System and method for associating devices moving along the same travel path

• US 9,689,698 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2012
• Issued: 06/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bridgestone Mobility Solutions BV (Bridgestone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TomTom International BV (TomTom NV)
• Inventors: Gols, Sander, Wesselius, Kees
• Primary Examiner(s): Shedrick, Charles
• Application Number:
  US14/113,068
• Publication Number:
  US 20140038640A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,901 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561
• 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, at a server, positional data relating to position and movement of a plurality of mobile devices with respect to time in a geographical region, the plurality of mobile devices comprising a first mobile device and a second mobile device, wherein the first mobile device is associated with a user, and wherein the second mobile device is associated with a vehicle capable of transporting the user;

processing, at one or more processors of the server, the received positional data to determine if the first mobile device is moving concurrently with the second mobile device along substantially the same travel path;

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

using the temporary association to provide at least one of;

data concerning the first mobile device to the second mobile device; and

data concerning the second mobile device to the first mobile device;

wherein determining if a first mobile device is moving concurrently with a second mobile device along substantially the same travel path comprises identifying, from the plurality of mobile devices, candidate mobile devices, wherein each candidate mobile device is associated with a vehicle and is within a predetermined distance of the first mobile device.

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

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

4. 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 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.

5. The method of claim 4, 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporary association is used to provide, to the first mobile device, a current position of the second mobile device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporary association is used to provide, to the first mobile device, a predetermined route being traveled by the vehicle to a destination.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporary association is used to provide, to the second mobile device, a destination received from the first mobile device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporary association is used to provide a message to the first mobile device with a cost of a journey made by the vehicle to transport the user to a destination, and to receive confirmation at the server from the first mobile device that payment is to be completed in an electronic manner.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the temporary association is further used to provide a message to the second mobile device confirming that payment for the journey has been completed.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if a first mobile device is moving concurrently with a second mobile device along substantially the same travel path further comprises identifying, among the plurality of mobile devices, mobile devices which are associated with a vehicle but not already associated with another mobile device associated with a user.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the candidate mobile devices are identified based on the positional data.

22. The server of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is arranged to identify the candidate mobile devices based on the positional data.

14. A server for associating a first mobile device with a second mobile device, comprising:

a communications device arranged to communicate with a plurality of mobile devices, the plurality of mobile devices comprising a first mobile device and a second mobile device, wherein the first mobile device is associated with a user, and wherein the second mobile device is associated with a vehicle capable of transporting the user, 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 the first mobile device is moving concurrently with the 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,

the communications device further being arranged to use the temporary association to provide at least one of;

data concerning the first mobile device to the second mobile device; and

data concerning the second mobile device to the first mobile device;

wherein said at least one processor is further arranged to determine if a first mobile device is moving concurrently with a second mobile device along substantially the same travel path by identifying, from the plurality of mobile devices, candidate mobile devices, wherein each candidate mobile device is associated with a vehicle and is within a predetermined distance of the first mobile device.

15. The server of claim 14, wherein the communications device is arranged to use the temporary association to provide, to the first mobile device, a current position of the second mobile device.

16. The server of claim 14, wherein the communications device is arranged to use the temporary association to provide, to the first mobile device, a predetermined route being traveled by the vehicle to a destination.

17. The server of claim 14, wherein the communications device is arranged to use the temporary association to provide, to the second mobile device, a destination received from the first mobile device.

18. The server of claim 14, the communications device is arranged to use the temporary association to provide a message to the first mobile device with a cost of a journey made by the vehicle to transport the user to a destination, and to receive confirmation from the first mobile device that payment is to be completed in an electronic manner.

19. The server of claim 18, wherein the communications device is arranged to use the temporary association to provide a message to the second mobile device confirming that payment for the journey has been completed.

20. The server of claim 14, wherein said at least one processor is further arranged to determine if the first mobile device is moving concurrently with the second mobile device along substantially the same travel path by monitoring whether the first mobile device and the second mobile device perform a series of same manoeuvers.