Service delivery method and system

• US 20020028671A1
• Filed: 06/15/2001
• Published: 03/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Iʼ Anson, Colin, Thomas, Andrew, Wilcock, Lawrence, McDonnell, James Thomas Edward, Hawkes, Rycharde Jeffery
• Granted Patent: US 7,715,542 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A user (70) is pre-qualified for a service to be provided at a particular location. A service instance element (76) is stored as is location data (74) indicative of where the service is to be triggered. The service instance element (76) may be a full customized instance of the service delivery code or other item that provides an association between the user and an instance of the service for which the user has been qualified. Thereafter, the location of the user (70), as indicated by a mobile entity associated with the user, is periodically checked against the location data (74) and when a location match is indicated, the service instance (76) for which the user has been qualified is executed to deliver the required service to the user (70). An example is of an airline traveller buying an air ticket from a travel agent, the ticket having an associated service by which, upon the traveller arriving at the relevant airport, the traveller is contacted via his/her mobile device and guided through the check-in and boarding processes.

Claims

1. A service delivery method comprising the steps of:

qualifying a user as authorised to benefit from an instance of a particular service, and storing;

location data indicative of at least one location where service delivery is to be triggered, and

a service instance element that associates the user and the service instance for which the user has been qualified; and

subsequently detecting a location match between the location of the user, as indicated by a mobile entity associated with the user, and a location indicated by said location data, and thereupon initiating delivery to the user of the service instance associated with the user by the service instance element.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the service instance element is associated with the user by a user identifier included in the element, and with the service instance by either comprising code for implementing the instance or including a reference to such code, the user'"'"'s mobile entity directly or indirectly supplying this user identifier for service delivery to be effected.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the service instance element is associated with the user by a service-instance identifier known to the user or the user'"'"'s mobile entity, the service instance element either comprising code for implementing the service instance or including a reference to such code, the user'"'"'s mobile entity directly or indirectly supplying this service-instance identifier for service delivery to be effected.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the service instance element is stored in a service provider system with which the user'"'"'s mobile entity can communicate through a communications infrastructure, and wherein the location data is stored in one of:

a location server of the communications infrastructure,

the mobile entity,

the service provider system,

where it is compared against the current location of the mobile entity as provided by one of;

a location server associated with the communications infrastructure,

location discovery means of the mobile entity;

in order to detect a said location match;

the detection of a location match causing the service provider system to identify the service instance to be delivered by matching a said identifier provided directly or indirectly by the user'"'"'s mobile entity with said service instance element.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the service instance element associates the user and service instance by virtue of the service instance element being stored in the user'"'"'s mobile entity and either comprising code for implementing the service instance or including a reference to such code.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the service instance element is a token which upon the user'"'"'s mobile entity determining or being informed of a said location match, is passed by the mobile entity over a communications infrastructure to a service provider system where it is used to initiate service provision to the user.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the token includes user identity data and is digitally-signed by the party that carried out the qualification step whereby the service provider system can check the authenticity of the data in the token, the user mobile entity having an associated public-key/private-key pair and being required by the service provider system to authenticate its identity by using its private key to sign and return data proposed by the service provider system.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the service instance element includes customisation data customising a generic service to said service instance.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein service delivery is conditional upon the user inputting a personal identification code.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein service delivery only continues whilst the user'"'"'s current location matches with a location indicated by the location data.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein once initiated, service delivery is continued until completion.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the service instance modifies the location data as part of service delivery.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the location data is indicative of multiple locations.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein multiple service instance elements associated with different service instances to be delivered to the same user, are stored in a common repository.

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein the service instance element is passed by the party that carries out the qualification step to the user or to a third-party, the service instance element being digitally signed by the party that carries out the qualification step whereby to enable an eventual service deliverer to check the origin and authenticity of the service instance element.

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the current user location is provided by a trusted location service provider and is digitally-signed by the latter.

17. A method according to claim 1, wherein said service instance element specifies a particular number of times (including only once) that the associated service instance can be run.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein the location description repository is incorporated in said mobile entity associated with the user.

20. A system according to claim 18, wherein the service-instance-element repository is incorporated in said mobile entity associated with the user.

21. A system according to claim 20, wherein the service execution environment is incorporated in said mobile entity associated with the user, the service instance element taking the form of service instance code to be run in the execution environment.

22. A system according to claim 20, wherein the mobile entity and service execution environment can inter-communicate via a wireless infrastructure at least when the mobile entity is positioned to give rise to a location match, the service instance element taking the form of a service token which the mobile entity is operative to pass to the execution environment upon occurrence of a said location match in order to trigger execution of the service instance.

18. A service delivery system comprising:

a location description repository for storing location data;

a service-instance-element repository for storing at least one service instance elements;

a qualification subsystem for determining whether a user qualifies to benefit from an instance of a particular service, the qualification subsystem being operative, upon determining that a user is so qualified, both to store in the location repository location data indicative of at least one location where service delivery is to be triggered, and also to store in the service-instance-element repository a service instance element that associates the user and the service instance for which the user has been qualified;

a service execution environment for executing service instances;

a location match subsystem for detecting a location match between the location of the user, as indicated by a mobile entity associated with the user, and a location indicated by said location data; and

a control arrangement responsive to the location subsystem detecting a said location match to initiate execution of the service instance associated with the user by the service instance element.