Service providing system, portable terminal and control computer program product

• US 20060138224A1
• Filed: 12/08/2005
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Toshiyuki, Inamura, Hiroshi, Nakayama, Takehiro, Takeshita, Atsushi, Etoh, Minoru, Yukitomo, Hideki, Azami, Toshihiro
• Application Number:
  US11/296,322
• Publication Number:
  US 20060138224A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/385
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/346 Cards serving only as information carrier of service
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2011/02 related to amusement parks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/30 Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A service providing system provides a portable terminal having a wireless communication function with a service effective only in a specific area. The service providing system includes an entrance gate installed at an entrance of the specific area. The entrance gate includes specific area service notifying unit configured to notify the portable terminal of a type of service necessary in the specific area by means of wireless communication.

Claims

1. A service providing system for providing a portable terminal having a wireless communication function with a service effective only in a specific area, comprising:

an entrance gate, installed at an entrance of the specific area, includes specific area service notifying unit configured to notify the portable terminal of a type of service necessary in the specific area by means of wireless communication.

2. The service providing system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an exit gate, installed at an exit of the specific area, includes service deletion notifying unit configured to notify the portable terminal of a type of service to be deleted by means of wireless communication.

5. The service providing system according to one of claims 1, 2, 3, and 4,

wherein the entrance gate or the exit gate further includes identification number detecting unit configured to detect an identification number from the portable terminal having the wireless communication function for wirelessly communicating with the gates, and server notifying unit configured to notify server unit of the identification number detected by the identification number detecting unit, and

the service providing system further comprising:

the server unit configured to provide the portable terminal with the service necessary in the specific area; and

terminal connecting unit configured to transmit the service from the server unit to the portable terminal.

6. The service providing system according to claim 5,

wherein the server unit selects a service to be transmitted to the portable terminal or decide a startup parameter based upon the identification number detected by the identification number detecting unit, and provides the portable terminal with the service.

3. A service providing system for providing a portable terminal having a wireless communication function with a service effective only in a specific area, comprising:

an entrance gate, installed at an entrance of the specific area, includes enable notifying unit configured to notify the portable terminal of an enable signal by means of wireless communication, the enable signal making a service pre-stored in the portable terminal and necessary in the specific area available.

4. The service providing system according to claim 3, further comprising:

an exit gate, installed at an exit of the specific area, includes disable notifying unit configured to notify the portable terminal of a disable signal by means of wireless communication, the disable signal disabling the service pre-stored in the portable terminal and necessary in the specific area.

7. A portable terminal including connecting unit to a communication network and application executing unit, comprising:

a gate signal detecting unit configured to detect a signal transmitted from an entrance gate installed at an entrance of a specific area by means of wireless communication;

specific area service determining unit configured to determine from the transmitted signal that a specific service is now necessary; and

specific area service downloading unit configured to download the service by wire or wirelessly based upon a result of determination made by the specific area service determining unit.

8. The portable terminal according to claim 7, wherein the gate signal detecting unit detects a signal transmitted by an exit gate installed at an exit of the specific area by means of wireless communication,

the specific area service determining unit determines from the signal transmitted from the exit gate that a specific service is to be deleted, and

the portable terminal further comprising specific area service deleting unit configured to delete the service based upon a result of determination made by the specific area service determining unit.

9. The portable terminal according to claim 8,

wherein the specific area service deleting unit activates a timer when an effective period for the service is notified and deletes the service upon timer time out, or, when expiry time for the service is notified, stores the expiry time and deletes the service once a clock in the portable terminal reaches the stored time.

10. The portable terminal according to one of claims 7, 8, and 9, further comprising:

specific area service controlling unit configured to store effective time for the service when such effective time is notified, make the service unavailable, and when the clock in the portable terminal reaches the stored time make the service available.

11. The portable terminal according to one of claims 7, 8, and 9,

wherein the gate signal detecting unit operates by using a dedicated power supply or using energy of electric waves transmitted from the gate as a power supply even if a power supply of the terminal is off, and stores a type of the gate through which the terminal has passed, a type of service required in the specific area or a type of service to be deleted.

12. The portable terminal according to claim 11,

wherein the specific area service determining unit determines whether the type of gate through which the terminal has passed, the type of service necessary in the specific area, or the type of service to be deleted is stored, when the power supply of the portable terminal is turned on, and

the specific area service downloading unit downloads the service by wire or wirelessly based upon a result of determination made by the specific area service determining unit, or

the specific area service deleting unit deletes the service based upon a result of determination made by the specific area service determining unit.

13. The portable terminal according to claim 8, further comprising:

positioning unit configured to measure a geographic position,

wherein the specific area service deleting unit deletes the service, in a case where a geographic area is notified, once a position of the terminal is away from the stored geographic area based upon a positioning result by the positioning unit.

14. The portable terminal according to claim 8, further comprising:

a position determining unit configured to obtain information of an identifier or a geographic position of a wireless base station which communicates with the portable terminal,

wherein the specific area service deleting unit deletes the service once the position of the portable terminal is away from the geographic area based upon a result of determination made by the position determining unit.

15. A portable terminal including connecting unit with a communication network and application executing unit, comprising:

enable signal detecting unit configured to detect an enable signal transmitted by means of wireless communication from an entrance gate installed at an entrance of a specific area;

specific area service determining unit configured to determine from the enable signal that a specific service is now necessary; and

specific area service enabling unit configured to make the service available based upon a result of determination made by the specific area service determining unit.

16. The portable terminal according to claim 15, further comprising:

disable signal detecting unit configured to detect a disable signal transmitted by means of wireless communication from an exit gate installed at an exit of the specific area,

wherein the specific area service determining unit determines from the disable signal that a specific service is no longer necessary, and

the portable terminal further comprising specific area service disabling-unit for disabling the service based upon a result of determination made by the specific area service determining unit.

17. The portable terminal according to claim 7 or 15, further comprising:

preliminary access unit configured to perform an operation to be carried out towards a system before entering the specific area,

wherein a service necessary in the specific area is notified via equipment on the system side or a network using a network connection function of the portable terminal when the preliminary access unit makes an access to the system, and

the specific area service downloading unit downloads the service by wire or wirelessly.

18. The portable terminal according to claim 15, wherein the enable signal detecting unit detects a partial enable signal notified from the entrance gate, the specific area service determining unit determines from the partial enable signal that a part of a specific service is now necessary, and

the specific area service enabling unit makes a part of the service available based upon a result of determination made by the specific area service determining unit.

19. The portable terminal according to claim 15,

wherein the disable signal detecting unit detects a partial disable signal notified by the exit gate,

the specific area service determining unit determines from the partial disable signal that a part of a specific service is no longer necessary, and

the specific area service disabling unit disables a part of the service based upon a result of determination made by the specific area service determining unit.

20. The portable terminal according to claim 7 or 15,

wherein the gate signal detecting unit, the enable signal detecting unit, or the disable signal detecting unit is provided with a function of notifying the entrance gate or the exit gate of an identification number of the portable terminal.

21. A control computer program product to be executed by a portable terminal, comprising:

instructions configured to detect a signal transmitted by means of wireless communication from an entrance gate installed at an entrance of a specific area to a portable terminal having connecting unit to a communication network and application executing unit;

instructions configured to determine from the transmitted signal that a specific service is now necessary; and

instructions configured to download the service by wire or wirelessly based upon a result of determination made at the step of determining that the specific service is now necessary.