Environment customization based on location

• US 7,908,211 B1
• Filed: 04/13/2001
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chen, Jennifer H., Sayko, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, JAGDISH
• Application Number:
  US09/834,562
• Time in Patent Office: 3,623 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/44, 705/39, 709/227
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/20 Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A user'"'"'s location is automatically transmitted to a network, and the network automatically customizes one or more environments, such as by customizing communication devices, other types of devices, or the like, based on the detected location and on profile information. Customizing an environment may include enabling services, such as setting up a public telephone or hotel telephone with a user'"'"'s home base telephone settings and/or services, and/or may include disabling functions, such as disabling long-distance service when the user is away from home.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for customizing one or more environments based on a location of a user, comprising:

receiving at an environment customization device, over a network, user identification and location information for the user;

extracting a current location from the location information;

retrieving a profile for the user at the environment customization device, the profile including customization information for a plurality of customizable devices at a plurality of locations including the current location;

communicating over the network with one or more of the customizable devices at the current location to customize the one or more customizable devices based on the customization information in the user'"'"'s profile for the current location of the user;

extracting a reference location from the profile;

generating a first list of environments to customize based on a distance between the reference location and the current location; and

retrieving a second list of the customizable devices corresponding to each of the environments in the first list.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating a first list comprises:

retrieving customization logic from the profile; and

executing the customization logic to generate the list of environments.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the customization logic comprises:

customizing an environment listed in a table based on a difference between the current location and the reference location.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the generating the customization information comprises:

extracting from the profile customization commands;

retrieving configuration data from sources specified in the profile customization commands; and

mapping the configuration data to customizable devices in the second list of each of the environments in the first list.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the specified sources comprise one or more of:

an already customized environment; and

a database of configuration data for particular customizable devices.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the mapping step-comprises:

matching one or more portions of the configuration data with on or more customizable devices in the second list for each of the environments in the first list;

collecting configuration data for each of the customizable devices in the second list of the environments in the first list; and

integrating the collected configuration data for each of the customizable devices.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the customizing step comprises:

identifying a network address for each of the customizable devices; and

setting, via the network, each of the customizable devices to operate in a manner consistent with corresponding integrated collected configuration data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the customizable devices include one or more of motor vehicles and temperature controls.