Method and unit used to determine useable services

• US 9,467,562 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2005
• Issued: 10/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unify Patente GmbH & Co. KG (Atos Se)
• Original Assignee: Unify GmbH & Co. KG (Atos SE)
• Inventors: Bozionek, Bruno, Hemkemeyer, Dieter, Klaghofer, Karl, Neuhaus, Ralf, Tietsch, Michael, Uecker, Rainer, Zimmermann, Rainer
• Primary Examiner(s): Khan, Aftab N.
• Application Number:
  US11/587,202
• Publication Number:
  US 20070242819A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,233 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/219, 709/227, 379/88.13, 379/202.01, 379/215.01, 455/41.2, 455/404.2, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 4554561-4566
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/14 with services dependent on location where the service is an information service H04M2242/15; services independent of location H04M3/42229
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

In one aspect, a method used to determine services in a network is provided. For a plurality of devices, information pertaining to a location of the respective device is stored in a location information item. A location information item providing a location of a user is generated. At least one of the plurality of devices to be used by the user based on the generated location information item and to the stored location information items is automatically selecting; a status report is transmitted to a device used by the user, with the user being offered the use a service via the status report, the offered service effected by the selected device.

Claims

1. A method used to determine services in a network, comprising:

storing a plurality of first location information items for a plurality of devices, each of the first location information items identifying a location of a respective device of the plurality of devices;

generating a second location information item that provides a location of a user, the generated second location information item comprising a plurality of coordinate data and a vicinity value, the vicinity value specifying a distance between the user and a device to be used by the user;

automatically selecting at least one of the plurality of devices to be used by the user based on the generated second location information item and the stored plurality of first location information items, wherein selected devices are selected such that the selected devices are within 10 meters of the user; and

transmitting a status report to a device used by the user, with the user being offered a use of services via the status report, the offered services effected by the automatically selected device;

in response to automatic selection of the services, controlling communication requests and connection demands for a communication connection associated with the user so that different media streams of the communication connection are distributed to the automatically selected devices such that each of the automatically selected devices receives a different media stream during the communication connection so that the automatically selected devices are addressed in a communication system under a common address for the different media streams for the communication connection;

wherein a control unit communicatively connectable to the plurality of the devices performs the controlling of the communication requests and connection demands associated with the user; and

wherein the controlling of the communication requests and connection demands associated with the user occurs after a device used by the user sends the control unit a registration message, the registration message identifying a type of the device used by the user and information about the user.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the generated second location information item denotes a room in a building or wherein a room in a building is determined from the generated second location information item;

and

wherein the automatic selection of the selected devices is further based on the room in the building.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising determining a room in a building by converting the coordinate data into a room number based on a building plan.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the automatically selected devices comprise at least two of a printer, an image projector, a monitor, an image recording unit, a telephone and a data processing unit.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a device is permanently assigned to the user and the permanently assigned device is included in the status report.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling of communication requests and connection demands associated with the user so that different media streams are distributed to the automatically selected devices such that each of the automatically selected devices receives a different media stream is performed so that a communication system to which the automatically selected devices are connectable appear to the system to be one multimedia terminal for the communication connection.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the common address is a common telephone number for the different media streams for the communication connection.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the location of the user is based on a location of a communication partner of the user.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, comprising determining a room by converting the plurality of coordinate data into a room number using a building plan.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the offered services effected by the automatically selected devices relate to a multimedia communication using a composed device and wherein a collective device identifier is assigned to the composed device.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the composed device is comprised of at least two of the plurality of devices that are selected, and wherein the common address is a device identifier that is assigned to at least one of the selected devices of the composed device.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising generating a connection demand containing the collective device identifier as an identifier of a calling terminal device or of a called terminal device, such that user data that has a type is received and is automatically forwarded to the selected devices of the composed device according to the type of the user data during a connection set up in response to the connection demand.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising generating a connection setup demand containing the collective device identifier as an identifier of a calling terminal device or of a called terminal device, and sending user data during a connection set up in response to the connection demand, the user data provided by the selected devices of the composed device.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein during a use of the at least one offered service, the generated second location information item is updated or the stored first location information item of at least one of the plurality of devices is updated, and wherein an amended status report is generated according to the updated second location information item or the updated first location information item.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the selected devices of the composed device are comprised of at least one of a fixed network telephone and a mobile radio telephone and at least one of an image reproduction device operated on a wireless transmission interface and an image recording device operated on a wireless transmission interface, and wherein the composed device comprises the fixed network telephone device or the a mobile radio telephone device, and wherein the composed device further comprises the image reproduction device operated on a wireless transmission interface or the image recording device operated on a wireless transmission interface.