GB2411077A

GB2411077A - Apparatus and method for enhanced caller ID

Info

Publication number: GB2411077A
Application number: GB0402828A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Lee; Darragh Connolly
Original assignee: Motorola Inc
Current assignee: Motorola Solutions Inc
Priority date: 2004-02-10
Filing date: 2004-02-10
Publication date: 2005-08-17
Anticipated expiration: 2024-02-10
Also published as: WO2005079082A1; GB2411077B; GB0402828D0

Abstract

The present invention provides a method of communicating caller mobile station geographical information to a target mobile station, where the caller mobile station being served by at least a first base station. The invention is characterised by the steps of uplinking from the first base station information signifying the geographic location of the first base station and downlinking information signifying the geographic location of the first base station to the called mobile station.

Description

1 241 1077 Apparatus and method for enhanced caller ID

Technical Field

The invention relates to an apparatus and method for enhanced caller ID. In particular, it relates to locating the caller.

Background

In telephony, it is well known and desirable that one can identify an incoming caller (Caller ID), typically by displaying the caller's phone number, or where available, comparing that number with a telephone's internal address book to display the caller's name.

However, circumstances exist where it is also desirable to know where the caller is located. An example may be found in US20030236120A1 (Reece) in which the location of a phone on a public switched telephone network (PSTN) is identified by looking up the location associated with the caller ID phone number, for the purpose of screening out internet gamblers surfing from US states that outlaw gambling.

More generally, parents may wish to know where their child is calling from, a national call centre may wish to know the location of a caller to route them to the most relevant staff, or emergency services may wish to quickly identify the location of an emergency call. Alternatively, an individual may simply wish to use location information in A-..: Weir. I. udgeent as to the urgency or relevancy of an incoming call.

j,;i i'"'; ' ,' Provision of such information is made more complicated, 35 however,by mobile communication devices (or 'mobile stations') whose caller ID is not a reliable indication of the device's actual location.

US6640184B1 (Motorola) describes, in addition to PSTN phones, a request for the location of a mobile station wherein the output of a global positioning satellite (GPS) system or similar is rendered as a location description (e.g. 'Illinois') that the owner of the mobile station can then authorise to be sent to the originator of the request.

Whilst the document describes means within a mobile telecommunications system for obtaining a description for a given mobile station's location, it has the disadvantage of requiring a GPS or similarly enabled mobile station, and teaches provision of the location of the called mobile station upon request, rather than providing to the called mobile station the location of the caller along with their ID.

US20030112948A1 (Brown et.al.,) discloses a proximity alert function between mobile stations (paragraphs 118 & 119), based on assuming that a central system is aware of the location of both mobile stations, but does not teach a method of providing caller location information.

Thus there is a need for a method of providing a caller location description to a called mobile station, as part of or supplementary to any other caller ID information provid -;.''' 'The purpose of the present invention is to address the above need.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides a method of communicating caller mobile station geographical information to a target mobile station, the caller mobile station being served by at least a first base station in a network, and characterized by the steps of; uplinking from the first base station information signifying the geographic location of the first base station; and downlinking information signifying the geographic location of the first base station to the called mobile station.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method of communicating caller mobile station geographical information to a target mobile station, as claimed in claim 1.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a base station, as claimed in claim 16.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a mobile station, as claimed in claim 18.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a mobile station, as claimed in claim 19.

Further features of the present invention are as defined in the dependent claims.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Brief description of the drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a known caller ID system in a mobile communications network.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a system providing location information to the caller in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a system providing location information to the caller in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

Detailed description

Apparatus for and a method of communicating caller mobile station geographical information to a target mobile station is disclosed.

Figure 1 illustrates a public land mobile network (PLMN) 100 known to the art in which a caller in a coverage cell serviced by a base transceiver station ('base station') 110 attempts to call a mobile station 150. Such a system is described in detail in US005930701A (Ericsson).

For simplicity of example, here the caller and the called mobile station 150 are on the same network, but clearly this need not be the case.

Jo 1 1 L-l a.

In this example, PLMN 100 is the home network of the called (or 'target') mobile station 150. The PLMN 100 typically comprises a plurality of mobile switching centres (MSCs) 140...140b and in this example also a first MSC 120, together covering the geographic area of the PLMN 100.

Each MSC comprises a visitor location register (VLR) that stores subscriber information relating to those mobile stations currently within its own coverage area.

Mobile stations are further associated with a home location register (HLR) 130. The HLR is a centralized database storing subscriber information for typically all mobile stations for which the PLMN 100 is their home network, including the identity of the current MSC to which the mobile station is (or was last) connected (the 'covering MSC').

The identity of the covering MSC is typically established or updated whenever the mobile station is switched on or moves from the coverage area of one MSC to another. The covering MSC sends a location update 132 to the HLR, enabling the HLR to update its record for that mobile station. The MSC receives an identifying number, typically an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number from the mobile station as it registers with the MSC, which can be used by the HLR to identify the mobile station.

The HLR then typically provides the VLR of the covering MSC with necessary subscriber information 134 for the mobile station.

Subsequently any incoming call may be addressed to the mobile station via the correct covering MSC with reference to the data stored in the HLR, accessed using the mobile station's IMSI number or equivalent.

Thus in the example shown in figure 1, a caller in one of the plurality of cells covered by the first MSC 120 initiates a call to target mobile station 150. If the caller was on a different mobile network, the first MSC 120 would instead typically be a gateway mobile switching centre (GMSC).

The call request 111 includes, inter alla, an identity number for the target mobile station 150, and is typically routed via a base station controller (no shown) to the first MSC 120. The first MSC 120 then interrogates the HLR associated with the target mobile station 150 for the location of the target mobile station, typically by sending a mobile application part (MAP) message 122 to the HLR, comprising the identity number.

The HLR identifies the MSC 140 covering the target mobile station 150, and sends a MAP signal 144 to this covering MSC 140 requesting a roaming number. The covering MSC sends a roaming number via a MAP signal 142 back to the HLR which in turn sends it to the first MSC 120 via yet another MAP signal 124.

The first MSC 120 is now able to route the call request 121 to the covering MSC 140 using the roaming number, establishing a call connection between the two MSCs.

Finally, the covering MSC pages the target mobile station via at least one of its associated base stations (not shown) and assigns a pair of radio channels 151 enabling the caller and the target mobile station 150 to connect.

If the original call request message 111 comprised caller ID information, for example in an initial address message (JAM), this may also be transmitted in the routed call request 121 to the target mobile station 150 at call set up, to provide caller ID for the user of the target mobile station 150.

Uplink Referring now to figure 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a caller mobile station currently serviced by (and thus geographically close to) a base transceiver station ('base station') 110 initiates a call request, typically in the form of a link access procedure D mobile (LAPDm) message CM_SERV REQ received over a radio signalling link. This message is received by the base transceiver station (BTS) 110.

The CM_SERV_REQ message may have its transparency bit set so as to indicate that BTS processing is required. The BTS then adds information signifying its geographic location to the message (hereinafter 'the signifying information'), typically to the assigned dedicated channel additional information section, before forwarding on to a base station controller (BSC, not shown), which may or may not be local to the base station itself.

The BSC then sets up a signalling system (SS7) connection to a first mobile switching centre (MSC) 220 and uplinks call information, including the signifying information, to the first MSC 220. The first MSC 220 has sufficient suitable memory 226 to store the additional signifying information.

The information signifying the base station's geographical location is thus incorporated into the caller ID function.

It will be clear to a person skilled in the art that the information signifying the base station's geographical location may be added to any part of the call request message permitted by the call request protocol, thus making the signifying information supplemental to the caller ID.

It will be clear to a person skilled in the art that other mobile communication protocols may be used if appropriate, providing they are capable of incorporating the information signifying the base station geographical area, typically as part of the caller ID function.

It will also be clear that the signifying information may be added to the information sent by the base station at any suitable point prior to uplink.

The signifying information may be any one of:

i. A textual geographic description; and

ii. A binary code that may be mapped to a geographic location.

These are subsequently referred to as a geographic descriptor and a binary representation of a geographic location, respectively.

Using a geographic descriptor: In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first MSC 220 interrogates the HLR 230 of the target mobile station 250 as described previously, and upon establishment of a call connection with the MSC 240 covering the target mobile station 250 sends, inter alla, the caller ID information together with the base station geographic descriptor to the covering MSC 240, for downlink to the target mobile station 250 and subsequent display to the user of the target mobile station 250. Both the covering MSC 240 and the target mobile station 250 comprise sufficient suitable memory (246, 256) to store the additional signifying information.

In an alternative embodiment, the first MSC 220 sends, inter alla, the signifying information to the HLR 230, which then passes it to the covering MSC 240. In this embodiment, the HLR also comprises sufficient suitable memory (236) to store the additional signifying information. The covering MSC then associates this signifying information with the incoming call connection from the first MSC 220.

Using a binary representation of a geographic location: Referring now to figure 3, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first MSC 320 interrogates the HLR 330 of the target mobile station 350 as described previously, and upon establishment of a call connection with the MSC 340 covering the target mobile station 350 sends, inter alla, the caller ID information together with the base station binary representation to the covering MSC 340, for downlink to the target mobile station. Both the covering MSC 340 and the target mobile station 350 comprise sufficient suitable memory (346, 356) to store the additional signifying information.

In addition, the target mobile station 350 comprises an application 358 for associating the binary representation of a geographic location with a geographic descriptor for display to the user, the application either storing such descriptions or downloading them from a server (not shown).

In an alternative embodiment, the first MSC 320 sends, inter alla, the signifying information to the HLR 330. HLR 330 comprises, in addition to sufficient suitable memory (336) to store the additional signifying information, an application 338 for associating the binary representation of a geographic location with a geographic descriptor, the application either storing such descriptions or downloading them from a server (not shown). The HLR then passes the geographic descriptor to the covering MSC 340. The covering MSC 340 then associates this signifying information with the incoming call connection from the first MSC 320.

More generally, the application for associating the binary representation of a geographic location with a geographic descriptor may be located anywhere in the uplink or 1 ' downlink chain provided that subsequent links facilitate the transmission of the associated geographic descriptor.

The selection of a geographic descriptor or a binary representation of a geographic location as the signifying information uploaded from the base station is largely governed by the number of bits that can be made available in the call set-up chain to carry the information.

In a telecommunications system where a large and/or variable number of bits are available during uplink, a textual description may readily be used (typically in a binary coded form). By contrast, where a fixed but limited number of bits are available, a look-up code representation may be preferable. Such a code may be based on listings of geographical locations, the base station originating address and/or the base station serial number.

Finally if the number of bits available is limited but variable from system to system, then a representation of latitude and longitude coordinates may be encoded to a precision allowed by the number of bits available to the base station 110, with the eventual granularity of the geographical descriptor being dependent on the degree of truncation of the coordinates during their journey to the descriptor associating application.

The geographic descriptor or binary representation of a geographic location used by the base station may be added during production, or provided to the base station as part of a configuration download upon installation or movement of the base station.

If the base station services networks variously capable of including the geographic descriptor and a binary representation, then the base station may store both and use them as appropriate.

Downlink In downlink, in an embodiment of the present invention, the signifying information is downlinked to the target mobile station via an unstructured message, such as short message service (SMS) via an SMS center (SMS-C), or unstructured supplementary service (USSD) or global packet radio signal (GPRS) using any valid route.

However, it will be clear to a person skilled in the art that any means of conveying the signifying information to the target mobile station as part of a caller ID display function is envisaged.

Apparatus to carry out the method described above is also provided. A base station is provided comprising memory means, in operation storing information signifying the geographical location of the base station; and uplinking means, operable to uplink the information signifying the geographic location of the base station.

A mobile station is provided comprising associative means, in operation associating information signifying the geographical location of the base station with a

geographical description.

Claims

An alternative mobile station is also provided, comprising download means,

in operation downloading from a remote

server a geographical description associated with

information signifying the geographical location of the base station.

Claims 1. A method of communicating caller mobile station geographical information to a target mobile station, the caller mobile station being served by at least a first base station in a network, and characterized by the steps of; uplinking from the first base station information signifying the geographic location of the first base station; and downlinking information signifying the geographic location of the first base station to the target mobile station.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the downlinked information signifying the geographic location of the first base station is part of a caller ID.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the downlinked information signifying the geographic location of the first base station is supplemental to a caller ID.
4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the information uplinked from the first base station signifies the geographic location of the first base station using a geographic descriptor.
5. A method according to claim 4 wherein the geographic descriptor is a location or area name.
6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the information uplinked from the first base station signifying the geographic location of the first base station is a binary representation of a geographic location.
7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the binary representation of the geographic location is mapped to a geographical description by an application located in the uplink or downlink chain.
8. A method according to claim 6, wherein the binary representation of the geographic location is mapped to a geographical description by an application of a home location register.
9. A method according to claim 6, wherein the binary representation of the geographic location is mapped to a geographical description by an application of the target mobile station.
10. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the information signifying the geographic location of the first base station is uplinked from the base station to at least a first mobile switching centre.
11. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the information signifying the geographic location of the first base station is further uplinked from a first mobile switching center to a mobile switching center covering the target mobile station.
12. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the information signifying the geographic location of the first base station is further uplinked from a first mobile switching center to the home location register.
13. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein information signifying the geographic location of the first base station is downlinked to the target mobile station along with the caller ID information.
14. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein information signifying the geographic location of the first base station is downlinked to the called mobile station via at least a first unstructured message.
15. A method according to claim 14 wherein the unstructured message comprises any one of; i. An SMS sent via an SMS-C; ii. A USSD message; and iii. A GPRS signal.
16. A base station, characterized by; memory means, in operation storing information signifying the geographical location of the base station; and uplinking means, operable to uplink the information signifying the geographic location of the base station.
17. A base station according to claim 16, wherein the base station further comprises means to download and store configuration data comprising information signifying the geographical location of the base station.
18. A mobile station, characterized by; associative means, in operation associating information signifying the geographical location of the

base station with a geographical description.
19. A mobile station, characterized bye download means, in operation downloading from a remote

server a geographical description associated with

information signifying the geographical location of the base station.
20. A method of communicating caller mobile station geographical information to a target mobile station according to claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
21. A base station according to claim 16 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
22. A mobile station according to claim 18 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
23. A mobile station according to claim 19 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.