U.S. patent application number 12/708212 was filed with the patent office on 2010-07-22 for automated resersvation system with transfer of user-preferences from home to guest accomodations.
This patent application is currently assigned to KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V.. Invention is credited to Rik Sagar.
Application Number | 20100185470 12/708212 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25511630 |
Filed Date | 2010-07-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100185470 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sagar; Rik |
July 22, 2010 |
AUTOMATED RESERSVATION SYSTEM WITH TRANSFER OF USER-PREFERENCES
FROM HOME TO GUEST ACCOMODATIONS
Abstract
When a user reserves guest accommodations the user programmable
settings of the appliances of the user's home network are
transferred to the appliances of the guest accommodations. The
settings can be stored in a file on the user's computer system or
on an accessible external system such as the internet.
Alternatively, or in addition, when the user makes a reservation,
the home network can query appliances connected to the home network
to determine the user programmable settings of such appliances.
Inventors: |
Sagar; Rik; (Santa Clara,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PHILIPS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & STANDARDS
P.O. BOX 3001
BRIARCLIFF MANOR
NY
10510
US
|
Assignee: |
KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS
N.V.
Eindhoven
NL
|
Family ID: |
25511630 |
Appl. No.: |
12/708212 |
Filed: |
February 18, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09966613 |
Sep 27, 2001 |
7689446 |
|
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12708212 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/02 20130101;
H04L 12/2803 20130101; H04L 67/30 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/5 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/00 20060101
G06Q010/00 |
Claims
1-25. (canceled)
26. An automated reservation system for guest accommodations,
comprising: a home network including a database of customer
preferences including customer preferences for guest
accommodations; home appliances connected to the home network, the
home appliances having user programmable settings stored in the
home appliances; means for uploading the user programmable settings
for the home appliances from the home appliances to the home
network, the customer preferences including the uploaded user
programmable settings; means for communicating through a
communications network between the home network and a provider
network of an accommodations provider to reserve guest
accommodations, the communication including automatically
transmitting customer preferences, the customer preferences
including preferences for guest accommodations and the user
programmable settings for the home appliances, whereby the user
programmable settings for the home appliances are useable for
programming guest appliances connected to the provider network.
27. The system of claim 26, wherein the communications network
includes one or more of: a cable television network, a telephone
network, and the internet.
28. The system of claim 26, wherein one or more of the home
appliances are user programmable by using a remote control.
29. The system of claim 26, wherein the preferences for
accommodations comprise one or more of: the configuration of the
guest accommodations, appliances provided in the guest
accommodations, supplies provided in the guest accommodations, food
preferences, computer software and software setting preferences,
security code settings, a password for the room access,
environmental settings for the accommodations, the location of the
guest accommodations relative to guest facilities, access to guest
facilities, and the location of the guest accommodations relative
to guest accommodations of other guests.
30. The system of claim 26, comprising: reserving request means for
reserving guest accommodations; and wherein the communicating means
transmits the customer preferences depending on the use of the
reserving means.
31. The system of claim 26, comprising: reserving request means for
reserving guest accommodations; and wherein the uploading means
uploads the user programmable settings from the home appliances to
the home network depending on the use of the reserving means.
32. The system of claim 26 wherein the customer preference database
includes programmable settings for appliances that may be contained
in guest accommodations and that are not connected to the home
network.
33. The system of claim 26 in which the customer preference
database includes user programmable settings of devices connected
to the home network.
34. The system of claim 33 comprising: means for downloading user
programmable settings from the home network controller to the home
appliances.
35. An automated reservation system for guest accommodations,
comprising: a guest accommodation which can be automatically
reserved by the system and used by a customer for a period of time;
a provider network of a guest accommodations reservation provider
having a data base for guest preferences; means for communication
through a communication network between a home network of the
customer and the provider network for reserving the guest
accommodations for a period of use; preference reception means for
receiving customer preferences from a home network of the customer
to the data base for customer preferences of the provider network
through the communication network; and means for the provider
network to select the guest accommodations depending on the
customer preferences.
36. The system of claim 35, in which the communications network
includes one or more of: a cable television network, a telephone
network, and the internet.
37. The system of claim 35, comprising: guest appliances for the
guest accommodation, the guest appliances having user programmable
settings and wherein the provider network is connected with the
guest appliances, and wherein the received customer preferences
include user programmable settings of appliances of the customer;
means for the provider network to download user programmable
settings to the guest appliances of the guest accommodation
depending on the user programmable settings of the customer
preferences.
38. A method of obtaining reservations of guest accommodations,
comprising: programming user programmable settings into home
appliances; connecting the home appliances in a home network;
automatically uploading the user programmable settings of the home
appliances to the home network; storing user preferences for guest
accommodations in the home network; initiating the reservation of
guest accommodations of a provider of guest accommodations;
communicating through a communication network between the home
network and a provider network of the accommodation provider, the
communication including the automatic upload of user preferences
for guest accommodations and the user programmable settings of the
home appliances to the provider network.
39. A method of providing reservations of guest accommodations,
comprising: connecting guest appliances of guest accommodations to
a provider network of an accommodation provider; communicating
through a communication network between a home network and the
provider network, the communication including the automatic upload
of user preferences for guest accommodations and user programmable
settings of home appliances; selecting the guest accommodations
depending on the user preferences for guest accommodations;
downloading user settings to guest appliances of the selected guest
accommodations depending on the user programmable settings of home
appliances.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention herein is related to the fields of information
management and computer networking, and more specifically to the
transfer of user preferences between devices.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Many electronic consumer devices are user configurable so
that the device conforms with the preferences of the user. Examples
of such devices include speed dialing numbers on telephones,
settings of personal computer software, push button tuning on
radios, televisions and remote controls that operate such
devices.
[0003] Recently, some devices store user preferences for multiple
users of a device, so that when one of the users identified himself
to the device, then the device loads a configuration file for the
identified user.
[0004] Those skilled in the art are directed to U.S. Pat. No.
5,630,159 which describes methods for transferring user preferences
between consumer electronic devices.
[0005] The above citations are hereby incorporated herein in whole
by reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In the invention herein, an automated booking system for
guest accommodations is used by a customer to reserve guest
accommodations for the customer's use during a later period of
time. The guest accommodations may be, for example, a hotel room
with hotel facilities, a guest office with office facilities, a
rental car package, an airline seat package, a restaurant table
package, and a train seat package. The booking system transfers
preferences of the customer from a home network of the customer,
through an external network to the network of a provider of the
guest accommodations. The home network of the customer may be a
network of his residence or a network of his office. The external
network may include one or more of a telephone network, a cable
television network, an intranet, and the internet.
[0007] The preferences may include preferences entered by the
customer into a data base of the home network prior to initiating
the automated booking system. The preferences may also include
automatically generated preferences. For example, user programmable
settings of appliances connected to the customer's home network can
be automatically determined by the home network and loaded into the
data base before the time of transfer to the accommodations
provider network. It would also be convenient if appliances
connected to the home network had an option for uploading user
programmable settings to the data base of the home network, so
that, the user could easily control altering the settings of the
data base.
[0008] Alternatively, the user programmable settings of the
customer's appliances, connected to the home network, can be
determined from the appliances at the time of transferring the
settings from the customer's home network to the guest
accommodation provider's network. In a combination of these
methods, at the time of transmission, a data base of the home
network containing user programmable settings of appliances is
compared to the user programmable settings of the appliances
connected to the home network and the user is queried to accept
updates to the data base. It is contemplated that the preferences
for a guest suite in a hotel would include uploading user
programmable settings of multiple consumer electronic devices.
[0009] The customer may alter his preferences including the user
programmable settings of the appliances in the guest accommodations
after the period of use begins. Preferably, the system accommodates
the transfer the updated preferences back from the guest
accommodations through the external network to the data base of his
home network for updating the settings of the appliances connected
to his home network and/or for use during his next stay at guest
accommodations.
[0010] At the time of booking, the customer's preferences are
transferred from his home network and loaded into a data base of
the accommodations provider and later accessed when the period of
the customer's use commences. When the customer's preferences
include user programmable settings of appliances, the user
programmable settings are transferred from the data base of the
provider's network into appliances of the guest accommodations so
that the appliances are programmed with the user programmable
settings of the customer. For appliances in the guest
accommodations that are essentially the same as those of the
customers home, the user preferences may merely be downloaded, for
appliances that are only similar, an automatic conversion process
will convert the user preferences of one device into user
preferences of the similar device. When an appliance in the guest
accommodations is substantially different than any in the
customer's home network then a more complex conversion will be
required. In this case the user preferences for several devices in
the customer's home network may be used in combination to develop
user preferences for the substantially different appliance.
[0011] The customer preferences may include preferences regarding
the configuration of the guest accommodations such as size,
arrangement, equipment, furnishings, sleeping accommodations or
bathroom accommodations of the guest accommodations. The customer
preferences may include the location of the guest accommodations
with respect to other facilities of the guest accommodations or the
locations of accommodations of other guests, such as, the floor on
which a hotel room is located or the distance from the room to a
guest swimming pool, or the position of a reserved seat on an
airplane. The customer preferences may include service preferences
such as airline snacks and meals, hotel breakfast preferences,
brand of coffee or tea in a hotel room, or a preselection of a meal
in a restaurant. For a hotel room, the preferences may include the
contents of self-service food and drink bar in the room. For a
guest office or a hotel room on a business trip, customer
preferences may include preferred configuration of a personal
computer, names of reference books, access to conference rooms,
equipment for presentations such as projectors.
[0012] The user programmable settings may include speed dial
settings of a telephone, fax machine, or speed dialer of a computer
system. The user programmable settings may include environmental
settings for environmental control systems such as temperature,
humidity, and light level settings that may vary with the time of
day or day of the week. The user programmable settings may include
a channel map for translating between sources of video content and
means for selecting between video content. This would allow, for
example, setting the remote control of a hotel room so that the
discovery channel was channel 4, and the weather channel was
channel 6--the same as in the home network. Audio channel
selections of an audio system of the guest accommodations could
similarly be made to conform with the audio system of the
customer's home network, so that for example, the same buttons on a
remote control or on the face of the audio system in the guest
accommodations, selected the same audio content (or at least
similar audio content) as the customer's home network.
[0013] The user preference may include the software to be loaded on
a personal computer or set-top-box of the guest accommodations to
match the configuration of a computer in the customer's home. In
addition, the user programmable settings of such software would
match those on the customers home. Thus, the customer would be able
to use the computer in the same way in guest accommodations as he
used his computer in his home. The preferences may include
preferences regarding settings of a security system, such as, a
security code of a room alarm system and response to various
sensors, such as, sound an alarm, activate a camera, or
automatically call the front desk.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates the overall layout of an example
automated reservation system of the invention with home network and
guest accommodations network connected by an external network.
[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment of the external
network of the system of FIG. 1.
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the home network of the
system of FIG. 1 with consumer appliances connected to a home
communication network.
[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the guest accommodations
network of the system of FIG. 1 with consumer appliances connected
to the invention with a home network and a guest accommodations
network interconnected by a guest communication network.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS INCLUDING BEST
MODE
[0018] FIG. 1 shows a specific example of the invention in which a
home network system 100 and a guest accommodations network system
101 are interconnected by an external network 102. Herein, a home
network may be a system in the user's home, place of work, vehicle
or community that interconnects various consumer appliances.
Similarly, the guest network may be a system in guest
accommodations such as a hotel room, guest office, airline seat,
train cabin, rental vehicle, or other guest accommodations.
[0019] FIG. 2 shows portions of an example external network 102 of
FIG. 1. The external network may include a telephone network 103
with switches 104, 105 for routing data communication and/or may
include a broadband network 106 with head ends 107,108 for video
data transmission (such as a cable television network). The
external communication may also include an intranet and/or internet
network 109 with servers 110, 111 for data communication. Various
external networks for data communication are known in the art and
can be utilized in the invention herein. Herein, data communication
includes digital voice communication and computer data
communication.
[0020] The external network is connected to the home network
through customer interface units 115, 116 and connected to the
guest accommodations network through customer interfaces 117,
118.
[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates portions of the example home network 100
of FIG. 1. The home network includes multiple consumer electronic
appliances connected to a home communications network 120. The
connection may be by wiring, infrared, radio, or any other network
media. The connected appliances may include, for example, a phone
121, with user programmed speed dial numbers, loudness settings,
telephone credit card numbers, pin numbers and other passwords.
[0022] Home entertainment appliances may be connected to the home
network to provide increased functionality and convenience. For
example, television 122 may be connected to network 120 through
set-top-box 123 as shown, or may be directly connected to network
120 without using a set-top-box, or the set-top-box and television
may both be connected directly to the home network, and communicate
through the network. Television 122 may have user defined buttons
on the front panel of the television. Of course user programmable
buttons may be on any surface of a electronic consumer appliance.
The user can program the television to select user specified
channels by pushing one or more of the user defined buttons on the
front panel. Similarly, the television can be programmed to set the
volume at a preselected volume level by just pressing another user
defined button or combination of user defined buttons. Similarly,
set-top-box 123 may be programmable so that user definable buttons
on the front panel of the set-top-box select predefined user
specified television channels or predefined user specified volume
levels when the user presses one or more of the user defined
buttons. Stereo 124 may be connected to the home communication
network 120. The stereo may have user defined buttons on a front
panel and be programmable so that a combination of one of more of
the user defined buttons sets the stereo to receive in a predefined
user specified frequency band (e.g. AM or FM) or to receive at a
predefined user specified frequency or to set the state of a built
in audio player (CD, DVD, cassette).
[0023] Environmental control system (ECS) 125 may be connected to
the home communications network. The ECS controls heating system
126, air conditioning system 127, humidifier 128, and lighting
system 129 within the home, office, or vehicle of the user. The
system includes sensors for temperature, humidity, light levels and
a clock. The ECS can be programmed to provide desired levels of
temperature, humidity, and light depending on the time of day and
the external environmental conditions.
[0024] Food and beverage equipment such as coffee or tea machine
131 may be connected to the home network and set to produce food at
predetermined times. A refrigerator 132 may be connected to the
home communication network and set to predetermined temperatures
depending on the time of day or the contents of the refrigerator.
The system can monitor the proper operation of the refrigerator and
to keep an inventory of its contents so that as consumables are
used they can be automatically ordered. Similarly, pantry system
133 can be connected to the home network to detect the consumption
of supplies and automatically order replacements as the supplies
are used.
[0025] Additional communication equipment such as a facsimile
machine 134 may be connected to the home communication system for
sending and receiving information. A security system 135 is
attached to the home network to deter unauthorized entry and to
warn the owner of such entry or the presence of fire or poisonous
gases in the home.
[0026] A remote control 140 may be provided with infrared
transmitter 141 to communicate with the equipment connected to the
home network. The remote control can directly communicate with
integral infrared receivers commonly provided with home appliances
such as the set-top-box, television, stereo, ECS or security
system. The home network may also allow remote control signals
received by one appliance to be passed to another appliance to
which it is addressed. Also, a separate infrared receiver 142 can
be connected directly to the home communications network. The
commands received by the separate infrared receiver 142 are
transmitted to the applicable appliance or appliances.
[0027] The home network also includes a controller 150 to control
the home network and for operating an automated reservation request
portion of the automated booking system. The home controller may be
a separate unit as shown or it may be included in one or more of
the other home appliances such as the set-top-box. The controller
includes a memory 151 containing a data base 152 for storing user
preferences. The user preferences include programmed settings 153
of appliances connected to the home network. The controller also
includes programming modules such as module 154 to provide the
automated reservation request portion and module 155 for storing
and retrieving information from the data base. The program modules
control CPU 156 for processing information and to control
input/output processors 157-160 to communicate with the home
network communications network and computer peripherals such as
keyboard 161, pointer device 162 and display 163.
[0028] Preferably, the controller can communicate with the
appliances connected to the home network to determine the user
programmable settings of the appliances either when an appliance is
programmed or when an automated reservation is made. Generally,
programmable consumer appliances have some type of menu interface
that allows the user to directly program the appliance. Preferably,
the home appliances may be programmed with user preferences through
the home network connection. It may be more convenient to enter the
user programmable settings of the consumer appliances through the
controller because the user interface of the controller could be
better (keyboard, mouse, large display) or more consistent than the
interfaces of the consumer appliances. Thus, the controller can be
used to set user programmable settings of the appliances, for
example, when one of the appliances is replaced by a similar
appliance or a new appliance is added. This allows user preferences
to be transferred to the replacement appliance even if the replaced
appliance no longer functions.
[0029] The home computer is also one of the appliances connected to
the network which has user definable settings. These settings may
include which programs that reside on the computer for the user's
work or entertainment. The user's programs also include user
programmable settings. The programs and their settings may be
treated in a similar manner to other user programmable settings of
the home network.
[0030] FIG. 4 illustrates portions of the example guest
accommodations network 103 of FIG. 1. The guest accommodations
network includes multiple consumer electronic appliances connected
to a guest accommodations communications network 202. The
connection may be by wiring, infrared, radio, or any other network
media.
[0031] The guest accommodations network has two basic portions.
First there is the guest portion 204 which the guest has exclusive
use of. This portion may be similar to the home network of the
guest. Second there is the accommodater portion 206. Some
appliances of the accommodater portion may be used exclusively by
the accommodations provider and other portions may be shared by
multiple guests.
[0032] The appliances connected to the guest portion of the network
may include, for example, a phone 221, with guest programmed speed
dial numbers, loudness settings, telephone credit card numbers, pin
numbers and other passwords. Home entertainment appliances may be
connected to the guest portion to provide increased functionality
and convenience. For example, television 222 may be connected to
network 202 through set-top-box 223 as shown, or may be directly
connected to network 202 without using a set-top-box, or the
set-top-box and television may both be connected directly to the
guest portion, and communicate through the network. Television 222
may have guest defined buttons on the front panel of the
television. Of course guest programmable buttons may be on any
surfaces of the connected electronic consumer appliances. The guest
can program the television to select guest specified channels by
pushing one or more of the guest defined buttons on the front
panel. Similarly, the television can be programmed to set the
volume at a preselected volume level by just pressing another guest
defined button or combination of guest defined buttons. Similarly,
set-top-box 223 may be programmable so that guest definable buttons
on the front panel of the set-top-box select predefined guest
specified television channels or predefined guest specified volume
levels when the guest presses one or more of the guest defined
buttons. Stereo 224 may be connected to network 202. The stereo may
have guest defined buttons on a front panel and be programmable so
that a combination of one of more of the guest defined buttons sets
the stereo to receive in a predefined guest specified frequency
band (e.g. AM or FM) or to receive at a predefined guest specified
frequency or to set the state of a built in audio player (CD, DVD,
cassette).
[0033] Environmental control system (ECS) 225 in the guest portion,
may be connected to network 202. The ECS controls heating system
226, air conditioning system 227, humidifier 228, and lighting
system 229 within the hotel room, guest office, airline seat, train
cabin, rental vehicle or other accommodation space of the guest.
The ECS system includes sensors for temperature, humidity, light
levels and a clock. The ECS can be programmed to provide desired
levels of temperature, humidity, and light depending on the time of
day and the external environmental conditions.
[0034] Food and beverage equipment such as coffee or tea machine
231 may be connected to the guest portion of the guest
accommodations network and set to produce food at predetermined
times. A refrigerator 232 may be connected to network 202 and set
to predetermined temperatures depending on the time of day or the
contents of the refrigerator. The system can monitor the proper
operation of the refrigerator and to keep an inventory of its
contents so that as consumables are used they can be automatically
ordered. Similarly, pantry system 233 can be connected to the guest
portion to detect the consumption of supplies and automatically
order replacements as the supplies are used.
[0035] Additional communication equipment such as a facsimile
machine 234 may be connected to network 202 for sending and
receiving information. A security system 235 is attached to the
guest portion of the guest accommodations network 101 to deter
unauthorized entry and to warn the owner of such entry or the
presence of fire or poisonous gases in the guest
accommodations.
[0036] A remote control 240 may be provided with infrared
transmitter 241 to communicate with the equipment connected to the
guest portion. The remote control can directly communicate with
integral infrared receivers commonly provided with appliances such
as the set-top-box, television, stereo, ECS or security system. The
guest portion may also allow remote control signals received by one
appliance to be passed to another appliance to which it is
addressed. Also, a separate infrared receiver 242 can be connected
directly to communications network 202. The commands received by
the separate infrared receiver 242 are transmitted to the
applicable appliance or appliances.
[0037] The guest accommodations may also includes a computer 250
for the guest's work or entertainment. The programs that are loaded
on the computer are considered guest programmable settings along
with the preferred settings of each of the programs. It may be more
convenient to enter the guest programmable settings of the consumer
appliances through the computer because the guest interface of the
computer could be better (keyboard 261, mouse 262, large display
263) or more consistent than the interfaces of the individual
consumer appliances. Thus, the computer can be used by the guest to
set programmable settings of the appliances in the guest
accommodations.
[0038] The user preferences for the guest portion may also include
other aspects of the guest accommodations in addition to user
programmable settings. For example, for a hotel room, the
preferences may include the number or size of beds in a hotel room
or the location of a hotel room. For an airline seat, the
preferences may include the position of the seat or the choice of
meals.
[0039] The appliances connected to the accommodater portion 206 may
include any type of appliance connected to the guest portion 204.
Preferably, the appliances connected to the accommodater portion
include at least communications equipment such as a telephone 291
and a facsimile machine 292 for accepting reservations from
potential guests.
[0040] The accommodater portion also preferably includes an
accommodation controller 300 to control the guest accommodations
network and to provide an automatic reservation accepting portion
of the automated booking system. The accommodation controller may
be a separate unit as shown or it may be included in one or more of
the other appliances of the accommodater portion 206. The
controller includes a memory 301 containing a data base 302 for
storing guest preferences. The guest preferences include programmed
settings 303 of appliances connected to the guest portion 204 of
the guest accommodations network 101. The accommodation controller
also includes programming modules such as module 304 to provide an
automatic reservation accepting system and module 305 for storing
and retrieving information from the data base. The program modules
control CPU 306 for processing information and to control
input/output processors 307-310 to communicate with the
communications network 202 and to communicate with computer
peripherals such as keyboard 311, pointer device 312 and display
313.
[0041] Prior to arrival of the guest in the guest accommodations,
user preferences are transferred to the accommodation controller.
The accommodations controller can communicate with the appliances
connected to the guest portion 204 of the guest accommodations
network 101 in order to initially set the guest programmable
settings of the appliances when the occupation of the guest
accommodations by the guest begins.
[0042] Generally, programmable consumer appliances in guest
accommodations have some type of menu interface that allows the
guest to directly modify the programmable settings of the
appliances in the guest portion so that the guest can change the
settings if desired. These modifications may be transmitted to the
home network and be incorporated in the settings of the appliances
of the home network. The transfer may in some cases be immediate
and in other cases the transfer may occur later. For example, when
the user enters a new speed dial number into a telephone or fax
machine in the guest accommodation, then the number may be
immediately transmitted to a similar appliance connected to his
home network. On the other hand, other modifications to settings
such as changes to the environmental system may result in transfer
only at the end of the reservation period and may only be changed
in the home network after confirmation by the guest.
[0043] The invention has been disclosed with reference to specific
preferred embodiments, to enable those skilled in the art to make
and use the invention, and to describe the best mode contemplated
for carrying out the invention. Those skilled in the art may modify
or add to these embodiments or provide other embodiments without
departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, the scope of the
invention is only limited by the following claims:
* * * * *