Patent Application
20080081638
Wireless network 101 facilitates communication within a cellular network. Wireless network 101 also allows communication with a wireline network via a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Wireless network 101 can utilize a variety of wireless protocols.
MSC 103 typically is coupled to and controls a plurality of base stations, which in turn communicate with mobile units located within their location areas. Each base station is typically responsible for a specific geographical area, commonly referred to as a cell site. MSC 103 is preferably responsible for compiling call information for billing and handing off calls from one cell to another. In an exemplary embodiment, MSC 103 is a CDMA MSC. In the exemplary embodiment depicted in
Mobile units 107, 108, and 109 are portable units, such as a cell phones, that are registered with MSC 103. As depicted in
MSC 103 receives (201) a request to locate mobile unit 107. In this exemplary embodiment, mobile unit 107 is marked as being a distressed mobile unit. Mobile unit 107 may be labeled as distressed due to a call from the subscriber or other person that a crime has occurred to the owner of mobile unit 107. For example, the user of mobile unit 107 may have been the victim of a carjacking, in which case the owner may have been removed from the vehicle while the owner's cell phone, mobile unit 107, remained in the stolen vehicle. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, mobile unit 107 may be located on the person of its owner, who has been kidnapped. The request may be a call to police or other authorities, or can be a call to the cellular service provider who provides service for mobile unit 107.
MSC 103 requests (203) location information for mobile unit 107. The location information is preferably a set of GPS coordinates, but can alternately be a cell site, an intersection, a town, a zip code, or any other geographical representation of mobile unit 107.
MSC 103 determines (205) all other mobile units currently located within cell site 115. In the exemplary embodiment, mobile units 108 and 109 are located initially within cell site 115. This is preferably done by detecting autonomous registrations within MSC 103.
MSC 103 then tracks (207) all other mobile units currently located within cell site 115. In an exemplary embodiment, the identity of all mobile units located within cell site 115 at the time of the location request is sent to MSC 103 to be passed along to authorities. The authorities, such as the police of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), can then run checks on the owners of these cell phones. This can assist the authorities in identifying any known criminals who may have been in the area of the crime at the time of the crime.
The current location of all mobile units located within cell site 115 at the time of the request can also be transmitted to MSC 103, which would then forward them to the authorities. The location data is preferably GPS coordinates, but can alternately be a cell site, a zip code, a street address, a city name, or any other suitable geographic location.
In this manner using this exemplary embodiment, the authorities are given information about all mobile units that are located within the cell site that the distressed mobile unit was located, at a time near the occurrence of the crime. The information can be cross-referenced to a felony database or the like, which would allow the authorities to identify any known felons that were in the area of the crime. Further, the continued tracking of the mobile units that were in the vicinity of the distressed mobile unit at the time of the crime allows the authorities to track down these mobile units, even as they move away from the area of the crime. This can assist the authorities in identifying and talking with any potential witnesses to the crime.
MSC 103 receives (301) a request to locate a distressed mobile unit. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, mobile unit 107 is a distressed mobile unit. Mobile unit 107 may be labeled as distressed due to a call from the subscriber or other person that a crime has occurred to the owner of mobile unit 107. For example, the user of mobile unit 107 may have been the victim of a carjacking, in which case the owner may have been removed from the vehicle while the owner's cell phone, mobile unit 107, remained in the stolen vehicle. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, mobile unit 107 may be located on the person of its owner, who has been kidnapped.
MSC 103 requests (303) location information for distressed mobile unit 107. The location information is preferably a set of GPS coordinates, but can alternately be a cell site, an intersection, a town, a zip code, or any other geographical representation of mobile unit 107.
MSC 103 determines (305) all other mobile units that are currently within the same area as distressed mobile unit 107. In an exemplary embodiment, MSC 103 determines all other mobile units that are currently located in the same cell site as distressed mobile unit 107. In the exemplary embodiment, mobile units 108 and 109 are considered to be located in the same area as mobile unit 107, since they are both initially located within cell site 115.
As mobile unit 107 moves throughout wireless network 101, it will send autonomous registration (AR) requests. An AR request is a registration message sent from a mobile unit to a base station without first receiving an explicit command from the base station. At some point if mobile unit 107 is moving, MSC 103 detects (307) an AR received from mobile unit 107.
Once MSC 103 detects the AR from mobile unit 107, MSC 103 determines (309) if any of the other mobile units that were located within the same area as mobile unit 107 at step 305 have performed an AR request at the new cell site 116. If not, the process ends (399).
If the two autonomous registrations occurred at the same time or near the same time, this can be an indication that the two mobile units are associated. For example, first mobile unit 107 may be located within a carjacked vehicle, while second mobile unit 108 may be located on the person of one of the carjackers who is currently in the vehicle. In the kidnapping scenario, first mobile unit 107 may be located on the kidnapped person while second mobile unit 108 is located on one of the kidnappers.
If the other mobile unit performed an autonomous registration in the same cell as mobile unit 107, MSC 103 tracks (311) mobile unit 108. This tracking can occur even if no more matching autonomous registrations occur with mobile unit 107. For example, the kidnapper or carjacker may realize that the mobile unit of the victim may be tracked, and may discard this mobile unit. In this scenario, mobile unit 108 may move to cell site 117 and still be tracked by MSC 103. MSC 103 can transmit this location information relating to mobile unit 108 to the proper authorities.
This exemplary embodiment allows authorities to narrow down the pool of potential perpetrators. If the mobile unit of the victim is still either on the person of the kidnapped victim or in the carjacked car, then an association between the mobile unit of the victim and a mobile unit of one of the perpetrators can lead to great information that can allow authorities to track down the perpetrators. This exemplary embodiment even provides for continued tracking of suspected criminals in the event that they turn off the mobile unit of the victim or dispose of it, for instance by throwing it out the window of the car.
While this invention has been described in terms of certain examples thereof, it is not intended that it be limited to the above description, but rather only to the extent set forth in the claims that follow.
