US6157841A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Cellular phone network that provides location-based information
Assignee: AT&T Properties LLC
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Filing: 1997-09-18
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Granted: 2000-12-05
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Expires: 2017-09-18
Abstract
Abstract A cellular phone network provides location-based information to a user of a cellular phone. The cellular phone network includes a plurality of antennas coupled to at least one server. The server is coupled to a database. Stored on the database is a plurality of location-based information that is indexed to the plurality of antennas. The cellular phone transmits communication signals to one of the antennas. A phone call is established between the server and the user, and the server receives an identification of the antenna that the user transmits to. The server then queries the database and retrieves information local to the user. This information is then presented to the user in the form of menus.
Inventors
- 👤 Raymond L. Bolduc
- 👤 Kenneth H. Rosen
- 👤 Steven Charles Salimando
- 👤 Peter H. Stuntebeck
- 👤 Roy Philip Weber
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 15:33
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04W; H04W4/00; H04W4/02; H04W4/029; H04L; H04L67/00; H04L67/14; H04L67/50; H04L67/52
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
101 words
A wireless network comprising: a plurality of antennas; a server coupled to said plurality of antennas; a database coupled to said server, said database having stored thereon a first plurality of location-based information indexed to said plurality of antennas; wherein said server is programmed to present a second plurality of location-based information retrieved from a query of the database by the server to the user; and wherein the second plurality of location-based information comprises a plurality of names of merchants local to the user, and wherein said server is programmed to bridge an existing phone call to one of the merchants.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
101 words
A wireless network comprising: a plurality of antennas; a server coupled to said plurality of antennas; a database coupled to said server, said database having stored thereon a first plurality of location-based information indexed to said plurality of antennas; wherein said server is programmed to present a second plurality of location-based information retrieved from a query of the database by the server to the user; and wherein the second plurality of location-based information comprises a plurality of names of merchants local to the user, and wherein said server is programmed to bridge an existing phone call to one of the merchants.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
The wireless network of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of mobile switching offices coupled to said plurality of antennas and said server.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
The wireless network of claim 2, wherein a user of the wireless network transmits communication signals to one of said antennas, and wherein one of said mobile switching offices sends an identification of said one antenna to said server.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
41 words
The wireless network of claim 1, wherein said server is programmed to present the second plurality of location based-information in response to said network receiving a pre-determined dialed number from a user, the dialed number indicating a request for location-based information.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
21 words
The wireless network of claim 1, wherein said second plurality of location-based information is presented to the user via a display.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
110 words
A method of operating a wireless network that includes a plurality of antennas, wherein a mobile phone of a user of the wireless phone network transmits communication signals to one of the plurality of antennas, said method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a first identification of the one antenna; (b) querying a database using said first identification; (c) presenting location-based information retrieved from the database to the user in response to the query, wherein the location-based information comprises a plurality of names of merchants; (d) determining whether the user has requested a call to one of the merchants; and (e) bridging an existing call to one of the merchants.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
110 words
A method of operating a wireless network that includes a plurality of antennas, wherein a mobile phone of a user of the wireless phone network transmits communication signals to one of the plurality of antennas, said method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a first identification of the one antenna; (b) querying a database using said first identification; (c) presenting location-based information retrieved from the database to the user in response to the query, wherein the location-based information comprises a plurality of names of merchants; (d) determining whether the user has requested a call to one of the merchants; and (e) bridging an existing call to one of the merchants.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of: (f) receiving a pre-determined dialed number from the user, the dialed number indicating a request for location-based information.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 6, wherein said step of presenting includes presenting the location-based information to the user via a display.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
122 words
A method of providing access to a plurality of merchants for a user of a mobile phone comprising the steps of: (a) storing a first plurality of merchant names on a database, wherein the first plurality of merchant names are indexed to a plurality of locations of the mobile phone; (b) receiving a location identification of the mobile phone; (c) querying the database using the location identification; and (d) presenting a second plurality of merchant names to the user in response to the query; (e) determining whether the user has requested a call to one of the second plurality of merchant names; and (f) bridging an existing call to a merchant associated with the one of the second plurality of merchant names.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
122 words
A method of providing access to a plurality of merchants for a user of a mobile phone comprising the steps of: (a) storing a first plurality of merchant names on a database, wherein the first plurality of merchant names are indexed to a plurality of locations of the mobile phone; (b) receiving a location identification of the mobile phone; (c) querying the database using the location identification; and (d) presenting a second plurality of merchant names to the user in response to the query; (e) determining whether the user has requested a call to one of the second plurality of merchant names; and (f) bridging an existing call to a merchant associated with the one of the second plurality of merchant names.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
67 words
A wireless network comprising: a plurality of antennas; a server coupled to said plurality of antennas; a database coupled to said server, said database having stored thereon a first plurality of location-based information, the location-based information including a plurality of names of merchants, indexed to said plurality of antennas; wherein said location-based information is automatically updatable using information from at least one of said plurity of merchants.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
67 words
A wireless network comprising: a plurality of antennas; a server coupled to said plurality of antennas; a database coupled to said server, said database having stored thereon a first plurality of location-based information, the location-based information including a plurality of names of merchants, indexed to said plurality of antennas; wherein said location-based information is automatically updatable using information from at least one of said plurity of merchants.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of operating a wireless network that includes a plurality of antennas, wherein a cellular phone of a user of the cellular phone network transmits communication signals to one of the plurality of antennas, said method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a first identification of the one antenna; (b) querying a database using said first identification; (c) presenting location-based information retrieved from the database to the user in response to the query, wherein the location-based information comprises a plurality of names of merchants, and wherein the location-based information is automatically updatable using information from at least one of said plurity of merchants.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of operating a wireless network that includes a plurality of antennas, wherein a cellular phone of a user of the cellular phone network transmits communication signals to one of the plurality of antennas, said method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a first identification of the one antenna; (b) querying a database using said first identification; (c) presenting location-based information retrieved from the database to the user in response to the query, wherein the location-based information comprises a plurality of names of merchants, and wherein the location-based information is automatically updatable using information from at least one of said plurity of merchants.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
78 words
A network node coupled to a wireless network that comprises a plurality of antennas, said network node comprising: a server coupled to the plurality of antennas; a database coupled to said server, said database having stored thereon a first plurality of location-based information, the location-based information including a plurality of names of merchants, indexed to the plurality of antennas; and wherein said location-based information is automatically updatable using information from at least one of said plurity of merchants.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
78 words
A network node coupled to a wireless network that comprises a plurality of antennas, said network node comprising: a server coupled to the plurality of antennas; a database coupled to said server, said database having stored thereon a first plurality of location-based information, the location-based information including a plurality of names of merchants, indexed to the plurality of antennas; and wherein said location-based information is automatically updatable using information from at least one of said plurity of merchants.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of providing access to a plurality of merchants for a user of a mobile phone comprising the steps of: (a) storing a first plurality of merchant names on a database, wherein the first plurality of merchant names are indexed to a plurality of locations of the mobile phone, and wherein said first plurality of merchant names is automatically updatable kusing information from at least one of said plurality of merchants (b) receiving a location identification of the mobile phone; (c) querying the database using the location identification; and (d) presenting a second plurality of merchant names to the user in response to the query.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of providing access to a plurality of merchants for a user of a mobile phone comprising the steps of: (a) storing a first plurality of merchant names on a database, wherein the first plurality of merchant names are indexed to a plurality of locations of the mobile phone, and wherein said first plurality of merchant names is automatically updatable kusing information from at least one of said plurality of merchants (b) receiving a location identification of the mobile phone; (c) querying the database using the location identification; and (d) presenting a second plurality of merchant names to the user in response to the query.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
90 words
A wireless network comprising: a plurality of antennas; a server coupled to said plurality of antennas; a database coupled to said server, said database having stored thereon a plurality of location-based information, the location-based information including a plurality of names of merchants, indexed to said plurality of antennas; wherein said server, responsive to a user request for location-based information and wherein the location-based information is automatically updatable using information from at least one of said plurality of merchants, is programmed to send the user said location-based information using the database.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
90 words
A wireless network comprising: a plurality of antennas; a server coupled to said plurality of antennas; a database coupled to said server, said database having stored thereon a plurality of location-based information, the location-based information including a plurality of names of merchants, indexed to said plurality of antennas; wherein said server, responsive to a user request for location-based information and wherein the location-based information is automatically updatable using information from at least one of said plurality of merchants, is programmed to send the user said location-based information using the database.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
113 words
A method of operating a wireless network that includes a plurality of antennas, wherein a mobile phone of a user of the wireless network transmits communication signals to one of the plurality of antennas, said method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a user request for location-based information, the location-based information including a plurality of merchant names, and wherein said location-based information is automatically updatable using information from at least one of said plurality of merchants; (b) querying a database based on said user request; (c) presenting said location-based information retrieved from the database to the user in response to the query, wherein the location-based information comprises a plurality of names of merchants.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
113 words
A method of operating a wireless network that includes a plurality of antennas, wherein a mobile phone of a user of the wireless network transmits communication signals to one of the plurality of antennas, said method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a user request for location-based information, the location-based information including a plurality of merchant names, and wherein said location-based information is automatically updatable using information from at least one of said plurality of merchants; (b) querying a database based on said user request; (c) presenting said location-based information retrieved from the database to the user in response to the query, wherein the location-based information comprises a plurality of names of merchants.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
111 words
A network node coupled to a wireless network that comprises a plurality of antennas, said network node comprising: a server coupled to the plurality of antennas; a database coupled to said server, said database having stored thereon a first plurality of location-based information indexed to the plurality of antennas; wherein said server is programmed to present a second plurality of location-based information retrieved from a query of the database by the server to the user; and wherein the second plurality of location-based information comprises a plurality of names of merchants local to the user, and wherein said server is programmed to bridge an existing phone call to one of the merchants.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
111 words
A network node coupled to a wireless network that comprises a plurality of antennas, said network node comprising: a server coupled to the plurality of antennas; a database coupled to said server, said database having stored thereon a first plurality of location-based information indexed to the plurality of antennas; wherein said server is programmed to present a second plurality of location-based information retrieved from a query of the database by the server to the user; and wherein the second plurality of location-based information comprises a plurality of names of merchants local to the user, and wherein said server is programmed to bridge an existing phone call to one of the merchants.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
38 words
The network node of claim 16, wherein a mobile phone of a user of the wireless network transmits communication signals to one of the plurality of antennas, and wherein said server receives an identification of the one antenna.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-12-05 | 2004-06-05 | 2004-12-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-12-05 | 2008-06-05 | 2008-12-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-12-05 | 2012-06-05 | 2012-12-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |