Mobile device and regional information system

• US 5,774,803 A
• Filed: 06/10/1996
• Issued: 06/30/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kariya, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): MULLEN, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US08/661,010
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414, 455/412, 455/518-520, 455/566, 379/201
• US Class Current: 455/414.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A mobile device 1! receives a required piece of regional information. A regional information center 4! provides regional information. The mobile device 1!, a base station 2!, an exchange 3!, and the regional information center 4! form a regional information system that is capable of! providing regional information without traffic congestion. The center 4! has a headline table 5 for! storing the headlines of regional information, a reservation table 6 for! reserving time for providing requested information, and a database 7 for! storing regional information. The center 4! sends the headlines of regional information to the base station 2!, which adds the headlines to general information and transmits the general information with the added headlines. The mobile device 1! receives the general information, extracts the headlines out of the general information, displays the headlines, and transmits an information request according to a specified piece of regional information. Upon receiving the request, the center 4! reserves time for providing the requested information and informs the mobile device 1! of the reserved time. When the reserved time occurs, the mobile device 1! calls the center 4!, which provides the mobile device 1! with the requested information.

Claims

1. A mobile device, comprising:

a transceiver, a codec, an operation panel, a display and a voice/data input/output unit;

an extractor extracting the headlines of regional information out of general information received by the transceiver, the general information being transmitted in a zone where the mobile device is present;

a memory storing the extracted headlines; and

a controller displaying the stored headlines on the display, receiving, through the operation panel, an instruction to specify a piece of regional information, transmitting a request to a regional information center to provide the specified piece of regional information, receiving, from the regional information center, notice of a time which is reserved for providing the requested information and calling the regional information center at the reserved time to receive the requested information from the regional information center.

2. The mobile device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, for each extracted headline having group information, the controller stores the headline in the memory only when the mobile device belongs to a group specified by the group information.

3. A regional information center comprising:

a database storing regional information;

a headline table registering the headlines of the regional information stored in the database;

a reservation table registering a time which is reserved for each piece of regional information according to an information request thereof; and

a managing unit determining wether or not a given information request must be registered in the reservation table according to the number of information pieces allowed simultaneously per time band, providing a response to the information request and retrieving a requested piece of regional information from the database at the reserved time.

4. A regional information system comprising:

a regional information center having a database storing regional information, a headline table registering the headlines of the regional information stored in the database and a reservation table registering time reserved for each piece of regional information according to information requests;

a base station, connected to the regional information center through an exchange, adding the headlines of regional information to general information and transmitting the general information with the added headlines; and

a mobile device receiving the general information transmitted from the base station, extracting the headlines from the received general information, displaying the extracted headlines, sending an information request according to a specified one of the headliners and requesting the regional information center to send the specified regional information at the reserved time.

5. A method of providing regional information in a regional information system having at least a regional information center, a base station connected to the regional information center through an exchange and a mobile device communicating with the regional information center through the base station, comprising the steps of:

transmitting, from the base station, general information with the zone number of the base station and the headlines of regional information;

letting the mobile device receive the general information, extract the headlines out of the general information, display the headlines and send an information request according to a specified one of the headlines, the information request including a regional information number, a mobile device number, and a zone number;

letting the regional information center receive the information request, reserve a time band to provide the requested regional information and inform the mobile device of the reserved time band;

letting the mobile device call the regional information center in the reserved time band to request the regional information; and

letting the regional information center provide the mobile device with the requested regional information.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising, after the mobile device makes an information request, the step of letting the regional information center check the reservation state of the requested information, determined whether or not the requested information is servable, reserve the time band of providing the requested information, if it is servable, and inform the mobile device of the reserved time band.