System and method for scheduling and reservations using location based services

• US 8,472,979 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2008
• Issued: 06/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dingler, John R., Olds, David C., Rudd, James R., Trevathan, Matthew B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sobutka, Philip
• Application Number:
  US12/173,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20100015993A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,806 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• 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

Abstract

A system and method for providing reservation services to users of mobile devices. The system is implemented in a reservation computer device having computer executable code tangibly embodied on a computer readable medium. The reservation computer device is operable to prioritize a reservation schedule of a service establishment based on a route and projected arrival time of one or more subscribing users such that earlier arriving users and users that have already arrived at the service establishment are given priority in the reservation schedule regardless of prearranged reservations.

Claims

1. A system implemented in a reservation computer device comprising computer executable code tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium being operable to prioritize a reservation schedule of a service establishment based on a route and projected arrival time of one or more subscribing users such that earlier arriving users and users that have already arrived at the service establishment are given priority in the reservation schedule regardless of prearranged reservations.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the reservation computer device is operable to proactively broadcast reservation availability to potential patrons passing with a predefined zone of one or more subscribing service establishments.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the reservation computer device is operable to query or receive a seating request from one or more of the potential patrons and to adjust the reservation schedule based on the seating request.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the reservation computer device is operable to determine reservation availability based on the route and projected arrival time of one or more subscribing users.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the reservation computer device is operable to provide a priority queue table based on receipt of a message from the one or more users using SS7 signaling protocols.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein:

the priority queue table is structured to provide the reservation computer device with an ability to prioritize the reservation schedule, and the reservation computer device is operable to;

provide a preference for a reservation to a user of the one or more users whose queue time is equal to a prearranged reservation time; and

provide a grace period of a predetermined time prior to re-queuing in the reservation schedule the user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the reservation computer device is operable to take into account a route time in prioritizing the reservation schedule based on a lag time equation.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the lag time equation is:

Time to arrive=(zone 1(distance remaining/speed)+zone n(distance remaining/speed)+timelag+(known stops*duration)),

where n is the zone number.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the prioritizing of the reservation schedule is provided after the one or more users have been authenticated.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein computer executable code tangibly embodied on a computer readable medium is operable to receive messages from the one or more users via the Internet or SS7 signaling protocols.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the reservation computer device is at least one of supported, deployed, maintained, and created by a service provider.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer infrastructure is operable to take into account a route time in prioritizing the reservation schedule based on a lag time equation.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the lag time equation is:

Time to arrive=(zone 1(distance remaining/speed)+zone n(distance remaining/speed)+timelag+(known stops*duration)),

where n is the zone number.

14. A method provided on software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware, comprising:

prioritizing a reservation schedule of a service establishment based on a route and estimate time of arrival of one or more users of a subscribing system, wherein priority is provided to the subscribing users that are early arriving users and users that have already arrived at the subscribing service establishment regardless of prearranged reservations.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising authenticating the one or more users prior to the prioritizing.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising time stamping the received location information in order to place the received location of the one or more users in a queue table.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the receiving location information is via SS7 signaling protocols.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the queue table is updated by removing an oldest of the time stamped received location information.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising allowing a requesting system to find the user'"'"'s location during a predetermined time window.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising broadcasting reservation availability of one or more service establishment to the subscribing users.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein prioritizing the reservation schedule is based on a lag time equation.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the lag time equation is:

Time to arrive=(zone 1(distance remaining/speed)+zone n(distance remaining/speed)+timelag+(known stops*duration)),

where n is the zone number.

23. A method for deploying a location based service, comprising providing a computer infrastructure being operable to at least adjust a reservation schedule of a service establishment using received route information which is used to estimate a time of arrival of subscribing and authenticated users during a predefined time window and prioritizing an order of service in the reservation schedule based on the estimated arrival time and actual arrival time of the subscribing users.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the received route information is received by SS7 signaling protocols with a time stamp and placed in a queue table in a chronological order of other entries in the queue table based on the time stamp such that an earliest of the received route information is deleted.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising providing a broadcast message of open reservation slots based on cancellations, late arriving patrons and early arriving patrons of the subscribing and authenticated users.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the broadcast message is provided to potential patrons passing with a predefined zone of one or more subscribing service establishments.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the computer infrastructure is at least one of supported, deployed, maintained, and created by a service provider.