Notification service on transportation network

• US 20040036611A1
• Filed: 03/30/2001
• Published: 02/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Warnes, Andrew David, Buil, Vincentius Paulus, Andrews, Anton O., Kidney, Nancy G.
• Application Number:
  US09/823,541
• Publication Number:
  US 20040036611A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968

Abstract

A geographic region has a network of beacons. Each beacon transmits a short-range facilitation signal for receipt on a user'"'"'s mobile communication device. The facilitation signal initiates associating the facilitation signal with a service and conditionally alerts the user to the service via the device dependent on a user profile. The user-profile and the association between facilitation signal and service are user-programmable.

Claims

1. A method of enabling a user of a mobile communication device to receive a short-range wireless facilitation signal for initiating associating the facilitation signal with a service and for conditionally alerting the user to the service via the device dependent on a user-profile.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user-profile is user-programmable.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the associating is user-programmable.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the alerting comprises generating a text message on a display of the device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the device stores the text message for retrieval later on.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the alerting comprises generating an audible signal.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the facilitation signal comprises information for being processed under control of the user-profile.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating the facilitation signal uses a Bluetooth protocol.

9. A method of enabling to exploit a short-range wireless facilitation signal for initiating associating the facilitation signal with a service upon receipt of the signal by a mobile communication device of an end-user.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a time slot of the facilitation signal comprises data semantically interpretable by the device for conditionally alerting the end-user depending on a user-profile.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the enabling comprises providing the mobile communication device to an end-user and wherein the associating is at least partly pre-programmed.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the enabling comprises providing a beacon for sending the facilitation signal.

13. A mobile communication device capable of receiving a short-range wireless facilitation signal for initiating associating the facilitation signal with a service and for conditionally alerting the user to the service via the device and dependent on a user profile.

14. The device of claim 13, comprising a memory for storing the user-profile.

15. The device of claim 14, comprising an SIM card.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein the memory is at least partly user-programmable.

17. The device of claim 13, comprising a memory for associating the signal with a service.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the memory is at least partly user-programmable.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the memory is pre-programmed.

20. The device of claim 13, capable of receiving a Bluetooth signal.

21. A CE apparatus for processing content information, wherein the apparatus is capable of generating a short-range facilitation signal, contextually related to the content information, for receipt by a mobile communication device.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the facilitation signal initiates associating the facilitation signal with a service and enables conditionally alerting the user to the service via the device dependent on a user profile.

22-1. Data accompanying content information being processed, the data enables to create a facilitation signal contextually related to the content information for enabling to conditionally alert a user of a mobile communication device to a service via the device and dependent on a user profile