US6115754A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System and method for appending location information to a communication sent from a mobile terminal operating in a wireless communication system to an internet server
Assignee: Apple Inc
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Filing: 1997-12-29
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Granted: 2000-09-05
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Expires: 2017-12-29
Abstract
Abstract A location appending system appends location information concerning a mobile unit to a communication passing through a gateway between a wireless network and the Internet, the communication sent by the mobile unit. The location appending system includes a gateway interface, an Internet request parsing unit, a location determination unit and a wireless network interface. The gateway interface allows the location parsing system to operate in conjunction with the gateway. The Internet request parsing unit parses communications passing through the gateway and determines which of the communications require location information. The location determination unit identifies the associated mobile unit and produces a locate request that includes the identity of the mobile unit. The wireless network interface forwards the locate request to the wireless network receives a locate response from the wireless network. The location determination then determines the location information based upon the locate response. Then, either the location appending system or gateway appends the location information to the communication. The location appending system may include a database that couples to the location determination unit which contains cross-reference information that is used by the location determination unit in determining the location information. The location information may include a zipcode corresponding to a current location of the mobile unit, longitude and latitude information corresponding to a current location of the mobile unit or other location specific information. The communication may comprise markup language.
Inventors
- 👤 Patricia A. Landgren
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 06:00
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04W; H04W4/00; H04W4/02; H04W4/029; H04L; H04L67/00; H04L67/50; H04L67/52; H04L67/56; H04L67/561; H04M; H04M15/00; H04M15/80; H04M15/8033; H04M2215/00; H04M2215/22; H04M2215/32; H04M2215/74; H04M2215/7435; H04Q; H04Q2213/00; H04Q2213/13097; H04Q2213/13098; H04Q2213/13103; H04Q2213/13106; H04Q2213/13141; H04Q2213/13175; H04Q2213/13196; H04Q2213/13282; H04Q2213/13299; H04Q2213/13389
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
206 words
A location appending system that produces physical location information that is entered in a communication passing through a gateway from a wireless network to the Internet, the physical location information indicating a physical location of a mobile unit operating within the wireless network that sent the communication, the system comprising: a gateway interface that couples to the gateway; an Internet request parsing unit coupled to the gateway interface that parses communications passing through the gateway from the wireless network to the Internet and that determines that physical location information for the mobile unit should be entered in a particular communication sent by the mobile unit; a location determination unit that produces a locate request for the mobile unit based upon a determination from the Internet request parsing unit that physical location information is required for the mobile unit; a wireless network interface coupled to the location determination unit and the wireless network that forwards the locate request to the wireless network and that receives a locate response from the wireless network, the locate response indicating the physical location of the mobile unit; and the location determination unit determining the physical location information based upon the locate response and entering the physical location information in the communication.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
206 words
A location appending system that produces physical location information that is entered in a communication passing through a gateway from a wireless network to the Internet, the physical location information indicating a physical location of a mobile unit operating within the wireless network that sent the communication, the system comprising: a gateway interface that couples to the gateway; an Internet request parsing unit coupled to the gateway interface that parses communications passing through the gateway from the wireless network to the Internet and that determines that physical location information for the mobile unit should be entered in a particular communication sent by the mobile unit; a location determination unit that produces a locate request for the mobile unit based upon a determination from the Internet request parsing unit that physical location information is required for the mobile unit; a wireless network interface coupled to the location determination unit and the wireless network that forwards the locate request to the wireless network and that receives a locate response from the wireless network, the locate response indicating the physical location of the mobile unit; and the location determination unit determining the physical location information based upon the locate response and entering the physical location information in the communication.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
The location appending system of claim 1, wherein the wireless network operates compliant with the Cellular Digital Packet Data standard.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
The location appending system of claim 2, wherein the wireless network includes: a home location services distributor; at least one home Mobile Data Intermediate System; at least one serving Mobile Data Intermediate System; and a serving location services distributor, which together respond to the locate request.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
The location appending system of claim 1, wherein the wireless network operates compliant with a communication standard selected from the group consisting of the Global System for Mobile communications standard and the North American communication standard.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
The location appending system of claim 4, wherein the wireless network includes: a home location register; and at least one visitor location register, which together respond to the locate request.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
The location appending system of claim 1, further comprising a database coupled to the location determination unit that contains cross-reference information used by the location determination unit in determining the physical location information.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
24 words
The location appending system of claim 1, wherein the physical location information comprises a zipcode corresponding to a current location of the mobile unit.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
The location appending system of claim 1, wherein the physical location information comprises longitude and latitude information corresponding to a current location of the mobile unit.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
15 words
The location appending system of claim 1, wherein the communication comprises a markup language communication.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
The location appending system of claim 1, wherein the location determination unit enters the physical location information in the communication by replacing a portion of the communication with the location information.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
The location appending system of claim 1, wherein the location determination unit forwards the physical location information to the gateway which appends the physical location information to the communication.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
205 words
A gateway that services communications passing between a wireless network and the Internet, the gateway comprising: a link coupled between the wireless network and the Internet that includes a wireless network side and an Internet side, the link converting communications passing between the wireless network and the Internet; a location appending system comprising: a gateway interface that couples to the link; an Internet request parsing unit coupled to the link that parses communications passing through the gateway from the wireless network to the Internet and that determines that physical location information should be entered in a communication sent by a mobile unit; a location determination unit that produces a locate request for the mobile unit based upon a determination from the Internet request parsing unit that physical location information is required for the mobile unit; a wireless network interface coupled to the location determination unit and the wireless network that forwards the locate request to the wireless network and that receives a locate response from the wireless network, the locate response indicating the physical location of the mobile unit; and the location determination unit determining the physical location information based upon the locate response; and the link entering the physical location information in the communication.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
205 words
A gateway that services communications passing between a wireless network and the Internet, the gateway comprising: a link coupled between the wireless network and the Internet that includes a wireless network side and an Internet side, the link converting communications passing between the wireless network and the Internet; a location appending system comprising: a gateway interface that couples to the link; an Internet request parsing unit coupled to the link that parses communications passing through the gateway from the wireless network to the Internet and that determines that physical location information should be entered in a communication sent by a mobile unit; a location determination unit that produces a locate request for the mobile unit based upon a determination from the Internet request parsing unit that physical location information is required for the mobile unit; a wireless network interface coupled to the location determination unit and the wireless network that forwards the locate request to the wireless network and that receives a locate response from the wireless network, the locate response indicating the physical location of the mobile unit; and the location determination unit determining the physical location information based upon the locate response; and the link entering the physical location information in the communication.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
18 words
The gateway of claim 12, wherein the wireless network operates compliant with the Cellular Digital Packet Data standard.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
44 words
The gateway of claim 13, wherein the wireless network includes: a home location services distributor; at least one home Mobile Data Intermediate System; at least one serving Mobile Data Intermediate System; and a serving location services distributor, which together respond to the locate request.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
32 words
The gateway of claim 12, wherein the wireless network operates a communication standard selected from the group consisting of the Global System for Mobile communications standard and the North American communication standard.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
28 words
The gateway of claim 15, wherein the wireless network includes: a home location register; and at least one visitor location register, which together respond to the locate request.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
36 words
The gateway of claim 12, wherein the location appending system further comprises a database coupled to the location determination unit that contains cross-reference information used by the location determination unit in determining the physical location information.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
22 words
The gateway of claim 12, wherein the physical location information comprises a zipcode corresponding to a current location of the mobile unit.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
24 words
The gateway of claim 12, wherein the physical location information comprises longitude and latitude information corresponding to a current location of the mobile unit.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
11 words
The gateway of claim 12, wherein the communication comprises markup language.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
137 words
A method of appending physical location information to a communication passing through a gateway between a wireless network and the Internet, the physical location information indicating a physical location of a mobile unit operating within the wireless network that sent the communication, the method comprising: receiving communications from the wireless network; parsing the communications to determine that a communication sent by a mobile unit requires physical location information to be entered; identifying the mobile unit that sent the communication; producing a locate request that requests a physical location for the mobile unit; forwarding the locate request to the wireless network; receiving a locate response from the network, the locate response indicating the physical location of the mobile unit; determining the physical location information based upon the locate response; and entering the physical location information in the communication.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
137 words
A method of appending physical location information to a communication passing through a gateway between a wireless network and the Internet, the physical location information indicating a physical location of a mobile unit operating within the wireless network that sent the communication, the method comprising: receiving communications from the wireless network; parsing the communications to determine that a communication sent by a mobile unit requires physical location information to be entered; identifying the mobile unit that sent the communication; producing a locate request that requests a physical location for the mobile unit; forwarding the locate request to the wireless network; receiving a locate response from the network, the locate response indicating the physical location of the mobile unit; determining the physical location information based upon the locate response; and entering the physical location information in the communication.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 21, wherein the communication comprises markup language.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 22, further comprising converting the communication from the Handheld Device Transfer Protocol to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 21, further comprising: accessing a database coupled to the location determination unit that contains cross-reference information; and determining the physical location information based upon the locate response and the cross-reference information.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 21, wherein the physical location information comprises a zipcode corresponding to a current location of the mobile unit.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 21, wherein the physical location information comprises longitude and latitude information corresponding to a current location of the mobile unit.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 21, wherein the wireless network operates compliant with the Cellular Digital Packet Data standard.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 21, wherein the wireless network operates compliant with the Global System for Mobile communications standard.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
241 words
A computer readable medium containing program instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to enter physical location information in a communication passing through a gateway between a wireless network and the Internet, the physical location information indicating a physical location of a mobile unit operating within the wireless network that sent the communication, the computer readable medium comprising: a first plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to receive communications from the wireless network; a second plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to parse the communications to determine that a communication sent by a mobile unit requires physical location information to be entered; a third plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to identify a mobile unit that transmitted the communication; a fourth plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to produce a locate request that requests a physical location for the mobile unit; a fifth plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to forward the locate request to the wireless network; a sixth plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to receive a locate response from the network, the locate response indicating the physical location of the mobile unit; a seventh plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to determine the physical location information based upon the locate response; and an eighth plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to enter the physical location information in the communication.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
241 words
A computer readable medium containing program instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to enter physical location information in a communication passing through a gateway between a wireless network and the Internet, the physical location information indicating a physical location of a mobile unit operating within the wireless network that sent the communication, the computer readable medium comprising: a first plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to receive communications from the wireless network; a second plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to parse the communications to determine that a communication sent by a mobile unit requires physical location information to be entered; a third plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to identify a mobile unit that transmitted the communication; a fourth plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to produce a locate request that requests a physical location for the mobile unit; a fifth plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to forward the locate request to the wireless network; a sixth plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to receive a locate response from the network, the locate response indicating the physical location of the mobile unit; a seventh plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to determine the physical location information based upon the locate response; and an eighth plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to enter the physical location information in the communication.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
53 words
The computer readable medium of claim 29, further comprising: a ninth plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to access a database that contains cross-reference information; and a tenth plurality of stored instructions that cause the computer to determine the physical location information based upon the locate response and the cross-reference information.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
24 words
The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the physical location information comprises a code corresponding to a current location of the mobile unit.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
26 words
The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the physical location information comprises longitude and latitude information corresponding to a current location of the mobile unit.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
20 words
The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the wireless network operates compliant with the Cellular Digital Packet Data standard.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
21 words
The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the wireless network operates compliant with the Global System for Mobile communications standard.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
14 words
The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the communication comprises a markup language.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
32 words
The computer readable medium of claim 35, further comprising a plurality of instructions that cause the computer to convert the communication from the Handheld Device Transfer Protocol to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-09-05 | 2004-03-06 | 2004-09-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-09-05 | 2008-03-06 | 2008-09-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-09-05 | 2012-03-06 | 2012-09-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |