Method for directing a user of a mobile device from a current location to a product

• US 7,734,507 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2005
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Swisscom AG (Government of Switzerland)
• Inventors: Ritter, Rudolf
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith; Jeffrey A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Allen; William J.
• Application Number:
  US11/235,863
• Publication Number:
  US 20060079247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,715 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/14, 705 26- 28
• US Class Current: 705/26.9
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/751 wherein the responder or reflector radiates a coded signal
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 Item locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A method is described for directing a user of a mobile device from a current location to a product, wherein an identification code of the product is recorded in the mobile device and transmitted to a name server. The identification code is used in the name server among others for loading product-related data into the mobile device, e.g. a geographical location where the product can be bought. Following this, the user of the mobile device can go to said geographic location. For directing said user to the product, a direct contactless connection is established between said mobile device and a RFID element with which said product is marked, by using the same identification code or product-related data previously supplied by the name server.

Claims

1. Method using a name server in combination with a mobile device for directing a user of the mobile device from a current location to a product, comprising the steps of:

recording an identification code of the product in the mobile device;

transmitting said identification code, using the mobile device, to a name server,

downloading, using the server utilizing the identification code, product-related data into the mobile device, wherein said product-related data includes at least a geographical location in whose vicinity a product can be bought, and

said user visiting said geographical location directing said user at said geographical location to the product using said mobile device by establishing a direct contactless connection between said mobile device and a RFID element with which said product is marked using the identification code or product-related data previously supplied by the name server, wherein

said RFID element is affixed to said product and is read by a reader element connected to said mobile device.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile device can record a number, a barcode and/or an EPC code.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein connections between the mobile device and the name server occur over a mobile network.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein several possible locations of the product are made known to the user.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein further product-related data including one or more of:

a distance between the user and the location, an address of the location, an opening time of the location, a price of the product, an authorized payment means at the location, a computed availability of the product or products, a product age, and/or a sell-by date are made known to the user in addition to the location of the product.

6. Method according to claim 5, wherein product-related data are stored in PML pages of different sales points in a database connected with the name server.

7. Method according to claim 1, wherein in order to make known several locations for the product, determining criteria, previously given by the user, are used in the mobile device for selecting a location, wherein said determining criteria are defined by criteria of distance between the mobile device and the sales point and/or additional product-related criteria.

8. Method according to claim 7, wherein in order to select one of the notified locations in the mobile device, acoustic and/or visual reproducing means and manual and/or acoustic input means are used.

9. Method according claim 1, wherein directing the user to the location of said product is shown on the mobile device as a route description by means of a GPS or Galileo navigation system or a GSM-based network for localizing the mobile device and from the known geographical product-related data.

10. Method according to claim 1, wherein in order to further direct the user from the geographical location of a shop having said product to the product, the mobile device records identification codes or product-related data by activating at least one RFID element.

11. Method according to claim 10, wherein different identification codes of several active RFID elements are recorded by the user'"'"'s mobile device, which allow said user through corresponding reproduction means to find the product with the mobile device.

12. Method according to claim 11, wherein codes from a category of products are first recorded in the mobile device and then further product-related data on the basis of the geographical data lead always more selectively to the product.

13. Method according to claim 10, wherein a graphical representation of inaccessible zones of the shop includes one or more of:

walls, shelves, and/or tills, from a HTML or PML page of the shop is sent to the mobile device.

14. Method according to claim 10, wherein distances, with text or with a gauge bar, and directions with arrows or a diagram of the route, between the mobile device and the product are shown graphically on the display of the mobile device or reproduced acoustically.

15. Method according to claim 1, wherein, if there is no direct connection between the mobile device and the RFID element of the product, a localizing of the RFID element is initiated by means of a relay-based network.

16. Method according to claim 15, wherein an ad-hoc network adapted for being self configured with linkable RFID elements is used.

17. Method according to claim 16, wherein a relative position of the mobile device to RFID elements is determined through triangulated running time measurements.

18. Method according to claim 15, wherein a connection of the user'"'"'s mobile device with at least one fixed-based relay is established, where the RFID element and its position in a shop having the product are known.

19. Method according to claim 18, wherein the relay includes a router or is connected with a router,

that transmits data for orienting towards the product in the shop to the mobile device and,

that if necessary, if knowing the position of the mobile device, computes and sends to the mobile device an auxiliary route between the mobile device and the product.

20. Method according to claim 1, wherein a list of identification codes of products is recorded in the mobile device and a list with a minimum number of product-related locations that have some of these products is loaded from the name server.

21. Method according to claim 20, wherein further selection criteria for downloading a desired list of locations are downloaded from the name server.

22. Method according to claim 1, wherein a list of identification codes of products is recorded in the mobile device and a list of locations where the products can be bought most advantageously is loaded from the name server.

23. Method according to claim 1, wherein a list of identification codes of products is recorded in the mobile device and a list of locations with the shortest distance between the user and the respective locations of these products is loaded from the name server.

24. Method according to claim 1, wherein at a location of several products, within a single shop, an optimized route search to the products is controlled by a server, wherein the server knows the location of the RFID elements in the shop.

25. Method according to claim 1, wherein at a location of several products, within a single shop, an optimized route search is initiated by means of an EPC code of a category of products and pursued by means of more selective codes for determining the location of a RFID element of the product in the shop.

26. Method using a name server in combination with a mobile device for directing a user of a mobile device to a product in a shop, comprising the steps of:

accepting product information associated with the product from a user of said mobile device for storing in said mobile device;

transmitting said information over a network, using said mobile device, to a name server,

downloading, using the name server utilizing the product information, product-related data into said mobile device, wherein said product-related data includes at least a geographical location of the shop where the product can be obtained to aid the user in finding the shop,

the user visiting the shop using said mobile device for determining the location of the product in the shop by establishing a contactless connection between a reader connected to said mobile device and an RFID element affixed to said product, and

directing the user to the location of the product in the shop using said mobile device.

27. Method according to claim 26, wherein said connection between said RFID element and said mobile device utilizes a relay-based network.

28. Method according to claim 27, wherein said relay-based network utilizes an ad-hoc network adapted for being self configured with linkable RFID elements is used.

29. Method according to claim 28, wherein a relative position of the mobile device to RFID elements is determined through triangulated running time measurements for directing the user.

30. Method according to claim 27, wherein the relay-based network includes a router, or is connected with a router, which transmits data for directing the user to the product in the shop to the mobile device.

31. Method according to claim 30, further comprising the steps of computing and sending to the mobile device an auxiliary route between the mobile device and the product.

32. A system for directing a user of a mobile device to a product in a shop, said system comprising:

a communication network;

a mobile device for accepting product information associated with the product from a user of said mobile device;

transmitting said product information over the communication network, using said mobile device; and

a server connected to said communication network, said server adapted for receiving said product information from the mobile device and further adapted to respond to said receiving by transmitting, utilizing the product information, product-related data over said communication network to said mobile device, wherein said product-related data includes at least a geographical location of the shop where the product can be obtained to aid the user in finding the shop, wherein

said mobile device is adapted to communicate said geographical information to the user, and wherein

said mobile device is further adapted for, in response to the user visiting the shop, determining the location of the product in the shop by establishing a contactless connection between a reader connected to said mobile device and an RFID element affixed to said product for directing the user to the location of the product in the shop.