Area watcher for wireless network

Abstract

Dynamic and current information is provided regarding a wireless device's entry into or exit from a geographically defined “watched” area. An area watcher application monitors preconfigured wireless devices entry/exit into preconfigured watched areas. The watched areas may watch for any/all subscribers, or for select, preconfigured subscribers listed in an appropriate table or database. Provision of location information is triggered by a wireless subscriber's entry, exit or changing between designated ‘watched’ areas or locations. Continuous polling may be used, or the mobile device itself or network element may be triggered to push its own location upon notification of its entry into or out of watched areas from an area watcher. A third party may be notified when a wireless user enters an area surrounding their retail store, and be sent a message such as “sale inside”, or “Your rentals are overdue”, on their wireless device.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A location services client executing on one or more computing devices, the location services client being configure to:
 provide a request to watch a geographic area defined by a boundary;   receive an indication that a given wireless device has at least one of entered and exited the geographic area, wherein the indication omits location information characterizing a location of the given wireless device; and   output a trigger message in response to receiving the indication.   
     
     
         2 . The location services client of  claim 1 , wherein the geographic area is defined by a zip code. 
     
     
         3 . The location services client of  claim 1 , wherein the geographic area is defined by boundaries of the reach of a particular cell site. 
     
     
         4 . The location services client of  claim 1 , wherein the geographic area is defined by proximity to a particular retail establishment. 
     
     
         5 . The location services client of  claim 1 , wherein the trigger message is output to the given wireless device. 
     
     
         6 . The location services client of  claim 1 , wherein the location services client is further configured to associate the given wireless device with the geographic area. 
     
     
         7 . The location services client of  claim 1 , wherein the trigger message characterizes a retail offer. 
     
     
         8 . The location services client of  claim 1 , wherein the given wireless device has a privacy mechanism configured to prevent the given wireless device from transmitting the location information. 
     
     
         9 . A method comprising:
 defining a boundary of a geographic area to be watched;   providing a request to associate a given wireless device with the geographic area; and   receiving an indication via a network that a given wireless device has at least one of entered and exited the geographic area wherein the indication omits location information for the given wireless device.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising outputting a trigger message in response to receiving the indication. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the trigger message is output to the given wireless device. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the triggered message relates to unsolicited retail information. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the indication is received from the given wireless device. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the given wireless device has a privacy mechanism executing thereon that prevents the given wireless device from transmitting the location information. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the indication is received from a wireless carrier network servicing the given wireless device. 
     
     
         16 . An area watcher comprising one or more computing devices, the area watcher being configured to:
 monitor a location of a given wireless device relative to a geographic area; and   transmit presence information of the given wireless device to a network node in response to determining that the given wireless device has at least one of entered and exited the geographic area;   wherein the area watcher does not transmit location information for the given wireless device to the network node.   
     
     
         17 . The area watcher of  claim 16 , wherein the area watcher is further configured to identify a privacy setting on the given wireless device. 
     
     
         18 . The area watcher of  claim 17 , wherein the privacy setting indicates a desire of a user of the given wireless device to prevent dissemination of the location information of the given wireless device. 
     
     
         19 . The area watcher of  claim 16 , wherein the area watcher is further configured to associate the given wireless device with the geographic area. 
     
     
         20 . The area watcher of  claim 16 , wherein the area watcher is further configured to receive a boundary for the geographic area. 
     
     
         21 . The area watcher of  claim 16 , wherein the monitoring comprises polling location information for the given wireless device. 
     
     
         22 . The area watcher of  claim 16 , wherein the monitoring comprises receiving a location push from the given wireless device. 
     
     
         23 . The area watcher of  claim 16 , wherein the monitoring comprises receiving a location push from a wireless carrier network servicing the given wireless device.