Provision of telematics services via a mobile network

• US 8,700,746 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2007
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Imbimbo, Amedeo, De Luca, Enrico, Gehlen, Guido
• Primary Examiner(s): Baturay, Alicia
• Application Number:
  US12/808,814
• Publication Number:
  US 20110035476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,308 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/091 Traffic information broadcasting broadcasting communication H04H
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09675 where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 to a central station ; Indicators in a central station
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

The invention relates to the use of mobile networks (110) in a telematics environment. A method embodiment of the invention performed by an application server (108) accessible via the mobile network (110) comprises the steps of receiving setting information (124) via a radio interface (126) of the mobile network, wherein the setting information indicates an environment setting of an environment in which a user terminal (106) is deployed; and controlling an application (109) hosted by the application server according to the received setting information.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an application server comprising the following steps performed by an application server accessible via a mobile network:

receiving setting information via a radio interface of the mobile network, wherein the setting information indicates an environment setting of an environment in which a user terminal is deployed and comprises one or more bits identifying a position of the user terminal relative to the environment, wherein the environment is a physical object; and

controlling an application hosted by the application server according to the received setting information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the setting information comprises an indication of an operational status of the physical object.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the physical object is a vehicle.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising initiating, triggered by the reception of the setting information, an execution of a localization service to determine a location related to the user terminal, or to a terminal device associated with the environment in which the user terminal is deployed, or both.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the application implements a vehicle telematics service.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the setting information is included in a user profile related to the user terminal.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the setting information indicates one of a plurality of predefined environment settings.

8. A method of controlling an application server accessible via a mobile network comprising the following steps performed by a terminal device of the mobile network:

establishing setting information indicating an environment setting of an environment in which a user terminal is deployed, the setting information including one or more bits that identify a position of the user terminal relative to the environment, wherein the environment is a physical object; and

transmitting the setting information via a radio interface of the mobile network to the application server, for controlling an application according to the setting information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the terminal device comprises the user terminal or a terminal device associated with the environment in which the user terminal is deployed.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step of transmitting the setting information is automatically triggered by the step of establishing the setting information.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein establishing the setting information comprises:

receiving an indication for the environment setting via a local communication connection between the user terminal and the terminal device associated with the environment in which the user terminal is deployed; and

determining the setting information from the indication.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the indication is received during establishment of the local communication connection.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the local communication connection comprises a wireless local communication connection.

14. An application server accessible via a mobile network, comprising:

a first component configured to receive setting information via a radio interface of the mobile network, wherein the setting information indicates an environment setting of an environment in which a user terminal is deployed and includes one or more bits that identify a position of the user terminal relative to the environment, wherein the environment is a physical object; and

a second component configured to control an application hosted by the application server according to the setting information.

15. The application server according to claim 14, wherein the setting information comprises an indication of an operational status of the physical object.

16. The application server according to claim 15, wherein the physical object is a vehicle.

17. The application server according to claim 14, wherein the second component, triggered by the reception of the setting information, is configured to execute a localization service to determine a location related to the user terminal, or to a terminal device associated with the environment in which the user terminal is deployed, or both.

18. The application server according to claim 14, wherein the application implements a vehicle telematics service.

19. The application server according to claim 14, wherein the setting information is included in a user profile related to the user terminal.

20. The application server according to claim 14, wherein the setting information indicates one of a plurality of predefined environment settings.

21. A terminal device of a mobile network, comprising:

a first component configured to establish setting information indicating an environment setting of an environment in which a user terminal is deployed, the setting information including one or more bits that identify a position of the user terminal relative to the environment, wherein the environment is a physical object; and

a second component configured to transmit the setting information via a radio interface of the mobile network to an application server for controlling an application according to the setting information.

22. The terminal device according to claim 21, wherein the terminal device comprises the user terminal or a terminal device associated with the environment in which the user terminal is deployed.

23. The terminal device according to claim 21, wherein the second component, triggered by the first component establishing the setting information, is configured to transmit the setting information automatically.

24. The terminal device according to claim 21, wherein to establish the setting information, the first component is configured to:

receive an indication for the environment setting via a local communication connection between the user terminal and the terminal device associated with the environment in which the user terminal is deployed; and

determine the setting information from the indication.

25. The terminal device according to claim 24, wherein the first component is configured to receive the indication during establishment of the local communication connection.

26. The terminal device according to claim 24, wherein the local communication connection comprises a wireless local communication connection.