Providing kiosk service offerings in a personal area network

• US 20020129170A1
• Filed: 03/09/2001
• Published: 09/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Stern, Edith H., Moore, Victor S., Willner, Berry E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,584,269 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/249
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/10 Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A method for delivering electronic services in a personal area network (PAN) can include providing a kiosk in a publicly traversable area. The kiosk can be configured to deliver electronic services over short-range radio communications links to wireless devices in a personal area network (PAN). The kiosk also can be configured to communicate over an existing physical communications link medium. A PAN can be established in the publicly traversable area. Electronic services can be selectably retrieved through the existing physical communications link medium into the kiosk. Finally, the retrieved selected electronic services can be delivered to wireless devices in the PAN over the short-range radio communications link. Notably, the step of establishing a PAN in the publicly traversable area can include establishing a BLUETOOTH-based PAN with wireless devices in the publicly traversable area. In addition, the step of providing a kiosk first can include retrofitting an existing kiosk both with a short-range radio frequency communications system, and with a host computing device for selectively retrieving electronic services over the existing physical communications link medium, and for delivering selected electronic services to the wireless devices in the PAN. Second, the retrofitted kiosk can be activated in the publicly traversable area.

Claims

1. A method for providing kiosk service offerings comprising:

configuring a kiosk to provide electronic services over short-range radio communications links to wireless devices in a personal area network (PAN), said kiosk also configured to communicate over an existing physical communications link medium;

establishing a short-range radio communications link with a wireless device in said PAN;

retrieving selected electronic services over said existing physical communications link medium; and

,

delivering said retrieved selected electronic services to said wireless device in said PAN over said short-range radio communications link.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of establishing a short-range radio communications link with said wireless device in said PAN comprises:

establishing a BLUETOOTH-based communications link with said wireless device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said configuring step comprises:

retrofitting an existing kiosk both with a short-range radio frequency communications system, and with a host computing device for selectively retrieving electronic services over said existing physical communications link medium, and for delivering selected electronic services to said wireless devices in said PAN.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said existing physical communications link medium is selected from the group consisting of a telephone network communications link and a data communications link.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of retrieving specified electronic services over said existing communications network comprises retrieving electronic messages from an electronic mail server communicatively linked to said kiosk over said existing physical communications link medium.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of retrieving specified electronic services over said existing physical communications link medium comprises retrieving an application from an application service provider (ASP) communicatively linked to said kiosk over said existing physical communications link medium.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said step of delivering said retrieved specified electronic services to said wireless device in said PAN over said short-range radio communications link comprises delivering said retrieved electronic mail to an electronic mail client in said wireless device.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of delivering said retrieved specified electronic services to said wireless device in said PAN over said short-range radio communications link comprises delivering said retrieved application for execution in said wireless device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if said specified electronic services wholly reside in said kiosk; and

,

if it is determined that said specified electronic services wholly reside in said kiosk, delivering said specified electronic services to said wireless device in said PAN without retrieving said specified electronic services over said existing physical communications link medium.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining if components of said specified electronic services reside in said kiosk; and

,

delivering said components determined to reside in said kiosk to said wireless device while retrieving components not residing in said kiosk over said existing physical communications link medium.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of delivering said retrieved specified electronic services to said wireless device in said PAN over said short-range radio communications link comprises delivering retrieved components of said specified electronic services to said wireless device while retrieving remaining components of said specified electronic services.

13. The kiosk of claim 12, wherein said short-range radio communications system comprises:

a short-range radio communications system configured in accordance with BLUETOOTH specifications.

14. The kiosk of claim 12, wherein said kiosk is selected from the group consisting of a public telephone, a gasoline station island, an airline check-in desk, a ticketing booth, a retail check-out counter, a toll booth, and an automatic teller machine.

15. The kiosk of claim 12, wherein said physical communications link medium is selected from the group consisting of a telephone network communications link and a data communications link.

16. The kiosk of claim 12, wherein said server is an application server.

17. The kiosk of claim 12, wherein said communications network is an Internet.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said step of establishing a PAN in said publicly traversable area comprises:

establishing a BLUETOOTH-based PAN with wireless devices in said publicly traversable area.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein said step of providing a kiosk comprises:

retrofitting an existing kiosk both with a short-range radio frequency communications system, and with a host computing device for selectively retrieving electronic services over said existing physical communications link medium, and for delivering selected electronic services to said wireless devices in said PAN; and

,

activating said retrofitted kiosk in said publicly traversable area.

12. A kiosk for distributing electronic services to wireless devices in a PAN comprising:

a an kiosk configured to communicate with a communications network over an existing physical communications link medium;

a network communications client for communicating with servers in said communications network;

a short-range radio communications system for communicating with wireless devices in the PAN; and

,

a list of electronic services which can be distributed to wireless devices in the PAN, said electronics services in said list residing locally in said kiosk and remotely in said servers in said communications network.

18. A method for delivering electronic services in a personal area network (PAN) comprising:

providing a kiosk in a publicly traversable area, said kiosk configured to deliver electronic services over short-range radio communications links to wireless devices in a personal area network (PAN), said existing kiosk also configured to communicate over an existing physical communications link medium;

establishing a PAN in said publicly traversable area;

selectably retrieving electronic services through said existing physical communications link medium into said kiosk; and

,

delivering said retrieved selected electronic services to wireless devices in said PAN over said short-range radio communications link.