U.S. patent number 6,847,823 [Application Number 09/742,844] was granted by the patent office on 2005-01-25 for system and method for accessing local services with a mobile terminal.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Nokia Corporation. Invention is credited to Juha Lehikoinen, Riku Suomela.
United States Patent |
6,847,823 |
Lehikoinen , et al. |
January 25, 2005 |
System and method for accessing local services with a mobile
terminal
Abstract
In a mobile communication system, a method and system for
obtaining location-dependent services information by using a mobile
station. An information beacon containing services information
pertaining to the location of the beacon is disposed in an
environment. The beacon is capable of communicating with the mobile
station when the mobile station is located within the operating
range of the beacon. The mobile station includes a services access
key which, when selected while the mobile station is within the
operating range of the beacon, will transmit a query to the beacon
requesting location-based services. In response to the query,
location-based services information will be transmitted to the
mobile station.
Inventors: |
Lehikoinen; Juha (Lakiala,
FI), Suomela; Riku (Tampere, FI) |
Assignee: |
Nokia Corporation (Espoo,
FI)
|
Family
ID: |
24986479 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/742,844 |
Filed: |
December 20, 2000 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/456.1;
705/14.4; 455/556.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W
4/023 (20130101); G06Q 30/0241 (20130101); H04W
4/02 (20130101); H04W 48/10 (20130101); H04W
48/14 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04Q
7/22 (20060101); H04Q 007/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;455/456.1,556.3
;705/14 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Nguyen; Lee
Assistant Examiner: Dao; Minh D.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Cohen, Pontani, Lieberman &
Pavane
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of providing location-dependent services information to
a mobile station having a memory, the mobile station being capable
of short range communication and being capable of communicating
with a base transceiver station, comprising the steps of:
activating a dedicated services access key on the mobile station
for initiating a search for location-dependent services;
transmitting a short range wireless communication query to the
beacon for requesting location-dependent services information
pertaining to a location of the mobile station, said short range
wireless communication query including a predetermined information
request for location-dependent services information associated with
said key activation and (i) if it is determined that the mobile
station is within the operating range of the beacon, transmitting,
from the beacon to the mobile station in response to the mobile
station short range wireless communication query, the requested
location-dependent services information; (ii) if it is determined
that the mobile station is not within the operating range of the
beacon, broadcasting location information to the mobile station
over the base transceiver station broadcast channel, storing the
location information in the mobile station memory, sending a
request along with the stored memory location from the mobile
station to a remote service provider for location-dependent
services information concerning services pertaining to the location
information, and transmitting, from the service provider to the
mobile station, location-dependent services information.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said location-dependent services
information comprises categories of services information.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of selecting,
by using function keys on the mobile station, desired information
from the categories of information.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile station comprises a
Bluetooth transceiver.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the beacon comprises a Bluetooth
transceiver.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitted
location-dependent services information comprises a text message
displayed on a display of the mobile station.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile station comprises a
mobile phone.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of sending a request to
a remote service provider comprises using one of SMS and WAP.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information is
provided via a GPS system.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of broadcasting
comprises broadcasting plain language location information
identifying the geographic location of the base station.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein said step of transmitting from
the SMS provider comprises responding to the short message.
12. A system for providing location-dependent services information
to a mobile station having a memory, the mobile station being
capable of short range communication and being capable of
communicating with a base transceiver station, comprising: a mobile
station including at least a short range transceiver and a
dedicated service access key for initiating a search for
location-dependent services, said mobile station capable of being
located within an operating range of a short range transceiver of a
short range communication beacon; said dedicated service access key
of the mobile station being activatable for initiating a search for
location-dependent services information pertaining to a location of
the mobile station; means for determining, in response to
activation of said dedicated service access key, whether said
mobile station is within the operating range of the short range
transceiver for effecting wireless communication between said
mobile station and said beacon; said short range transceiver of the
mobile station being capable of sending a request for
location-dependent services information and receiving a reply from
the short range transceiver of the short range communication beacon
in response to activation of said dedicated service access key if
said mobile station is within the operating range of the short
range transceiver; means for broadcasting to the mobile station
over the base transceiver station broadcast channel, location
information; means for storing the location information in the
mobile station memory; means for sending a request along with the
stored memory location information from the mobile station to a
remote service provider for location-dependent services information
concerning services pertaining to the location information; and
means for transmitting, from the service provider to the mobile
station, location-dependent services information.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein said transmitted
location-dependent services information comprises categories of
services information.
14. The system of claim 13, further comprising means for selecting,
by using function keys on the mobile station, desired information
from the categories of information.
15. The system of claim 12, wherein the mobile station comprises a
Bluetooth transceiver.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the beacon comprises a
Bluetooth transceiver.
17. The system of claim 12, wherein said transmitted
location-dependent services information comprises a text message
displayed on a display of the mobile station.
18. The system of claim 12, wherein the mobile station comprises a
mobile phone.
19. The system of claim 12, wherein said means for sending a
request from the mobile station to the remote service provider
comprises using one of SMS and WAP.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the location information is
provided via a GPS system.
21. The system of claim 12, wherein said broadcasting means
comprises means for broadcasting plain language location
information identifying the geographic location of the base
station.
22. A mobile station comprising: an access key for requesting
location based services; a processor; a memory unit; a short range
transceiver enabling short range communication; a network
transceiver enabling communication in a mobile network; an output
device for outputting received content; software means operative on
the processor for; maintaining in the memory unit a database
including a communication response value and a threshold value and
at least one predetermined message requesting for
location-dependent services usable for short range communication
and at least one another predetermined message requesting for
location-dependent services usable for different type of
communication; starting short range communication in response to
selecting the service access key using the predetermined message
requesting for location-dependent services usable for short range
communication; periodically scanning the value of the communication
response; and if the communication response value exceeds the
threshold value, starting communication using the predetermined
message requesting for location-dependent services usable for
different type of communication.
23. The mobile station of claim 22, wherein the short range
transceiver enabling short range communication comprises a
Bluetooth transceiver.
24. The mobile station of claim 22, wherein the communication
response value exceeds the threshold value if the response for
location-based services in short range communication is not
received.
25. The mobile station of claim 22, wherein current location
information is inserted along with the predetermined message
requesting for location-dependent services usable for different
type of communication.
26. The mobile station of claim 25, wherein the current location
information is provided via a GPS system.
27. A method of providing location-dependent services information
to a mobile station being capable of short range communication,
said mobile station having a memory and being capable of
communicating with a base transceiver station, comprising the steps
of: determining whether the mobile station is within an operating
range of a short range communication beacon for effecting wireless
communication between the mobile station and the beacon;
establishing a communication link between the mobile station and
the beacon if it is determined that the mobile station is within
the operating range of the beacon; activating a services access key
on the mobile station for transmitting a short range wireless
communication query to the beacon for requesting location-dependent
services information pertaining to a location of the mobile
station; transmitting, from the beacon to the mobile station in
response to the mobile station query, location-dependent services
information; broadcasting location information to the mobile
station over the base transceiver station broadcast channel;
storing the location information in the mobile station memory;
sending a request along with the stored memory location from the
mobile station to a remote service provider for location-dependent
services information concerning services pertaining to the location
information if it is determined that the mobile station is not
within the operating range of the beacon; and transmitting, from
the service provider to the mobile station, location-dependent
services information.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of sending a request
to a remote service provider comprises using one of SMS and
WAP.
29. The method of claim 27 wherein the location information is
provided via a GPS system.
30. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of broadcasting
comprises broadcasting plain language location information
identifying the geographic location of the base station.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein said step of transmitting from
the SMS provider comprises responding to the short message.
32. A system for providing location-dependent services information
to a mobile station, the mobile station being capable of short
range communication, comprising: a mobile station including at
least a short range transceiver a service access key and a memory
card, said mobile station located within an operating range of a
short range transceiver of a short range communication beacon and
being capable of communicating with a base transceiver station said
service access key of the mobile station being selectable for
requesting location-dependent services information pertaining to a
location of the mobile station, and; said short range transceiver
of the mobile station being capable of sending a request for
location-dependent services information and receiving a reply from
the short range transceiver of the short range communication beacon
in response to the request for location-dependent services; means
for broadcasting to the mobile station over the base transceiver
station broadcast channel, location information; means for storing
the location information in the mobile station memory; means for
sending a request along with the stored memory location information
from the mobile station to a remote service provider for
location-dependent services information concerning services
pertaining to the location information; and means for transmitting,
from the service provider to the mobile station, location-dependent
services information.
33. The system of claim 32, wherein said means for sending a
request from the mobile station to the remote service provider
comprises using one of SMS and WAP.
34. The system of claim 33, wherein the location information is
provided via a GPS system.
35. The system of claim 32, wherein said broadcasting means
comprises means for broadcasting plain language location
information identifying the geographic location of the base
station.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication network
and, more particularly, to accessing local services pertaining to a
geographic location of a mobile station.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various service announcements can be transmitted to mobile stations
on the basis of a service request of a subscriber in mobile
communication systems. Generally, these services are most often
arranged to be provided from outside the actual mobile
communication system. By placing a call to a required service
number, a mobile subscriber is able to order a selected service
announcement to be delivered to the display of the mobile station,
for example. These individual services may include weather
forecast, traffic announcements, local news and other local
services, such as taxi information, automobile service station
announcements, mass transportation announcements and schedule
information and various other commercial service announcements
where the mobile subscriber seeks the desired announcement on the
basis of the subscriber's current geographical location. The mobile
subscriber generally desires to have the service announcement
related to the subscriber's current location which varies due to
the mobile nature of the mobile subscriber.
FIG. 1 shows a simplified block diagram of the pan-European GSM
mobile communication system. It will be understood that this is
only an example of a GSM network. The mobile station MS is
connected via the radio path to one of the base transceiver
stations BTS, such as the base station BTS1 in FIG. 1. The base
station system BSS comprises a base station controller BSC and base
stations BTS controlled by the BSC. Usually several base station
controllers are controlled by a mobile services switching center
MSC. The mobile services switching center is connected to other
mobile services switching centers.
The GSM is connected to other networks through a gateway mobile
services switching center GMSC, such as the public switched
telephone network PSTN, to a public land mobile network PLMN, to an
integrated services data network ISDN or to a service center SC,
such as the short message service center SMSC. The operation and
maintenance center OMC monitors the operation of the entire system.
The subscriber data of the mobile station MS is stored permanently
in a home location register HLR and temporarily in a visitor
location register VLR in the area of which the mobile station MS is
located at a particular time. The location information of the
mobile station MS is stored in the visitor location register VLR.
The geographical area monitored by the visitor location register is
divided into one or more location areas LA. One or more base
stations BTS can operate in each location area.
The base stations BTS continuously broadcast information on a
broadcast channel concerning themselves and their environment, such
as a base station identity code BSIC, adjacent cell information and
a location area identifier LAI broadcast on a paging channel. The
cell broadcast center situated at the base station controller BSC,
for example, manages the messages of the cell broadcast channels of
the base stations BTS. The cell broadcast center transmits via the
base station controller BSC the broadcast messages assigned for
each individual base station BTS on the basis of initial
information supplied by the operator. The broadcast on paging
channels and cell broadcast channels, for example, has no address,
is not encrypted and is intended to be received by all mobile
stations MS within the geographical area covered by the
transmission of the base station. The location information can then
be used to solicit location based services, as more fully described
in PCT Patent Document WO 98/19479.
The availability of various types of wireless communication devices
produces a need to have these devices interact with each other in a
manner which is cost efficient and which can be easily implemented.
Such communication can occur in GSM systems using SMS wherein short
messages are communicated directly between two or more terminal
devices, such as mobile stations, e.g. telephones, PDAs, etc.
Terminal devices can also communicate with each other using
infrared signals or radio frequency (RF) signals.
Recently, low power RF systems have been proposed for providing
communications between a plurality of transceivers through a
short-range radio link having a broadcast range of several meters.
One such local RF system is currently under development and is
referred to as "Bluetooth". This system will be commercially
available in the near future and is designed to operate in the open
spectrum, e.g., around 2.4 gigahertz. The Bluetooth system will
allow for devices such as mobile phones, computers, and other types
of terminal devices which are located within an operable range of
the RF system to communicate with each other.
Such local RF communication between various types of wireless
devices has been proposed through the use of information beacons.
For example, in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/612,872, such information beacons are used to store, forward and
receive short messages via local wireless communication, such as
Bluetooth. The information beacons are essentially wireless
transceiver devices capable of communicating within an associated
operating range and, in particular, with wireless communication
devices or other beacons located within the associated operating
range.
There are difficulties in accessing location dependent services
from local RF communication systems and from SMS because the short
message queries used to solicit such services information must be
formulated, e.g. by depressing numerous keys on a mobile station
keypad, etc. Moreover, the user will not know, until such a service
request is placed, where such desired information is located, i.e.
on a local RF server or on an SMS server. Thus, the user may be
required to submit multiple inquiries and then select among the
received transmissions, to obtain the desired information.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To overcome limitations in the prior art described above and to
overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading
and understanding the present specification, the present invention
discloses a system, apparatus and method for communicating services
to a wireless terminal operating within a wireless network. The
wireless device is not limited to any preset navigational
structure, and provides the ability to remotely access
services.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method of
providing location-dependent services information to a mobile
station is provided, the mobile station being capable of short
range communication. The method includes determining whether the
mobile station is within an operating range of a short range
communication beacon for effecting wireless communication between
the mobile station and the beacon; establishing a communication
link between the mobile station and the beacon if it is determined
that the mobile station is within the operating range of the
beacon; activating a services access key on the mobile station for
transmitting a short range wireless communication query to the
beacon for requesting location-dependent services information
pertaining to a location of the mobile station; and transmitting,
from the beacon to the mobile station in response to the mobile
station query, location-dependent services information.
In accordance with another embodiment, the mobile station of the
method contains a memory and wherein the mobile station is capable
of communicating with a base transceiver station, the method
further includes broadcasting location information to the mobile
station over the base transceiver station broadcast channel;
storing the location information in the mobile station memory;
sending a request along with the stored memory location from the
mobile station to a remote service provider for location-dependent
services information concerning services pertaining to the location
information if it is determined that the mobile station is not
within the operating range of the beacon; and transmitting, from
the service provider to the mobile station, location-dependent
services information.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention a
system for providing location-dependent services information to a
mobile station is described, the mobile station being capable of
short range communication, including a mobile station including at
least a short range transceiver and a service access key, the
mobile station located within an operating range of a short range
transceiver of a short range communication beacon; the service
access key of the mobile station being selectable for requesting
location-dependent services information pertaining to a location of
the mobile station, and; the short range transceiver of the mobile
station being capable of sending a request for location-dependent
services information and receiving a reply from the short range
transceiver of the short range communication beacon in response to
the request for location-dependent services.
According to yet another embodiment, the inventive system also
includes a memory in the mobile station which is capable of
communicating with a base transceiver station, the system further
including means for broadcasting to the mobile station over the
base transceiver station broadcast channel, location information;
means for storing the location information in the mobile station
memory; means for sending a request along with the stored memory
location information from the mobile station to a remote service
provider for location-dependent services information concerning
services pertaining to the location information; and means for
transmitting, from the service provider to the mobile station,
location-dependent services information.
According to yet another embodiment, the present invention is
directed to a mobile station having an access key for requesting
location based services. The mobile station may, according to
another embodiment, include a processor; a memory unit; a short
range transceiver enabling short range communication; a network
transceiver enabling communication in a mobile network; an output
device for outputting received content; and software means
operative on the processor. The software means operates for
maintaining in the memory unit a database including a communication
response value and a threshold value and at least one predetermined
message requesting for location-dependent services usable for short
range communication and at least one another predetermined message
requesting for location-dependent services usable for different
type of communication; starting short range communication in
response to selecting the service access key using the
predetermined message requesting for location-dependent services
usable for short range communication; periodically scanning the
value of the communication response; and if the communication
response value exceeds the threshold value, starting communication
using the predetermined message requesting for location-dependent
services usable for different type of communication.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become
apparent from the following detailed description considered in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood,
however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of
illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the
invention, for which reference should be made to the appended
claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not
necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated,
they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures
and procedures described herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art GSM mobile communication
system according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of a beacon communication
system according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a short range low power beacon for use
in the communication system of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment
of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a mobile station for use in the
communication system according to one embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 5 is a graphical representation of a local service access
system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
FIGS. 6A and 6B depict an illustrative usage scenario according to
one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method in
accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the following description of the various embodiments, reference
is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and
in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in
which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that
other embodiments may be utilized, and structural and functional
modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the
present invention.
FIG. 2 depicts, according to one embodiment of the invention, an
information beacon 14 operable in an operating range 5 for
communicating with one or more mobile stations or terminal devices,
such as PDAs or mobile phones P.sub.1, P.sub.2 which are located
within the operating range 5. The term "beacon" refers herein to a
wireless store/forward transceiver relay device, as explained more
fully below, for storing messages and transmitting the stored
messages to one or more terminal devices. It should be noted that
beacon 14 can also serve as a network node or connection point
which provides access to and communication with a network, such as
a host device, as more fully described in U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 09/614,508, filed on Jul. 11, 2000, the entire content of
which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The beacon 14 is a relatively small, portable transceiver device
which communicates data between itself, neighboring beacons, and
mobile stations within the respective beacon operating range. Each
beacon 14 includes an RF receiver and transmitter capable of
receiving and transmitting data over the operative range of the RF
receiver. For example, if Bluetooth technology is employed, the
operating range of each beacon and, consequently, the distance
between a beacon and a mobile station or an adjacent beacon in a
network (i.e. the length of each link) using current technology is
in the range of approximately 10 meters for a normal power mode and
300 meters for a high power mode.
A detail of a preferred beacon device 14 according to one
embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 3. The beacon
includes a central processing unit (CPU) 302 interfaced with one or
more short range (e.g., Bluetooth) transceivers 308, 310, 312 for
communicating with other beacons 14 or with a host in a network. If
the beacon 14 serves as a host, the beacon will include means (not
shown) for communicating with other networks. A memory 304 and
storage area 306 are provided for storing application software as
well as data to be communicated to intended recipients. Each beacon
functions as a transceiver device and is operable in the
corresponding region 5 (shown in FIG. 2), typically defined by the
radius of its transmission range. Thus, for a 10 meter operating
range, each beacon 14 will be able to communicate with devices
contained within a relatively circular geographic area defined by
the operating range and centered at the location of the beacon 14.
Such communication may be between a subject beacon and one or more
neighboring beacons or between a subject beacon and one or more
mobile stations. The operation of beacons 14 is more fully
described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/612,872, the
entire content of which is incorporated by reference.
A detail of a preferred mobile station and, particularly, a mobile
phone P.sub.1 according to one embodiment of the invention is
illustrated in FIG. 4. As shown, the mobile phone includes a
display 402, such as an LCD display as is known in the art, a
central processing unit (CPU) 408 and a memory 410. Standard mobile
transmission and reception occurs via a network transceiver 406
connected to an antenna 412, a keypad 418 and short range
transmission for communication with a subject beacon 14 in a local
RF environment is conducted via a short range transceiver 404
connected to the antenna. The keypad typically contains numerous
function keys such as alpha-numeric keys an directional (arrow)
keys for scrolling among contents contained in memory or displayed
on the display 402. The mobile station also includes one or more
services access function keys 420 (also referred to herein as a
"context" key) which may be separate from or part of the keypad 418
for transmitting a short range transmission request to a
neighboring beacon for soliciting location based information
pertaining to the geographic location of the requesting mobile
station, as explained more fully below.
To communicate with the beacons 14, the mobile stations include a
low power infrared or RF communication feature, such as Bluetooth.
It is presently contemplated that communication between a mobile
device and a particular beacon will be limited to relatively short
text messages in a manner analogous to the Short Message Service
available in present GSM systems, but may also include audio
messages and larger text messages. To forward a message from a
particular beacon to a mobile station, the mobile station (MS) must
be capable of communicating with the particular beacon. This is
accomplished by activating a low power RF communication feature of
the mobile station P.sub.1 (e.g. a Bluetooth chip). In the
preferred embodiment, this is accomplished by selecting the
services access key 420 on the MS when the MS is positioned within
the operating range of the beacon. This will automatically transmit
an information request to the receiving beacon for requesting
location-based services information. Thus, by simply selecting the
services access key, a service request query will be transmitted to
a beacon located within the reception range of the query. As the
request for services information is made via the low power short
range RF communication feature (Bluetooth) of the MS, by
definition, the general geographic location of the requesting MS is
known. In other words, the location of the requesting MS is within
the operating range of the receiving beacon. In response to the
query, the beacon will wirelessly transmit short range messages in
response to the service request query.
As an example, one or more beacons disposed in a train station may
receive continuous updates on train schedule information such as
arrivals, departures and track changes. A traveler entering the
train station (and the operating ranges of the train station
beacons), will be able to obtain the stored train schedule
information by simply selecting the services access key 420 on the
user's mobile station. This will cause a service request to be
wirelessly communicated to a beacon disposed in relative close
proximity to the mobile station, whereupon available location-based
information will be transmitted to the requesting mobile station
for conveyance to the user, e.g., as a text or audio message, etc.
This is graphically shown in FIG. 5 embodying the invention.
In certain instances location based information may be stored in
beacons by category or topic to facilitate transmission to the
requesting mobile station. In the train station example discussed
above, for example, information may be categorized as schedule
information, traffic information (e.g., traffic in locations
proximate the train station) and weather information (e.g. weather
conditions surrounding the train station). When a local services
query is submitted by a requesting MS to a beacon, the beacon will
transmit the categories of information available (e.g. schedule,
traffic, weather) whereupon the user will select, using
functionality on the MS, the category of desired information. The
selected information will then be wirelessly transmitted (e.g., by
Bluetooth transmission) to the mobile station for review by the
mobile station user. As a further illustrative example, and with
reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B embodying the invention, the inventive
system may be used to obtain information pertaining to a cinema by
entering an operating range of a cinema beacon and requesting
information stored on the cinema beacon by depressing or selecting
the context key 420 on a user's phone P.sub.1. The stored content
is then transmitted to the phone such as by Bluetooth technology
and the user can then use the phone keypad (e.g., the scroll up and
down keys, etc.) to browse a category of the downloaded
information. In this manner movie schedules, selection, prices,
playing duration, etc. may be readily obtained.
In the event the mobile station desires location-based services
other than the services provided by the information beacon, or in
the event such information is unavailable from the beacon,
location-based services can also be requested using known mobile
phone communication techniques, such as short messaging, by
communicating with a remote server 500 (FIG. 5) such as an SMS
server via a short range message communication as is known in the
art. For example, after the mobile station has attempted, for a
period of time (e.g., 20 seconds, etc.) to access a beacon via
Bluetooth transmission, an attempt to contact the remote server
will occur automatically. To provide location based services that
are relevant to the geographic location of the mobile station user,
however, the position of the user must be known to the remote
server. This may be accomplished through known GPS location
identification techniques or, in the case of SMS, by including the
base station identity code (BSIC) of the base station currently in
contact with the mobile station and attaching the code with the
location based services short message request. This latter
technique is more fully described in U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 09/101,041, the entire content of which is incorporated by
reference. For privacy and security reasons, access to the BSIC
codes and/or the GPS location information should be restricted so
that the general location of particular mobile stations will not be
divulged.
With reference now to FIG. 7, the inventive location based
information method is performed according to one embodiment of the
invention by positioning a mobile station within an operating
broadcast region of an information beacon (step 7.1). This may be
accomplished, for example, when a mobile station user enters a
location serviced by the information beacon, e.g., an airport,
train station, shopping mall, etc. Once within the beacon operating
range, the mobile station service access key 420 is selected
whereupon a local wireless information request is transmitted by
the MS short range transceiver 404 to the beacon 14 (step 7.2). In
response to the request, the receiving information beacon will
transmit location based information relevant to the general
geographic position of the mobile station via a local wireless
transmission (e.g., Bluetooth) (step 7.3). The transmitted
information may be information categories (e.g. departure schedule
information, arrival schedule information, track information, etc.)
whereupon the receiving MS will be used to scroll through and
select the desired information category, for example, by using
function keys on the keypad 418 of the MS (step 7.4). The desired
information category will be selected and the information
pertaining to the selected category will be transmitted from the
beacon to the MS (step 7.6). Alternatively, all available
information may be downloaded and the recipient can then use a
terminal device keypad to browse through the information and review
the desired information categories. If the desired information
category is not located, an SMS or other transmitted request along
with an indication of the general geographic location of the MS can
be transmitted from the MS to a service provider server, e.g., an
SMS server (step 7.7). In response, the SMS server will transmit,
either directly or through a service provider server in
communication with the SMS server, one or more short messages
containing location service information relevant to the MS location
(step 7.8). In this manner, a user who is urgently seeking location
information services (such as train schedule information), can
simply select the services access key 420 as the user enters the
train station for receiving location based information.
Another possibility is using WAP communication techniques to
communicate with the remote server 500. This process is illustrated
in FIG. 8 according to one embodiment of the invention. After a
services access key is selected on the mobile station (step 8.1), a
determination is made as to whether the mobile station is within a
communication range of a beacon and/or whether such communication
is possible, i.e. within Bluetooth communication range (step 8.2).
If the answer to the query is "yes", the process goes to step 7.3
in FIG. 7 to commence Bluetooth communication (step 8.3).
In the event Bluetooth communication is not possible, such that the
answer to the query in step 8.2 is "no", the mobile station will
enter a remote server mode (step 8.4) to attempt to connect to a
mobile station network, e.g., GSM, SMS, etc. The user will then be
prompted on the mobile station to accept of reject the remote
server mode (step 8.5). If rejected, the process simply ends
without obtaining location information. If accepted, a remote
server will be contacted using any variety of techniques such as
GSM, SMS, GPRS or HSCSD (step 8.6). Thereafter, a list of available
service categories (e.g., shoe stores, grocery stores, restaurants,
etc.) is downloaded to the mobile station (step 8.7) whereupon the
user will select the desired category from the list (step 8.8) such
as via use of a scroll key or other selection function. After the
category is selected, information pertaining to the selected
category will be provided to the mobile station based on the
then-current location of the mobile station (step 8.9).
It should be appreciated that although only certain categories of
information have been discussed above, these categories are
exemplary. The invention can, likewise, provide location-dependent
information such as, but not limited to, advertisements for local
stores/services, providing maps, etc. It should also be appreciated
that the invention can result in revenue generation to a services
and/or content provider by assessing a mobile station user with a
subscriber or content based fee corresponding, for example, to the
services requested and/or the content or data transmitted to a
particular mobile station.
Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out
fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a
preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various
omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of
the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by
those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the
invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all
combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform
substantially the same function in substantially the same way to
achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention.
Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements
and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any
disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated
in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment
as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention,
therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the
claims appended hereto.
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