Method for serving location information access requests

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DESCRIPTION

Method of serving requests for access to location information

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a method for serving requests for access to location information.

Background of the invention

Various applications that use location information have been developed in recent years. A positioning technique such as GPS (Global Positioning System) based positioning or radio network based positioning produces location information that could be used for various purposes, such as for targeted advertising. Applications that use location information can request it from other applications or devices. For example, an application on a first mobile terminal can display the location of a second device on a map, whereby the first terminal needs to request current location information from the second terminal. In a known network-based positioning system, these requests are delivered to a mobile network which then sends the location information to the first terminal, if the location information has been authorized to send. If the sending has not been authorized, the mobile network can send an authorization request to the second terminal. The location information is then transmitted to the first terminal only if an authorization to do so is received from the second terminal.

Location information about a device is confidential information, and it is important to provide means to control which entities have access to the location information. In the above example, access control can be arranged by the second terminal that receives the request for location information from the first terminal. Access control can be arranged in the second terminal by requesting authorization to send the location information from the user of the second terminal or automatically by predetermined rules that determine whether the information can be sent. However, the use of these access control methods has been cumbersome for the user, as the new entries for the access control information and its details have to be entered manually from scratch.

Document US 2002/035605 (A1) discloses presence determination, location determination, instant messaging and mobile commerce integrated in a functionally integrated system, which can be implemented as an additional component of a wireless provider's network. Alternatively, the integrated system enables instant messaging and mobile commerce as a centralized gateway connected to the networks of a large number of wireless providers. The gateway facilitates a business model that advances beyond current practices, in which individual wireless operators enter into bilateral agreements with specific Internet content providers. The disclosed functionally integrated gateway powers Internet services that require real-time information about wireless subscribers to conduct mobile commerce or offer advanced messaging services. Optimizing a wireless network is also made easier by taking network performance measurements, without using special test drive equipment, across devices that regularly use the network during standard network operation.

Document WO 02/17656 (A2) discloses access to location information of the mobile user terminal controlled by receiving a request from a requestor for location information associated with the location of the mobile user terminal on a location server that maintains location information. The location server determines whether the requestor is authorized to receive the location information from the location server. The location server transmits an authorization that enables the requester to receive the location information from the location server in response to determining that the requester is authorized to receive the location information from the location server.

Brief disclosure of the invention

An improved solution is now provided to arrange for data retrieval in response to a request for access to location information. This solution is achieved by a method, a data processing device, a system and a computer program product which are characterized by what is set forth in the independent claims. Some embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.

The invention is based on the idea of ​​using existing contact information when processing requests for access to location information in a data processing device comprising a location information service module. An identifier is determined in a received location information access request, and the identifier is compared to identifiers in a contact store. The location access control information and / or supplemental contact information associated with an entry having the matching identifier is then retrieved in contact storage.

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The location information service module generally refers to any functionality suitable for serving requests for access to external and / or internal location information, and contact storage generally refers to any storage suitable for storing entries comprising contact information. . Location access control information refers to information on the basis of which access to location information can be allowed or denied. It should be noted that the request for access to location information may be a request for authorization to send location information and / or a request to transmit location information. Therefore, it is not necessary to actually send any location information from a device that receives the request, but the location information is sent to the requesting device by another entity, for example, by an element of location service in a mobile network. This embodiment can be used in systems where device location information is determined outside the device, for example, by positioning based on network cell identification.

An advantage of one aspect of the invention is that less memory space is required since separate entries are not required for privacy profiles, but information already existing in data storage, such as phone book contacts, can be used. Additionally, the information already in the entries can be used when searching for the correct privacy profile for a sender of the location information access request. Information in the entries, such as a name and / or an image of the requesting person, can be displayed to the user, thus improving usability. For example, the nickname of a user of a terminal sending the request can be displayed to the user instead of or in addition to the user's phone number.

Brief description of the drawings

In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail by means of some embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 shows a system in which location information can be transferred;

Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a data processing device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; Y

Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating a privacy profile creation method in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary system in which location information can be transferred over a data processing device TE. The system comprises a mobile network MNW comprising an access device AD ​​such as a base station and one or more external devices ED. The location information of the data processing device TE may be requested by the external device ED. The external device eD can then use the location information received from the data processing device TE, possibly by sending the location information to other devices. In one embodiment, the external device ED can function as well as a server device and, contrary to the example of Figure 3, reside in the mobile network MNW. In this embodiment, a location access request from the external device ED typically comprises an identifier of a device or a person (eg, a subscriber identity) for which the external device ED forwards the location information. In a further embodiment, the location of the data processing device TE is determined in the mobile network MNW. For example, positioning based on cell identification can be used, whereby the MNW network determines the position of the TE device according to the cell in which the TE device is registered. Another network-based positioning method is the 'Time of Arrival' (TOA), in which at least three fixed base stations (BS) in the network measure the propagation delays of the signal transmitted from a terminal, thus Terminal position delays can be accurately calculated. E-OTD (Enhanced Observed Time Difference) is an example of a positioning method that uses both the TE device and the MNW mobile network. The external device ED may reside on another network, for example on a secure intranet, normally accessible via the Internet.

In one embodiment, the data can be transmitted to / from the data processing device TE by a base station of a mobile network MNW. Conventional mobile network elements and functions may be included in the MNW. For example, the MNW and TE can support the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) or WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) standards. The data processing device TE may be a data processing device equipped with a location information service module, for example a laptop, a desktop computer, a PDA device, a mobile station or a removable / removable module. laptop for some of the devices mentioned. This also applies to the external device ED. In one example, the other device to which the location information is ultimately transmitted is a mobile station or a PC with a browser by which a page indicating the location of the data processing device TE can be retrieved and displayed. This page may be prepared by the ED and / or some other device that implements such a web-based location information service. Local connectivity can be arranged between the

ES 2 813 093 T3 data processing device TE and external device ED directly or by means of a third element. For this local area connectivity, some local area network technology can be used. For example, WLAN connectivity based on the IEEE 802.11 standard or Bluetooth connectivity can be used.

Figure 2 illustrates functional blocks of the data processing device TE that relates to the present embodiment. The data processing device TE comprises a location information service module LISM, a storage herein refers to a telephone directory storage PB for storing entries comprising contact information, a user interface UI and means of input / output I / O such as a transceiver for wireless data transfer to arrange communication. It should be noted that contact information may reside in phonebook storage PB or other storage ST. Additionally, in one embodiment, the TE data processing device comprises positioning means such as a GPS receiver to determine location information about the TE (not shown in Figure 2). The location information can be stored in the TE or in an external storage EST. The location information and / or authorization to supply location information related to the TE can be sent by the location information service module LISM to a requesting entity in the TE or in the external device ED, the entity requesting the information The location information is represented in Figure 2 by the reference LIR (Location Information Inquirer). The LIR can be an application that uses location information, for example an orientation application. In one embodiment, the LISM comprises a specific PCM privacy control module for controlling access to location information based on one or more stored privacy profiles. In an alternative embodiment, the location information about the TE is maintained by an external server, in which case the server can be configured to perform at least some of the characteristics related to requests for access to location information and is further illustrated. detail below.

The data processing device TE comprises memory and a processing unit comprising one or more processors. Computer program codes executed in the processing unit can be used to cause the data processing device TE to implement means to control the service of location access requests and the storage of access control rules, some of which are illustrated below in association with Figures 3, 4 and 5. In one embodiment, a chip unit or some other type of module for controlling the data processing device TE can make the device perform the functions of the invention. The module can be part of the device and can be removable, that is, it can be inserted into another unit or device. Computer program codes can be received over a network and / or stored in memory media, for example on a disk, a CD-ROM disk or other external memory media, from where they can be loaded into the memory of the computer. data processing device TE. Hardware solutions or a combination of hardware and software solutions can also be used to implement the functions of the invention. It should be noted that location information, contact information entries, access control information, and / or associations between contact information entries and access control information can be stored in internal memory or on the external memory (for example, a removable memory card or IC Card) of the TE data processing device, or in an external storage EST.

Figure 3 illustrates a method in accordance with one aspect of the invention. In step 301, the device performing the method, in the present embodiment, the data processing device TE, receives a request for access to location information in which, depending on the applied positioning technique, a location is requested specific to the data processing device TE or authorization to transfer the location information on the data processing device. The request for access to location information comprises at least an identifier of the sender of the request or an identifier of at least one entity to which the location information must be transferred. This identifier is determined from the request in step 302. In one embodiment, the identifier is a MSISDN (Mobile Subscriber International ISDN Number) determined from the request for access to location information sent by a mobile terminal or a location service element in the mobile network MNW. In a further embodiment, the request is sent by means of a short message, whereby the identifier can be determined in step 302 from a field containing the sender's number in a short message comprising the request for access to location information. There are also many alternative embodiments. For example, a username, device identifier, IP address, or some other identifier can be used, which can be determined by default from location information. The identifier is compared 303, 304 with identifiers stored in contact storage, in one embodiment in the phone book PB.

If a match is found, the privacy profile associated with the entry having the matching identifier is retrieved in step 305. There are a few alternatives as to how the privacy profile can be associated with the entry: the privacy profile can be stored directly in the entry comprising the matching identifier, for example in a PB phonebook entry, or the entry it may comprise a link such as a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) ​​to the location of the privacy profile. In the first case, the data processing device TE can retrieve the entry or only the privacy profile at the entry. In the latter case, the correct privacy profile can be retrieved from the linked location, such as ST storage on the TE or other external storage, possibly EST residing on another

ES 2 813 093 T3 device. It is also possible that the privacy profile comprises or is associated with at least one identifier of a contact entry, and the appropriate privacy profile is retrieved on the basis of this identifier.

At step 306, the retrieved privacy profile is verified for the sender of the request. If transmission of location information is allowed for the request sender (LIR) and / or the party for which the request was submitted based on 306, 307 verification, the location information can then be transmitted 308 to the party that originally wanted this information. According to the applied positioning technique, in this step 308 the data processing device 200 transmits the desired location information and / or the authorization to supply the location information to the sender of the request.

Otherwise, if a match is not found or if the transmission of location information is not allowed based on the privacy profile, the request is rejected and the location information or authorization to send location information is not 309 sent to the sender of the request. Alternatively, a rejection message can be sent to the sender of the request at step 309.

There are many alternatives on how to implement location information access control based on privacy profiles. In its simplest form, the privacy profile simply indicates whether or not location information can be transmitted to the associated sender of the request. The privacy profile can apply to a single entity, for example a specific entry in the PB phone book, or to a plurality of entities, for example a specific group such as 'family members'. More advanced access control rules can be defined by specific situations when the respective privacy profile is applied and / or by specifying the circumstances that must be met to allow location information to be sent. For example, location information related to a certain specific area can be determined as freely accessible or available location information, while the location of the TE device must be kept secret when it resides in another area.

Figure 4 illustrates another embodiment that can be used in combination with or in place of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3. Similar to Figure 3, a request for access to location information is received 401, the identifier in the request is determined 402 and compared 403, 404 to the identifiers in the contact store. If a match is found, the supplemental information associated with the identifier is retrieved in step 405. At step 406, the supplemental information is supplied to the user. Depending on the desired implementation, the supplemental data may comprise at least one of the following types of information: main information, address information, a fax number, a phone number or locator, an email address, URL (Locator of Uniform Resources), an image file, or an audio file. In one embodiment, information that facilitates further recognition, such as an associated image or an image comprised in the input having the matching identifier, is displayed to the user on a screen of the user interface UI.

The supplementary data can be used for informational purposes only, that is, to indicate to the TE user that their location information is / was sent to the entity represented by the contact entry. In another embodiment, before the location information and / or authorization can be transmitted to the sender of the request, an additional verification step is used in addition to that of Figure 3, namely, the authorization of the user for the transmission of location information. When supplementary information that facilitates the recognition of the party for which location information is requested is supplied to the user, it is easier for the user to decide whether or not the location information can be transmitted.

If no match was found based on the check 403, 404, the location information access request is rejected and the transmission of location information for the entity identified in the location information access request is prevented 407.

According to another embodiment, the location information is stored in the data processing device TE and is associated with at least one entry in a contact storage PB, ST. This embodiment allows specific contact location information to be used. Location information can be stored in a contact entry or referred to in a contact entry. The location information can also be used as the supplemental data illustrated in the above embodiment.

In one embodiment, at least some of the features illustrated in Figure 3 and / or 4 are performed by the location information service module LISM of the data processing device TE. In a further embodiment, the privacy control module PCM performs the steps related to controlling access to location information. With reference to Figure 3, the PCM can at least verify the privacy profile 306 and indicate to another entity that the location information can be sent, or initiate the sending of the location and / or authorization information from the TE by providing a command to an entity that controls the transmission of data. It should be noted that some features, eg step 302/402 to determine the sender identifier, can be performed by some other entity than the LISM module.

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Figure 3 thus illustrates the use of already stored privacy profiles. According to one embodiment, the user of the data processing device TE can add, review and / or modify the privacy profiles. Figure 5 illustrates in more detail a privacy profile creation method according to one embodiment. The steps illustrated in Figure 5 can be executed by the LISM module, the user interface module UI, or together by the LISM module and the user interface module UI. At step 501, the need to store a privacy profile remains. This stage can be entered when the user has created a new privacy profile, modified an existing one, or when the creation or modification of the profile is about to be started.

In step 502, an identifier with which a privacy profile is associated is determined. Some identifiers with which the privacy profile can be associated directly or indirectly are illustrated in Figure 3. In one embodiment, user input is received through the user interface UI by which the identifier is determined. The data processing device TE can be configured to automatically select an appropriate identifier from the information in the telephone book entry PB, the entry is selected by the user through the user interface UI. It should be noted that the identifier used when the privacy profile is stored may be different from the identifier used to retrieve the correct privacy profile. For example, an identifier of the entry, such as a number, where the privacy profile is to be stored, is used in steps 502, 503, while an MSISDN in the entry is used in steps 302 to 305 of Figure 3 and in steps 402 to 405 of Figure 4.

The privacy profile or reference to it is stored 503 in the entry comprising the identifier. After the privacy profile or the reference to the privacy profile has been stored in the contact storage (ST, PB, EST), the features illustrated above can be used when receiving a request for access to location information comprising a identifier (of the sender or party for whom transmission of location information is requested), which is stored in the entry.

In one embodiment, the same privacy profile is stored for a plurality of entries. The identifier with which the privacy profile will be associated can be determined in step 502 simply by arranging the selection of the desired contact entries from a displayed list of entries in the telephone book PB. The privacy profile or reference to it can be stored in all the entries selected in step 503. This embodiment allows an easy option to determine the same access control rules for multiple entities. In a further embodiment, a predetermined group of entries can be stored with the same privacy profile, whereby a group identifier can be used in steps 502 and 503.

Access and storage of privacy profiles can also be arranged in connection with the embodiment in Figure 5 through the location information service module LISM, or more specifically by the privacy control module PCM. Preferably, access and storage of location information and / or privacy profiles are only allowed for the LISM, such that security can be improved through centralized control.

In one embodiment, the user interface module UI determines the privacy profile when input is received from the user of the data processing device TE regarding one or more access control rules and / or one or more contact inputs. to which the privacy profile will apply. Therefore, the user interface module UI can provide the respective identifier in or from the entry in the contact storage (in one embodiment, the phone book PB) to the LISM module. The LISM can store the privacy profile in the respective entry in the contact storage or in other storage inside or outside the data processing device TE. Consequently, when there is a need to retrieve a privacy profile based on user input, for example when the user wants to verify or modify the privacy profile, the user interface UI may issue a request comprising the identifier respective for the LISM. Similarly, as in steps 302 to 305, the LISM may retrieve the privacy profile that is stored in the contact storage entry that comprises the identifier in the request, or that is associated with the identifier. The retrieved privacy profile can be supplied to the user interface module UI which can display it to the user on the screen of the data processing device TE.

In one embodiment, security restrictions can be applied in the LISM location information access module to control access to privacy profiles that will be allowed only for certification authorities. Therefore, the LISM (preferably the PCM) verifies if the request comes from an entity authorized to request this information. It should be noted that this embodiment can complement the one illustrated in Figure 3, that is, the sender of the request for access to location information (for example, a wireless terminal that is the external device ED) and the entity from which it is received. the request for privacy profile (for example, the UI component) require authorization. Various levels of security can also be determined. Possible levels can include modification rights for only one entity, for example, a system user interface, and read-only access for others. This embodiment enables an improved level of security to be used and to prevent unauthorized modifications of access control rules related to location information.

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The applicability of the invention is not limited to any specific content format. In one embodiment, the data processing device TE is configured to store and use entries in the contact storage PB, ST according to some version of the vCard format that specifies a format for electronic business cards. The vCard version 3.0 specification is defined in IETF RFC 2425 and RFC 2426. The privacy profile or any other type of information related to the control of access to the location information mentioned above can be stored as a new content type or property for the vCard format, or an extension mechanism enabled by the private types in Chapter 3.8 in RFC 2426.

It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that as technology advances, the concept of the invention can be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above, but may vary within the scope of the claims. Therefore, different features can be omitted, modified, or replaced with equivalents.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a data processing device is provided comprising: a location information service module for serving requests for access to location information, a contact store for storing entries comprising contact information, in which the data processing device is configured to determine an identifier in a request for access to location information received, the data processing device is configured to compare the identifier with identifiers in contact storage, and the data processing device is configured to retrieve location access control information and / or supplemental contact information associated with a entry that has a matching identifier in contact storage.

The data processing device can be configured to store, in contact storage or other storage, A privacy profile can be configured that determines the information related to controlling access to location information in such a way that the privacy profile is included or referenced in at least one entry in the contact storage and processing device data to retrieve the privacy profile of the entry or a location referenced in the entry that has the matching identifier.

The privacy profile may comprise information indicating whether or not the current location of the data processing device can be sent, and the location information service module can be configured to transmit the location information about the data processing device. to the sender of the request for access to location information received if allowed by the privacy profile.

The privacy profile can comprise information indicating whether or not the current location of the data processing device can be sent, and the location information service module can be configured to transmit to the sender of the request for access to location information. received an authorization to transmit location information on the data processing device.

The data processing device can be configured to supply at least part of the data in a contact storage entry comprising the same identifier to a user interface component of the data processing device.

Supplemental data may comprise at least one of the following: name information, address information, fax number, phone number or locator, email address, URL (Uniform Resource Locator), image file, audio file or location information.

The data processing device can be configured to determine an identifier of an entry in the data storage in response to the need to store a privacy profile, and the data processing device is configured to store the privacy or referral profile. to the same in the entry that has the given identifier.

The data processing device may be configured to determine the sender of the request for access to location information or an identifier of another party for which the location information is requested.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided for serving a request for access to location information for a data processing device comprising a location information service module and a contact store for storing entries. comprising contact information, the method comprises: receive a request for access to location information, determine an identifier in the request for access to location information, compare the identifier with identifiers in the contact's storage, and retrieve location access control information and / or contact information companion associated with an entry that has the matching identifier in contact storage.

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A privacy profile can be stored on the data processing device, the privacy profile determines the information related to the control of access to location information in such a way that the privacy profile is included or referenced in at least a contact storage entry, and the privacy profile is retrieved from the entry or from a location referenced in the entry that has the matching identifier.

At least part of the data in a contact store entry may comprise the same identifier that is supplied to a user interface component of the data processing device.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a system is provided comprising a first device and a second device, wherein the first device is configured to transmit a request for access to location information to the second device, the second device is configured to determine an identifier in the request for access to location information, the second device is configured to compare the identifier to identifiers in contact storage, and the second device is configured to retrieve location access control information and / or supplemental contact information associated with an entry that has a matching identifier in the contact storage.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product, which can be loaded into the memory of a data processing device, is provided to control the data processing device by executing the program code included in the computer software product in a processor of the data processing device, the computer program product comprises: a program code portion to control the data processing device to determine an identifier in a received location information access request, a program code portion to control the data processing device to compare the identifier with identifiers in the storage of contacts, and a program code portion for controlling the data processing device to retrieve location access control information and / or supplemental contact information associated with an entry having a matching identifier in contact storage.