TERMINAL, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING LOCATION INFORMATION SERVICE BY INTERWORKING BETWEEN WLAN AND MOBILE COMMUNICATION NETWORK

TERMINAL, SYSTEME ET PROCEDE POUR LA FOURNITURE DE SERVICE D'INFORMATION DE LOCALISATION PAR INTERFONCTIONNEMENT ENTRE RESEAU LOCAL SANS FIL ET RESEAU MOBILE

English Abstract

A WLAN terminal, system and method for providing a SUPL service, are
discussed. According to an embodiment, the WLAN terminal includes a controller
to establish an IP connection with a mobile communication network through
interworking between the mobile communication network and a WLAN, and
selectively perform a SUPL procedure with a location server of the mobile
communication network through the IP connection in response to a request for
location information of the WLAN terminal from the location server.

French Abstract

Terminal de réseau local sans fil, système et procédé pour la fourniture de service SUPL. Selon une variante, le terminal comprend un contrôleur pour l'établissement d'une connexion IP avec un réseau mobile par interfonctionnement réseau mobile/réseau local sans fil, et la conduite sélective de procédure SUPL avec un serveur de localisation du réseau mobile via la connexion IP, en réponse à une demande d'information de localisation du terminal depuis le serveur de localisation.

Claims

32


Claims

[1] A wireless local area network (WLAN) terminal for providing a secure user
plane location (SUPL) service, comprising:
a controller to establish an IP connection with a mobile communication network

through interworking between the mobile communication network and a WLAN,
and selectively perform a SUPL procedure with a location server of the mobile
communication network through the IP connection in response to a request for
location information of the WLAN terminal from the location server.

[2] The WLAN terminal of claim 1, wherein to establish the IP connection, the
controller accesses a WLAN access network, and performs an authentication
procedure with an authentication server of the mobile communication network
through the WLAN access network.

[3] The WLAN terminal of claim 2, wherein the authentication procedure is an
EAP
(extensible authentication protocol) procedure.

[4] The WLAN terminal of claim 2, wherein the controller transmits, through
the
WLAN access network, location information of the WLAN terminal to the au-
thentication server during the authentication procedure.

[5] The WLAN terminal of claim 2, wherein the controller receives location in-
formation of an access point of the WLAN to which the WLAN terminal belongs
from the WLAN access network during the authentication procedure.

[6] The WLAN terminal of claim 1, wherein the IP connection is either a TCP/IP

connection or a UDP/IP connection.

[7] The WLAN terminal of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication network is
a
3GPP network, and the location server is a gateway mobile location center
(GMLC).

[8] The WLAN terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller receives a SUPL
initiation message from the location server through the IP connection
according
to the SUPL procedure, and exchanges successive position procedure messages
with the location server.

[9] A wireless local area network (WLAN) terminal for providing a secure user
plane location (SUPL) service, comprising:
a controller to receive a SUPL initiation message from a location server of a
mobile communication network and establish an IP connection with the mobile
communication network through interworking between the mobile com-
munication network and a WLAN, and to transmit a SUPL position initiation
message to the location server through the IP connection.

[10] The WLAN terminal of claim 9, wherein as part of the interworking between
the



33

mobile communication network and the WLAN, the controller performs an au-
thentication procedure with an authentication server of the mobile com-
munication network through an access network of the WLAN.

[11] The WLAN terminal of claim 10, wherein the authentication procedure is an

EAP (extensible authentication protocol) procedure.

[12] The WLAN terminal of claim 10, wherein the controller transmits location
in-
formation of the WLAN terminal to the authentication server during the au-
thentication procedure.

[13] The WLAN terminal of claim 10, wherein the controller receives location
in-
formation of an access point of the WLAN to which the WLAN terminal belongs
from the access network of the WLAN during the authentication procedure.

[14] The WLAN terminal of claim 9, wherein the IP connection is either a
TCP/IP
connection or a UDP/IP connection.

[15] The WLAN terminal of claim 9, wherein the mobile communication network is
a
3GPP network, and the location server is a gateway mobile location center
(GMLC).

[16] The WLAN terminal of claim 9, wherein the controller receives the SUPL
initiation message using an SMS (Short Message Service) method or a WAP
(Wireless Application Protocol) push method.

[17] A method for providing a secure user plane location (SUPL) service using
a
wireless local area network (WLAN) terminal, comprising:
establishing, by the WLAN terminal, an IP connection with a mobile com-
munication network through interworking between the mobile communication
network and a WLAN; and
selectively performing a SUPL procedure with a location server of the mobile
communication network through the IP connection in response to a request for
location information of the WLAN terminal from the location server.

[18] The method of claim 17, further comprising:
accessing, by the WLAN terminal, a WLAN access network, and
performing an authentication procedure with an authentication server of the
mobile communication network through the WLAN access network.

[19] The method of claim 18, wherein the authentication procedure is an EAP
(extensible authentication protocol) procedure.

[20] The method of claim 18, wherein the step of performing the authentication

procedure includes:
transmitting by the WLAN terminal, through the WLAN access network,
location information of the WLAN terminal to the authentication server during
the authentication procedure.





34

[21] The method of claim 18, wherein the step of performing the authentication

procedure further includes:
receiving, by the WLAN terminal, location information of an access point of
the
WLAN to which the WLAN terminal belongs from the WLAN access network
during the authentication procedure.

[22] The method of claim 17, wherein in the establishing step, the IP
connection is
either a TCP/IP connection or a UDP/IP connection.

[23] The method of claim 17, wherein in the establishing step, the mobile com-
munication network is a 3GPP network, and the location server is a gateway
mobile location center (GMLC).

[24] The method of claim 17, wherein the step of selectively performing the
SUPL
procedure includes:
receiving, by the WLAN, a SUPL initiation message from the location server
through the IP connection according to the SUPL procedure, and
exchanging successive position procedure messages with the location server.

[25] A method for providing a secure user plane location (SUPL) service using
a
wireless local area network (WLAN) terminal, comprising:
receiving, by the WLAN terminal, a SUPL initiation message from a location
server of a mobile communication network and establishing an IP connection
with the mobile communication network through interworking between the
mobile communication network and a WLAN; and
transmitting, by the WLAN terminal, a SUPL position initiation message to the
location server through the IP connection.

[26] The method of claim 25, wherein as part of the interworking between the
mobile
communication network and the WLAN, the method further comprises
performing an authentication procedure with an authentication server of the
mobile communication network through an access network of the WLAN.

[27] The method of claim 26, wherein the authentication procedure is an EAP
(extensible authentication protocol) procedure.

[28] The method of claim 26, wherein the step of performing the authentication

procedure includes:
transmitting by the WLAN terminal, through the WLAN access network,
location information of the WLAN terminal to the authentication server during
the authentication procedure.

[29] The method of claim 28, wherein the step of performing the authentication

procedure further includes:
receiving, by the WLAN terminal, location information of an access point of
the
WLAN to which the WLAN terminal belongs from the WLAN access network




35


during the authentication procedure.

[30] The method of claim 25, wherein the IP connection is either a TCP/IP
connection
or a UDP/IP connection.

[31] The method of claim 25, wherein the mobile communication network is a
3GPP
network, and the location server is a gateway mobile location center (GMLC).

[32] The method of claim 25, wherein the receiving step receives the SUPL
initiation
message using an SMS (Short Message Service) method or a WAP (Wireless
Application Protocol) push method.

[33] A method for providing a secure user plane location (SUPL) service using
a
mobile communication network including a location server, comprising:
establishing, by the location server, an IP connection with a wireless local
access
network (WLAN) terminal through interworking between the mobile com-
munication network and a WLAN; and
selectively performing, by the location server, a SUPL procedure with the
WLAN terminal through the IP connection in response to a request of a client
requesting location information of the WLAN terminal.

[34] The method of claim 33, further comprising:
performing, by an authentication server of the mobile communication network,
an authentication procedure with the WLAN terminal, prior to establishing the
IP
connection.

[35] The method of claim 34, further comprising:
storing, in a database of the mobile communication network, authentication in-
formation associated with the WLAN terminal; and
providing the stored authentication information to the authentication server
for
the authentication procedure.

[36] The method of claim 35, after the authentication procedure, the method
further
comprises:
registering, by the authentication server, capability information of the WLAN
terminal and address information of the authentication server in the database.


[37] The method of claim 36, further comprising:
registering, by the authentication server, terminal location related
information in
the database, the terminal location related information including at least one
of
the following:
location information of the WLAN terminal provided by the WLAN terminal
through an access network of the WLAN during the authentication procedure;
and
location information of an access point of the WLAN to which the WLAN
terminal belongs.





36


[38] The method of claim 37, further comprising:
requesting, by the location server, serving node routing information and the
capability information of the WLAN terminal from the database in response to
the client's location information request; and
receiving, by the location server, the requested information from the
database.

[39] The method of claim 38, wherein the serving node routing information
received
by the location server includes the address information of the authentication
server, and the capability information of the WLAN terminal received by the
location server is information pertaining to a capability of the WLAN terminal
to
support the SUPL procedure or other location determining procedure.

[40] The method of claim 39, wherein the serving node routing information
received
by the location server further includes the terminal location related
information
registered in the database.

[41] The method of claim 40, further comprising:
determining, by the location server, whether the terminal location related in-
formation included in the received serving node routing information satisfies
a
QoP (quality of position) request included in the client's location
information
request; and
selectively providing, from the location server to the client, the terminal
location
related information as location information of the WLAN terminal based on the
determination result.

[42] The method of claim 41, wherein in the selectively providing step, the
location
server transmits directly the terminal location related information as the
location
information of the WLAN terminal to the client without performing the SUPL
procedure, if the received terminal location related information satisfies the
QoP
request.

[43] The method of claim 41, further comprising:
requesting, by the location server to the authentication server, for target
terminal
routing information using in part the received serving node routing
information,
if the terminal location related information does not satisfy the QoP request.

[44] The method of claim 43, further comprising:
receiving, by the location server, the target terminal routing information
from the
authentication server, the target terminal routing information including the
following (a) or (b):
(a) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, and IP connection presence
information indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server; or
(b) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, IP connection presence in-




37


formation indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server, and W-APN information
associated with the WLAN terminal.

[45] The method of claim 44, wherein the step of performing the SUPL procedure
is
carried out with the WLAN terminal using in part the received target terminal
routing information through the established IP connection.

[46] The method of claim 36, further comprising:
requesting, by the location server, serving node routing information and the
capability information of the WLAN terminal from the database in response to
the client's location information request; and
receiving, by the location server, the requested information from the
database.

[47] The method of claim 46, wherein the serving node routing information
received
by the location server includes the address information of the authentication
server, and the capability information of the WLAN terminal received by the
location server is information pertaining to a capability of the WLAN terminal
to
support the SUPL procedure or other location determining procedure.

[48] The method of claim 46, further comprising:
requesting, from the location server to the authentication server, for target
terminal routing information using in part the received serving node routing
in-
formation.

[49] The method of claim 48, further comprising:
receiving, by the location server, the target terminal routing information
from the
authentication server, the target terminal routing information including the
following (a) or (b):
(a) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, and IP connection presence
information indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server; or
(b) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, IP connection presence in-
formation indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server, and W-APN information
associated with the WLAN terminal.

[50] The method of claim 49, wherein the step of performing the SUPL procedure
is
carried out with the WLAN terminal using in part the received target terminal
routing information through the established IP connection.

[51] A method for providing a secure user plane location (SUPL) service using
a
mobile communication network including a location server, comprising:
selectively transmitting, by the location server, a SUPL initiation message to
a
wireless local area network (WLAN) terminal and establishing an IP connection




38


with the WLAN terminal through interworking between the mobile com-
munication network and a WLAN, in response to a request of a client requesting

location information of the WLAN terminal; and
receiving, by the location server, a SUPL position initiation message from the

WLAN terminal through the IP connection.

[52] The method of claim 51, further comprising:
performing, by an authentication server of the mobile communication network,
an authentication procedure with the WLAN terminal, prior to establishing the
IP
connection.

[53] The method of claim 52, further comprising:
providing, by a database of the mobile communication network, prestored au-
thentication information associated with the WLAN terminal to the au-
thentication server for the authentication procedure.

[54] The method of claim 53, wherein after the authentication procedure, the
method
further comprises:
registering, by the authentication server, capability information of the WLAN
terminal and address information of the authentication server in the database.


[55] The method of claim 54, further comprising:
registering, by the authentication server, terminal location related
information in
the database, the terminal location related information including at least one
of
the following:
location information of the WLAN terminal provided by the WLAN terminal
through an access network of the WLAN during the authentication procedure;
and
location information of an access point of the WLAN to which the WLAN
terminal belongs.

[56] The method of claim 55, further comprising:
requesting, by the location server, serving node routing information and the
capability information of the WLAN terminal from the database in response to
the client's location information request; and
receiving, by the location server, the requested information from the
database.

[57] The method of claim 56, wherein the serving node routing information
received
by the location server includes the address information of the authentication
server, and the capability information of the WLAN terminal received by the
location server is information pertaining to a capability of the WLAN terminal
to
support the SUPL procedure or other location determining procedure.

[58] The method of claim 57, wherein the serving node routing information
received
by the location server further includes the terminal location related
information.





39


[59] The method of claim 58, further comprising:
determining, by the location server, whether the terminal location related in-
formation included in the received serving node routing information satisfies
a
QoP (quality of position) request included in the client's location
information
request; and
selectively providing, from the location server to the client, the terminal
location
related information as location information of the WLAN terminal based on the
determination result.

[60] The method of claim 59, wherein the selectively providing step transmits
directly
the terminal location related information as the location information of the
WLAN terminal from the location server to the client without performing the
SUPL procedure, if the received terminal location related information
satisfies
the QoP request.

[61] The method of claim 59, further comprising:
requesting, by the location server, for target terminal routing information
using in
part the received serving node routing information, if the terminal location
related information does not satisfy the QoP request.

[62] The method of claim 61, further comprising:
receiving, by the location server, the target terminal routing information
from the
authentication server, the target terminal routing information including the
following (a) or (b):
(a) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, and IP connection presence
information indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server; or
(b) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, IP connection presence in-
formation indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server, and W-APN information
associated with the WLAN terminal.

[63] The method of claim 61, wherein the selectively transmitting step
transmits the
SUPL initiation message to the WLAN terminal using in part the received target

terminal routing information.

[64] The method of claim 54, further comprising:
requesting, by the location server, serving node routing information and the
capability information of the WLAN terminal from the database in response to
the client's location information request; and
receiving, by the location server, the requested information from the
database.

[65] The method of claim 64, wherein the serving node routing information
received
by the location server includes the address information of the authentication




40


server, and the capability information of the WLAN terminal received by the
location server is information pertaining to a capability of the WLAN terminal
to
support the SUPL procedure or other location determining procedure.

[66] The method of claim 64, further comprising:
requesting, from the location server to the authentication server, for target
terminal routing information using in part the received serving node routing
in-
formation.

[67] The method of claim 66, further comprising:
receiving, by the location server, the target terminal routing information
from the
authentication server, the target terminal routing information including the
following (a) or (b):
(a) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, and IP connection presence
information indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server; or
(b) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, IP connection presence in-
formation indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server, and W-APN information
associated with the WLAN terminal.

[68] The method of claim 67, wherein the selectively transmitting step
transmits the
SUPL initiation message to the WLAN terminal using in part the received target

terminal routing information.

[69] A method of providing a secure user plane location (SUPL) service by in-
terworking between a mobile communication network and a wireless local area
network (WLAN), wherein the mobile communication network includes an
access point, a storage unit and a location server and wherein an IP
connection is
established between a WLAN terminal and the location server through the access

point, the method comprising:
requesting, by the location server, serving node routing information from the
storage unit in response to a client's location information request;
receiving, by the location server, the requested serving node routing
information
from the database;
requesting, by the location server to the authentication server, target
terminal
routing information using in part the received serving node routing
information;
receiving, by the location server, the target terminal routing information
from the
authentication server; and
performing, by the location server, a SUPL procedure with the WLAN terminal
using in part the received target terminal routing information through the es-
tablished IP connection, so as to obtain location information of the WLAN




41


terminal.

[70] The method of claim 69, wherein in the step of receiving the target
terminal
routing information, the target terminal routing information includes the
following (a) or (b):
(a) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, and IP connection presence
information indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server; or
(b) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, IP connection presence in-
formation indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server, and W-APN information
associated with the WLAN terminal.

[71] The method of claim 69, further comprising:
requesting, by the location server, capability information of the WLAN
terminal,
from the storage unit when requesting the serving node routing information;
and
receiving, by the location server, the requested capability information of the

WLAN terminal from the database when receiving the requested serving node
routing information.

[72] A method of providing a secure user plane location (SUPL) service by in-
terworking between a mobile communication network and a wireless local area
network (WLAN), wherein the mobile communication network includes an
access point, a storage unit and a location server and wherein an IP
connection is
established between a WLAN terminal and the location server through the access

point, the method comprising:
requesting, by the location server, serving node routing information from the
storage unit in response to the client's location information request; and
receiving, by the location server, the requested serving node routing
information
from the database, wherein the serving node routing information received by
the
location server includes address information of the authentication server and
terminal location related information registered in the storage unit;
determining, by the location server, whether the received terminal location
related information satisfies a QoP (quality of position) request included in
the
client's location information request;
selectively providing, from the location server to the client, the terminal
location
related information as location information of the WLAN terminal based on the
determination result;
requesting, by the location server to the authentication server, target
terminal
routing information using in part the received serving node routing
information,
if the terminal location related information does not satisfy the QoP request;




42


receiving, by the location server, the target terminal routing information
from the
authentication server; and
performing, by the location server, a SUPL procedure with the WLAN terminal
using in part the received target terminal routing information through the es-
tablished IP connection.

[73] The method of claim 72, wherein in the step of receiving the target
terminal
routing information, the target terminal routing information includes the
following (a) or (b):
(a) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, and IP connection presence
information indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server; or
(b) IP address information of the WLAN terminal, IP connection presence in-
formation indicating whether or not the IP connection has been established
between the WLAN terminal and the location server, and W-APN information
associated with the WLAN terminal.

[74] The method of claim 72, wherein in the selectively providing step, the
location
server transmits directly the terminal location related information as the
location
information of the WLAN terminal to the client without performing a SUPL
procedure, if the received terminal location related information satisfies the
QoP
request.

[75] The method of claim 72, further comprising:
requesting, by the location server, capability information of the WLAN
terminal,
from the storage unit when requesting the serving node routing information;
and
receiving, by the location server, the requested capability information of the

WLAN terminal from the database when receiving the requested serving node
routing information.

Description

CA 02595524 2007-07-20

WO 2006/118396 PCT/KR2006/001603

Description
TERMINAL, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING
LOCATION INFORMATION SERVICE BY INTERWORKING
BETWEEN WLAN AND MOBILE COMMUNICATION
NETWORK
Technical Field
[1] The present invention relates to a location information system and, more
par-
ticularly, to a user equipment (UE), system and method for providing a
location in-
formation service through interworking between a mobile communication system
and a
wireless local area network (WLAN).
Background Art
[2] In general, a mobile communication system has a function part for
calculating a
location of a terminal in a mobile communication network to provide a location
service
and for transferring the calculated location of the terminal to a certain
entity pe-
riodically or according to a corresponding request.
[3] A network structure related to the location service differs depending on
an internal
network structure such as a 3GPP network, a 3GPP2 network, etc. Currently,
there are
several methods for calculating the position (location) of the mobile
terminal,
including a cell-ID method for transferring an ID of a cell to which a mobile
terminal
belongs, a method for calculating a location of a mobile terminal through
triangulation
by measuring the time required for radio waves to reach each base station from
the
mobile terminal, and a method of using a GPS (Global Positioning System).
[4] In order to provide the location service to a user, a large amount of
signaling and
position information is transferred between a mobile terminal and a location
server.
Recently, positioning technologies for providing a location service, namely,
the
location service provided based on the location of a mobile terminal, are
increasingly
used. These technologies can be provided generally through a user plane and a
control
plane, one of which is a SUPL (Secure User Plane Location) technique that
provides
the location service through the user plane.
[5] Effective for transferring information required for calculating the
location of the
mobile terminal, the SUPL (Secure User Plane Location) technique uses a user
plane
data bearer to carry a positioning technology-related protocol between the
mobile
terminal and a SUPL network.
[6] Generally, in the location information system, the SUPL network related to
the
location service includes a SUPL agent, an SLP (SUPL location platform) and a
SET
(SUPL Enabled Terminal), etc. The SUPL agent is a service logical access point
(AP)


2
WO 2006/118396 PCT/KR2006/001603

using actually measured location information, and the SLP is a SUPL service AP
of a
network part that accesses network resources to obtain the location
information. The
SET is a device for communicating with the SUPL network using a SUPL
interface,
and can be, for example, one of a UE (User Equipment) of a UMTS, an MS (Mobile
Station) of a GSM, an MS of an IS-95, and a laptop computer or a PDA (Personal
Digital Assistant) having the SET function.
[7] A network to which the user originally registered is called a home
network, and a
network of an area to which the user is located after having moved from the
home
network is called a visited network. An SLP within the home network is called
a home
SLP (H-SLP), and an SLP within the visited network is called a visited network
(V-SLP). When the network starts the SUPL procedure, an SLP first connected by
an
external client is called a requesting SLP (R-SLP), which is a logical entity
that may or
may not be the same as the H-SLP. A SET aimed for tracking its current
location is
called a target SET.
[8] The SLP, a network element, includes an SPC (SUPL Positioning Center) that
calculates the actual location information (location/position) of the target
SET, and an
SLC (SUPL Location Center) that handles additional functions other than
calculating
the location information. For example, the SLC performs and/or supports the
procedures for roaming, resource management, and the like. The SET can
calculate the
location information through communication with the SPC via the SLC (in case
of a
proxy mode) or can calculate the location information by directly opening a
connection
with the SPC (in case of a non-proxy mode).
[9] Figure 1 is a signal flow chart illustrating a SUPL procedure of a SUPL-
based
location information system when a network requests location information
regarding a
particular terminal in a proxy mode and when roaming is not performed.
[10] As shown in Figure 1, the SUPL-based location information system includes
a
SUPL agent 1, an SLP 3 and a target SET 5. The SLP 3 is a location server and
the
target SET 5 is a target terminal.
[11] When the SUPL agent 1 transmits an MLP (Mobile Location Protocol) SLIR
(Standard Location Immediate Request) message to the SLP 3 to request location
in-
formation regarding the target SET 5(step S 11), the SLP 3 checks whether or
not the
target SET 5 has been roaming, namely, whether or not the target SET 5
currently
belongs to a different visited network, and also checks whether or not the
target SET 5
supports the SUPL (step S 12).
[12] The SLP 3 transmits a SUPL initialization message (SUPL INIT) to the
target SET
to start the SUPL procedure with the target SET 5(step S 13). In this case,
the SUPL
initialization message includes at least a session ID, an address of the SLP,
and a
position method to be used, etc. In addition, privacy, which can be used in a
case
CA 02595524 2007-07-20


3
WO 2006/118396 PCT/KR2006/001603

where a notification related to the location information of the target SET is
required to
be provided to the user after confirming privacy of the target SET 5 by the
SLP 3, can
be also included in the SUPL initialization message. Also, an SLP mode
indicator
(SLP mode), which indicates a mode (e.g., proxy mode, non-proxy mode, etc.) of
the
SLP 3, can be included in the SUPL initialization message, which is an
inventive
concept owned by the assignee of the present application and included in a co-
pending
U.S. patent application.
[13] If the target SET 5, which has received the SUPL initialization message,
is not
opened for a data connection with any network, it requests a data connection
from a
packet data network such as a 3GPP or a 3GPP2, etc.
[14] When the data connection is made (step S 14), the target SET 5 transmits
a SUPL
location initialization message (SUPL POS INIT) to the SLP 3 to start a
procedure for
determining the position/location information of the target SET 5(step S15).
And then,
the target SET 5 and the SLP 3 exchange successive messages for performing the
actual positioning determining process, and the SLP 3 or the target SET 5
calculates
the current location of the target SET 5 through the successive messages (step
S 16). In
this case, the SUPL location initialization (SUPL POS INIT) message includes
at least
a session ID, an LID (location Identifier) indicating a base station ID, and
capabilities
of the target SET. The messages exchanged between the target SET 5 and the SLP
3
may include a session ID, a protocol (e.g., an RRLP, an RRC or a TIA-801) to
be used
for positioning, etc.
[15] After the location of the target SET 5 is calculated, the SLP 3 transmits
a SUPL end
message (SUPL END) for informing about the termination of the SUPL procedure
to
the target SET 5(step S 17) and also transmits the calculated location
information
(posresult) of the target SET 5 to the SUPL agent 1 through an MLP SLIA
(Standard
Location Immediate Answer) message (step S 18).
[16] Recently, as Internet services using the WLAN become more common,
interest in a
technology that allows a user of a WLAN terminal to be connected with the WLAN
through a mobile communication network to receive an Internet service in an
area
where the WLAN is not supported, exists. A network for applying this
technology can
be dubbed an I-WLAN (Interworking-WLAN) in the 3GPP, and it would be desirable
for the 3GPP network (or other mobile communication network) to provide
various
supplementary services including the location information service by
interoperability
(interworking) with the WLAN.
[17] However, because there is neither the network structure nor protocol for
providing a
location information service (e.g., SUPL service) in the related art system
involving
the conventional WLAN and 3GPP network, the WLAN terminal cannot receive the
location information service through the 3GPP network according to the related
art.

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WO 2006/118396 PCT/KR2006/001603
Disclosure of Invention
Technical Problem
[18] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal or
user
equipment (UE), system and method of providing a location information service,
which address the limitations and disadvantages associated with the related
art.
[19] Another object of the present invention is to provide a WLAN terminal
(UE),
system and method for providing a location information service, which are
capable of
defining a network structure and a protocol to provide the location
information service
to the WLAN terminal through interworking between a WLAN and a mobile com-
munication network/system.
[20] Another object of the present invention is to provide a WLAN terminal
(UE),
system and method for providing a location information service through
interworking
between a WLAN and a mobile communication network, wherein when a location
server connected with the mobile communication network receives a request for
location information of the WLAN terminal from a client connected with the
mobile
communication network, it provides the requested location information of the
WLAN
terminal to the client through communication between a certain entity of the
location
server and the mobile communication network and an entity for interworking
between
the WLAN and the mobile communication network.
[21] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a WLAN
terminal (UE),
system and method for providing a location information service through
interworking
between a WLAN and a mobile communication network, wherein when the WLAN
terminal undergoes an authentication and registration process through the
mobile com-
munication network, terminal location related information is stored, and when
tracking
of the location information of the WLAN terminal is requested by a client, if
the
terminal location related information obtained by a location server from an
AAA
(Authentication/Authorization/Accounting) server or an HSS (Home Subscriber
Server) / HLR (Home Location Register) satisfies a QoP (Quality of Position)
of the
request for tracking the location received from the client, the location
server can
provide the obtained terminal location related information to the client as
the location
information of the WLAN terminal.
[22] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a WLAN terminal
(UE),
system and method, wherein when a client requests location information of a
particular
WLAN terminal which has been registered to a network to receive a service, it
is
checked whether the WLAN terminal has been authenticated by and connected with
the network, and if the WLAN terminal has been authenticated and connected
with the
network, location information of the WLAN terminal is detected by using a SUPL


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procedure and then provided to the client.
Technical Solution
[23] To achieve at least the above and other objects in whole or in parts,
there is
provided according to an aspect of the present invention a method for
providing a
terminal location information service between a location server and a client,
comprising: receiving by the location server a request for tracking a location
of a
particular terminal from the client; confirming by the location server routing
in-
formation of the particular terminal; and if there is a connection between the
terminal
and a packet data gateway (PDG), transmitting a SUPL INIT message through the
connection.
[24] To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there is
further provided
according to another aspect of the present invention a method for providing a
location
information service through interworking between a WLAN and a mobile com-
munication network, comprising: receiving by a location server a request for
tracking a
location of a WLAN terminal from a client; obtaining by the location server
routing in-
formation of a serving node to which the WLAN terminal belongs from an
HSS/HLR;
obtaining, by the location server, routing information of the WLAN terminal
from the
serving node; determining by the location server a SUPL initialization message
transmission method according to the WLAN terminal routing information and
transmitting it; calculating location information of the WLAN terminal through
a
SUPL procedure between the WLAN terminal which has received a SUPL ini-
tialization message and the location server; and providing by the location
server the
calculated location information of the WLAN terminal to the client.
[25] To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there is
further provided
according to another aspect of the present invention a method for providing a
location
information service through interworking between a WLAN and a mobile com-
munication network, comprising: receiving by a location server a request for
tracking a
location of a WLAN terminal from a client; requesting, by the location server,
routing
information of a serving node to which the WLAN terminal belongs from an HSS/
HLR; providing, by the HSS/HLR, routing information of the serving node to the
location server; requesting, by the location server, routing information of
the WLAN
terminal from the serving node; providing, by the serving node, routing
information of
the WLAN terminal to the location server; and confirming information on a
tunnel
between the WLAN terminal and a packet data gateway (PDG) included in the
routing
information of the WLAN terminal, and transmitting by the location server a
SUPL
initialization message to the WLAN terminal through the tunnel.
[26] To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there is
further provided
according to another aspect of the present invention a method for providing a
location
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information service through interworking between a WLAN and a mobile com-
munication network, comprising: receiving by a location server a request for
tracking a
location of a WLAN terminal from a client; requesting, by the location server,
routing
information of a serving node to which the WLAN terminal belongs from an HSS/
HLR; providing, by the HSS/HLR, routing information of the serving node to the
location server; requesting, by the location server, routing information of
the WLAN
terminal from the serving node; providing, by the serving node, routing
information of
the WLAN terminal to the location server; and transmitting by the location
server a
SUPL initialization message to the WLAN terminal if an IP address has not been
currently set for the WLAN terminal.
[27] To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there is
further provided
according to another aspect of the present invention a method for providing a
location
information service through interworking between a WLAN and a mobile com-
munication network, comprising: receiving by a location server a request for
tracking a
location of a WLAN terminal from a client; obtaining, by the location server,
routing
information of a serving node to which the WLAN terminal belongs from an HSS/
HLR; and if terminal location related information included in the obtained
routing in-
formation of the serving node satisfies a QoP (Quality of Position), providing
by the
location server the terminal location related information to the client.
[28] To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there is
further provided
according to another aspect of the present invention a method for providing a
location
information service through interworking between a WLAN and a mobile c om-
munication network, comprising: accessing an access network of a WLAN by a
WLAN terminal; storing terminal location related information provided by the
WLAN
AN when authentication is performed through an AAA server and a registration
is
performed through an HSS/HLR; setting by the WLAN terminal a tunnel for a
packet
service with a packet data gateway (PDG); receiving by the location server a
request
for tracking a location of the WLAN terminal from a client; obtaining, by the
location
server, routing information of a serving node to which the WLAN terminal
belongs
from the HSS/HLR; and if the terminal location related information included in
the
obtained routing information of the serving node satisfies a QoP (Quality of
Position)
of the location tracking request received from the client, providing by the
location
server the terminal location related information to the client.
[29] To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there is
further provided
according to another aspect of the present invention a method for providing a
location
information service through interworking between a WLAN and a mobile com-
munication network, comprising: accessing an access network of a WLAN by a
WLAN terminal; storing terminal location related information provided by the
WLAN
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AN when authentication is performed through an AAA server and a registration
is
performed through an HSS/HLR; receiving by the location server a request for
tracking
a location of the WLAN terminal from a client; obtaining, by the location
server,
routing information of a serving node to which the WLAN terminal belongs from
the
HSS/HLR; if the terminal location related information included in the obtained
routing
information of the serving node satisfies a QoP (Quality of Position) of the
location
tracking request received from the client, providing by the location server
the terminal
location related information to the client; and transmitting by the location
server a
SUPL initialization message to the WLAN terminal through an SMS method or a
WAP push method, or through a TCP/IP or UDP/IP connection, if the terminal
location related information included in the WLAN terminal routing information
does
not satisfy the QoP or if the location server wants to perform a SUPL
procedure with
the WLAN terminal.
[30] To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there is
further provided
according to another aspect of the present invention a method for providing a
location
information service in a system in which a particular WLAN terminal sets a
tunnel
with a packet data gateway (PDG) of a 3GPP network to receive a certain
service, the
method comprising: receiving by a location server a location information
request
message with respect to the WLAN terminal from a client; confirming, by the
location
server, privacy with respect to the WLAN terminal location information;
transmitting
by the location server a terminal information request message for requesting
in-
formation regarding the WLAN terminal to an HSS (Home Subscriber Server)/HLR
(Home Location Register); checking by the HSS/HLR whether there is information
regarding the WLAN terminal; if there is no information regarding the WLAN
terminal, transmitting by the HSS/HLR a user information request message to an
AAA
(Authentication/Authorization/Accounting) server that manages information
regarding
the WLAN terminal; receiving by the HSS/HLR a terminal information
confirmation
message including the WLAN terminal information from the AAA server and
transmitting it to the location server; checking, by the location server which
has
received the terminal information confirmation message, a PDG connection state
of the
WLAN terminal through the WLAN terminal information, and if the WLAN terminal
has been connected with the PDG, transmitting a location information request
message
to the PDG; tracking, by the location server which has received the location
in-
formation confirmation message from the PDG, a location of the WLAN terminal;
and
transmitting, by the location server, location information of the WLAN
terminal to the
client.
[31] To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there is
further provided
according to another aspect of the present invention a method for providing a
location
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information service in a system in which a particular WLAN terminal sets a
tunnel
with a packet data gateway (PDG) of a 3GPP network to receive a certain
service, the
method comprising: receiving by a location server a location information
request
message with respect to the WLAN terminal from a client; confirming, by the
location
server, privacy with respect to the WLAN terminal location information;
transmitting
by the location server a terminal information request message for requesting
in-
formation regarding the WLAN terminal to an HSS (Home Subscriber Server)/HLR
(Home Location Register); checking by the HSS/HLR whether there is information
of
the WLAN terminal; if there is no information of the WLAN terminal,
transmitting by
the HSS/HLR a terminal information confirmation message including an address
of an
AAA (Authentication/Authorization/Accounting) server that manages information
of
the WLAN terminal, to the location server; transmitting by the location server
a
connection/non-connection check message for requesting information of the WLAN
terminal to the AAA server; receiving by the location server a connection/
non-connection check message including the WLAN terminal information from the
AAA server; transmitting a location information request message to a PDG, if
the
location server confirms a PDG connected state of the WLAN terminal based upon
the
WLAN terminal information and connection with a corresponding PDG exists;
tracking, by the location server which has received a location information
confirmation
message from the PDG, a location of the WLAN terminal; and transmitting, by
the
location server, location information of the WLAN terminal to the client.
[32] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a wireless
local area
network (WLAN) terminal for providing a secure user plane location (SUPL)
service,
comprising: a controller to establish an IP connection with a mobile
communication
network through interworking between the mobile communication network and a
WLAN, and selectively perform a SUPL procedure with a location server of the
mobile communication network through the IP connection in response to a
request for
location information of the WLAN terminal from the location server.
[33] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a wireless
local area
network (WLAN) terminal for providing a secure user plane location (SUPL)
service,
comprising: a controller to receive a SUPL initiation message from a location
server of
a mobile communication network and establish an IP connection with the mobile
com-
munication network through interworking between the mobile communication
network
and a WLAN, and to transmit a SUPL position initiation message to the location
server
through the IP connection.
[34] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a mobile com-
munication network for providing a secure user plane location (SUPL) service,
comprising: a location server to establish an IP connection with a wireless
local access

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network (WLAN) terminal through interworking between the mobile communication
network and a WLAN, and to selectively perform a SUPL procedure with the WLAN
terminal through the IP connection in response to a request of a client
requesting
location information of the WLAN terminal.
[35] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a mobile com-
munication network for providing a secure user plane location (SUPL) service,
comprising: a location server to selectively transmit a SUPL initiation
message to a
wireless local area network (WLAN) terminal and establish an IP connection
with the
WLAN terminal through interworking between the mobile communication network
and a WLAN, in response to a request of a client requesting location
information of the
WLAN terminal, and to receive a SUPL position initiation message from the WLAN
terminal through the IP connection.
[36] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a method for
providing
a secure user plane location (SUPL) service using a wireless local area
network
(WLAN) terminal, comprising: establishing, by the WLAN terminal, an IP
connection
with a mobile communication network through interworking between the mobile
com-
munication network and a WLAN; and selectively performing a SUPL procedure
with
a location server of the mobile communication network through the IP
connection in
response to a request for location information of the WLAN terminal from the
location
server.
[37] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a method for
providing
a secure user plane location (SUPL) service using a wireless local area
network
(WLAN) terminal, comprising: receiving, by the WLAN terminal, a SUPL
initiation
message from a location server of a mobile communication network and
establishing
an IP connection with the mobile communication network through interworking
between the mobile communication network and a WLAN; and transmitting, by the
WLAN terminal, a SUPL position initiation message to the location server
through the
IP connection.
[38] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a method for
providing
a secure user plane location (SUPL) service using a mobile communication
network
including a location server, comprising: establishing, by the location server,
an IP
connection with a wireless local access network (WLAN) terminal through in-
terworking between the mobile communication network and a WLAN; and
selectively
performing, by the location server, a SUPL procedure with the WLAN terminal
through the IP connection in response to a request of a client requesting
location in-
formation of the WLAN terminal.
[39] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a method for
providing
a secure user plane location (SUPL) service using a mobile communication
network
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including a location server, comprising: selectively transmitting, by the
location server,
a SUPL initiation message to a wireless local area network (WLAN) terminal and
es-
tablishing an IP connection with the WLAN terminal through interworking
between
the mobile communication network and a WLAN, in response to a request of a
client
requesting location information of the WLAN terminal; and receiving, by the
location
server, a SUPL position initiation message from the WLAN terminal through the
IP
connection.
[40] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a method of
providing a
secure user plane location (SUPL) service by interworking between a mobile com-

munication network and a wireless local area network (WLAN), wherein the
mobile
communication network includes an access point, a storage unit and a location
server
and wherein an IP connection is established between a WLAN terminal and the
location server through the access point, the method comprising: requesting,
by the
location server, serving node routing information and capability information
of the
WLAN terminal from the storage unit in response to a client's location
information
request; receiving, by the location server, the requested serving node routing
in-
formation and capability information from the database; requesting, by the
location
server to the authentication server, target terminal routing information using
in part the
received serving node routing information; receiving, by the location server,
the target
terminal routing information from the authentication server; and performing,
by the
location server, a SUPL procedure with the WLAN terminal using in part the
received
target terminal routing information through the established IP connection, so
as to
obtain location information of the WLAN terminal.
[41] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a method of
providing a
secure user plane location (SUPL) service by interworking between a mobile com-

munication network and a wireless local area network (WLAN), wherein the
mobile
communication network includes an access point, a storage unit and a location
server
and wherein an IP connection is established between a WLAN terminal and the
location server through the access point, the method comprising: requesting,
by the
location server, serving node routing information and capability information
of the
WLAN terminal from the storage unit in response to the client's location
information
request; and receiving, by the location server, the requested information from
the
database, wherein the serving node routing information received by the
location server
includes address information of the authentication server and terminal
location related
information registered in the storage unit; determining, by the location
server, whether
the received terminal location related information satisfies a QoP (quality of
position)
request included in the client's location information request; selectively
providing,
from the location server to the client, the terminal location related
information as

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location information of the WLAN terminal based on the determination result;
requesting, by the location server to the authentication server, target
terminal routing
information using in part the received serving node routing information, if
the terminal
location related information does not satisfy the QoP request; receiving, by
the location
server, the target terminal routing information from the authentication
server; and
performing, by the location server, a SUPL procedure with the WLAN terminal
using
in part the received target terminal routing information through the
established IP
connection.
[42] Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set
forth in part
in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those
having
ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned
from
practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be
realized
and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
Description of Drawings
[43] The invention will be described in detail with reference to the following
drawings in
which like reference numerals refer to like elements wherein:
[44] Figure 1 is a flow chart illustrating a SUPL procedure for requesting
location in-
formation of a particular terminal in a non-roaming, proxy mode;
[45] Figure 2 is a schematic construction of a system for providing a location
in-
formation service through interworking between a WLAN and a mobile com-
munication network in accordance with the present invention;
[46] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing a location
information
service through interworking between the WLAN and the mobile communication
network in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;
[47] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing a location
information
service through interworking between the WLAN and the mobile communication
network in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;
[48] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing a location
information
service through interworking between the WLAN and the mobile communication
network in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;
[49] Figure 6 is a view showing an example of a format of location information
of a
WLAN terminal or a WLAN AP in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention; and
[50] Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing a location
information
service through interworking between the WLAN and the mobile communication
network in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
Mode for Invention
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[51] The present invention provides a network structure and protocol for
allowing a
WLAN terminal (UE) to receive a location information service through a mobile
com-
munication network, and provides a relevant call flow. Specifically, the
present
invention provides a method and system in which when a location server of a
mobile
communication network receives a request for a location of the WLAN terminal
from a
client, the location server communicates with a certain entity of the mobile
com-
munication network and an entity for allowing interworking between a WLAN and
the
mobile communication network, and provides location information of the WLAN
terminal to the client.
[52] The present invention applies a SUPL, namely, a protocol for providing a
user
location information service through a TCP/IP or UDP/IP connection between the
location server and a mobile terminal (or UE), for a service through
interworking
between the WLAN and the mobile communication system/network, whereby a user
of
the WLAN terminal can receive the location information service through the
mobile
communication network.
[53] Figure 2 is a schematic construction of a system for providing a location
in-
formation service through interworking between a WLAN and a mobile com-
munication network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[54] As shown in Figure 2, the system for providing a location information
service in
accordance with the present invention includes a WLAN terminal 10, a mobile
com-
munication network 30 such as a 3GPP network (public land mobile network
(PLMN)), a WLAN access network (WLAN AN) 11 for connecting the WLAN
terminal 10 to a WLAN for interworking with the mobile communication network
30,
and a client 40 connected to the mobile communication network 30 and
requesting
location information of the WLAN terminal 10 and/or using the obtained
location in-
formation. The WLAN terminal 10 includes a controller/processor l0a and other
components known in the related art WLAN terminals or the like. All the
components
of the system of FIG. 2 are operatively coupled and configured.
[55] The mobile communication network 30 includes a location server for
calculating
requested location information through a SUPL procedure with a corresponding
terminal through interworking with the WLAN and for providing the calculated
location information to the client 40. In the example, the mobile
communication
network 30 is a 3GPP network, but can be others such as a 3GPP2 network or the
like.
The mobile communication network 30 such as the 3GPP or 3GPP2 network includes
a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 31 functioning as the location server;
an
AAA (Authentication/Authorization/Accounting) server 32 existing in a mobile
com-
munication home network and performing functions such as authentication, au-
thorization and accounting; an HSS/HLR (Home subscriber Sever/Home Location

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Register) 33 for managing user information and an AAA server address of each
user; a
PPR (Privacy Profile Register) 34 connected with the location server (GLMC) 31
and
storing privacy information of a user related to the location information; an
OCS
(Online Charging System) 35 for collecting in real time a usage fee with
respect to a
WLAN service used by the WLAN terminal 10 according to time and a usage
amount;
a WLAN access gateway (WAG) 20 for connecting the WLAN AN 11 and the AAA
server 32; and an access point AP (packet data gateway (PDG)) 21 for
connecting a
packet switch network to provide a packet switched service of mobile
communication
to the WLAN terminal 10. The HSS/HLR 33 can also be considered a storage or
database.
[56] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing a location
information
service through interworking between the WLAN and the mobile communication
network in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The
method of
FIG. 3 is described herein as implemented in the system of FIG. 2 as an
example, but
can be implemented in other suitable device/system. The processes to be
performed by
the WLAN terminal 10 can be performed and/or controlled by the controller l0a
of the
WLAN terminal 10.
[57] Referring to FIG. 3, the WLAN terminal 10 selects a currently accessible
suitable
WLAN AN 11 and attempts a connection with the WLAN AN 11. When the WLAN
terminal 10 is connected with the WLAN AN 11 (step S21), the WLAN AN 11
performs a mutual authentication procedure between the WLAN terminal 10 and
the
WLAN AN 11 through communication with the AAA server 32 of the mobile com-
munication network 30. In this case, an EAP (Extensible Authentication
Protocol) au-
thentication procedure is performed by using an EAP; however, other types of
au-
thentication procedure may be used. An EAP packet for the EAP authentication
procedure is transferred up to the AAA server 32 of the mobile communication
network 30 via the WLAN AN 11. In this case, the WLAN AN 11 can go through an
AAA proxy server in order to be connected with the AAA server 32. Then, in
order to
perform a mutual authentication procedure between the WLAN terminal 10 and the
AAA server 32, the AAA server 32 can be connected and communicate with the
HSS/
HLR 33 to fetch authentication information therefrom. The authentication
information
includes authentication vectors the AAA server 32 has previously registered
for au-
thenticating the WLAN terminal 10, which can include key information
associated
with the WLAN terminal 10. Generally, the HSS/HLR 33 stores therein key or au-
thentication information on each WLAN terminal that has been registered in the
HSS/
HLR 33.
[58] The AAA server 32 can also receive subscription information of the WLAN
terminal 10 from the HSS/HLR 33 by being connected therewith. The subscription
in-
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formation can include authorization information, a permanent ID (i.e., an IMSI
(International Mobile Station/subscriber Identity)) of the WLAN terminal 10,
and
capability of the WLAN terminal 10 (step S22).
[59] The AAA server 32 registers WLAN terminal information, e.g., the
permanent
identity of the WLAN terminal 10, by interworking with the HSS/HLR 33. In this
case,
the AAA server 32 registers its address which has undergone the authentication
procedure by the WLAN terminal 10, to the HSS/HLR 33 (step S23).
[60] After the WLAN terminal 10 has been authenticated through the AAA server
32 of
the mobile communication network 30 and registered through the HSS/HLR 33 of
the
mobile communication network 30, the WLAN terminal 10 can obtain access in-
formation (e.g., IP address, etc.) of the PDG (access point) 21 to receive a
mobile com-
munication packet service through a DNS (Domain Name System) query (step S24).
[61] The WLAN terminal 10 selects one of access information of access points
obtained
through the DNS query, and forms a tunnel, namely, an IP connection such as a
TCP/
IP or UDP/IP connection with the PDG 21, for supporting a packet service with
the
selected access point (PDG) 21 (step S25). When selecting an access point, the
WLAN
terminal 10 selects an access point of a similar type of address (e.g., an
IPv4 or IPv6)
to its IP address.
[62] Thereafter or during the tunnel forming process, the client 40 requests a
service for
providing information on a location of a target terminal (step S26). That is,
the client
40 generates and sends a location information service (LCS) request for
requesting
location information of a target terminal (e.g., WLAN terminal 10) to the
location
server (GMLC) 31.
[63] The location server 31 requests serving node routing information and
terminal
capability from the HSS/HLR 33 in order to obtain information of a serving
node to
which the target terminal (WLAN terminal 10) belongs, namely, information
(e.g.,
address) of the AAA server (step S27). In this case, the capability
information of the
target terminal refers to capability information of the target terminal
relevant to
location tracking such as whether or not the target terminal supports the SUPL
and/or
whether or not the target terminal supports a location tracking procedure
defined in the
existing mobile communication network. Before being connected with the HSS/HLR
33, the location server 31 can be connected with the PPR 34 to confirm
previously
registered location tracking service information and privacy information of
the target
terminal such as the WLAN terminal 10. In this case, the WLAN terminal 10 can
previously register its privacy information relevant to the location tracking
service at
the PPR 34, and when the PPR 34 permits the location tracking service
requested by
the client 40 after checking the privacy information, the location server 31
can perform
step S27.

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[64] Then in response to the request at step S27, the HSS/HLR 33 transfers the
serving
node routing information such as the address of the AAA server 32 of the WLAN
terminal 10, and the capability information of the target terminal (WLAN
terminal 10)
to the location server 31 through a serving node routing information
confirmation
message (step S28).
[65] In this case, the capability information of the target terminal includes
information
for selecting a terminal location tracking method, and can be used for
determining
whether or not the target terminal supports the SUPL or for determining a
positioning
method that can be supported by the 3GPP or a particular communication
network.
[66] When the WLAN terminal 10 (target terminal) supports the SUPL, the
location
server (GMLC) 31 accesses the AAA server 32 by using the address of the AAA
server 32 received from the HSS/HLR 33, and requests routing information of
the
WLAN terminal 10 to the AAA server 32. The routing information of the WLAN
terminal 10 (i.e., the target terminal routing information) includes at least
the
following: (i) the IP address of the WLAN terminal 10, and (ii) information on
the
access point to which the tunnel has been set with the WLAN terminal 10. The
in-
formation (ii) can indicate whether or not the tunnel between the WLAN
terminal 10
and the PDG 21 (AP) has been established, e.g., from step S25. As one of the
al-
ternatives, the routing information of the WLAN terminal 10 includes at least
the
following: (i) the IP address of the WLAN terminal 10, (ii) the information on
the
access point (PDG) to which the tunnel has been set with the WLAN terminal 10,
and
(iii) information on a currently set wireless access point name (W-APN) of the
WLAN
terminal 10. The W-APN information (iii) includes a W-APN network identifier
(NI)
indicating an ID of an external IP network connected with the WLAN terminal 10
through the AP (PDG) 21, and a W-APN operator identifier (01) indicating an ID
of
the mobile communication network 30 with which the WLAN terminal 10 has been
connected, and such information can be used as needed. The information (ii) is
also
referred to herein as tunnel information.
[67] In response to the request at step S29, the AAA server 32 then transmits
the
requested routing information of the target terminal (i.e., WLAN terminal 10)
to the
location server 31 (step S30).
[68] The location server 31 generates a SUPL initialization (SUPL INIT)
message and
transmits it to the WLAN terminal 10 by using the received routing information
of the
WLAN terminal 10 to start the SUPL procedure. In this case, determining that a
tunnel
has been already formed between the WLAN terminal 10 and the AP 21 based on
the
tunnel information of the target terminal routing information, the location
server 31
transmits the SUPL initialization message to the WLAN terminal 10 through the
es-
tablished tunnel, namely, through the TCP/IP or UDP/IP connection. Thereafter,
the
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SUPL procedure for tracking a location of the WLAN terminal 10 is continuously
performed through the established tunnel (step S31). After the location
information of
the WLAN terminal 10 is calculated by, e.g., the location server or the WLAN
terminal
10, the location server 31 terminates the SUPL procedure and transmits the
calculated
location information of the WLAN terminal 10 to the client 40 (step S32),
e.g., using
an LCS response message. Here, the SUPL procedure of step S31 can be any con-
ventional SUPL procedure or the SUPL procedure of FIG. 1 including the use of
the
SLP mode indicator. Also at step S31, the communications between the WLAN
terminal 10 and the location server 31 are carried out through the AP 21,
i.e., through
the established tunnel (IP connection).
[69] In a state that the WLAN terminal 10 has undergone the authentication and
reg-
istration process through the AAA server 32 and the HSS/HLR 33 of the mobile
com-
munication network 30 and the tunnel has been formed for the packet service
between
the WLAN terminal 10 and the AP (PDG) 21, when the location server (GMLC) 31
connected with the mobile communication network 30 receives a request for
location
information of the WLAN terminal 10 from the client 40, in the first
embodiment of
the present invention, the SUPL procedure between the location server 31 and
the
WLAN terminal 10 is performed through the formed tunnel, so that a new TCP/IP
or
UDP/IP connection for carrying out the SUPL procedure does not need to be
opened
between the location server 31 and the WLAN terminal 10, and the location in-
formation of the WLAN terminal 10 can be calculated through the use of the
existing
tunnel.
[70] Additionally, regarding the IP address of the WLAN terminal 10 (e.g.,
provided in
the target terminal routing information), a static (permanent) IP address can
be
allocated to the WLAN terminal 10, or a dynamic IP address can be allocated to
the
WLAN terminal 10 each time whenever the tunnel is formed with the AP 21. When
the
static IP address is allocated to the WLAN terminal 10, the allocated static
IP address
is stored in the HSS/HLR 33, while the dynamic IP address is stored in the AAA
server
32 each time it changes. Thus, if the static IP address is allocated to the
WLAN
terminal 10, when the serving node routing information is requested by the
location
server 31 at step S27, the HSS/HLR 33 can directly transmit the IP address of
the
WLAN terminal 10 to the location server 31 in step S28 by transmitting the
stored IP
address of the WLAN terminal 10. In this case, steps S29 and S30 may be
omitted and
the location server 31 may immediately perform the SUPL procedure by using the
IP
address of the WLAN terminal 10 included in the serving node routing
information. As
an alternative, steps S29 and S30 may be performed to obtain only certain
information
such as the tunnel information that indicates whether or not the tunnel has
been es-
tablished. However, this information may be provided in a previous step, to
completely
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omit steps S29 and S30 when the static IP address of the WLAN terminal 10 is
involved.
[71] On the other hand, if the dynamic IP address of the WLAN terminal 10 is
involved,
steps S29 and S30 are performed as discussed above since the IP address of the
WLAN
terminal 10 generally changes each time a tunnel between the WLAN terminal 10
and
the PDG 21 is established. That is, when the dynamic IP address has been
allocated to
the WLAN terminal 10, the location server 31 can know the IP address of the
WLAN
terminal 10 through the AAA server 32 as shown in steps S29 and S30.
[72] The SUPL POS INIT message corresponds to a response message to the SUPL
ini-
tialization message transmitted from the location server 31. The SUPL INIT
message,
the SUPL POS INIT message, and other related SUPL procedure messages are
known.
[73] Accordingly, the present invention provides an effective system and
method for
providing a location information service to a terminal by interworking a WLAN
and a
mobile communication network.
[74] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing a location
information
service through interworking between the WLAN and the mobile communication
network in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The
method of FIG. 4 is described herein as implemented in the system of FIG. 2 as
an
example, but can be implemented in other suitable device/system. The processes
to be
performed by the WLAN terminal 10 can be performed and/or controlled by the
controller l0a of the WLAN terminal 10.
[75] Referring to FIG. 4, a process in which the WLAN terminal 10 is connected
with
the mobile communication network 30 through the authentication and
registration
procedure (steps S41-S43) is the same as or similar to steps S21-S23,
respectively, in
FIG. 3. Thus the description of steps S41 to S43 is omitted for the sake of
brevity.
[76] When a location information service request for requesting location
information of
a target terminal (e.g., WLAN terminal 10) is generated by the client 40, the
client 40
requests a location service (LCS) of the target terminal from the location
server
(GMLC) 31 by sending the LCS request to the location server 31 (step S44).
[77] In order to obtain information on a serving node to which the target
terminal
belongs, the location server 31 then requests serving node routing information
(e.g.,
address information of the AAA server 32) and capability of the target
terminal from
the HSS/HLR 33 (step S45). In this case, the capability information of the
target
terminal refers to capability information of the target terminal relevant to
location
tracking such as whether or not the target terminal supports the SUPL and/or
whether
or not the target terminal supports a location tracking procedure defined in
the existing
mobile communication. Before being connected with the HSS/HLR 33, the location
server 31 can be connected with the PPR 34 to confirm previously registered
location
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tracking service information and privacy information of the target terminal
such as the
WLAN terminal 10. In this case, the WLAN terminal 10 can previously register
its
privacy information relevant to the location tracking service at the PPR 34,
and when
the PPR 34 permits the location tracking service requested by the client 40
after
checking the privacy information, the location server 31 can perform step S45.
[78] In response to the request at step S45, the HSS/HLR 33 transfers the
serving node
routing information (e.g., address of the AAA server 32) of the WLAN terminal
10 and
the capability of the WLAN terminal 10 to the location server 31 through a
serving
node routing information confirmation message (step S46).
[79] If the WLAN terminal supports the SUPL (e.g., based on the received
capability in-
formation of the target terminal), the location server 31 is connected with
the AAA
server 32 by using the address of the AAA server 32 received from the HSS/HLR
33,
and requests routing information of the WLAN terminal 10 to the AAA server 32
(step
S47). The routing information of the WLAN terminal 10 includes at least the
following: (i) the address (e.g., IP address) of the WLAN terminal 10, and
(ii) in-
formation (tunnel information) on the access point (e.g., PDG 21) to which the
tunnel
has been set with the WLAN terminal 10. As discussed above, the tunnel
information
(ii) indicates whether or not the tunnel between the WLAN terminal 10 and the
PDG
21 has been established. As another alternative, the routing information of
the WLAN
terminal 10 includes at least the following: (i) the IP address of the WLAN
terminal
10, (ii) the information (tunnel information) on the access point (PDG) to
which the
tunnel has been set with the WLAN terminal 10, and (iii) information on a
currently set
wireless access point name (W-APN) of the WLAN terminal 10. The W-APN in-
formation (iii) includes a W-APN network identifier (NI) indicating an ID of
an
external IP network connected with the WLAN terminal 10 through the AP (PDG)
21,
and a W-APN operator identifier (01) indicating an ID of the mobile
communication
network 30 with which the WLAN terminal 10 has been connected, and such in-
formation can be used as needed.
[80] In response to the request at step S47, the AAA server 32 then transmits
a target
terminal routing information inquiry response message to the location server
31 (step
S48). The terminal routing information inquiry response message includes the
requested information such as the routing information of the target terminal
(WLAN
10).
[81] The location server 31 receives the target terminal routing information
inquiry
response message. When the location server 31 determines that there is no
currently set
IP connection, namely, there is no tunnel connection between the WLAN terminal
10
and the PDG 21, e.g., based on the received target terminal routing
information, the
location server 31 generates a SUPL initialization (SUPL INIT) message and
transmits
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it to the WLAN terminal 10 by using an SMS (Short Message Service) method or a
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) push method to thereby instruct a data
connection setup (step S49). As a variation, the location server 31 can
transmit the
SUPL initialization message to the WLAN terminal 10 through a TCP/IP or UDP/IP
connection.
[82] Then, the WLAN terminal 10 obtains access information (e.g., IP address,
etc.) of
the AP 21 through a DNS (Domain Name System) query to set up a data connection
to
receive a mobile communication packet service (step S50). The WLAN terminal 10
selects one of access information of the APs obtained through the DNS query
and sets
up a data connection (tunnel) with the selected AP (step S51). When selecting
the AP,
the WLAN terminal 10 selects the AP of a similar type of address to its IP
address.
[83] After the tunnel such as an IP connection (e.g., a TCP/IP or UDP/IP
connection) has
been established between the WLAN terminal 10 and the AP (PDG) 21, the WLAN
terminal 10 transmits, in response to the SUPL INIT message, a SUPL position
ini-
tialization (SUPL POS INIT) message for starting the actual location tracking
procedure to the location server 31 through the established tunnel, namely,
through a
session. In this case, the WLAN terminal 10 can transmit its IP address
together with
or in the SUPL POS INIT message. Thereafter, the SUPL procedure for tracking
the
location of the WLAN terminal 10 is continuously performed through the session
(step
S52). When the location information of the WLAN terminal 10 is calculated
(e.g., by
the location server 31 or the WLAN terminal 10), the location server 31
obtains the
calculated location information, terminates the SUPL procedure, and transmits
the
obtained calculated location information of the WLAN terminal 10 to the client
40,
e.g., via an LCS response (step S53).
[84] Regarding the IP address of the WLAN terminal 10, a static (permanent) IP
address
can be allocated to the WLAN terminal 10, or a dynamic IP address can be
allocated to
the WLAN terminal 10 each time whenever a tunnel is formed with the AP 21.
When
the static IP address is allocated to the WLAN terminal 10, the allocated
static IP
address can be stored in the HSS/HLR 33, while the dynamic IP address can be
stored
in the AAA server 32 each time it changes.
[85] In a state that the WLAN terminal 10 has finished the authentication and
reg-
istration process through the AAA server 32 and the HSS/HLR 33 of the mobile
com-
munication network 30, when the location server 31 connected with the mobile
com-
munication network 30 receives a request for the location information of the
WLAN
terminal 10 from the client 40 while the tunnel for the packet service (e.g.,
a TCP/IP or
UDP/IP connection) has not been formed between the WLAN terminal 10 and the AP
21, in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, the AAA
server 32 informs the location server 31 that no tunnel has been set between
the

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WLAN terminal 10 and the AP 21, e.g., after examining the target terminal
routing in-
formation. Then, the location server 31 instructs to set up a data connection
between
the WLAN 10 and the AP 21 by transmitting the SUPL initialization message to
the
WLAN terminal 10. Then the WLAN terminal 10 sets up a data connection (tunnel)
with the AP 21 and transmits the SUPL POS initialization message to the
location
server 31 through the set data connection, namely, the session. Accordingly,
the
location information of the WLAN terminal 10 can be calculated or obtained by
the
location server 31 of the mobile communication network 30.
[86] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing a location
information
service through interworking between the WLAN and the mobile communication
network in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. The
method
of FIG. 5 is described herein as implemented in the system of FIG. 2 as an
example,
but can be implemented in other suitable device/system. The processes to be
performed
by the WLAN terminal 10 can be performed and/or controlled by the controller
l0a of
the WLAN terminal 10.
[87] Referring to Figure 5, the WLAN terminal 10 selects a currently
accessible suitable
WLAN AN 11 and attempts a connection thereto. When the WLAN terminal 10 is
connected with the WLAN AN 11 (step S61), the WLAN AN 11 performs an au-
thentication procedure with the WLAN terminal 10 (steps S62 and S63). For
instance,
the WLAN AN 11 transmits an EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) request
message to the WLAN terminal 10 (step S62), and the WLAN terminal 10 responds
to
the WLAN through an EAP response message (step S63). Other types of au-
thentication protocol may be used.
[88] Then, the WLAN AN 11 and the WLAN terminal 10 exchanges terminal location
related information with each other. When the WLAN AN 11 provides the terminal
location related information to the WLAN terminal 10 through the EAP request
message at step S62, the terminal location related information includes
location in-
formation of a WLAN AP that the WLAN terminal 10 has currently accessed. Then
in
response, if the WLAN terminal 10 includes a GPS receiver, which may be used
to
determine the location information of the WLAN terminal 10, when the WLAN
terminal 10 provides the terminal location related information to the WLAN AN
11
through the EAP response message at step S63, the terminal location related in-

formation includes the location information of the WLAN terminal 10. Thus,
each of
the WLAN terminal 10 and the WLAN AN 11 obtains, respectively, location in-
formation of the associated WLAN AP and the WLAN terminal 10.
[89] Here, the AP location information or the WLAN terminal location
information can
have a civil address form defined in an IETF GEOPRIV protocol or coordinate in-

formation (x, y, z). FIG. 6 shows an example of the civil address form defined
in the
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IETF, which can be used in the present invention.
[90] The WLAN AN 11 performs an authentication procedure on the WLAN terminal
through communication with the AAA server 32. Namely, the WLAN AN 11 transmits
the EAP response message which has been received from the WLAN terminal 10 to
the AAA server 32 (step S64). In case of roaming of the WLAN terminal 10, the
EAP
response message is transmitted to the AAA server 32 through an AAA proxy
server
(not shown). In this case, the WLAN AN 11 provides the terminal location
related in-
formation, e.g., location information of an AP to which the WLAN terminal 10
belongs and/or location information of the WLAN terminal 10 received directly
from
the WLAN terminal 10, together with the EAP response message to the AAA server
32.
[91] In order to perform the mutual authentication procedure between the WLAN
AN 11
and the WLAN terminal 10, the AAA server 32 can be connected with the HSS/HLR
33 to fetch authentication information stored in the HSS/HLR 33. The
authentication
information can be authentication vectors that the AAA server 33 has
previously
registered to authenticate the WLAN terminal 10, which can include key
information.
In addition, the AAA server 32 can also request and receive subscription
information
of the WLAN terminal 10 from the HSS/HLR 33 by being connected with the HSS/
HLR 33 (step S65). The subscription information can be authorization
information, a
permanent identity (e.g., the IMSI) of the WLAN terminal 10, and capability of
the
terminal, etc.
[92] The AAA server 32 registers the information of the WLAN terminal 10,
e.g., the
permanent identity (e.g., the IMSI) of the WLAN terminal 10, by interworking
with
the HSS/HLR 33. In this case, the AAA server 32 also registers its address
together
which has undergone the authentication procedure by the WLAN terminal 10. In
addition, the AAA server 32 can register the terminal location related
information (e.g.,
the location information of the WLAN terminal 10 received from the WLAN AN 11
and/or the location information of the WLAN AP to which the WLAN terminal 10
belongs) to the HSS/HLR 33 (step S66). As a result, the HSS/HLR 33 stores
therein
the terminal location related information, which is some location information
associated with the WLAN terminal, e.g., the actual location information of
the WLAN
terminal 10 and/or the location information of the WLAN AP to which the WLAN
terminal 10 belongs.
[93] When the authentication/registration procedure is successfully completed
(step
S67), the AAA server 32 informs the WLAN terminal 10 of the completion through
the I-WLAN AN 11 (steps S68, S69).
[94] The WLAN terminal 10 obtains access information (an IP address, etc) of
APs
through a DNS query to receive a mobile communication packet service through
the
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AP (step S70). The WLAN terminal 10 selects one of access information of the
APs
obtained through the DNS query, and then forms a tunnel such as an IP
connection
(e.g., a TCP/IP or UDP/IP connection) for supporting a packet service with the
selected
AP (PDG) 21 (step S71). When selecting the AP, the WLAN terminal 10 can select
an
AP having an address (e.g., IPv4 or IPv6) of a similar type to its IP address.
[95] Thereafter, when a location information service request for requesting
location in-
formation of a target terminal (e.g., WLAN terminal 10) is generated by the
client 40,
the client 40 requests tracking of the location information of the target
terminal from
the location server 31 by sending an LCS request to the location server (GMLC)
31
(step S72). Here, the request for the location information of the target
terminal includes
a QoP (Quality of Position) request/information.
[96] In order to obtain information (e.g., address) on a serving node to which
the target
terminal (WLAN terminal 10) belongs and to obtain information on the
capability of
the target terminal, the location server 31 sends an inquiry of the serving
node routing
information to the HSS/HLR 33 (step S73). In this case, the capability
information of
the target terminal refers to capability information of the target terminal
relevant to
location tracking such as whether or not the target terminal supports the SUPL
and/or
whether or not the target terminal supports a location tracking procedure
defined in the
existing mobile communication network. Before being connected with the HSS/HLR
33, the location server 31 can be connected with the PPR 34 to confirm
previously
registered location tracking service information and privacy information of
the target
terminal such as the WLAN terminal 10. In this case, the WLAN terminal 10 can
previously register its privacy information relevant to the location tracking
service at
the PPR 34, and when the PPR 34 permits the location tracking service
requested by
the client 40 after checking the privacy information, the location server 31
can perform
step S73. A user of the target terminal, namely, the WLAN terminal 10, can
previously
register privacy information related to the location tracking service of the
user, and in
this state, when the user permits the location tracking service requested by
the cor-
responding client 40, the location server 31 can perform step S73.
[97] In response to the request at step S73, the HSS/HLR 33 transfers the
serving node
routing information (e.g., the address of the AAA server 32) associated with
the
WLAN terminal 10 and the capability information of the WLAN terminal 10 to the
location server 31 through a serving node routing information response message
(step
S74). At this time, the HSS/HLR 33 also provides any terminal location related
in-
formation received from the WLAN AN 11 (and stored therein at step S66)
through the
serving node routing information response message (step S74). Here the
terminal
location related information includes the location information of the WLAN AP
to
which the WLAN terminal 10 belongs and/or the location information of the WLAN
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terminal 10. If the terminal location related information is included in the
serving node
routing information response message and the included terminal location
related in-
formation satisfies the QoP (Quality of Position) included in the location
tracking
(LCS) request received from the client 40 at step S72, the location server 31
provides
location information of the WLAN terminal 10 based on the received terminal
location
related information to the client 40 without performing steps S75-S77 (step
S78).
[98] That is, the location server 31 analyzes the serving node routing
information
response message received from the HSS/HLR 33. If the serving node routing
response
message does not have the terminal location related information or if the
included
terminal location related information does not satisfy the QoP information
identified in
the LCS request, the process proceeds from step S74 to step S75 and the
subsequent
SUPL procedure. If, however, the terminal location related information (e.g.,
the
location information of the WLAN terminal 10 or of the WLAN AP) from the HSS/
HLR 33 satisfies the QoP (i.e., the location information is of sufficient
quality), then
instead of calculating the location information of the WLAN terminal 10, the
location
server 31 merely transmits the obtained terminal location related information
as the
location information of the target terminal to the client 40 at step S78. In
this instance,
the method bypasses steps S75-S77 of actually calculating the location of the
target
terminal via the SUPL procedure.
[99] In addition, when the location server 31 wants to be connected with the
AAA server
32 to directly receive the routing information of the target terminal (WLAN
terminal
10) recorded in the AAA server 32, the process proceeds from step S74 to step
S75.
[100] At step S75, the location server 31 transmits a target terminal routing
information
inquire message for requesting the routing information of the target terminal,
to the
AAA server 32. The location server 31 then can obtain the routing information
of the
WLAN terminal 10 at step S76 in order to directly perform the SUPL procedure
with
the WLAN terminal 10. In addition, if at step S74 the serving node routing
information
response message received from the HSS/HLR 33 does not include the terminal
location related information, the location server 31 can request at step S75
the terminal
location related information from the AAA server 32 through the target
terminal
routing information inquiry message.
[101] Upon receiving the target terminal routing information inquiry message,
the AAA
server 32 transmits the routing information of the target terminal (WLAN
terminal 10)
to the location server 31 through the target terminal routing information
inquiry
response message. Here, the routing information of the WLAN terminal 10
includes at
least the following: (i) the address (e.g., IP address) of the WLAN terminal
10, and (ii)
information (tunnel information) on the access point (PDG 21) to which the
tunnel has
been set with the WLAN terminal 10, e.g., at step S71. As discussed above, the
tunnel
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information (ii) indicates whether or not the tunnel between the WLAN terminal
10
and the PDG 21 has been established. As another alternative, the routing
information
of the WLAN terminal 10 includes at least the following: (i) the IP address of
the
WLAN terminal 10, (ii) the information (tunnel information) on the access
point
(PDG) to which the tunnel has been set with the WLAN terminal 10, and (iii) in-

formation on a currently set wireless access point name (W-APN) of the WLAN
terminal 10. The W-APN information (iii) includes a W-APN network identifier
(NI)
indicating an ID of an external IP network connected with the WLAN terminal 10
through the AP (PDG) 21, and a W-APN operator identifier (01) indicating an ID
of
the mobile communication network 30 with which the WLAN terminal 10 has been
connected, and such information can be used as needed.
[102] And if the location server 31 requests the terminal location related
information to
the AAA server 32 at step S75 (e.g., because it was not received at step S74),
the AAA
server 32 provides the terminal location related information, if any, together
with the
target terminal routing information to the location server 31 at step S76. At
this point,
if it is determined that the terminal location related information is received
from the
AAA server 32 and satisfies the QoP information received from the client 40 or
from
another entity, the location server 31 transmits the received terminal
location related
information (e.g., the location information of the WLAN terminal 10 or a WLAN
AP
to which the WLAN terminal 10) as the location information of the WLAN
terminal 10
directly to the client 40 through a location information service response
message,
without performing step S77 (step S78). If, however, the requested terminal
location
related information is not received from the AAA server 32, or the terminal
location
related information received from the AAA server 32 does not satisfy the QoP,
or the
location server 31 wants to directly perform the location tracking procedure
by using
the SUPL procedure with the WLAN terminal 10, then the location server 31
starts the
SUPL procedure by using the IP address of the WLAN terminal 10 included in the
target terminal routing information inquiry response message received from the
AAA
server 32. If the location server 31 determines that a tunnel has been already
formed
between the WLAN terminal 10 and the AP 21 by examining the AP information
(tunnel information) included in the target terminal routing information
inquiry
response message, the location server 31 transmits a SUPL initialization (SUPL
INIT)
message for starting the SUPL procedure through the established tunnel such as
the
TCP/IP or UDP/IP connection (S77). Here, the SUPL procedure of step S77 can be
any
conventional SUPL procedure or the SUPL procedure of FIG. 1 including the use
of
the SLP mode indicator. The SUPL procedure is continuously performed through
the
tunnel, whereby the location information of the WLAN terminal 10 is
calculated. As
an alternative, the WLAN terminal 10 can also transmit directly the terminal
location
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related information, which has been provided when the authentication procedure
was
performed with the WLAN AN 11 at steps S62 and S63, to the location server 31
at
step S77 without separately performing the position calculating procedure.
[103] When the location information of the WLAN terminal 10 is calculated by,
e.g., the
location server or the WLAN terminal 10 at step S77, the location server 31
obtains the
calculated location information (posresult) of the WLAN terminal 10,
terminates the
SUPL procedure, and provides the calculated location information of the WLAN
terminal 10 to the client 40 (step S78). As a variation as discussed above, if
the
terminal location related information is provided from the WLAN terminal 10
and the
provided terminal location related information satisfies the QoP, the location
server 31
can provide the received terminal location related information to the client
40 as the
location information of the target terminal (e.g., without separately
calculating the
location of the target terminal).
[104] When the WLAN terminal 10 is connected with the WLAN AN 11, it can
receive
location information of the WLAN AP to which the WLAN terminal 10 belongs from
the WLAN AN 11, or by having the GPS receiver, the WLAN terminal 10 can
provide
its location information to the WLAN AN 11. When the WLAN terminal 10 performs
the authentication and registration through the AAA server 32 and the HSS/HLR
33 as
discussed above, the location information of the WLAN AP to which the WLAN
terminal 10 belongs or the location information of the WLAN terminal 10 is
stored in
the AAA server 32 and then the HSS/HLR 33. In a state that a tunnel for a
packet
service has been formed between the WLAN terminal 10 and the AP 21, when the
location server 31 connected with the mobile communication network 30 receives
a
request for the location information of the WLAN terminal 10 from the client
40, in
accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention, if the terminal
location
related information received by the HSS/HLR 33 or the AAA server 32 satisfies
a
certain QoP, the location server 31 immediately provides the terminal location
related
information to the client 40 without performing the SUPL procedure to actually
calculate the location information. On the other hand, if the terminal
location related
information does not satisfy the QoP, the location server 31 performs the SUPL
procedure with the WLAN terminal 10 through the tunnel already formed between
the
WLAN 10 and the AP.
[105] Additionally, regarding the IP address of the WLAN terminal 10, a static
(permanent) IP address can be allocated to the WLAN terminal 10, or a dynamic
IP
address can be allocated to the WLAN terminal 10 each time whenever the tunnel
is
formed with the AP 21. When the static IP address is allocated to the WLAN
terminal
10, the allocated static IP address is stored in the HSS/HLR 33, while the
dynamic IP
address is stored in the AAA server 32 each time it changes. Thus, if the
static IP

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address is allocated to the WLAN terminal 10, when the serving node routing in-

formation is requested by the location server 31 at step S73, the HSS/HLR 33
can
directly transmit the IP address of the WLAN terminal 10 to the location
server 31 in
step S74 by transmitting the stored IP address of the WLAN terminal 10. In
this case,
steps S75 and S76 may be omitted and the location server 31 may immediately
perform the SUPL procedure by using the IP address of the WLAN terminal 10
included in the serving node routing information. As an alternative, steps S75
and S76
may be performed to obtain only certain information such as the tunnel
information
that indicates whether or not the tunnel has been established. However, this
in-
formation may be provided in a previous step, to completely omit steps S75 and
S76
when the static IP address of the WLAN terminal 10 is involved.
[106] On the other hand, if the dynamic IP address of the WLAN terminal 10 is
involved,
steps S75 and S76 are performed as discussed above since the IP address of the
WLAN
terminal 10 generally changes each time a tunnel between the WLAN terminal 10
and
the PDG 21 is established. That is, when the dynamic IP address has been
allocated to
the WLAN terminal 10, the location server 31 can know the IP address of the
WLAN
terminal 10 through the AAA server 32 as shown in steps S75 and S76.
[107] Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing a location
information
service through interworking between the WLAN and the mobile communication
network in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The
method
of FIG. 7 is described herein as implemented in the system of FIG. 2 as an
example,
but can be implemented in other suitable device/system. The processes to be
performed
by the WLAN terminal 10 can be performed and/or controlled by the controller
l0a of
the WLAN terminal 10.
[108] Referring to FIG. 7, a process in which the WLAN terminal 10 is
connected with
the mobile communication network 30 after undergoing an authentication and reg-

istration procedure through the AAA server 32 and the HSS/HLR 33, and a
process in
which when the WLAN terminal 10 is authenticated or registered, the location
in-
formation of the WLAN terminal 10 is provided by the WLAN terminal 10 itself
(by
using, e.g., the internal GPS receiver) or the location information of the
WLAN AP to
which the WLAN terminal 10 belongs is provided by the WLAN AN 11 (steps
S81-S89), are performed in the same or similar manner as steps S61-S69 of FIG.
5.
Therefore, the description of steps S81-S89 will be omitted for the sake of
brevity.
[109] In addition, a process, in which after the WLAN terminal 10 is connected
with the
mobile communication network 30 through the authentication and registration
procedure, when a request for tracking location information of a target
terminal is
transmitted from the client 40 to the location server 31 (step S90), the
location server
31 is connected with the HSS/HLR 33 to receive the serving node routing
information
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associated with the target terminal and the capability information of the
target terminal
(steps S90-S92), is also performed in the same or similar manner as steps S72,
S73 and
S74 of FIG. 5. Therefore, the description of steps S90-S92 will be omitted for
the sake
of brevity.
[110] For an additional explanation, when the terminal location related
information,
which has been received from the HSS/HLR 33 at step S92, satisfies the QoP
included
in the LCS received from the client 40, the location server 31 immediately
provides the
terminal location related information to the client 40 as the location
information of the
target terminal (WLAN terminal 10) (step S99), thereby possibly bypassing
steps
S93-S98.
[1111 However, after step S92, if the terminal location related information
has not been
provided from the HSS/HLR 33 or if the provided terminal location related in-
formation does not satisfy the QoP, the location server 31 performs step S93.
And, if
the location server 31 wants to be connected with the AAA server 31 to
directly
receive the routing information of the target terminal (WLAN terminal 10)
recorded in
the AAA server 32, step S93 is also performed.
[112] The location server 31 transmits a target terminal routing information
inquiry
message for requesting the routing information of the target terminal to the
AAA
server 32 (S93).
[113] The location server 31 can obtain the routing information of the WLAN
terminal 10
at step S94 in order to directly perform the SUPL procedure with the WLAN
terminal
10. In addition, if at step S92 the serving node routing information response
message
received from the HSS/HLR 33 does not include the terminal location related in-

formation, the location server 31 can request at step S93 the terminal
location related
information from the AAA server 32 through the target terminal routing
information
inquiry message.
[114] Upon receiving the target terminal routing information inquiry message,
the AAA
server 32 transmits the routing information of the target terminal (WLAN
terminal 10)
to the location server 31 through the target terminal routing information
inquiry
response message (S94). Here, the routing information of the WLAN terminal 10
includes at least the following: (i) the address (e.g., IP address) of the
WLAN terminal
10, and (ii) information (tunnel information) on the access point (PDG 21) to
which the
tunnel has been set with the WLAN terminal 10. As discussed above, the tunnel
in-
formation (ii) indicates whether or not the tunnel between the WLAN terminal
10 and
the PDG 21 has been established. As another alternative, the routing
information of the
WLAN terminal 10 includes at least the following: (i) the IP address of the
WLAN
terminal 10, (ii) the information (tunnel information) on the access point
(PDG) to
which the tunnel has been set with the WLAN terminal 10, and (iii) information
on a
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currently set wireless access point name (W-APN) of the WLAN terminal 10. The
W-
APN information (iii) includes a W-APN network identifier (NI) indicating an
ID of an
external IP network connected with the WLAN terminal 10 through the AP (PDG)
21,
and a W-APN operator identifier (01) indicating an ID of the mobile
communication
network 30 with which the WLAN terminal 10 has been connected, and such in-
formation can be used as needed.
[115] And if the location server 31 requests the terminal location related
information to
the AAA server 32 at step S93 (e.g., because it was not received at step S92),
the AAA
server 32 provides the terminal location related information together with the
target
terminal routing information to the location server 31 at step S94. At this
point, if it is
determined that the terminal location related information is received from the
AAA
server 32 and satisfies the QoP, the location server 31 transmits the terminal
location
related information as the location information of the WLAN terminal 10
directly to
the client 40 through a location information service (LCS) response message,
without
performing steps S95-S98 (step S99). If, however, at step S94 the requested
terminal
location related information is not received from the AAA server 32, or the
terminal
location related information received from the AAA server 32 does not satisfy
the
QoP, or the location server 31 wants to directly perform the location tracking
procedure by using the SUPL procedure with the WLAN terminal 10, then the
location
server 31 instructs the WLAN terminal 10 to set up a data connection (tunnel)
to the
location server 31 by transmitting a SUPL initialization (SUPL INIT) message
to the
WLAN terminal 10 by using an SMS method or a WAP (Wireless Application
Protocol) push method (step S95). As variation, the location server (GMLC) 31
can
transmit the SUPL initialization message to the WLAN terminal 10 through a
TCP/IP
or UDP/IP connection (S95).
[116] Upon receiving the SUPL initialization message through the SMS method,
the
WAP push method, the TCP/IP or UDP/IP connection, or other techniques, the
WLAN
terminal 10 first obtains access information (e.g., an IP address, etc.) of
APs through a
DNS query to open a data connection with the AP 21 (step S96). The WLAN
terminal
selects one of access information of the APs obtained through the DNS query,
and
forms a data connection (tunnel) with the selected AP (step S97). When
selecting the
AP, the WLAN terminal 10 selects an AP having an address (e.g., IPv4 or IPv6)
of a
similar type to its IP address.
[117] Thereafter, the WLAN terminal 10 transmits a SUPL position
initialization (SUPL
POS INIT) message for starting the actual location tracking procedure to the
location
server 31 through the formed tunnel such as an IP connection (e.g., a TCP/IP
or UDP/
IP connection), namely, through a session (S98). In this case, the WLAN
terminal 10
can include the IP address of the WLAN terminal 10 in the SUPL POS
initialization
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message. The WLAN terminal 10 can also transmit directly the terminal location
related information received from the WLAN AN 11 at steps S82 and S83, to the
location server 31 through the established tunnel and the SUPL POS INIT
message.
The SUPL procedure is continuously performed between the WLAN terminal 10 and
the location server 31 through the session at step S98.
[118] When the location information of the WLAN terminal 10 is calculated
through the
SUPL procedure at step S98, the location server 31 obtains the calculated
location in-
formation of the WLAN terminal 10, terminates the SUPL procedure (step S98),
and
provides the calculated location information (posresult) of the WLAN terminal
10 to
the client 40, e.g., through the LCS response (step S99). On the other hand,
if the
terminal location related information is provided from the WLAN terminal 10
and the
provided terminal location related information satisfies the QoP, the location
server 31
can directly provide the terminal location related information to the client
40 as the
location information of the target terminal, thereby possibly bypassing the
position
calculating procedure.
[119] When the WLAN terminal 10 is connected with the WLAN AN 11, it can
receive
location information of the WLAN AP to which the WLAN terminal 10 belongs from
the WLAN AN 11, or by having the GPS receiver, the WLAN terminal 10 can
provide
its location information to the I-WLAN AN 11. When the WLAN terminal 10
performs authentication and registration through the AAA server 32 and the
HSS/HLR
33, the location information of the WLAN AP to which the WLAN terminal 10
belongs or the location information of the WLAN terminal 10 is stored in the
AAA
server 32 and/or the HSS/HLR 33. In a state that a tunnel for a packet service
has not
been formed between the WLAN terminal 10 and the AP 21, if the location server
31
connected with the mobile communication network 30 receives a request for the
location information of the WLAN terminal 10 from the client 40, in accordance
with
the fourth embodiment of the present invention, then the location server 31 im-

mediately provides the terminal location related information to the client 40,
if the
terminal location related information is received by the HSS/HLR 33 or the AAA
server 32 and satisfies the QoP of the location tracking request received from
the client
40. On the other hand, if the terminal location related information is not
received or the
received terminal location related information does not satisfy the QoP, the
location
server 31 transmits the SUPL initialization message to the WLAN terminal 10
through
the SMS method, the WAP push method, the TCP/IP or UDP/IP connection, etc. to
instruct the WLAN terminal 10 to set up a data connection (tunnel). When the
WLAN
terminal 10 sets up the data connection (e.g., through an IP connection) with
the AP 21
according to the instruction, the location server 31 then performs the SUPL
procedure
with the WLAN terminal 10 through the established data connection to calculate
the

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location information of the WLAN terminal 10.
[120] Additionally, regarding the IP address of the WLAN terminal 10, a static
(permanent) IP address can be allocated to the WLAN terminal 10, or a dynamic
IP
address can be allocated to the WLAN terminal 10 each time whenever the tunnel
is
formed with the AP 21. When the static IP address is allocated to the WLAN
terminal
10, the allocated static IP address is stored in the HSS/HLR 33, while the
dynamic IP
address is stored in the AAA server 32 each time it changes.
[1211 According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the
WLAN
terminal is a UE or a mobile terminal (but not limited thereto), which is
capable of
providing a location information service such as a SUPL service. Examples of
the
WLAN terminal can be, but are not limited to, a PT (Push To) client, a mobile
phone, a
UE (user equipment) for UMTS or the like, an MS (mobile station) for GSM or
the
like, a laptop computer, a PDA (personal digital assistant), various types of
mobile
terminals connected through the WLAN or other network, etc. A PT client can be
a
PTT (Push To Talk) client such as a PoC (Push-to-talk Over Cellular) client, a
PTV
(Push To View) client, a PTD (Push to Data) client, etc.
[122] According to the present invention, there are same or similar steps in
the first
through fourth embodiments discussed herein. As such, variations discussed in
any one
embodiment of the present invention can be applied to other embodiments of the
present invention, as needed.
[123] The method(s) of the present invention can be implemented in part by
using
existing computer programming language. Such computer program(s) may be stored
in
portable or other types of storages or memories such as hard drive, RAM, ROM,
PROM, etc. associated with one or more computers or computer-based devices
such as
the network server(s) and/or the WLAN terminal 10. Alternatively, such
computer
program(s) may be stored in a different storage medium such as a USB, magnetic
disc,
optical disc, magneto-optical disc, etc. Such computer program(s) may also
take the
form of a signal propagating across the Internet, extranet, intranet or other
network and
arriving at the destination device (e.g., network server(s) or WLAN 10) for
storage and
implementation. The computer programs are readable using a known computer or
computer-based device.
[124] The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are
not to be
construed as limiting the present invention. The present teachings can be
readily
applied to other types of apparatuses and/or systems. 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. In
the claims, any means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the
structure
described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural
equivalents
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but also equivalent structures.

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Representative Drawing