Patent ID: 8135413
Filing Date: 2012-03-13
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A method for providing network services to a plurality of mobile units, wherein each of the mobile units is located using wireless signal measurements obtained from transmissions between said mobile unit and a plurality of fixed location communication stations, wherein each of said communications stations includes one or more of a transmitter and a receiver for wirelessly communicating with said mobile unit, comprising: providing first and second mobile unit location evaluators, wherein each of said location evaluators determine information related to the location of said mobile station units when said location evaluator is supplied with appropriate data for responding with information related to a location of one of the mobile units, wherein: (A) said first location evaluator determines information related to the location for a mobile unit (M), by performing one or more of the following techniques (i) through (x) when the first location evaluator is supplied with a corresponding instance of said appropriate data, wherein the appropriate data includes values obtained from wireless signal measurements provided by transmissions between the mobile unit M and the communication stations: (B) for at least a particular one of said techniques (A)(i) through (A)(x) performed by said first location evaluator, said second location evaluator performs a different one of said techniques when supplied with a corresponding instance of said appropriate data for the different technique; receiving, from a plurality of requesting sources, requests for location based services; first obtaining, from said first location evaluator, first location related information for one of the mobile units in response to a first of the requests; second obtaining, from said second location evaluator, second location related information for one of the mobile units in response to a second of the requests; first determining a first destination for a first of the location based services for transmitting a first estimated location obtained from the first location related information; second determining a second destination for a second of the location based services for transmitting a second estimated location obtained from the second location related information; first communicating, to a first receiving source, a first communication responsive to the first request, wherein said first communication is dependent upon a first result from the first location based service; wherein the first location based service determines the first result after receiving the first estimated location; wherein the first request is used in identifying the first receiving source; second communicating, to a second receiving source, a second communication responsive to the second request, wherein said second communication is dependent upon a second result from the second location based service; wherein the second location based service determines the second result after receiving the second estimated location; wherein the second request is used in identifying the second receiving source; wherein the steps of at least one of (1) and (2) following are performed: (1) first contacting a billing system for authorizing access to network services for the first request;  wherein the second contacting step is performed prior to the second estimated location being determined; and (2) the step of first determining, includes a step of selecting the first location based service from a plurality of location based services wherein each of the plurality of location based services is for fulfilling the first request, wherein said step of selecting includes obtaining data indicative of a load on each of two of the plurality of location based services and using the data to determine the first destination.