Environment Customization Based On Location

• US 20110138024A1
• Filed: 02/17/2011
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sayko, Robert, Chen, Jennifer H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,204,795 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/20 Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A user'"'"'s location is automatically transmitted to a network, and the network automatically customizes one or more environments, such as by customizing communication devices, other types of devices, or the like, based on the detected location and on profile information. Customizing an environment may include enabling services, such as setting up a public telephone or hotel telephone with a user'"'"'s home base telephone settings and/or services, and/or may include disabling functions, such as disabling long-distance service when the user is away from home.

Claims

1. A customization system comprising:

a network interface; and

a controller coupled to the network interface, the controller receiving location information from a user, and customizing an environment based on the location information and a profile.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller extracts a user identification from the location information, retrieves the profile based on the user identification, extracts a current location from the location information, and generates customization information based on the profile and the current location.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller extracts a reference location from the profile, generates a list of environments to customize based on the reference location and the current location, and retrieves a list of customizable devices corresponding to each of the environments in the first list.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the controller retrieves customization logic from the profile, and executes the customization logic to generate the list of environments.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the customization logic comprises:

a table listing of environments that are to be customized based on a difference between the current location and the reference location; and

an expression of a logical function of status parameters in the profile, the current location and the reference location.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller extracts customization commands from the profile, retrieves configuration data from sources specified in the customization commands, and maps the configuration data to customizable devices in the list of customizable devices.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the sources specified in the customization commands comprise an already customized environment and a database of configuration data for particular customizable devices.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller matches portions of the configuration data with customizable devices in the list of customizable devices for the environments in the list of environments, collects configuration data for the customizable devices in the list of customizable devices for the environments in the list of environments, and integrates the collected configuration data for the customizable devices.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller identifies a network address for the customizable devices, and sets, via a network, the customizable devices to operate in a manner consistent with corresponding configuration data.

10. The system of claim 3, wherein the customizable devices include communication devices.

11. An environment customization method comprising:

establishing a reference location where a customizable device is located;

acquiring a configuration for the customizable device;

storing the configuration for the customizable device located at the reference location with an associated identification as a stored configuration;

at a location other than the reference location, retrieving the stored configuration for the customizable device located at the reference location over a network; and

configuring an additional customizable device at the location other than the reference location with the stored configuration.

12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising:

acquiring a configuration for the additional customizable device; and

storing the configuration for the additional customizable device located at the location other than the reference location with another associated identification.

13. The method according to claim 11 further comprising configuring the customizable device with a configuration that is different than the configuration at the reference location.

14. The method according to claim 11 wherein establishing the reference location is determined using a global position system.

15. The method according to claim 13 wherein storing the configuration for the customizable device located at the reference location includes tabulating a reference location identification, a location description, a customizable device type, available functions of the customizable device, and settings for the customizable device.

16. The method according to claim 15 further comprising associating the reference location identification, the location description, the customizable device type, the available functions of the customizable device, and settings for the customizable device with a user identification and creating a profile for a user associated with the user identification.

17. The method according to claim 13 wherein the location other than the reference location is a pre-defined distance from the reference location.

18. The method according to claim 13 wherein the reference location is a zone.

19. The method according to claim 18 wherein the zone is a network connection.

20. The method according to claim 18 wherein the zone is a geographic region.