AU5794300A

AU5794300A - Method for determining subscriber's home zone area for home zone service

Info

Publication number: AU5794300A
Application number: AU57943/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Pyeong-Hwan Wee
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 1999-09-13
Filing date: 2000-09-13
Publication date: 2001-03-15
Also published as: KR20010027327A

Description

METHOD FOR DETERMINING SUBSCRIBER'S HOME ZONE AREA FOR HOME ZONE SERVICE

PRIORITY

This application claims priority to an application entitled "Method for Determining Subscriber's Home Zone Area for Home Zone Service" filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on September 13, 1999 and assigned Serial No.

99-39028, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

.o BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention 15 The present invention relates generally to a home zone service for a ooo.

mobile telephone subscriber in a mobile communication system, and in particular, to a method for determining a home zone area of the corresponding subscriber when the home zone area desired to be registered by the subscriber exceeds a single bin.

2. Description of the Related Art A home zone'service allocates a specific area, called a home zone, to the subscriber of the mobile telephone, and applies a different charge system to the subscriber according to whether the subscriber talks over the telephone in the home zone or out of the home zone.

If a subscriber has requested the home zone service, taking his home as a home zone, then the service provider will charge the same call fee as the call fee of the wire telephone when the subscriber talks over the mobile telephone at his _14 home, and charge the normal call fee of the mobile telephone when the subscriber talks over the mobile telephone out of his home.

When the subscriber requests the home zone service, the service provider sets the home zone, considering location information (latitude/longitude) of base stations, coverage of the base stations, list of installed base stations, and geographical properties of the base stations, on the basis of an address provided by the subscriber. Since one cell can be divided into a plurality of sectors, it is possible to set the home zone in the unit of the cell (or base station) or the sector.

"'Otherwise, it is also possible to set the home zone in the unit of a bin. By doing so, it is possible to set the home zone which is more effective for the service provider and the subscribers.

FIG. 1 illustrates a case where the home zone area desired to be registered by the subscriber exceeds a single bin. Reference letters A, B and C denote different base stations. Reference numeral 100 denotes a bin which includes an address that the subscriber has provided to an operator when he S. requests (or registers) the home zone service. For example, the size of the single 20 bin may be 30x30m 2 For a special zone such as the hospital and the airport, it is necessary for the subscriber to set many areas for the home zone in addition to the registered address. To determine such home zone areas, it is necessary to acquire information about a location of the home zone area desired to be actually registered by the subscriber, and based on the information, determine the bins which are to become the home zones of the corresponding subscriber, thus making the procedure complex and difficult. In addition, there is a case where the home zone is located at a handoff area where the different cell coverages overlap with each other. In this case, an 8-sector list may be exceeded undesirably.

-2- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method for efficiently setting a home zone area when the home zone area desired to be registered by the subscriber exceeds a single bin.

To achieve the above and other objects, there is provided a method for determining a subscriber's home zone area for a home zone service. The method 10 comprises indicating a home zone area desired to be registered by the subscriber in reserve on a coordinate map; indicating intersecting points where horizontal boundary lines and vertical boundary lines of the reserve home zone area cross with each other on the coordinate map; measuring latitudes and longitudes of the intersecting points; determining latitudes and longitudes of the bins including the respective intersecting points as latitudes and longitudes of the corresponding intersecting points; forming a closed curve by drawing lines joining the bins for which the latitudes and the longitudes are determined; and selecting the bins included in the closed curve and registering the selected bins as elements for :....defining the home zone area of the subscriber in a home zone list.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a case where the home zone area desired to be registered by the subscriber exceeds a single bin; FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method for determining a home zone area according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for determining the home -3zone area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

S 10 FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method for determining a home zone area according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the hone zone area shown in FIG. 1,in which the location corresponding to the address registered by the subscriber is indicated by the axis of the x/y coordinate system. Reference numerals to indicate the intersecting points where the horizontal boundary lines of the home zone area cross with the vertical boundary lines, when the home zone area is indicated on the coordinate map. The S:respective points are included in a certain bin.

FIG. 3 illustrates a procedure for determining a home zone area 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step 3a, a home zone area desired to be registered by the subscriber is indicated in reserve on the coordinate map. This home zone area will be assumed to be a reserve home zone area. Thereafter, in step 3b, the intersecting points respective comers) where the horizontal boundary lines and the vertical boundary lines of the reserve home zone area cross each other on the coordinate map, are indicated by to In step 3c, latitudes and longitudes are measured for the intersecting points to by using a global positioning system (GPS) receiver.

In step 3d, the latitudes and longitudes of the bins including the intersecting points to are determined as the latitudes and longitudes of the -4-

I

corresponding intersecting points. Thereafter, in step 3e, when drawing a line joining the bins for which the latitudes and the longitudes are determined, the inside of the closed curve will become the home zone area of the subscriber (see reference numeral 200 of FIG. Subsequently, in step 3f, the bins included in the closed curve are all selected. In step 3g, the selected bins are used as the elements for defining the home zone area of the subscriber in a home zone list. In other words, the home zone area is determined by integrating sector list information of the selected bins. When selecting central points of the selected bins and connecting the central points of the bins, the home zone area (see 300 of FIG. 2) will be more clearly defined.

As described above, the home zone service according to the present invention is advantageous in that the home zone area can be freely set by the subscriber.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a certain preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended 20 claims.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

For the purposes of this specification it will be clearly understood that the word "comprising" means "including but not limited to", and that the word "comprises" has a corresponding meaning.

Claims

1. A method for determining a subscriber's home zone area for a home zone service, comprising the steps of: indicating a home zone area desired to be registered by the subscriber in reserve on a coordinate map; indicating intersecting points where horizontal boundary lines and vertical boundary lines of the reserve home zone area cross with each other on the coordinate map; S: 10 measuring latitudes and longitudes of the intersecting points; determining latitudes and longitudes of the bins including the respective intersecting points as latitudes and longitudes of the corresponding intersecting points; forming a closed curve by drawing lines joining the bins for which the latitudes and the longitudes are determined; and selecting the bins included in the closed curve and registering the selected bins as elements for defining the home zone area of the subscriber in a home zone list. 99

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the home zone area of the subscriber is defined by integrating sector list information of the selected bins, in the step

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the home zone area is indicated by taking a bin including an address of the subscriber as a center of the coordinate. Dated this 13th day of September 2000 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia -6-