METHOD, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR DETERMINING THE LOCATION OF A USER IN AN AREA
First Claim
1. A system to help direct a user to a location and orientation in a defined space, said defined space comprising a plurality of functional zones, the system comprising:
- a multitude of first type devices, wherein each of the first type devices is located in one of said zones and includes information relating to the position of said one of the zones in the space;
a plurality of second type devices attached to the user in defined positions relative to the user, and wherein when the user is in said space, each of two of the first type devices reacts concurrently to the presence of a respective one of the second type devices to provide orientation information including two concurrent readings at a given moment identifying a current location of each of said respective one of the second type devices in the space;
an orientation system for receiving and processing said orientation information to determine specified information including a current orientation of the user and relative to a plurality of specified places at the given moment from said two concurrent readings taken at said given moment; and
a communications system for receiving the specified information from the orientation system to inform the user of the location of the user in the defined space.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for orientating a user in a space wherein the space comprises a plurality of zones of which only certain zones constitute functional zones wherein each functional zone includes a first type device containing information relating to the position of the zone in the space and wherein the first type device is reactive to the presence of a second type device associated with the user to provide the user with the information to determine the orientation of the user in the space. A method of orientating the user within the space and guiding the user toward one or more features in the space is also disclosed.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system to help direct a user to a location and orientation in a defined space, said defined space comprising a plurality of functional zones, the system comprising:
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a multitude of first type devices, wherein each of the first type devices is located in one of said zones and includes information relating to the position of said one of the zones in the space; a plurality of second type devices attached to the user in defined positions relative to the user, and wherein when the user is in said space, each of two of the first type devices reacts concurrently to the presence of a respective one of the second type devices to provide orientation information including two concurrent readings at a given moment identifying a current location of each of said respective one of the second type devices in the space; an orientation system for receiving and processing said orientation information to determine specified information including a current orientation of the user and relative to a plurality of specified places at the given moment from said two concurrent readings taken at said given moment; and a communications system for receiving the specified information from the orientation system to inform the user of the location of the user in the defined space. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of helping direct a user to a location and orientation within a defined space, said defined space comprising a plurality of functional zones, and wherein each functional zone includes one first type device containing information relating to the position of said each functional zone in the space, and a plurality of second type devices are attached to the user in defined positions relative to the user, wherein the first and second type devices can react to one another to transfer data, the method comprising:
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identifying the presence of the user close to a functional zone; determining orientation information of the user within the space, including each of two of the first type devices reacting concurrently to the presence of a respective one of the second type devices to provide two concurrent readings at a given moment identifying a current location of each of said respective one of the second type devices in the space; using an orientation system to receive and process said orientation information to determine specified information including a current orientation of the user and relative to a plurality of specified places at the given moment from said two concurrent readings taken at said given moment; and using a communication system to receive the specified information from the orientation system and to inform the user of the location of the user in the defined space and of the orientation of the user to at least one feature in the defined space. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer program product comprising instructions, executable by a computer system, for carrying out a method for determining an orientation of a user within a space and relative to specified surroundings, said defined space comprising a plurality of functional zones, and wherein each functional zone includes one first type device containing information relating to the position of said each functional zone in the space, and a plurality of second type devices are attached to the user in defined positions relative to the user, wherein the first and second type devices can react to one another to transfer data, and wherein when the computer program is executed on the computer system, the computer program causes the computer system to perform the steps of:
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identifying the presence of the user close to a functional zone; determining an orientation of the user within the space, including each of two of the first type devices reacting concurrently to the presence of a respective one of the second type devices to provide two concurrent readings at a given moment identifying a current location of each of said respective one of the second type devices in the space, and processing said two concurrent readings to determine a current orientation of the user and relative to a plurality of specified places at the given moment from said two concurrent readings taken at said given moment; and providing the user with information relating to the user orientation and to at least one feature in the space. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification