Title of Invention	METHOD FOR PROVIDING A LOCATION INFORMATION OF A TARGET TERMINAL IN A NETWORK SYSTEM
Abstract	In a method for providing a location information service based upon a user's location, when a user is currently located within a preferred location or preferred area set by the user to apply privacy with respect to a transmission of location information thereto, a procedure for requesting the user's authorization is performed before transmitting the user's location information, namely, a location server checks a location information request for the user located within the preferred location or preferred area according to a privacy profile within the corresponding location or area and performs a user notification and verification process according to the privacy profile, to thereafter determine whether to forward the location information according to the result of the verification.

Title of Invention

METHOD FOR PROVIDING A LOCATION INFORMATION OF A TARGET TERMINAL IN A NETWORK SYSTEM

Abstract

In a method for providing a location information service based upon a user's location, when a user is currently located within a preferred location or preferred area set by the user to apply privacy with respect to a transmission of location information thereto, a procedure for requesting the user's authorization is performed before transmitting the user's location information, namely, a location server checks a location information request for the user located within the preferred location or preferred area according to a privacy profile within the corresponding location or area and performs a user notification and verification process according to the privacy profile, to thereafter determine whether to forward the location information according to the result of the verification.

Full Text	1 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 Description METHOD FOR PROVIDING A LOCATION INFORMATION SERVICE IN MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM Technical Field [1] The present invention relates to a location information service based upon a location (position) of a user in a wireless mobile communications system, and more particularly, to a method for providing a location information service using user privacy checking based upon the user location. Background Art [2] In general, in order to provide a user with a location information service, a mobile communications network is provided with a unit that calculates a location of a terminal, thereby providing a location service for transmitting the location of the terminal to a particular entity periodically or upon the user request. [3] Such network structure related to the location service is usually different from internal networks such as 3GPP, 3GPP2 or Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), and there are several methods for calculating the location of the terminal such as a method of using a cell-ID technique that transmitting a cell ID of the location of the terminal, a method for calculating the location of the terminal using triangular survey after measuring a time taken by transmitting a signal from the terminal to each base station adjacent thereto, or a method using a Global Positioning System (GPS), and the like. [4] The location information service may also include a method for protecting privacy related to location information from a particular client. [5] Fig. 1 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a typical method for protecting privacy, in which a privacy checking protocol (PCP) is used. [6] A particular application 10 transmits a location information request message to a location server 20 in order to obtain location information for a particular user (S11). The location server 20 transmits a privacy request message to a Privacy Checking Entity (PCE) 30 in order to check the privacy related to the user's location information (S13). [7] The PCE 30 having received the privacy request message from the location server 20, checks privacy information associated with the user location information and checks information regarding an operation of the location server 20 (S15). Then, the PCE 30 transmits the operation information of the location server 20 associated with the privacy to the location server 20 using a privacy response message (S17), the location server 20 having received the privacy response message from the PCE 30 transmits the user location information to the application 10 in the form of a location 2 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 information response message (S19). [8] Privacy profiles defined in the related art PPR may roughly be divided into five. [9] 1) Positioning is not allowed. [10] 2) Positioning is allowed without notifying the user. [11] 3) Positioning is allowed with a notification to the user. [12] 4) Positioning requires a notification and verification by the user; positioning is allowed only if it is granted by the user or if there is no response to the notification; [13] 5) Positioning requires a notification and verification by the user; positioning is allowed only if it is granted by the user. [14] However, the related art location information system does not provide various privacy authentication (management) services based upon the user location and set conditions. In particular, there is no related art location information system that has a feature of privacy profile considering the user location information. In other words, the related art location information system has not provided any method for performing the user authorization and verification based upon the location of a target user. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [15] One aspect of the present invention involves the recognition by the present inventors of the drawbacks in the related art, as explained above. Based upon such recognition, improvements in providing a location information service using user privacy checking based upon the user location can be achieved according to the present invention. [16] Certain features that may be part of the location information service method and system will not be described in much detail, merely to prevent the characteristics of the present invention from being obscured. However, such additional features may also be part of the location information service method and system of the present invention, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. [17] It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for providing a location information service based upon a user location in which a user sets privacy with respect to various locations or areas and the privacy is applied according to the current user location thereby having a different privacy in different locations. [18] It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for providing a location information service based upon a user location in which privacy can be more secured based upon a current user location by allowing the user to determine whether or not to report a location information within preferred areas set by the user by performing a post positioning notification and verification process. Technical Solution 3 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 [ 19J To achieve these objects, there is provided a method for providing a location in formation service in a system for transmitting location information of a particular user requested by a Location Requesting Entity (LRE) (e.g., an external client, an SUPL agent in SUPL network) comprising: checking whether a user is currently located in a preferred location or a preferred area set by the user; checking privacy information with respect to the location information within the corresponding preferred location or preferred area when the user is currently located within the preferred location or the preferred area; and determining whether to report the user's location information to the LRE according to the privacy information. [20] According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a location information service in a network system in which a user has set one or more preferred locations or preferred areas and respective privacy thereof, the method may comprise: performing positioning for a user by a location server (e.g., GMLC (Gateway Mobile Location Center) in 3GPP, SLP (SUPL) Location Platform) in SUPL network, etc.) which has received a location information request message for the user from the LRE; checking whether the user is currently located within the set preferred location or preferred area; checking privacy according to a location information within the corresponding preferred location or preferred area; requesting to perform a notification process for notifying a transmission of the location information to the user upon checking the privacy; and receiving a response with respect to the request and thus determining whether to report the user's location information according to the received response. [21 ] According to a second embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a location information service, in a system in which an external client requests location information related to a user who has moved from a Home-Gateway Mobile Location Center (H-GMLC) to a Visited-GMLC (V-GMLC) based upon a 3GPP entity, may comprise: checking privacy with respect to the positioning for the user by the H- GMLC having received a location information request; checking by the H-GMLC address information of the V-GMLC; obtaining, by the V-GMLC, the location information through the user positioning procedure and transmitting the location information to the H-GMLC; checking privacy with respect to the location information based upon the user current location information by the H-GMLC; if the user is required to check for the location information, transmitting a notification request message from the H-GMLC to the V-GMLC; performing a procedure for notifying the location information between the V-GMLC and the user; receiving a verification response message including the result of the notification and transmitting the received verification response message to the H-GMLC by the V-GMLC; and reporting the user location information to the client according to the result by the H-GMLC having 4 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 received the verification message. [22] According to a third embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a location information service, in a method for providing location information related to a user within a circuit service domain in which privacy has been set with respect to location information in a 3GPP entity, may comprise: performing positioning for a user and calculating location information accordingly by a GMLC which receives a location information request from a particular client in the 3GPP network; transmitting, by the GMLC, a notification message for requesting the user notification and verification for whether to transmit the location information; transmitting a location information notification message to the user by a Visited-MSC/Mobile services Switching Center (MSC/MSC)server having received the notification message; when the user verification is requested, receiving a verification message including the result of the verification from the corresponding server by the VMSC/MSC server; receiving, by the GMLC, a notification response message including the result of the notification and verification from the VMSC/MSC server; and reporting the users location information to the client from the GMLC. [23] According to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a location information service, in a method for providing a service related to location information related to a user within a packet service domain in which privacy has been set with respect to location information in a 3GPP entity, may comprise: performing positioning for a user and calculating the location information accordingly by a GMLC having received a location information request from a particular client in the 3 GPP network; transmitting, by the GMLC, a notification message for requesting the user notification and verification with respect to whether to transmit the location information; performing a security procedure with the user by a Serving GPRS Supported Node (SGSN) having received the notification message; transmitting a location information notification message to the user from the SGSN; when the user notification is requested, receiving a verification message including the result of the verification from the corresponding user by the SGSN; receiving, by the GMLC, a notification response message including the result of the notification and verification from the SGSN; and reporting the user location information to the client from the GMLC. Brief Description of the Drawings [24] Fig. 1 is a signal flowchart showing a typical method for checking privacy. [25] Fig. 2 is a signal flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for providing a location information service in accordance with the present invention. [26] Figs. 3 and 4 are signal flowcharts respectively showing a detailed MT-LR procedure of the Fig. 2. 5 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 [27] Figs. 5 and 6 arc signal flowcharts respectively showing a detailed notification procedure of Fig. 2. Mode for the Invention [28] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. [29] The present invention defines more privacy profiles based upon user location in formation and thus having a procedure of requesting a user authorization before reporting location information within a preferred location or preferred area set by the corresponding user. [30] In general, in a user location information service to which the privacy profiles are added, a network service provider should always obtain location information, and the user can always change the privacy profile by setting such Privacy Profile Register (PPR), Privacy Exception List (PEL), Privacy Checking Entity (PCE), and the like. Also, the default condition shall normally be to deny the positioning attempt. The default treatment, which is applicable in the absence of a response from the target user or user equipment (UE), shall be specified in the target UE Subscription Profile. Thus, for some location services the default treatment may be to accept the positioning request, whereas for other location services the default treatment may be to reject the positioning attempt. [31] The home network shall have the capability of defining the default circumstances in which the target UE's location information is allowed to be provided as required by various administrations and/or network requirements. [32] The privacy check shall be performed in the Home Environment of the target UE subscriber. This makes it possible for operators to ensure the privacy of their own subscribers, i.e. the privacy settings that are used for privacy checks are always up- to-date and as specified by the Home Environment of the target UE subscriber. [33] It shall be possible for the privacy check to take into account Home Environment specific information such as time of day, subscriber location, and the like. It shall be possible to ensure that privacy checks are performed according to the latest information as available in the Home Environment. [34] Also, the target UE Subscriber shall be able to restrict access to the Location Information (permanently or on a per-attempt-basis). The LCS Client access shall be 6 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 restricted unless otherwise stated in the Target UE Subscription Profile. Again, in the absence of specific permission to position the target UE, the target UE should not be positioned. [35] Usually, specific local, national, and regional privacy regulations must be complied with a location information service which privacy profiles are added, and multiple layers of permissions may be required for the location information service. For example, specific privacy exceptions may exist for compliance with mandated location based service (such as for emergency services or lawful intercept) which are required by national or local regulatory requirements. [36] Sometimes, the operator shall be able to determine the location of the target UE (e.g. for lawful interception or emergency call). For emergency services (where required by local regulatory requirements), target UE making an emergency call may be positioned regardless of the privacy profile value of the subscriber associated with the target UE (or ME) making the call. [37] Preferably, the target UE user shall not be notified of any location attempt. Unless required by local regulatory requirements, or overridden by the target UE User, the target UE may be positioned only if allowed in the UE subscription profile. [38] Also, for Public-Land-Mobile-Network (PLMN) operator services, the target UE subscriber may be able to restrict access to location information used to enhance or support particular types of service. The LCS client access shall be restricted unless stated otherwise in the target UE subscription profile. The target UE user shall not be notified of any authorized location attempt. And, for Lawful Interception Services (where required by local regulatory requirements), target UE may be positioned under all circumstances required by local regulatory requirements. [39] Therefore, all location requests (LRs) shall be done with a privacy check except for the following: 1) LRs relating to lawful interception; 2) LRs related to emergency calls; 3) LRs from the serving network related to anonymous tracking for statistical and O&M purposes; and 4) LRs from the home network as requested by the home network operator for its own internal purposes. [40] The home network operator should not use the UE location information, which was obtained from the visited network without privacy checks, for value added services or to forward such location information to any third party. [41] Here, as one example of the present invention, in addition to the five privacy profiles defined in the related art PPR based upon the 3GPP having mentioned above, eight more profiles (6~13) may be added to perform the user notification and verification according to the current user location. Here, the added eight profiles may be used in case of setting a different privacy respectively according to the user current location. 7 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 [42] The thirteen privacy profiles defined in the PPR based upon the 3GPP as an example of the present invention will be described as follows. [43] 1) Positioning is not allowed. [44] 2) Positioning is allowed without notifying the user. [45] 3) Positioning is allowed with a notification to the user. [46] 4) Positioning requires a notification and verification by the user; positioning is allowed only if it is granted by the user or if there is no response to the notification; [47] 5) Positioning requires a notification and verification by the user; positioning is allowed only if it is granted by the user. [48] 6) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the user based on current location; positioning is performed without notifying the user and the reporting of the location information is performed when it is granted by the user or any response with respect to the notification is not received. [49] 7) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the user based on current location; positioning is performed without notifying the user and the reporting of the location information is performed only if it is granted by the user. [50] 8) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the user based on current location; positioning is performed after notifying the user and the reporting of the location information is performed when it is granted by the user or any response with respect to the notification is not received. [51] 9) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the user based on current location; positioning is performed after notifying the user and the reporting of the location information is performed only if it is granted by the user. [52] 10) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the user based on current location; positioning is performed after carrying out the no tification and verification process by the user. The positioning is even performed in case that it is authorized by the user or any response with respect to the notification is not received. Also, the reporting of the location information is performed only if it is granted by the user. [53] 11) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the user based on current location; positioning is performed after carrying out the no tification and verification process by the user. The positioning is even performed in case that it is authorized by the user or any response with respect to the notification is not received. Also, the reporting of the location information, like the positioning, is performed even when it is granted by the user or any response with respect to the no tification is not received. [54] 12) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the user based on current location; positioning is performed after carrying out the no- 8 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 tification and verification process by the user only when it is granted by the user. Also, the reporting of the location information is performed even when it is granted by the user or any response with respect to the notification is not received. [55] 13) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the user based on current location; positioning is performed after carrying out the no tification and verification process by the user only when it is granted by the user. Also, the reporting of the location information is performed even when it is granted by the user. [56] Here, the privacy profiles of the present invention correspond to 6) to 13). In order to request a user authorization before reporting location information within the preferred location or preferred area preset by the user, an additional process is needed to be provided for requesting the user authorization based upon a location value calculated after performing the positioning for the corresponding user. A brief ex planation will now be given for the method for providing the location information service according to the present invention. [57] First, a particular user uses one of the privacy profile values associated with its location information to set whether to transmit its location information from one or more locations or areas to a third user or other network entity. Here, the location or area in which the user has set the privacy profile associated with its location in formation is set as one user preferred area. That is, while moving, the user can set one or more user preferred areas and a privacy profile for each preferred area. [58] The privacy profiles within the preferred areas having set by the user, namely, in formation with respect to whether to transmit the user's location information and whether to request the performing of the process for the user authorization can be stored in the PPR or a separate storage unit. [59] When the third user or the network entity requests the user's location information, the specific user connects to the PPR to check the privacy profile associated with the location information set by the user. [60] If the privacy profile relates to requesting a notification and verification based upon the current user position, the specific user checks information of whether to transmit the user's location information and whether to request the performing of a process for the user authorization. The specific user then determines whether to transmit the cor responding user's location information. Subsequent procedures for the location in formation request from the third user or another network entity can be then performed. [61] Fig. 2 is a signal flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for providing a location information service according to the present invention, which describe a Mobile Terminating Location Request (MT-LR) procedure in a packet service (PS) domain and a circuit service (CS) domain. 9 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 [62] A network for implementing a location information service may comprise an LCS client 41, GMLCs 43, 45 and 49, a Home Location Register (HLR)/ Home subscriber Server (HSS) 47, a Mobile services Switching Center (MSC)/ Serving GPRS Supported Node (SGSN) 51, and Radio Access Network (RAN) 53, and a target user (e.g., target UE) of which location information is requested. [63] The GMLC may include a Requesting-GMLC (referred to as R-GMLC, hereafter) 43 of a network which requests the location information, a Home-GMLC (referred to as H-GMLC, hereafter) 45 which is a GMLC of a user's home network, and a Visited- GMLC (referred to as V-GMLC) 49 which is a GMLC to which the user has moved when the user has moved to the third network. [64] In the present invention, it is assumed that a target user 55 from which the LCS client 41 requests the location information moves to the third network. The target user 55 can be referred to as just a user hereafter. [65] An external location service client (just referred to as a LCS client hereafter) 41 transmits a LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message (e.g., LCS Service Request) to the R-GMLC 43 to request location information related to a particular target user 55 (S21). [66] The R-GMLC 43 having received the LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message checks an ID of the LCS client 41 and verifies whether it is an available client. The R-GMLC 43 then checks whether the user privacy profile is stored therein. Here, if the privacy profile is stored in the R-GMLC 43, the R-GMLC 43 is the H- GMLC 45 of the user 55 and thus it is possible to skip a series of processes (S22 and S23) for obtaining the address of the H-GMLC 45 and processes (S24 and S37) for exchanging messages between the R-GMLC 43 and the H-GMLC 45. If the R-GMLC 43 already knows the address of the H-GMLC 45, such processes (S22 and S23) for obtaining the address of the H-GMLC 45 can be skipped. [67] If the R-GMLC 43 is not the H-GMLC 45 and does not know the address of the H- GMLC 45, the R-GMLC 43 transmits a ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST message (e.g., Send Routing Info For LCS) to the HLR/HSS 47 of the user's home network to request the address of the H-GMLC 45 (S22). The HLR/HSS 47 checks whether the R-GMLC 43 is authorized to request the location information related to the user 55. Thereafter, the HLR/HSS 47 transmits the address of the H-GMLC 45 to the R-GMLC 43 using a ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST RESULT message (e.g., Send Routing Info For LCS ack) (S23). [68] The R-GMLC 43 having received the ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST RESULT message transmits a LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message (e.g., LCS Service Request) related to the user 55 to the H-GMLC 45 (S24), which then accesses the PPR (not shown in Figure) to check privacy settings associated to the 10 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 location information for the user 55 (S25). Here, while checking the privacy settings, the H-GMLC 45 checks possibility of positioning. [69] If it is possible to perform the positioning for the user 55, the H-GMLC 45 transmits the ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST message (e.g., Send Routing Info For LCS) to the HLR/HSS 47 in order to check addresses of the V-GMLC 49 and the SGSN and/or VMSC/MSC 51 (S26), and receives the addresses of the SGSN and/ or VMSC/MSC 51 and the V-GMLC 49 from the HLR/HSS 47 related to the user 55 using a ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST RESULT message (e.g., Send Routing Info For LCS ack) (S27). [70] The H-GMLC 45 transmits the LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message (e.g., the LCS Service Request) to the corresponding V-GMLC 49 by checking the address thereof included in the ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST RESULT message (S28). The V-GMLC 49 having received the LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message performs an MT-LR procedure with the user 55 for the positioning with respect to the user 55 (S29). The MT-LR procedure will be explained in detail later. [71] The V-GMLC 49 transmits location information related to the user 55 which has been calculated by performing the MT-LR procedure to the H-GMLC 45 using a LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE message (e.g., LCS Service Response) (S30). The H-GMLC 45 having received the LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE message checks the privacy settings of the current user 55 in order to determine whether the location information related to the corresponding user 55 corresponds to the preferred area set in the privacy (S31). [72] During the processes (S25 and S31) for checking the privacy setting, if the privacy profile is checked to have been added in the present invention, namely, if the privacy profile is to request the notification and verification based upon the current user position, the H-GMLC 45 performs a series of processes (S32 through S36) to verify whether to report the location information related to the user 55 to the LCS client 51. [73] If the privacy profile for the user 55 is to request the notification and verification within a particular location or area and the current user location or area is the preferred area for which the notification and verification should be performed, the H-GMLC 45 transmits the ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST message (e.g., Send Routing Info For LCS) to the HLR/HSS 47 to request the addresses of the V-GMLC 49 and the SGSN and/or VMSC/MSC 51 (S32), and receives the information of the addresses thereof from the HLR/HSS 47 through the ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST RESULT message (e.g., Send Routing Info For LCS ack) (S33). Here, the processes (S32 and S33) for checking the addresses of the SGSN and/or VMSC/MSC 51 and the V-GMLC 49 are optionally performed in case that the H-GMLC 45 already knows the 11 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 address information. [74] The H-GMLC 45 transmits a NOTIFICATION REQUEST message for requesting the user notification and verification to the V-GMLC 49 of a network to which the user 55 has moved (S34). The V-GMLC 49 having received the NOTIFICATION REQUEST message performs a notification process with the corresponding user 55 to check whether to report the location information (S35). Here, the notification process according to the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the related drawings. [75] The V-GMLC 49 checks whether to report the location information related to the user 55 to the LCS client 41 through the notification process, and transmits the result of the check to the H-GMLC 45 by including the result in a NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message (S36). Here, the result included in the responded message may be represented with an indication of attribute, parameter, element, value, and the like. When the V-GMLC 49 docs not receive the result of the verification from the user 55 during the notification procedure, the V-GMLC 49 counts down a particular time duration using an internal timer, and thereafter transmits the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message including the result of the unsuccessful reception of the notification result to the H-GMLC 45. [76] The H-GMLC 45 transmits a LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE message including the location information related to the user 55 to the R-GMLC 43 according to the resultant value included in the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message or consistency with the conditions for the transmission of the location information (S37). The R-GMLC 43 transmits the LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE message to the LCS client 41 (38). Here, if the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message includes a value or indication of not-granted state for the reporting of the user location in formation or the preset conditions for the transmission of the location information are not complied with, the H-GMLC 45 notifies the LCS client 41 with showing a reporting of the location information is not granted. [77] Figs. 3 and 4 are signal flowcharts respectively showing a detailed MT-LR procedure S29 shown in Fig. 2, which describes the MT-LR procedure which is im plemented differently according to whether a current user service network is a circuit service (CS) domain or a packet service (PS) domain after performing such processes corresponding to S21 through S28 shown in Fig. 2. [78] Fig. 3 is a signal flowchart showing a MT-LR procedure in the CS domain. After performing the common processes corresponding to S21 through S28 of Fig. 2, the GMLC 49 transmits a PROVIDE SUBSCRIBER LOCATION message to the VMSC/ MSC server 51 (S41). Here, the message may include types of the requested location information (e.g., a current location, speed information or the like), a user's IMSI 12 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 (International Mobile Subscriber Identity), LCS QoS (Location Service Quality of Service) information (e.g., accuracy, responding time, etc.) and the like. [79] The VMSC/MSC server 51 calls the user 55 via a RAN 53 to perform an au thentication process therewith (S42). If a notification and authentication with respect to the corresponding user 55 is required in connection with the location information for the user 55, the VMSC/MSC server 51 transmits a LOCATION INFORMATION NO- TIFICATION message (e.g., LCS Location Notification) to the user 55 (S43). Here, whether the notification and verification is required can be checked by considering the privacy profiles in the privacy checking process of S31 in Fig. 2. [80] If the user verification with respect to the LOCATION INFORMATION NO- TIFICATION message is required, the corresponding user 55 transmits a VER- IFICATION RESPONSE message (e.g., LCS Location Notification Return) to the VMSC/MSC server 51 (S44). The VMSC/MSC server 51 then transmits a LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message to the RAN 53 (S45). [81] An actual positioning is performed between the RAN 53 and the user 55 (S46). The RAN 53 transmits the calculated location information to the VMSC/MSC server 51 using a LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE message (S47). The VMSC/MSC server 51 transmits the calculated location information to the GMLC 49 using a PROVIDE SUBSCRIBER LOCATION RESPONSE message (S48). [82] In this way, the common MT-LR procedure corresponding to S30, S37 and S38 in Fig. 2 is then performed. [83] Fig. 4 is a signal flowchart showing a MT-LR procedure in the PS domain. After performing the common processes corresponding to S21 through S28 in Fig. 2, the GMLC 49 transmits the PROVIDE SUBSCRIBER LOCATION message to the SGSN 51 (S51). Here, the message may include types of the requested location information (e.g., a current location, speed information or the like), a user's IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity), LCS QoS (Location Service Quality of Service) information (e.g., accuracy, responding time, etc) and the like. [84] The SGSN 51 calls the user 55 via the RAN 53 to perform an authentication process therewith (S52), and performs a security procedure therewith (S53). [85] If a notification and verification with respect to the corresponding user 55 is required in connection with the user's location information, the SGSN 51 transmits the LOCATION INFORMATION NOTIFICATION message (e.g., LCS Location Notification) to the corresponding user 55 (S54), and receives, if necessary, the VERIFICATION RESPONSE message (e.g., LCS Location Notification Return) in response to the LOCATION INFORMATION NOTIFICATION message from the user 55 (S55). Here, whether the notification and verification is required can be checked based upon the privacy profiles in the privacy checking process of S31 in Fig. 13 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 2. [86] The SGSN 51 transmits the LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message to the RAN 53 (S56). Positioning is thus performed by exchanging messages between the RAN 53 and the user 55 (S57). The RAN 53 transmits the calculated location in- formation to the SGSN 51 using the LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE message (S58). The SGSN 51 transmits the calculated location information to the GMLC 49 using a PROVIDE SUBSCRIBER LOCATION RESPONSE message (S59). [87] Thereafter, the common MT-LR procedure corresponding to S30, S37 and S38 in Fig. 2 is then performed. [88] The GMLC of Figs 3 and 4 indicates the V-GMLC 49 of Fig. 2, which is the GMLC of the network to which the user 55 of which location information has been requested by the LCS client 41 currently belongs. [89] Figs. 5 and 6 arc signal respectively flowcharts showing the notification procedure S35 of Fig. 2 (i.e., the post positioning notification procedure for CS and PS domains) in detail. After performing the MT-LR procedure corresponding to S21 through S34 in Fig. 2, the notification procedure which may be implemented differently according to whether the current service network to which the user currently belongs is the CS domain or the PS domain will now be described. [90] In the present invention, when the user's location information is transmitted to a third user or to another network entity within a specific preferred area, the user can set privacy such that the user can perform the notification and verification process for reporting of location information. [91] When the user is currently located within a preferred area and the privacy profile set for the area requires the notification and verification process, the notification process is performed to check whether to transmit the user's location information. [92] Fig. 5 is a signal flowchart showing the notification procedure in the CS domain. After performing the MT-LR procedure (i.e., the MT-LR procedures for CS and PS domains) corresponding to S21 through S34 in Fig. 2, the GMLC 49 transmits a NO- TIFICATION REQUEST MESSAGE (e.g., Provide Subscriber Location) to the VMSC/MSC server 51 (S61). Here, the GMLC 49 transfers a notification and ver- ification request of the transmission of location information to the VMSC/MSC server 51 using the NOTIFICATION REQUEST message. [93] The VMSC/MSC server 51 performs an authentication process by calling the user 55 via the RAN 53 (S62), and then transmits to the user 55 a LOCATION IN- FORMATION NOTIFICATION message (e.g., LCS Location Notification) for notifying the user 55 of the notification and verification request related to the current user location information (S63). 14 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 [94] If the user verification with respect to the LOCATION INFORMATION NO- TIFICATION message is required, the corresponding user 55 transmits to the VMSC/MSC server 51 a VERIFICATION RESPONSE message (e.g., LCS Location Notification Return) (S64). The VMSC/MSC server 51 transmits the result of the notification and verification related to the location information to the GMLC 49 using the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message (S65) (e.g., Provide Subscriber Location ack). Here, the result included in the responded message may be represented with an indication of attribute, parameter, element, value, and the like. [95] Thereafter, the location information related to the user 55 may be transmitted or not to the LCS client 41 depending on the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message. [96] Fig. 6 is a signal flowchart showing the notification procedure within the PS domain. After performing the MT-LR procedure corresponding to S21 through S34 in Fig. 2, the GMLC 49 transmits the NOTIFICATION REQUEST message (e.g., Provide Subscriber Location) to the SGSN 51 (S71). Here, the GMLC 49 transfers a notification and verification request with respect to the transmission of location information to the SGSN 51. [97] The SGSN 51 performs an authentication process by calling the user 55 via the RAN 53 (S72), and then performs a security process with the corresponding user 55 (S73). The SGSN 51 then transmits to the user 55 the LOCATION INFORMATION NOTIFICATION message (e.g., LCS Location Notification Invoke) for notifying the user 55 of the notification and verification request related to the current user location information (S74). [98] If the user verification with respect to the LOCATION INFORMATION NO- TIFICATION message is required, the corresponding user 55 transmits to the SGSN 51 the VERIFICATION RESPONSE message (e.g., LCS Location Notification Return Result) (S75). The SGSN 51 transmits the result of the notification and verification related to the location information to the GMLC 49 using the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message (e.g., Provide Subscriber Location ack) (S76). Here, the result included in the responded message may be represented with an indication of attribute, parameter, clement, value, and the like. [99] Thereafter, the location information related to the user 55 may be transmitted or not to the LCS client 41 depending on the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message. [100] The GMLC of Figs 5 and 6 indicates the V-GMLC 49 of Fig. 2, which is the GMLC of the network to which the user 55 of which location information has been requested by the LCS client 41 currently belongs. [101] The present invention can be characterized by comprising checking whether the user is currently located within the preferred location or preferred area set by the user, checking privacy with the transmission of the location information if the user is 15 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 currently located within the preferred location or preferred area, requesting the user to perform a process for notifying the transmission of the location information according the checked privacy, and receiving a message in response to the request to determine accordingly whether to transmit the user's location information. [102] In addition, the present invention can also be characterized, in a system for transmitting location information with respect to a specific user using a network structure constituted with the SUPL agent, the SLP and the SET of the SUPL network, by comprising checking whether the user is currently located within the preferred location or preferred area set by the user, checking privacy information with respect to the transmission of the location information within the preferred location or preferred area if the user is currently located therein, and determining whether to transmit the user's location information to the LRE depending on the privacy information. [103] Also, the various features of the present invention may be further described and explained in the following manner. Note that the clement reference numbers have not been specified, but may be clearly understood upon viewing the drawings and this overall disclosure. [ 104] For example, it shall be possible for location services to support conditional reporting if the target UE is within specified geographical areas. Under these conditions, an application that is granted conditional positioning authorization must notify and obtain positioning authorization from the user of the target UE after the po- sitioning process is performed, but before reporting the location of the target UE to the LCS client. It may also be possible for a target UE to authorize positioning attempts after the target UE is notified of a positioning request and the target UE grants permission for positioning. [105] To implement the various features described above, the present invention can employ various types of hardware and/or software components (modules). For example, different hardware modules may contain various circuits and components necessary to perform the steps of the above method. Also, different software modules (executed by processors and/or other hardware) may contain various codes and protocols necessary to perform the steps of the present invention method. [106] The foregoing embodiments and advantages, which explained with figures, are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention in one skilled in the ordinary art. Specifically, the features of the present invention may also be adapted and implemented in communication systems operating under other types of communication specifications (e.g., 3GPP, 3GPP2, 4G, IEEE, OMA(i.e., SUPL network), etc.) because the concepts and teachings of the present invention could be applied to various communication schemes that operate in a similar manner based upon common techniques. 16 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 [107] The description of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 17 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 Claims [1] A method of providing location information of a terminal in a network system, the method comprising: calculating a location of the terminal when a client requests positioning of the terminal; checking privacy profile information for the calculated location of the terminal wherein the privacy profile information is registered in a privacy profile entity; and according to a result of the checking, determining whether to forward the location information of the terminal to the client or to send a notification message to the terminal. [2] The method of claim 1, wherein the notification message is sent if the result of the checking requires a notification and verification based on the calculated location of the terminal. [31 The method of claim 1, wherein the calculated location of the terminal represents a current location of the terminal. [4] The method of claim 1, wherein the privacy profile information is registered by a terminal user. [5] The method of claim 1, wherein the privacy profile information is registered differently for different geographical areas. [6] The method of claim 2, further comprising: after sending the notification message to the terminal according to the determining, reporting the location of the terminal to the client when privacy ver- ification is authorized by the terminal user. [7] The method of claim 2, further comprising: after sending the notification message to the terminal according to the de- termining, reporting an error message to the client when privacy verification is not authorized by the terminal user. [8] The method of claim 2, further comprising: after sending the notification message to the terminal according to the de- termining, reporting an error message to the client when privacy verification is not performed within a predetermined time period by the terminal user. [9] The method of claim 2, further comprising: after sending the notification message to the terminal according to the de- termining, receiving an indication of the result of the notification and verification from the terminal. [10] A method of providing location information of a target terminal in a network 18 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 system, the method comprising: receiving a request for location of the target terminal; sending a location request message to the target terminal to calculate a location of the target terminal; checking privacy profile information for the calculated location of the terminal wherein the privacy profile information is registered in a privacy profile entity; and selectively reporting the location of the terminal to a client based on the result of the checking. [11] The method of claim 10, wherein the request is authorized according to a privacy check on the basis of a target terminal user privacy profile. [12] The method of claim 10, wherein the calculated location of the target terminal represents a current location of the target terminal. [13] The method of claim 10, wherein the privacy profile information is determined based on setup information of the target terminal. [14] The method of claim 10, further comprising: notifying a target terminal user by transmitting a location notification message to the target terminal indicating whether privacy verification is required. [15] The method of claim 10, further comprising: receiving a location notification return result from the target terminal to indicate whether privacy verification is granted or denied. [16] The method of claim 10, wherein the selectively reporting step comprising: reporting the location of the target terminal to the client when the result of the checking indicates a granted-state without user notification. [17] The method of claim 10, wherein the selectively reporting step comprising: reporting the location of the target terminal to the client when a target terminal user transmits a positive response for reporting the location of the target terminal. [18] The method of claim 10, wherein the selectively reporting step comprising: reporting an error message to the client when a target terminal user transmits a negative response for reporting the location of the target terminal. [19] A method of providing location information service comprising: receiving a LCS client request for location of a target user equipment (UE); transmitting a first message to the target UE to calculate the location of the target UE; checking whether a user notification and/or verification process is needed to be performed on the basis of a privacy profile for the calculated location of the target UE; determining whether to forward the location information of the target UE to the 19 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 LCS client or to notify a target UE user by transmitting a second message if the user notification and/or verification is required according to a result of the checking; obtaining a result of verification of the target UE user by receiving a third message from the target UE indicating whether a location report is granted or denied; and selectively reporting the location of the target UE to the LCS client according to the result of verification. [20] The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting a location service request from the LCS client to a Requesting- Gateway Mobile Location Center(R-GMLC) for requesting the location in- formation of the target UE. [21] The method of claim 20, wherein the R-GMLC sends a routing information request to a Home Location Register (HLR)/Home Subscriber Servcr(HSS) to request an address of a Home-Gateway Mobile Location Center(H-GMLC) and receives a result of the routing information request indicating whether the LCS client is authorized to request the location information of the target UE. [22] The method of claim 19, wherein the request of the LCS client is authorized according to a privacy check on the basis of a target UE user's privacy profile stored in the GMLC or a Privacy Profile Register (PPR). [23] The method of claim 19, wherein the first message is a location request message. [24] The method of claim 19, wherein the privacy profile is registered differently for different geographical locations. [25] The method of claim 19, wherein the second message is an LCS location no- tification message for indicating the identity of the LCS client and whether privacy verification is required. [26] The method of claim 19, wherein the third message is an LCS location no- tification result message with an indication of the result of notification and ve- rification. [27] The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting the second message includes sending an LCS location notification invoke message to the target UE indicating whether privacy verification is required, if the target UE network is within a Circuit Service (CS) domain. [28] The method of claim 27, further comprising: after sending the LCS location no- tification invoke message, the target UE transmits an LCS location notification return result to indicate whether permission of privacy verification is granted or denied. [29] The method of claim 28, wherein the LCS location notification return result 20 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 comprises an indication of successful notification and verification result if the permission is granted. [30] The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting the second message includes sending a notification request from a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) to a Visited-MSC/Mobile services Switching Center (VMSC/MSC) server if the target UE network is within a CS (circuit service) domain. [31 ] The method of claim 30, wherein the VMSC/MSC server calls the target UE to perform verification via Radio Access Network (RAN). [32] The method of claim 30, wherein after sending the notification request from the GMLC to the VMSC/MSC, the VMSC/MSC server transmits a location no- tification message to the target UE indicating whether privacy verification is required. [33] The method of claim 32, wherein after sending the location notification message from the VMSC/MSC server to the target UE, the target UE transmits a location notification return result to the VMSC/MSC server indicating whether permission of privacy verification is granted or denied; and the VMSC/MSC server further transmits an indication of notification and verification result to GMLC when the location notification return result indicates whether the permission is granted or denied. [34] The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting the second message includes sending a notification invoke message to the target UE indicating whether privacy verification is required, if the target UE network is within a Packet Service (PS) domain. [35] The method of claim 34, further comprising: after sending the notification invoke message, the target UE transmits an LCS location notification return result to indicate whether permission of privacy verification is granted or denied. [36] The method of claim 35, wherein the LCS location notification return result comprises an indication of successful notification and verification result if the permission is granted. [37] The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting the second message includes sending a notification request from a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) to a Serving GPRS Supported Node (SGSN) if the target UE network is within a Packet Service (PS) domain. [38] The method of claim 37, wherein the SGSN calls the target UE to perform ver- ification via Radio Access Network (RAN). [39] The method of claim 37, further comprising: after sending the notification request from the GMLC to the SGSN, the SGSN transmits a location notification message to the target UE indicating whether privacy verification is required. 21 WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723 [40] The method of claim 39, further comprising: after sending the location no- tification message from the SGSN to the target UE, the target UE transmits a location notification return result to SGSN indicating whether permission of privacy verification is granted or denied; and the SGSN further transmits an indication of notification and verification result to GMLC when the location no- tification return result indicates whether the permission is granted or denied. [41] A method of verifying a request of location information from an LCS client performed by a target User equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a notification message, wherein the notification message is transmitted from a network if a user notification and/or verification process is needed to be performed by checking a privacy profile information for a location of the target UE; and sending a notification message result with an indication of whether forwarding the location information of the target UE to the LCS client is granted or denied. In a method for providing a location information service based upon a user's location, when a user is currently located within a preferred location or preferred area set by the user to apply privacy with respect to a transmission of location information thereto, a procedure for requesting the user's authorization is performed before transmitting the user's location information, namely, a location server checks a location information request for the user located within the preferred location or preferred area according to a privacy profile within the corresponding location or area and performs a user notification and verification process according to the privacy profile, to thereafter determine whether to forward the location information according to the result of the verification.

Full Text

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WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723
Description
METHOD FOR PROVIDING A LOCATION INFORMATION
SERVICE IN MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
Technical Field
[1] The present invention relates to a location information service based upon a
location (position) of a user in a wireless mobile communications system, and more
particularly, to a method for providing a location information service using user
privacy checking based upon the user location.
Background Art
[2] In general, in order to provide a user with a location information service, a mobile
communications network is provided with a unit that calculates a location of a
terminal, thereby providing a location service for transmitting the location of the
terminal to a particular entity periodically or upon the user request.
[3] Such network structure related to the location service is usually different from
internal networks such as 3GPP, 3GPP2 or Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), and there
are several methods for calculating the location of the terminal such as a method of
using a cell-ID technique that transmitting a cell ID of the location of the terminal, a
method for calculating the location of the terminal using triangular survey after
measuring a time taken by transmitting a signal from the terminal to each base station
adjacent thereto, or a method using a Global Positioning System (GPS), and the like.
[4] The location information service may also include a method for protecting privacy
related to location information from a particular client.
[5] Fig. 1 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a typical method for protecting privacy,
in which a privacy checking protocol (PCP) is used.
[6] A particular application 10 transmits a location information request message to a
location server 20 in order to obtain location information for a particular user (S11).
The location server 20 transmits a privacy request message to a Privacy Checking
Entity (PCE) 30 in order to check the privacy related to the user's location information
(S13).
[7] The PCE 30 having received the privacy request message from the location server
20, checks privacy information associated with the user location information and
checks information regarding an operation of the location server 20 (S15). Then, the
PCE 30 transmits the operation information of the location server 20 associated with
the privacy to the location server 20 using a privacy response message (S17), the
location server 20 having received the privacy response message from the PCE 30
transmits the user location information to the application 10 in the form of a location

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information response message (S19).
[8] Privacy profiles defined in the related art PPR may roughly be divided into five.
[9] 1) Positioning is not allowed.
[10] 2) Positioning is allowed without notifying the user.
[11] 3) Positioning is allowed with a notification to the user.
[12] 4) Positioning requires a notification and verification by the user; positioning is
allowed only if it is granted by the user or if there is no response to the notification;
[13] 5) Positioning requires a notification and verification by the user; positioning is
allowed only if it is granted by the user.
[14] However, the related art location information system does not provide various
privacy authentication (management) services based upon the user location and set
conditions. In particular, there is no related art location information system that has a
feature of privacy profile considering the user location information. In other words, the
related art location information system has not provided any method for performing the
user authorization and verification based upon the location of a target user.
Disclosure of Invention
Technical Problem
[15] One aspect of the present invention involves the recognition by the present
inventors of the drawbacks in the related art, as explained above. Based upon such
recognition, improvements in providing a location information service using user
privacy checking based upon the user location can be achieved according to the present
invention.
[16] Certain features that may be part of the location information service method and
system will not be described in much detail, merely to prevent the characteristics of the
present invention from being obscured. However, such additional features may also be
part of the location information service method and system of the present invention, as
would be understood by those skilled in the art.
[17] It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for providing a location
information service based upon a user location in which a user sets privacy with
respect to various locations or areas and the privacy is applied according to the current
user location thereby having a different privacy in different locations.
[18] It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for providing a
location information service based upon a user location in which privacy can be more
secured based upon a current user location by allowing the user to determine whether
or not to report a location information within preferred areas set by the user by
performing a post positioning notification and verification process.
Technical Solution

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[ 19J To achieve these objects, there is provided a method for providing a location in
formation service in a system for transmitting location information of a particular user
requested by a Location Requesting Entity (LRE) (e.g., an external client, an SUPL
agent in SUPL network) comprising: checking whether a user is currently located in a
preferred location or a preferred area set by the user; checking privacy information
with respect to the location information within the corresponding preferred location or
preferred area when the user is currently located within the preferred location or the
preferred area; and determining whether to report the user's location information to the
LRE according to the privacy information.
[20] According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a
location information service in a network system in which a user has set one or more
preferred locations or preferred areas and respective privacy thereof, the method may
comprise: performing positioning for a user by a location server (e.g., GMLC
(Gateway Mobile Location Center) in 3GPP, SLP (SUPL) Location Platform) in SUPL
network, etc.) which has received a location information request message for the user
from the LRE; checking whether the user is currently located within the set preferred
location or preferred area; checking privacy according to a location information within
the corresponding preferred location or preferred area; requesting to perform a notification
process for notifying a transmission of the location information to the user
upon checking the privacy; and receiving a response with respect to the request and
thus determining whether to report the user's location information according to the
received response.
[21 ] According to a second embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing
a location information service, in a system in which an external client requests location
information related to a user who has moved from a Home-Gateway Mobile Location
Center (H-GMLC) to a Visited-GMLC (V-GMLC) based upon a 3GPP entity, may
comprise: checking privacy with respect to the positioning for the user by the H-
GMLC having received a location information request; checking by the H-GMLC
address information of the V-GMLC; obtaining, by the V-GMLC, the location information
through the user positioning procedure and transmitting the location information
to the H-GMLC; checking privacy with respect to the location information
based upon the user current location information by the H-GMLC; if the user is
required to check for the location information, transmitting a notification request
message from the H-GMLC to the V-GMLC; performing a procedure for notifying the
location information between the V-GMLC and the user; receiving a verification
response message including the result of the notification and transmitting the received
verification response message to the H-GMLC by the V-GMLC; and reporting the user
location information to the client according to the result by the H-GMLC having

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received the verification message.
[22] According to a third embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a
location information service, in a method for providing location information related to
a user within a circuit service domain in which privacy has been set with respect to
location information in a 3GPP entity, may comprise: performing positioning for a user
and calculating location information accordingly by a GMLC which receives a location
information request from a particular client in the 3GPP network; transmitting, by the
GMLC, a notification message for requesting the user notification and verification for
whether to transmit the location information; transmitting a location information notification
message to the user by a Visited-MSC/Mobile services Switching Center
(MSC/MSC)server having received the notification message; when the user verification
is requested, receiving a verification message including the result of the verification
from the corresponding server by the VMSC/MSC server; receiving, by the
GMLC, a notification response message including the result of the notification and
verification from the VMSC/MSC server; and reporting the users location information
to the client from the GMLC.
[23] According to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing
a location information service, in a method for providing a service related to location
information related to a user within a packet service domain in which privacy has been
set with respect to location information in a 3GPP entity, may comprise: performing
positioning for a user and calculating the location information accordingly by a GMLC
having received a location information request from a particular client in the 3 GPP
network; transmitting, by the GMLC, a notification message for requesting the user notification
and verification with respect to whether to transmit the location information;
performing a security procedure with the user by a Serving GPRS Supported Node
(SGSN) having received the notification message; transmitting a location information
notification message to the user from the SGSN; when the user notification is
requested, receiving a verification message including the result of the verification from
the corresponding user by the SGSN; receiving, by the GMLC, a notification response
message including the result of the notification and verification from the SGSN; and
reporting the user location information to the client from the GMLC.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[24] Fig. 1 is a signal flowchart showing a typical method for checking privacy.
[25] Fig. 2 is a signal flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for providing a
location information service in accordance with the present invention.
[26] Figs. 3 and 4 are signal flowcharts respectively showing a detailed MT-LR
procedure of the Fig. 2.

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[27] Figs. 5 and 6 arc signal flowcharts respectively showing a detailed notification
procedure of Fig. 2.
Mode for the Invention
[28] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present
invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will also
be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be
made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the
invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and
variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended
claims and their equivalents.
[29] The present invention defines more privacy profiles based upon user location in
formation and thus having a procedure of requesting a user authorization before
reporting location information within a preferred location or preferred area set by the
corresponding user.
[30] In general, in a user location information service to which the privacy profiles are
added, a network service provider should always obtain location information, and the
user can always change the privacy profile by setting such Privacy Profile Register
(PPR), Privacy Exception List (PEL), Privacy Checking Entity (PCE), and the like.
Also, the default condition shall normally be to deny the positioning attempt. The
default treatment, which is applicable in the absence of a response from the target user
or user equipment (UE), shall be specified in the target UE Subscription Profile. Thus,
for some location services the default treatment may be to accept the positioning
request, whereas for other location services the default treatment may be to reject the
positioning attempt.
[31] The home network shall have the capability of defining the default circumstances in
which the target UE's location information is allowed to be provided as required by
various administrations and/or network requirements.
[32] The privacy check shall be performed in the Home Environment of the target UE
subscriber. This makes it possible for operators to ensure the privacy of their own
subscribers, i.e. the privacy settings that are used for privacy checks are always up-
to-date and as specified by the Home Environment of the target UE subscriber.
[33] It shall be possible for the privacy check to take into account Home Environment
specific information such as time of day, subscriber location, and the like. It shall be
possible to ensure that privacy checks are performed according to the latest information
as available in the Home Environment.
[34] Also, the target UE Subscriber shall be able to restrict access to the Location Information
(permanently or on a per-attempt-basis). The LCS Client access shall be

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restricted unless otherwise stated in the Target UE Subscription Profile. Again, in the
absence of specific permission to position the target UE, the target UE should not be
positioned.
[35] Usually, specific local, national, and regional privacy regulations must be complied
with a location information service which privacy profiles are added, and multiple
layers of permissions may be required for the location information service. For
example, specific privacy exceptions may exist for compliance with mandated location
based service (such as for emergency services or lawful intercept) which are required
by national or local regulatory requirements.
[36] Sometimes, the operator shall be able to determine the location of the target UE
(e.g. for lawful interception or emergency call). For emergency services (where
required by local regulatory requirements), target UE making an emergency call may
be positioned regardless of the privacy profile value of the subscriber associated with
the target UE (or ME) making the call.
[37] Preferably, the target UE user shall not be notified of any location attempt. Unless
required by local regulatory requirements, or overridden by the target UE User, the
target UE may be positioned only if allowed in the UE subscription profile.
[38] Also, for Public-Land-Mobile-Network (PLMN) operator services, the target UE
subscriber may be able to restrict access to location information used to enhance or
support particular types of service. The LCS client access shall be restricted unless
stated otherwise in the target UE subscription profile. The target UE user shall not be
notified of any authorized location attempt. And, for Lawful Interception Services
(where required by local regulatory requirements), target UE may be positioned under
all circumstances required by local regulatory requirements.
[39] Therefore, all location requests (LRs) shall be done with a privacy check except for
the following: 1) LRs relating to lawful interception; 2) LRs related to emergency
calls; 3) LRs from the serving network related to anonymous tracking for statistical
and O&M purposes; and 4) LRs from the home network as requested by the home
network operator for its own internal purposes.
[40] The home network operator should not use the UE location information, which was
obtained from the visited network without privacy checks, for value added services or
to forward such location information to any third party.
[41] Here, as one example of the present invention, in addition to the five privacy
profiles defined in the related art PPR based upon the 3GPP having mentioned above,
eight more profiles (6~13) may be added to perform the user notification and verification
according to the current user location. Here, the added eight profiles may be
used in case of setting a different privacy respectively according to the user current
location.

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[42] The thirteen privacy profiles defined in the PPR based upon the 3GPP as an
example of the present invention will be described as follows.
[43] 1) Positioning is not allowed.
[44] 2) Positioning is allowed without notifying the user.
[45] 3) Positioning is allowed with a notification to the user.
[46] 4) Positioning requires a notification and verification by the user; positioning is
allowed only if it is granted by the user or if there is no response to the notification;
[47] 5) Positioning requires a notification and verification by the user; positioning is
allowed only if it is granted by the user.
[48] 6) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the
user based on current location; positioning is performed without notifying the user and
the reporting of the location information is performed when it is granted by the user or
any response with respect to the notification is not received.
[49] 7) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the
user based on current location; positioning is performed without notifying the user and
the reporting of the location information is performed only if it is granted by the user.
[50] 8) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the
user based on current location; positioning is performed after notifying the user and the
reporting of the location information is performed when it is granted by the user or any
response with respect to the notification is not received.
[51] 9) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the
user based on current location; positioning is performed after notifying the user and the
reporting of the location information is performed only if it is granted by the user.
[52] 10) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the
user based on current location; positioning is performed after carrying out the no
tification and verification process by the user. The positioning is even performed in
case that it is authorized by the user or any response with respect to the notification is
not received. Also, the reporting of the location information is performed only if it is
granted by the user.
[53] 11) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the
user based on current location; positioning is performed after carrying out the no
tification and verification process by the user. The positioning is even performed in
case that it is authorized by the user or any response with respect to the notification is
not received. Also, the reporting of the location information, like the positioning, is
performed even when it is granted by the user or any response with respect to the no
tification is not received.
[54] 12) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the
user based on current location; positioning is performed after carrying out the no-

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tification and verification process by the user only when it is granted by the user. Also,
the reporting of the location information is performed even when it is granted by the
user or any response with respect to the notification is not received.
[55] 13) Reporting of location information requires a notification and verification by the
user based on current location; positioning is performed after carrying out the no
tification and verification process by the user only when it is granted by the user. Also,
the reporting of the location information is performed even when it is granted by the
user.
[56] Here, the privacy profiles of the present invention correspond to 6) to 13). In order
to request a user authorization before reporting location information within the
preferred location or preferred area preset by the user, an additional process is needed
to be provided for requesting the user authorization based upon a location value
calculated after performing the positioning for the corresponding user. A brief ex
planation will now be given for the method for providing the location information
service according to the present invention.
[57] First, a particular user uses one of the privacy profile values associated with its
location information to set whether to transmit its location information from one or
more locations or areas to a third user or other network entity. Here, the location or
area in which the user has set the privacy profile associated with its location in
formation is set as one user preferred area. That is, while moving, the user can set one
or more user preferred areas and a privacy profile for each preferred area.
[58] The privacy profiles within the preferred areas having set by the user, namely, in
formation with respect to whether to transmit the user's location information and
whether to request the performing of the process for the user authorization can be
stored in the PPR or a separate storage unit.
[59] When the third user or the network entity requests the user's location information,
the specific user connects to the PPR to check the privacy profile associated with the
location information set by the user.
[60] If the privacy profile relates to requesting a notification and verification based upon
the current user position, the specific user checks information of whether to transmit
the user's location information and whether to request the performing of a process for
the user authorization. The specific user then determines whether to transmit the cor
responding user's location information. Subsequent procedures for the location in
formation request from the third user or another network entity can be then performed.
[61] Fig. 2 is a signal flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for providing a
location information service according to the present invention, which describe a
Mobile Terminating Location Request (MT-LR) procedure in a packet service (PS)
domain and a circuit service (CS) domain.

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[62] A network for implementing a location information service may comprise an LCS
client 41, GMLCs 43, 45 and 49, a Home Location Register (HLR)/ Home subscriber
Server (HSS) 47, a Mobile services Switching Center (MSC)/ Serving GPRS
Supported Node (SGSN) 51, and Radio Access Network (RAN) 53, and a target user
(e.g., target UE) of which location information is requested.
[63] The GMLC may include a Requesting-GMLC (referred to as R-GMLC, hereafter)
43 of a network which requests the location information, a Home-GMLC (referred to
as H-GMLC, hereafter) 45 which is a GMLC of a user's home network, and a Visited-
GMLC (referred to as V-GMLC) 49 which is a GMLC to which the user has moved
when the user has moved to the third network.
[64] In the present invention, it is assumed that a target user 55 from which the LCS
client 41 requests the location information moves to the third network. The target user
55 can be referred to as just a user hereafter.
[65] An external location service client (just referred to as a LCS client hereafter) 41
transmits a LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message (e.g., LCS Service
Request) to the R-GMLC 43 to request location information related to a particular
target user 55 (S21).
[66] The R-GMLC 43 having received the LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST
message checks an ID of the LCS client 41 and verifies whether it is an available
client. The R-GMLC 43 then checks whether the user privacy profile is stored therein.
Here, if the privacy profile is stored in the R-GMLC 43, the R-GMLC 43 is the H-
GMLC 45 of the user 55 and thus it is possible to skip a series of processes (S22 and
S23) for obtaining the address of the H-GMLC 45 and processes (S24 and S37) for
exchanging messages between the R-GMLC 43 and the H-GMLC 45. If the R-GMLC
43 already knows the address of the H-GMLC 45, such processes (S22 and S23) for
obtaining the address of the H-GMLC 45 can be skipped.
[67] If the R-GMLC 43 is not the H-GMLC 45 and does not know the address of the H-
GMLC 45, the R-GMLC 43 transmits a ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST
message (e.g., Send Routing Info For LCS) to the HLR/HSS 47 of the user's home
network to request the address of the H-GMLC 45 (S22). The HLR/HSS 47 checks
whether the R-GMLC 43 is authorized to request the location information related to
the user 55. Thereafter, the HLR/HSS 47 transmits the address of the H-GMLC 45 to
the R-GMLC 43 using a ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST RESULT message
(e.g., Send Routing Info For LCS ack) (S23).
[68] The R-GMLC 43 having received the ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST
RESULT message transmits a LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message
(e.g., LCS Service Request) related to the user 55 to the H-GMLC 45 (S24), which
then accesses the PPR (not shown in Figure) to check privacy settings associated to the

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location information for the user 55 (S25). Here, while checking the privacy settings,
the H-GMLC 45 checks possibility of positioning.
[69] If it is possible to perform the positioning for the user 55, the H-GMLC 45
transmits the ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST message (e.g., Send Routing
Info For LCS) to the HLR/HSS 47 in order to check addresses of the V-GMLC 49 and
the SGSN and/or VMSC/MSC 51 (S26), and receives the addresses of the SGSN and/
or VMSC/MSC 51 and the V-GMLC 49 from the HLR/HSS 47 related to the user 55
using a ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST RESULT message (e.g., Send
Routing Info For LCS ack) (S27).
[70] The H-GMLC 45 transmits the LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message
(e.g., the LCS Service Request) to the corresponding V-GMLC 49 by checking the
address thereof included in the ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST RESULT
message (S28). The V-GMLC 49 having received the LOCATION INFORMATION
REQUEST message performs an MT-LR procedure with the user 55 for the positioning
with respect to the user 55 (S29). The MT-LR procedure will be explained in
detail later.
[71] The V-GMLC 49 transmits location information related to the user 55 which has
been calculated by performing the MT-LR procedure to the H-GMLC 45 using a
LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE message (e.g., LCS Service Response)
(S30). The H-GMLC 45 having received the LOCATION INFORMATION
RESPONSE message checks the privacy settings of the current user 55 in order to
determine whether the location information related to the corresponding user 55
corresponds to the preferred area set in the privacy (S31).
[72] During the processes (S25 and S31) for checking the privacy setting, if the privacy
profile is checked to have been added in the present invention, namely, if the privacy
profile is to request the notification and verification based upon the current user
position, the H-GMLC 45 performs a series of processes (S32 through S36) to verify
whether to report the location information related to the user 55 to the LCS client 51.
[73] If the privacy profile for the user 55 is to request the notification and verification
within a particular location or area and the current user location or area is the preferred
area for which the notification and verification should be performed, the H-GMLC 45
transmits the ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST message (e.g., Send Routing
Info For LCS) to the HLR/HSS 47 to request the addresses of the V-GMLC 49 and the
SGSN and/or VMSC/MSC 51 (S32), and receives the information of the addresses
thereof from the HLR/HSS 47 through the ROUTING INFORMATION REQUEST
RESULT message (e.g., Send Routing Info For LCS ack) (S33). Here, the processes
(S32 and S33) for checking the addresses of the SGSN and/or VMSC/MSC 51 and the
V-GMLC 49 are optionally performed in case that the H-GMLC 45 already knows the

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address information.
[74] The H-GMLC 45 transmits a NOTIFICATION REQUEST message for requesting
the user notification and verification to the V-GMLC 49 of a network to which the user
55 has moved (S34). The V-GMLC 49 having received the NOTIFICATION
REQUEST message performs a notification process with the corresponding user 55 to
check whether to report the location information (S35). Here, the notification process
according to the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the
related drawings.
[75] The V-GMLC 49 checks whether to report the location information related to the
user 55 to the LCS client 41 through the notification process, and transmits the result
of the check to the H-GMLC 45 by including the result in a NOTIFICATION
RESPONSE message (S36). Here, the result included in the responded message may
be represented with an indication of attribute, parameter, element, value, and the like.
When the V-GMLC 49 docs not receive the result of the verification from the user 55
during the notification procedure, the V-GMLC 49 counts down a particular time
duration using an internal timer, and thereafter transmits the NOTIFICATION
RESPONSE message including the result of the unsuccessful reception of the notification
result to the H-GMLC 45.
[76] The H-GMLC 45 transmits a LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE message
including the location information related to the user 55 to the R-GMLC 43 according
to the resultant value included in the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message or
consistency with the conditions for the transmission of the location information (S37).
The R-GMLC 43 transmits the LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE message to
the LCS client 41 (38). Here, if the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message includes a
value or indication of not-granted state for the reporting of the user location in
formation or the preset conditions for the transmission of the location information are
not complied with, the H-GMLC 45 notifies the LCS client 41 with showing a
reporting of the location information is not granted.
[77] Figs. 3 and 4 are signal flowcharts respectively showing a detailed MT-LR
procedure S29 shown in Fig. 2, which describes the MT-LR procedure which is im
plemented differently according to whether a current user service network is a circuit
service (CS) domain or a packet service (PS) domain after performing such processes
corresponding to S21 through S28 shown in Fig. 2.
[78] Fig. 3 is a signal flowchart showing a MT-LR procedure in the CS domain. After
performing the common processes corresponding to S21 through S28 of Fig. 2, the
GMLC 49 transmits a PROVIDE SUBSCRIBER LOCATION message to the VMSC/
MSC server 51 (S41). Here, the message may include types of the requested location
information (e.g., a current location, speed information or the like), a user's IMSI

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(International Mobile Subscriber Identity), LCS QoS (Location Service Quality of
Service) information (e.g., accuracy, responding time, etc.) and the like.
[79] The VMSC/MSC server 51 calls the user 55 via a RAN 53 to perform an au
thentication process therewith (S42). If a notification and authentication with respect to
the corresponding user 55 is required in connection with the location information for
the user 55, the VMSC/MSC server 51 transmits a LOCATION INFORMATION NO-
TIFICATION message (e.g., LCS Location Notification) to the user 55 (S43). Here,
whether the notification and verification is required can be checked by considering the
privacy profiles in the privacy checking process of S31 in Fig. 2.
[80] If the user verification with respect to the LOCATION INFORMATION NO-
TIFICATION message is required, the corresponding user 55 transmits a VER-
IFICATION RESPONSE message (e.g., LCS Location Notification Return) to the
VMSC/MSC server 51 (S44). The VMSC/MSC server 51 then transmits a
LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message to the RAN 53 (S45).
[81] An actual positioning is performed between the RAN 53 and the user 55 (S46). The
RAN 53 transmits the calculated location information to the VMSC/MSC server 51
using a LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE message (S47). The VMSC/MSC
server 51 transmits the calculated location information to the GMLC 49 using a
PROVIDE SUBSCRIBER LOCATION RESPONSE message (S48).
[82] In this way, the common MT-LR procedure corresponding to S30, S37 and S38 in
Fig. 2 is then performed.
[83] Fig. 4 is a signal flowchart showing a MT-LR procedure in the PS domain. After
performing the common processes corresponding to S21 through S28 in Fig. 2, the
GMLC 49 transmits the PROVIDE SUBSCRIBER LOCATION message to the SGSN
51 (S51). Here, the message may include types of the requested location information
(e.g., a current location, speed information or the like), a user's IMSI (International
Mobile Subscriber Identity), LCS QoS (Location Service Quality of Service) information
(e.g., accuracy, responding time, etc) and the like.
[84] The SGSN 51 calls the user 55 via the RAN 53 to perform an authentication process
therewith (S52), and performs a security procedure therewith (S53).
[85] If a notification and verification with respect to the corresponding user 55 is
required in connection with the user's location information, the SGSN 51 transmits the
LOCATION INFORMATION NOTIFICATION message (e.g., LCS Location Notification)
to the corresponding user 55 (S54), and receives, if necessary, the VERIFICATION RESPONSE
message (e.g., LCS Location Notification Return) in
response to the LOCATION INFORMATION NOTIFICATION message from the
user 55 (S55). Here, whether the notification and verification is required can be
checked based upon the privacy profiles in the privacy checking process of S31 in Fig.

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2.
[86] The SGSN 51 transmits the LOCATION INFORMATION REQUEST message to
the RAN 53 (S56). Positioning is thus performed by exchanging messages between the
RAN 53 and the user 55 (S57). The RAN 53 transmits the calculated location in-
formation to the SGSN 51 using the LOCATION INFORMATION RESPONSE
message (S58). The SGSN 51 transmits the calculated location information to the
GMLC 49 using a PROVIDE SUBSCRIBER LOCATION RESPONSE message
(S59).
[87] Thereafter, the common MT-LR procedure corresponding to S30, S37 and S38 in
Fig. 2 is then performed.
[88] The GMLC of Figs 3 and 4 indicates the V-GMLC 49 of Fig. 2, which is the
GMLC of the network to which the user 55 of which location information has been
requested by the LCS client 41 currently belongs.
[89] Figs. 5 and 6 arc signal respectively flowcharts showing the notification procedure
S35 of Fig. 2 (i.e., the post positioning notification procedure for CS and PS domains)
in detail. After performing the MT-LR procedure corresponding to S21 through S34 in
Fig. 2, the notification procedure which may be implemented differently according to
whether the current service network to which the user currently belongs is the CS
domain or the PS domain will now be described.
[90] In the present invention, when the user's location information is transmitted to a
third user or to another network entity within a specific preferred area, the user can set
privacy such that the user can perform the notification and verification process for
reporting of location information.
[91] When the user is currently located within a preferred area and the privacy profile set
for the area requires the notification and verification process, the notification process is
performed to check whether to transmit the user's location information.
[92] Fig. 5 is a signal flowchart showing the notification procedure in the CS domain.
After performing the MT-LR procedure (i.e., the MT-LR procedures for CS and PS
domains) corresponding to S21 through S34 in Fig. 2, the GMLC 49 transmits a NO-
TIFICATION REQUEST MESSAGE (e.g., Provide Subscriber Location) to the
VMSC/MSC server 51 (S61). Here, the GMLC 49 transfers a notification and ver-
ification request of the transmission of location information to the VMSC/MSC server
51 using the NOTIFICATION REQUEST message.
[93] The VMSC/MSC server 51 performs an authentication process by calling the user
55 via the RAN 53 (S62), and then transmits to the user 55 a LOCATION IN-
FORMATION NOTIFICATION message (e.g., LCS Location Notification) for
notifying the user 55 of the notification and verification request related to the current
user location information (S63).

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[94] If the user verification with respect to the LOCATION INFORMATION NO-
TIFICATION message is required, the corresponding user 55 transmits to the VMSC/MSC
server 51 a VERIFICATION RESPONSE message (e.g., LCS Location Notification
Return) (S64). The VMSC/MSC server 51 transmits the result of the notification
and verification related to the location information to the GMLC 49 using the
NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message (S65) (e.g., Provide Subscriber Location ack).
Here, the result included in the responded message may be represented with an
indication of attribute, parameter, element, value, and the like.
[95] Thereafter, the location information related to the user 55 may be transmitted or not
to the LCS client 41 depending on the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message.
[96] Fig. 6 is a signal flowchart showing the notification procedure within the PS
domain. After performing the MT-LR procedure corresponding to S21 through S34 in
Fig. 2, the GMLC 49 transmits the NOTIFICATION REQUEST message (e.g.,
Provide Subscriber Location) to the SGSN 51 (S71). Here, the GMLC 49 transfers a
notification and verification request with respect to the transmission of location information
to the SGSN 51.
[97] The SGSN 51 performs an authentication process by calling the user 55 via the
RAN 53 (S72), and then performs a security process with the corresponding user 55
(S73). The SGSN 51 then transmits to the user 55 the LOCATION INFORMATION
NOTIFICATION message (e.g., LCS Location Notification Invoke) for notifying the
user 55 of the notification and verification request related to the current user location
information (S74).
[98] If the user verification with respect to the LOCATION INFORMATION NO-
TIFICATION message is required, the corresponding user 55 transmits to the SGSN
51 the VERIFICATION RESPONSE message (e.g., LCS Location Notification Return
Result) (S75). The SGSN 51 transmits the result of the notification and verification
related to the location information to the GMLC 49 using the NOTIFICATION
RESPONSE message (e.g., Provide Subscriber Location ack) (S76). Here, the result
included in the responded message may be represented with an indication of attribute,
parameter, clement, value, and the like.
[99] Thereafter, the location information related to the user 55 may be transmitted or not
to the LCS client 41 depending on the NOTIFICATION RESPONSE message.
[100] The GMLC of Figs 5 and 6 indicates the V-GMLC 49 of Fig. 2, which is the
GMLC of the network to which the user 55 of which location information has been
requested by the LCS client 41 currently belongs.
[101] The present invention can be characterized by comprising checking whether the
user is currently located within the preferred location or preferred area set by the user,
checking privacy with the transmission of the location information if the user is

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currently located within the preferred location or preferred area, requesting the user to
perform a process for notifying the transmission of the location information according
the checked privacy, and receiving a message in response to the request to determine
accordingly whether to transmit the user's location information.
[102] In addition, the present invention can also be characterized, in a system for
transmitting location information with respect to a specific user using a network
structure constituted with the SUPL agent, the SLP and the SET of the SUPL network,
by comprising checking whether the user is currently located within the preferred
location or preferred area set by the user, checking privacy information with respect to
the transmission of the location information within the preferred location or preferred
area if the user is currently located therein, and determining whether to transmit the
user's location information to the LRE depending on the privacy information.
[103] Also, the various features of the present invention may be further described and
explained in the following manner. Note that the clement reference numbers have not
been specified, but may be clearly understood upon viewing the drawings and this
overall disclosure.
[ 104] For example, it shall be possible for location services to support conditional
reporting if the target UE is within specified geographical areas. Under these
conditions, an application that is granted conditional positioning authorization must
notify and obtain positioning authorization from the user of the target UE after the po-
sitioning process is performed, but before reporting the location of the target UE to the
LCS client. It may also be possible for a target UE to authorize positioning attempts
after the target UE is notified of a positioning request and the target UE grants
permission for positioning.
[105] To implement the various features described above, the present invention can
employ various types of hardware and/or software components (modules). For
example, different hardware modules may contain various circuits and components
necessary to perform the steps of the above method. Also, different software modules
(executed by processors and/or other hardware) may contain various codes and
protocols necessary to perform the steps of the present invention method.
[106] The foregoing embodiments and advantages, which explained with figures, are
merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention in one
skilled in the ordinary art. Specifically, the features of the present invention may also
be adapted and implemented in communication systems operating under other types of
communication specifications (e.g., 3GPP, 3GPP2, 4G, IEEE, OMA(i.e., SUPL
network), etc.) because the concepts and teachings of the present invention could be
applied to various communication schemes that operate in a similar manner based upon
common techniques.

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[107] The description of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to
limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be
apparent to those skilled in the art.

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Claims
[1] A method of providing location information of a terminal in a network system,
the method comprising:
calculating a location of the terminal when a client requests positioning of the
terminal;
checking privacy profile information for the calculated location of the terminal
wherein the privacy profile information is registered in a privacy profile entity;
and
according to a result of the checking, determining whether to forward the
location information of the terminal to the client or to send a notification
message to the terminal.
[2] The method of claim 1, wherein the notification message is sent if the result of
the checking requires a notification and verification based on the calculated
location of the terminal.
[31 The method of claim 1, wherein the calculated location of the terminal represents
a current location of the terminal.
[4] The method of claim 1, wherein the privacy profile information is registered by a
terminal user.
[5] The method of claim 1, wherein the privacy profile information is registered
differently for different geographical areas.
[6] The method of claim 2, further comprising:
after sending the notification message to the terminal according to the determining,
reporting the location of the terminal to the client when privacy ver-
ification is authorized by the terminal user.
[7] The method of claim 2, further comprising:
after sending the notification message to the terminal according to the de-
termining, reporting an error message to the client when privacy verification is
not authorized by the terminal user.
[8] The method of claim 2, further comprising:
after sending the notification message to the terminal according to the de-
termining, reporting an error message to the client when privacy verification is
not performed within a predetermined time period by the terminal user.
[9] The method of claim 2, further comprising:
after sending the notification message to the terminal according to the de-
termining, receiving an indication of the result of the notification and verification
from the terminal.
[10] A method of providing location information of a target terminal in a network

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WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723
system, the method comprising:
receiving a request for location of the target terminal;
sending a location request message to the target terminal to calculate a location
of the target terminal;
checking privacy profile information for the calculated location of the terminal
wherein the privacy profile information is registered in a privacy profile entity;
and
selectively reporting the location of the terminal to a client based on the result of
the checking.
[11] The method of claim 10, wherein the request is authorized according to a privacy
check on the basis of a target terminal user privacy profile.
[12] The method of claim 10, wherein the calculated location of the target terminal
represents a current location of the target terminal.
[13] The method of claim 10, wherein the privacy profile information is determined
based on setup information of the target terminal.
[14] The method of claim 10, further comprising:
notifying a target terminal user by transmitting a location notification message to
the target terminal indicating whether privacy verification is required.
[15] The method of claim 10, further comprising:
receiving a location notification return result from the target terminal to indicate
whether privacy verification is granted or denied.
[16] The method of claim 10, wherein the selectively reporting step comprising:
reporting the location of the target terminal to the client when the result of the
checking indicates a granted-state without user notification.
[17] The method of claim 10, wherein the selectively reporting step comprising:
reporting the location of the target terminal to the client when a target terminal
user transmits a positive response for reporting the location of the target terminal.
[18] The method of claim 10, wherein the selectively reporting step comprising:
reporting an error message to the client when a target terminal user transmits a
negative response for reporting the location of the target terminal.
[19] A method of providing location information service comprising:
receiving a LCS client request for location of a target user equipment (UE);
transmitting a first message to the target UE to calculate the location of the target
UE;
checking whether a user notification and/or verification process is needed to be
performed on the basis of a privacy profile for the calculated location of the
target UE;
determining whether to forward the location information of the target UE to the

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LCS client or to notify a target UE user by transmitting a second message if the
user notification and/or verification is required according to a result of the
checking;
obtaining a result of verification of the target UE user by receiving a third
message from the target UE indicating whether a location report is granted or
denied; and
selectively reporting the location of the target UE to the LCS client according to
the result of verification.
[20] The method of claim 19, further comprising:
transmitting a location service request from the LCS client to a Requesting-
Gateway Mobile Location Center(R-GMLC) for requesting the location in-
formation of the target UE.
[21] The method of claim 20, wherein the R-GMLC sends a routing information
request to a Home Location Register (HLR)/Home Subscriber Servcr(HSS) to
request an address of a Home-Gateway Mobile Location Center(H-GMLC) and
receives a result of the routing information request indicating whether the LCS
client is authorized to request the location information of the target UE.
[22] The method of claim 19, wherein the request of the LCS client is authorized
according to a privacy check on the basis of a target UE user's privacy profile
stored in the GMLC or a Privacy Profile Register (PPR).
[23] The method of claim 19, wherein the first message is a location request message.
[24] The method of claim 19, wherein the privacy profile is registered differently for
different geographical locations.
[25] The method of claim 19, wherein the second message is an LCS location no-
tification message for indicating the identity of the LCS client and whether
privacy verification is required.
[26] The method of claim 19, wherein the third message is an LCS location no-
tification result message with an indication of the result of notification and ve-
rification.
[27] The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting the second message
includes sending an LCS location notification invoke message to the target UE
indicating whether privacy verification is required, if the target UE network is
within a Circuit Service (CS) domain.
[28] The method of claim 27, further comprising: after sending the LCS location no-
tification invoke message, the target UE transmits an LCS location notification
return result to indicate whether permission of privacy verification is granted or
denied.
[29] The method of claim 28, wherein the LCS location notification return result

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comprises an indication of successful notification and verification result if the
permission is granted.
[30] The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting the second message
includes sending a notification request from a Gateway Mobile Location Center
(GMLC) to a Visited-MSC/Mobile services Switching Center (VMSC/MSC)
server if the target UE network is within a CS (circuit service) domain.
[31 ] The method of claim 30, wherein the VMSC/MSC server calls the target UE to
perform verification via Radio Access Network (RAN).
[32] The method of claim 30, wherein after sending the notification request from the
GMLC to the VMSC/MSC, the VMSC/MSC server transmits a location no-
tification message to the target UE indicating whether privacy verification is
required.
[33] The method of claim 32, wherein after sending the location notification message
from the VMSC/MSC server to the target UE, the target UE transmits a location
notification return result to the VMSC/MSC server indicating whether
permission of privacy verification is granted or denied; and the VMSC/MSC
server further transmits an indication of notification and verification result to
GMLC when the location notification return result indicates whether the
permission is granted or denied.
[34] The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting the second message
includes sending a notification invoke message to the target UE indicating
whether privacy verification is required, if the target UE network is within a
Packet Service (PS) domain.
[35] The method of claim 34, further comprising: after sending the notification invoke
message, the target UE transmits an LCS location notification return result to
indicate whether permission of privacy verification is granted or denied.
[36] The method of claim 35, wherein the LCS location notification return result
comprises an indication of successful notification and verification result if the
permission is granted.
[37] The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting the second message
includes sending a notification request from a Gateway Mobile Location Center
(GMLC) to a Serving GPRS Supported Node (SGSN) if the target UE network is
within a Packet Service (PS) domain.
[38] The method of claim 37, wherein the SGSN calls the target UE to perform ver-
ification via Radio Access Network (RAN).
[39] The method of claim 37, further comprising: after sending the notification
request from the GMLC to the SGSN, the SGSN transmits a location notification
message to the target UE indicating whether privacy verification is required.

21
WO 2006/118373 PCT/KR2006/000723
[40] The method of claim 39, further comprising: after sending the location no-
tification message from the SGSN to the target UE, the target UE transmits a
location notification return result to SGSN indicating whether permission of
privacy verification is granted or denied; and the SGSN further transmits an
indication of notification and verification result to GMLC when the location no-
tification return result indicates whether the permission is granted or denied.
[41] A method of verifying a request of location information from an LCS client
performed by a target User equipment (UE), the method comprising:
receiving a notification message, wherein the notification message is transmitted
from a network if a user notification and/or verification process is needed to be
performed by checking a privacy profile information for a location of the target
UE; and
sending a notification message result with an indication of whether forwarding
the location information of the target UE to the LCS client is granted or denied.

In a method for providing a location information service based upon a user's location, when a user is currently
located within a preferred location or preferred area set by the user to apply privacy with respect to a transmission of location information
thereto, a procedure for requesting the user's authorization is performed before transmitting the user's location information,
namely, a location server checks a location information request for the user located within the preferred location or preferred area
according to a privacy profile within the corresponding location or area and performs a user notification and verification process
according to the privacy profile, to thereafter determine whether to forward the location information according to the result of the
verification.

Documents:

http://ipindiaonline.gov.in/patentsearch/GrantedSearch/viewdoc.aspx?id=67RJkevIeANXzd44F8Bzsg==&loc=wDBSZCsAt7zoiVrqcFJsRw==

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Patent Number

269233

Indian Patent Application Number

3075/KOLNP/2007

PG Journal Number

42/2015

Publication Date

16-Oct-2015

Grant Date

12-Oct-2015

Date of Filing

21-Aug-2007

Name of Patentee

LG ELECTRONICS INC.

Applicant Address

20, YOIDO-DONG, YONGDUNGPO-GU SEOUL

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	SHIM DONG-HEE	GEUMSONG-LIVINGTEL 503, 454-1, SINGIL 1-DONG, YONGDUNGPO-GU, SEOUL 150-853

PCT International Classification Number

H04Q 7/38

PCT International Application Number

PCT/KR2006/000723

PCT International Filing date

2006-03-02

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1	10-2005-0036514	2005-04-30	Republic of Korea
2	60/693171	2005-06-22	Republic of Korea