to a format that is compatible with a computer in communication with the respective first or second mobile communication terminal wherein the computer is configured to provide location-related information to the respective first or second mobile communication terminal;
• and
• a location information notifying unit configured to transmit the converted location information over the communication network to the computer.

A system for notification of a position of mobile communication terminals within a first mobile communication network and a second mobile communication network, wherein the first and second mobile communication networks are configured to generate different formats of location information, the system comprising:

• a location information generating unit configured to generate location information of a first mobile communication terminal in a first format based on a detected position of the first mobile communication terminal within the first mobile communication network,
• and the location information generating unit configured to generate location information of a second mobile communication terminal in a second format based on a detected position of the second mobile communication terminal within the second mobile communication network;
• a location information representational format converting unit configured to convert the location information in the first format or the location information in the second format to a format that is compatible with a computer in communication with the respective first or second mobile communication terminal, and where the location information representational format converting unit is further configured to convert the location information in the first format or the location information in the second format to a format with a level of precision at or above a predetermined level of precision requirement of the computer, wherein the computer is configured to provide location-related information to the respective first or second mobile communication terminal;
• and
• a location information notifying unit configured to transmit the converted location information over the communication network to the computer.