SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ASSOCIATING DEVICES MOVING ALONG THE SAME TRAVEL PATH

• US 20140038640A1
• Filed: 04/13/2012
• Published: 02/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bridgestone Mobility Solutions BV (Bridgestone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TomTom Telematics BV (Bridgestone Corporation)
• Inventors: Wesselius, Kees, Gols, Sander
• Granted Patent: US 9,689,698 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

A method of temporarily associating a first mobile device 22 with a second mobile device 200, by processing positional data relating to the position and movement of a plurality of mobile devices with respect to time in a geographical region. The positional data is process to determine if a first mobile device 22, such as one carried by a user, is moving concurrently with a second mobile device 200, such as one associated with a vehicle 14, along substantially the same travel path. When such a determination is made, a temporary association is created between the first mobile device 22 and the second mobile device 200, e.g. at a server 10 to allow for data to be exchanged between the two devices.

Claims

1. A method of temporarily associating a first mobile device and a second mobile device, the method comprising:

receiving positional data relating to position and movement of a plurality of mobile devices with respect to time in a geographical region;

processing the received positional data to determine if a first mobile device is moving concurrently with a second mobile device along substantially the same travel path; and

creating, when such a determination is made, a temporary association between the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of mobile devices each comprise location determining means, optionally a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mobile device is associated with a user, and the second mobile device is associated with a vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of determining if a first mobile device is moving concurrently with a second mobile device along substantially the same travel path comprises determining whether the user is being transported in the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing the received positional occurs following a user request on the first mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining if a first mobile device is moving concurrently with a second mobile device along substantially the same travel path comprises identifying those mobile devices of the plurality of mobile devices that are within a predetermined distance of the first mobile device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of determining if a first mobile device is moving concurrently with a second mobile device along substantially the same travel path further comprises comparing the positional data received from the first mobile device with the positional data received from the mobile devices identified as being within a predetermined distance of the first mobile device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of comparing the received positional data comprises comparing the variation in one or more of the:

position;

speed;

acceleration;

jerk;

movement direction; and

sequence of consecutive manoeuvres, of the mobile devices over a predetermined period of time.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of candidate mobile devices are determined to be moving concurrently with the first device along substantially the same travel path, the method further comprising:

transmitting one or more identifiers associated with each of the candidate mobile devices to the first mobile device for display thereon; and

receiving a selection at the first mobile device of one of the candidate mobile devices, said temporary association being created between the first mobile device and the selected candidate mobile device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein a confirmation message is sent to at least one of the first and second mobile devices following the creation of the temporary association.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed on at least one processor, cause at least one processor to perform a method according to claim 1.

11. A system for associating a first mobile device with a second mobile device, comprising:

a communications device arranged to communicate with a plurality of mobile devices, said communications device being further arranged to receive positional data relating to the position and movement of the plurality of mobile devices with respect to time in a geographical region; and

at least one processor arranged to process the received positional data to determine if a first mobile device is moving concurrently with a second mobile device along substantially the same travel path, and based on such a determination being made creating a temporary association between the first mobile device and the second mobile device.