Patent Application
20070087764
The patent application relates generally to control by a wireless network of wireless device features in geographical locations.
Wireless devices, such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), today have many features. Examples of some features include cameras, real time video, ringer adjustment, sms/mms, data and/or voice generalized communication, and capability to turn of various modes of device communication such as cellular air interface/lrDA/Bluetooth/USB etc . Certain facilities (e.g. business/government/private), may attempt to control the usage of these features by asking users to turn off the devices, or installing hardware that can control the features while the wireless device is within the geographical area under the control of the establishment.
Existing systems require hardware, such as a local transmitter or a Bluetooth beacon, to be physically located at the site where the features of the wireless device are to be disabled. The wireless device also requires additional hardware and/or software to interface to the on-site additional hardware in order to receive the control information to disable a feature on the wireless device.
For example, the Safe Haven™ product combines hardware transmitters with a small piece of control software loaded into a camera phone handset. When the handset is taken into a room or building containing the Safe Haven™ hardware, the phone is instructed to deactivate the imaging systems. The systems are reactivated when the handset is out of range. These types of systems require after market and voluntary installation, and additional capital outlay.
Embodiments will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present application provides a method comprising: a wireless device receiving a message from a wireless network indicating that a feature control applies in a geographic area; the wireless device determining that the wireless device is in the geographic area; and the wireless device applying the feature control to a feature on the wireless device.
The present application further provides a method comprising: a wireless device receiving instructions to apply a feature control to a feature on the wireless device if it connects to a wireless network, said wireless network defined by a geographic area; and the wireless device applying the feature control to the feature upon connecting to the wireless network.
The present application further provides a system comprising: a wireless network defining a geographic area, said wireless network configured to send a message to a wireless device indicating that a feature control applies in the wireless network; the wireless device configured to determine that the wireless device is in the wireless network, to receive the message from the wireless network, and to apply the feature control to the feature.
The present application further provides a system comprising: a wireless network configured to send a message to a wireless device indicating that a feature control applies in a geographic area; the wireless device configured to receive the message from the wireless network, to determine that the wireless device is within the geographic area and to apply the feature control to the feature.
Other aspects and features will become apparent, to those ordinarily skilled in the art, upon review of the following description of the specific embodiments of the invention.
The inappropriate use of wireless device features, such as application capabilities in certain geographic areas, currently cannot be prevented by anything other than physical means. It is desirable that the feature of a wireless device be controllable at the wireless network level.
In operation, the wireless device 102 contains instructions that a feature control applies to feature Fi 104 while in the geographic area of the wireless network 100 and the wireless device will apply that control while it is in the geographic area of the wireless network 100. In some embodiments, the wireless device 102 receives instructions from the wireless network 100 through a base station 110, 112 or 114 upon entering the geographic area of the wireless network 100 to control feature Fi 104.
In some embodiments the wireless network is a LAN (Local Area Network).
Since LANs are inherently a geographically local network, once a LAN is entered, the LAN itself may implement End User feature controls at the LAN packet data protocol level for wherever the wireless device is in that LAN's coverage. An example is where a military 802.11 campus network would deny camera phone usage while in that 802.11 network's coverage. In another embodiment, the wireless device 102 has a database with a list of which features controls to apply in a list of LANs, cellular networks, etc., and the feature controls are applied automatically on entering the LAN, cellular network, etc. In the LAN embodiment the feature controls are linked to an SID (System Identifier) of the LAN in some embodiments. The Service Set Identifier (SSID) used in the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network standards is one example of a SID. This list may be provisioned by a wireless operator via a different bearer path or configured before the device is sold and could subsequently be controlled by over the air messages or taking the device to have it changed somewhere. An example is dual mode 802.xx/cellular devices, where the wireless operator configures the LAN vs. feature control list.
Examples of features 104 that can be controlled are: a transmitter that can be turned on or off; ringer volume that can be adjusted; and a camera that can be enabled or disabled.
However, various embodiments can have any number of base stations.
In operation, the wireless device 202 receives a message from the wireless is network 200 through a base station 210, 212 or 214 indicating that a feature control applies to feature Fi 204 within the geographic area 220. When the wireless device 202 enters into the geographic area 220, it applies the feature control.
The wireless device 202 uses any position/location technology available to determine whether it is in the geographic area 220. Non-GPS (Global Positioning System) based technologies include AFLT (Advanced Forward Link Trilateration) in CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and E-OTD(Enhanced Observed Time Difference) in GSM. The wireless device may be able to compute the location by itself or it can send the measurements to the wireless network 200 which computes the location. Other possibilities include stand-alone GPS, where the wireless device locates itself by using its own stand-alone GPS receiver without any assistance from the wireless network and A-GPS (Assisted GPS), where the wireless network assists the wireless device 202 to perform GPS search in order to have a quick time to fix location. A-GPS technology has become mandatory within the United States due to Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) requirements on location accuracy during emergency calls. In some embodiments this technology is used by the wireless device 202 to determine accurately (defined in FCC (US Federal Communications Commission) requirements) the latitude, longitude, and height of the wireless device 202. This information is then used by the wireless device 202 to control feature Fi 204 based on geographic location. The Location Services feature of CDMA is defined is TIA IS801, which is herein incorporated by reference.
In 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project for W-CDMA (GSM)), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)and GERAN (3GPP TSG (Technical Specification Group) for GSM/EDGE (Enhanced Data-rates for GSM Evolution) RAN (Radio Access Network))support E-OTD, UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) uses OTDOA (Observed Time Difference Of Arrival) and GERAN uses U-TDOA (Uplink Time Difference of Arrival), and all access technologies support cell coverage based positioning method and GPS positioning method. The Location Services feature of GSM and UMTS is defined in the 3GPP is Technical Specification 23.271, which is herein incorporated by reference.
In a further embodiment, the wireless device can use the cell identifier (cellid) to identifying a geographical area.
Other positioning technology can also be used. For example, GALILEO is a positioning standard that may be used in place of GPS. The present application is not meant to be limited by the positioning technology used.
In some embodiments the wireless network 200 is a wireless WAN (Wide Area Network). By way of example, a packet data enabled cellular network can be considered a WAN.
In another embodiment, a wireless device that is capable of both WAN and LAN connections can have a feature control that restricts access to certain LANs. Each LAN is a geographical area 230 that may be roamed to from the wireless network 200. The wireless device 102 has an account with the wireless WAN with an account profile that causes signaling from the wireless WAN over a signaling channel to the wireless device indicating that the wireless device is only permitted to connect to certain LANs with certain feature controls. In this embodiment, any type of WAN or LAN is possible. For example, the WAN can be 1 XRTT and the LAN can be 802.11.
If feature controls are indicated in the configuration message, the wireless device will acquire feature control information for each feature that may be controlled from the wireless WAN (Step 5-8). Alternatively, the feature control could already be stored in the wireless device. In some embodiments, the feature control information includes the feature name Fi, where i=1 to n and n is the total number of features, feature control, co-ordinates of area where the feature control applies with some accuracy (for example, latitude and longitude and an error radius) and algorithms. Examples of algorithms include algorithms to deal with a cell smaller that the accuracy, hysteris or out of coverage behaviour. In some embodiments, the feature control information is received via a broadcast SMS (Short Message Service) which sends the information to all wireless devices on a particular control channel. In other embodiments, the wireless device gets the feature availability information over an IP connection. One embodiment this could be PPP/PDP (Point-to-Point Protocol/Packet Data Protocol) as IP (Internet Protocol) transport. Another embodiment could be a propritary protocol.
Next, the wireless device will determine a current position of the wireless device (Step 5-10). This is done using any available position location technology, such as those discussed above with reference to
The wireless device will then check to see if any feature controls are currently in place (Step 8-4). If there are any feature controls in place, the wireless device will clear the feature controls (Step 8-6) and then proceed with the steps of
Reference is now made to
Other airport grounds, designated using reference numeral 912, could be considered to be a “yellow zone”. In these areas, a user may or may not be able to use the mobile device. Specifically, if the user is going from a red zone into a yellow zone, the mobile device feature control will prohibit the user from communicating or using a specific feature in that zone.
The terminal building in
Referring to
In this case, box 916, marked “Error” shows a region around the mobile device in which the mobile device could be located. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the size of box 916 will depend on the accuracy available for the geographic location determination for the mobile device. If any portion of the box 916 enters a “red zone”, then feature controls will disable various features based on the requirements of the red zone. Various algorithms that would be known to those skilled in the art could be used for this, including collision detection algorithms to determine when box 916 collides with a zone.
Reference is now made to
Specifically, the network could include location services 1010 to provide the mobile device with a location. Further, mobility management 1012 occurs on the network side and could include, for example, cell changes, packet zone changes or other mobility criteria that would be known to those skilled in the art.
The mobile device includes a mobility module 1014 that communicates with mobility management 1012 and this mobility module can change the location identification 1016 of the mobile device. The location identification can be provided from location services 1010, or alternatively from a location module such as a GPS module 1018 as identified in
In one embodiment, mobility management module 1012 triggers feature services 1030. Specifically, when a mobile device changes cells or packets, for example, then features and geographical locations in which those features are restricted could be loaded to the mobile device at that time. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, this will save resources required for storing features and geographical locations on the mobile device. The mobile device will need to only hold the feature services and geographic information for a particular cell.
Feature services 1030 use a geographic information system to identify which features are allowed and not allowed in various bounding boxes. Geographic information system 1032 could be updated through either feature service subscribers and/or regulatory bodies. For example, in the case of airports the federal aviation administration may restrict where certain services or features on a mobile device are allowed to be used. In alternative embodiments, subscribers to mobile services may wish to restrict certain features on their premises. For example, a movie theatre may wish to restrict the use of voice calls in any of its theatres. A gym may wish to restrict the use of camera features in the changing room areas or even in the entire gym complex. As will be appreciated, these feature service subscribers can pay a fee to a carrier to ensure that these features are restricted in these areas. This feature service subscriber information is shown in
On the mobile device, once the mobile device knows its location, a State Machine 1050 can be used on the mobile device to determine whether a feature can be used. In State Machine 1050, if the mobile device is in a green zone it will be in a feature-on state 1052. If the mobile device then moves into a yellow zone, as illustrated by arrow 1054, the feature stays on. However, if the mobile device moves into a red zone as illustrated by arrow 1056, the mobile device moves to state 1058 in which the feature is turned off.
From state 1058, if the mobile device moves into a yellow zone, as depicted by arrow 1060 the feature remains off. However, if the mobile device moves into a green zone as depicted by arrow 1062 the feature turns back on in state 1052.
As illustrated in
Since the location may not be known precisely, an error box 1070 can be calculated for the mobile device and this error box can be used to compare to bounding boxes 1075 to see if any portion of the error box enters into a feature control area.
Feature bounding boxes 1075 are updated from the network through feature services module 1030 and can be changed whenever the mobile device changes cells, packet zones or performs other mobility changes.
Various algorithms can be used to detect whether the error box 1070 crosses into a feature control area in feature bounding boxes 1075. These could include a collision detection algorithm or a voronoi algorithm, among others. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the above notion of bounding boxes allows feature control when imprecise knowledge of the location is available. Specifically, since the mobile device cannot know exactly where it is but can only define where it is based on an error box 1070, if this error box crosses into a boundary where feature control is either required due to regulation or desired by a service subscriber, the mobile device can prevent the feature from being used in that area.
In one embodiment, the mobile device could include an indicator that can be shown to a feature service subscriber to allow the mobile device to enter into an area. For example, a gym may restrict bringing cell phones into the change rooms unless the cell phone has a specific symbol indicating that it incorporates feature controls.
Various other examples of geographic wireless device feature control are:
In some embodiments, fields in the messages sent to the wireless devices by the wireless networks are sets including:
a byte for a ‘geo control flag’ against each feature above to turn on or off;
For example, phone handoff in sectors smaller than the accuracy; conflicted settings in adjacent sectors with overlapping ‘accuracy’; hysteresis of setting after handoff or before observing new feature control from the network; out of coverage behavior after receiving a feature control from the network (enable feature/keep disabled); allow mobile override of feature control (e.g. CDMA mobiles configured with certain Access Overload Class that can override any network control); and in cases where the GPS receiver is distinct from WAN/LAN receiver or in cases where a receiver may remain ‘on’ while a transmitter can be turned ‘off’, a device may be provided with preloaded coordinates that the device can use to turn the feature back on without a requirement for aid from the position determination entity or without the aid for intensive computation.
In some embodiments the wireless device has extra instructions in its executable file to implement the methods described above.
In some embodiments the geographical area does not necessarily require wireless coverage. For example, a basement gym may not have wireless network coverage. If a wireless device can act as a stand-alone GPS receiver without assistance from wireless network, once the wireless device computes a radial zone identified by latitude/longitude/height and radius, about a geographical area in which feature controls apply, while in coverage, the wireless device can use that information.
In another embodiment, certain features are automatically turned off if a certain condition is met. For example, a GPS fix is not possible and there is no wireless network coverage. This is effectively a negative implementation where the wireless device has been signalled to only turn off the feature when the condition is met. Other examples of conditions are the wireless device is no longer in RF coverage, or the wireless device is within particular geographic coordinates.
In a multimode air interface device, different modes of controlling features in geographic areas can be provided on the device.
The embodiments described above can be implemented on any channel or bearer path of communication. Examples of channel/bearer paths that can be used follow.
In CDMA the system parameter message (3GPP2, C.S0005-C_V.0 2.6.2.2.1. System Parameters Message) mandates wireless devices to store a variety of parameters, including base station latitude and longitude. There is also an optional feature called “User Zone” that identifies an area within which tiered is Services may be provided in a CDMA network. These parameters can be sent over a control channel or via an in-band signaling message on the traffic channel.
There are also proposals for ‘Tracking Zones’.
There are mainly three types of location determination techniques in CDMA. These are i) A-GPS via PDE; ii) AFLT based on received pilots from base stations; and iii) hybrid of AGPS and AFLT. In some embodiments the wireless network provides notification to the wireless device where it will track it's own location and turn off/on features when geographically appropriate. In some embodiments this notification is SID wide. IS-801, herein incorporated by reference, defines messaging of location services in the form of Data Burst Messages as the transport. Same data burst messages can be exchanged over IP transport during a packet data call.
In GSM the Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) or GPRS General Packet Radio Service) PBCCH (Packet Broadcast Control Channel) are used to broadcast cell specific information to the wireless device. This may include Latitude/Longitude of the Base Station. Also supported in GSM is the E-OTD positioning method, GPS positioning method and cell coverage positioning method. Also, USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is a network/terminal feature that could be triggered when the terminal enters a specific area. Here, the wireless network will actually target the wireless device. Alternatively, the wireless device could solicit information from the wireless network using the USSD feature to ask what it should do. This might be useful if there is no location information available from GPS or A-GPS but you can still get service. For example, an in-building solution where there are pico cells but you can't see any GPS satellites. USSD could be also be implemented on a private wireless corporate network.
Wireless Mulitcast/Broadcast IP messages can also be used. Within 3GPP and 3GPP2 compliant standards, standards have been developed for subscription based IP broadcast and IP multicast services. IP broadcast is designed for broadcast of IP packets in small geographic areas, and the standard is built up to determine when small geographic areas are entered. A good example is entering a mall, people that are signed up for the broadcast service would receive streams of data trying to sell them something. In some embodiments a wireless device that support this standard may have a default subscription profile created for “Geographically Network Triggered Mobile Phone Feature Disablement”. The infrastructure would perform IP broadcast to all subscribers in these small geographic areas, sending protocol level messages that are implemented according to the methods described above. These messages could implement IETF (Internet Engineering Taskforce) Vendor Specific Messages, such as RFC2153 PPP Vendor Extensions. Other RFCs (Requests for Comments) exist that can establish similar goals, depending on the protocol used. Within LAN (802.11) capable wireless devices, the LAN may apply feature controls at the pure IP application level, rather than the protocol level. An example is a WiFi network notification of what features are allowed on a dual WiFi/Cellular wireless device, covering only the case of entering a campus environment. A further example is a campus intranet, having a server to send the wireless device an indication of which features to turn off.
Altematively, a normal data connection to an application on the wireless device that is specifically for determining the wireless device's location can be used, illustrating an application level implementation. For example in GPRS the wireless network establishes or the wireless device establishes a PDP Context between an application on the wireless device and a server providing LCS (Location Services) information. The application downloads the co-ordinates of the mobile based on Cell-Id or one of the other available positioning methods.
In CDMA, the fields of the message with feature control information can be sent over the paging channel in the form of sector-wide system overhead message. In addition, these field can also be sent using point-to-point SMS or broadcast SMSA Service Category field in Broadcast SMS (IS-637) can be enhanced to provide information about “Restricted Zones and Services”. In effect, extending service category assignments is analogous to an application level implementation over IP.
Altematively, the feature control information can be included in one of the current sector-wide overhead messages on the relevant channels, such as PCH (paging channel) and BCCH. There will be a problem with PCS implementation that may not be palatable to base station folks. Usually, the size of fixed overhead messages is known, and the BTS paging scheduler operates based on that to decide when it can schedule mobile-specific messages. If it is dynamic, then it becomes complex.
It is preferable to use the above described methods and apparatus in a standards based network approach (e.g. 3GPP2/3GPP/OMA (Open Mobile Alliance)) for a mandatory wireless device feature that ‘listens’ to network instructions regarding what features are ‘allowed’ in particular geographic locations. Users would have no choice in whether the feature controls are applied, and physical locations would only need to subscribe to the service with their service provider, thus requiring no physical equipment. To be an effective ‘undefeatable’ feature, embodiments must be part of the signalling for the air interface technology.
In other embodiments, it is possible to implement the methods described above by adding software to the wireless device and without changing communication standards. For example an IP multi-cast or IP broadcast can be used.
There is also a revenue opportunity for wireless carriers. For example, an enterprise (for example a fitness club) could subscribe with a wireless carrier so that, within the enterprise's geographic location, the wireless carrier guarantees to turn off camera phones. The enterprise would pay a monthly fee for the service.
What has been described is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Other arrangements and methods can be implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
