US6073013A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for performing position-based call processing in a mobile telephone system
Assignee: Qualcomm Inc
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Filing: 1997-04-10
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Granted: 2000-06-06
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Expires: 2017-04-10
Abstract
Abstract The mobile telephone system employs a fleet of satellites and a set of gateway ground stations arranged around the globe for handling communications to and from mobile communication units such as mobile telephones. Signals are transmitted between a subscriber unit and the nearest gateway via one or more of the satellites. The gateway system is configured to process telephone call connection requests from a mobile subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit. The system parses telephone numbers received from the subscriber unit based upon the parsing scheme of the locality in which the subscriber unit is located at the time the telephone call is placed. The system also identifies any emergency services numbers called, such as 911, and directs such calls to the nearest emergency services center to the current location of the subscriber unit. In another implementation, the system is configured to perform lawful intercept of telephone calls to or from a mobile subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit. The system determines whether law enforcement agencies have requested that telephone communications to or from a particular subscriber unit be intercepted and determines whether, based on the current location of the subscriber unit, the telephone communications can be permissibly intercepted. Thus, if the jurisdiction of a law enforcement agency to intercept a call is restricted to certain geographical areas, such a particular country, state or county, the system determines whether the subscriber unit is within that geographical area before performing the requested intercept.
Inventors
- 👤 Daniel H. Agre
- 👤 Michael K. Spartz
- 👤 Rodger M. Constandse
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 22:38
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04B; H04B7/00; H04B7/14; H04B7/15; H04B7/185; H04B7/1853; H04B7/18539; H04B7/18545; H04B7/18547; H04B7/1855; H04B7/18552; H04B7/18554; H04B7/18558; H04B7/1856; H04L; H04L67/00; H04L67/50; H04L67/52; H04M; H04M3/00; H04M3/22; H04M3/2281; H04W; H04W48/00; H04W48/18
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 34
Claim 1
Independent Claim
102 words
A mobile communication system comprising: means for processing a mobile telephone communication to or from a subscriber unit; means for determining the location of the subscriber unit; means for determining whether law enforcement authorities have requested that telephone communications to or from the subscriber unit are to be intercepted; means for identifying whether the law enforcement authorities have proper jurisdiction to intercept a telephone communication to or from the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit; and means, responsive to an identification that law enforcement authorities do have jurisdiction, for intercepting a telephone communication to or from the subscriber.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
102 words
A mobile communication system comprising: means for processing a mobile telephone communication to or from a subscriber unit; means for determining the location of the subscriber unit; means for determining whether law enforcement authorities have requested that telephone communications to or from the subscriber unit are to be intercepted; means for identifying whether the law enforcement authorities have proper jurisdiction to intercept a telephone communication to or from the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit; and means, responsive to an identification that law enforcement authorities do have jurisdiction, for intercepting a telephone communication to or from the subscriber.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
95 words
The system of claim 1 wherein the means for determining whether law enforcement authorities have requested that telephone communications from the subscriber unit are to be intercepted and the means for identifying whether the law enforcement authorities have proper jurisdiction to intercept a telephone communication from the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit include means for examining a database identifying subscriber units subject to telephone communication interception, identifying the law enforcement agency requesting the interception and identifying the geographical areas wherein the law enforcement agency has jurisdiction to intercept telephone communications.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
86 words
A mobile communication method comprising the steps of: processing a mobile telephone communication to or from a subscriber unit; determining the location of the subscriber unit; determining whether law enforcement authorities have requested that telephone communications to or from the subscriber unit are to be intercepted; identifying whether the law enforcement authorities have proper jurisdiction to intercept a telephone communication to or from the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit; and if so, intercepting a telephone communication to or from the subscriber.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
86 words
A mobile communication method comprising the steps of: processing a mobile telephone communication to or from a subscriber unit; determining the location of the subscriber unit; determining whether law enforcement authorities have requested that telephone communications to or from the subscriber unit are to be intercepted; identifying whether the law enforcement authorities have proper jurisdiction to intercept a telephone communication to or from the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit; and if so, intercepting a telephone communication to or from the subscriber.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
96 words
The method of claim 3 wherein the step of determining whether law enforcement authorities have requested that telephone communications from the subscriber unit are to be intercepted and the step of identifying whether the law enforcement authorities have proper jurisdiction to intercept a telephone communication from the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit includes the steps of examining a database identifying subscriber units subject to telephone communication interception, identifying the law enforcement agency requesting the interception and identifying the geographical areas wherein the law enforcement agency has jurisdiction to intercept telephone communications.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
A mobile communication system comprising: means for receiving a telephone call connection request signal from a subscriber unit; means for determining the location of the subscriber unit; and means for processing the telephone call connection request signal based upon the location of the subscriber unit.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
45 words
A mobile communication system comprising: means for receiving a telephone call connection request signal from a subscriber unit; means for determining the location of the subscriber unit; and means for processing the telephone call connection request signal based upon the location of the subscriber unit.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
46 words
The system of claim 5 wherein the subscriber unit is selected from a group of devices each having wireless telephony capability including a mobile telephone, a wireless local loop telephone, a personal data assistant, a dedicated Internet access device, an electronic organizer and a laptop computer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 5 wherein the mobile communication system processes mobile telephonic communications in accordance with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 5 wherein the telephone call connection request signal specifies a telephonic communication selected from a group including voice communications, data communications and combined voice and data communications.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
58 words
The system of claim 5 wherein certain predetermined telephone call connection request signals are representative of emergency services telephone numbers; and wherein the means for processing the telephone call connection request signal operates to interpret the request signal as identifying a nearest appropriate emergency services station to the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 9 wherein the emergency services stations are selected from a group including police stations, fire departments, hospitals, and ambulance services.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 5 wherein the means for determining the location of the subscriber unit operates to identify a geographical area in which the subscriber unit is located.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
108 words
The system of claim 11 wherein the law enforcement authorities have jurisdiction to intercept telephone calls from subscriber units in certain geographical areas and wherein the system further includes means for determining whether law enforcement authorities have requested that telephone communications from the subscriber unit are to be intercepted; means for identifying whether the law enforcement authorities have proper jurisdiction to intercept a telephone communication from the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit; and means, responsive to an identification that law enforcement authorities do have jurisdiction, for intercepting a telephone communication from the subscriber unit as initiated by the telephone call connection request signal.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
95 words
The system of claim 12 wherein the means for determining whether law enforcement authorities have requested that telephone communications from the subscriber unit are to be intercepted and the means for identifying whether the law enforcement authorities have proper jurisdiction to intercept a telephone communication from the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit include means for examining a database identifying subscriber units subject to telephone communication interception, identifying the law enforcement agency requesting the interception and identifying the geographical areas wherein the law enforcement agency has jurisdiction to intercept telephone communications.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
50 words
The system of claim 11 wherein different geographical areas have different telephone number parsing schemes and wherein the means for processing the telephone call connection request signal operates to parse the request signal in accordance with the parsing scheme of the geographical area in which the subscriber unit is located.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 14 wherein telephone call connection request signal is representative of an alpha-numeric character string.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
85 words
The system of claim 15 wherein the different geographical areas are different countries and wherein the parsing schemes distinguish between local telephone numbers and international telephone numbers with the international telephone numbers being prefixed by an international calling code; and wherein the means for processing the telephone call connection request signal operates to interpret the character string as identifying a local telephone number in the country in which the subscriber unit is located if the character string does not include an international calling code prefix.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
94 words
The system of claim 15 wherein the different geographical areas correspond to different area code regions and wherein the parsing schemes distinguish between local telephone numbers and long distance telephone numbers with the long distance telephone numbers being prefixed by a long distance area code; and wherein the means for processing the telephone call connection request signal operates to interpret the character string as identifying a local telephone number in the area code region in which the subscriber unit is located if the character string does not include a long distance area code prefix.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
44 words
A method for processing mobile communications comprising the steps of: receiving a telephone call connection request signal from a subscriber unit; determining the location of the subscriber unit; and interpreting the telephone call connection request signal based upon the location of the subscriber unit.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
44 words
A method for processing mobile communications comprising the steps of: receiving a telephone call connection request signal from a subscriber unit; determining the location of the subscriber unit; and interpreting the telephone call connection request signal based upon the location of the subscriber unit.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the subscriber unit is selected from a group of devices each having wireless telephony capability including a mobile telephone, a wireless local loop telephone, a personal data assistant, a dedicated Internet access device, an electronic organizer and a laptop computer.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the mobile communication method is performed to process mobile telephonic communications in accordance with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the telephone call connection request signal specifies a telephonic communication selected from a group including voice communications, data communications and combined voice and data communications.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 18 wherein certain predetermined telephone call connection request signals are representative of emergency services telephone numbers; and wherein the step of interpreting the telephone call connection request signal is performed to interpret the request signal as identifying a nearest appropriate emergency services station to the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 22 wherein the emergency services stations are selected from a group including police stations, fire departments, hospitals, and ambulance services.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the step of determining the location of the subscriber unit is performed to identify a geographical area in which the subscriber unit is located.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
96 words
The method of claim 24 wherein the law enforcement authorities have jurisdiction to intercept telephone calls from subscriber units in certain geographical areas and wherein the method further includes the steps of determining whether law enforcement authorities have requested that telephone communications from the subscriber unit are to be intercepted; identifying whether the law enforcement authorities have proper jurisdiction to intercept a telephone communication from the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit; and if so, intercepting a telephone communication from the subscriber unit as initiated by the telephone call connection request signal.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
96 words
The method of claim 25 wherein the step of determining whether law enforcement authorities have requested that telephone communications from the subscriber unit are to be intercepted and the step of identifying whether the law enforcement authorities have proper jurisdiction to intercept a telephone communication from the subscriber unit based upon the location of the subscriber unit includes the steps of examining a database identifying subscriber units subject to telephone communication interception, identifying the law enforcement agency requesting the interception and identifying the geographical areas wherein the law enforcement agency has jurisdiction to intercept telephone communications.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 24 wherein different geographical areas have different telephone number parsing schemes and wherein the step of interpreting the telephone call connection request signal is performed to parse the request signal in accordance with the parsing scheme of the geographical area in which the subscriber unit is located.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 27 wherein telephone call connection request signal is representative of an alpha-numeric character string.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
86 words
The method of claim 28 wherein the different geographical areas are different countries and wherein the parsing schemes distinguish between local telephone numbers and international telephone numbers with the international telephone numbers being prefixed by an international calling code; and wherein the step of interpreting the telephone call connection request signal is performed to interpret the character string as identifying a local telephone number in the country in which the subscriber unit is located if the character string does not include an international calling code prefix.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
95 words
The method of claim 28 wherein the different geographical areas correspond to different area code regions and wherein the parsing schemes distinguish between local telephone numbers and long distance telephone numbers with the long distance telephone numbers being prefixed by a long distance area code; and wherein the step of interpreting the telephone call connection request signal is performed to interpret the character string as identifying a local telephone number in the area code region in which the subscriber unit is located if the character string does not include a long distance area code prefix.
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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) | 2003-06-06 | 2003-12-06 | 2004-06-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-06-06 | 2007-12-06 | 2008-06-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-06-06 | 2011-12-06 | 2012-06-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |