WO2001060090A1

WO2001060090A1 - Method and arrangement for a mobile telephone communication system

Info

Publication number: WO2001060090A1
Application number: PCT/SE2001/000242
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jan Gapinski; Karl-Johan Pantzar
Original assignee: GOYADA AB
Current assignee: GOYADA AB
Priority date: 2000-02-08
Filing date: 2001-02-08
Publication date: 2001-08-16
Anticipated expiration: 2002-08-08
Also published as: SE0000387D0; AU2001232553A1; SE0000387L

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and an arrangement for delivering site specific information to a user of a mobile unit (10) in a mobile telephone system, where a call is received (30), the A- and B-numbers are registered (31), a database (32) is accessed and searched for site specific information matching the B-number being called by the mobile unit (10) and wherein at least a part of the matching information is transmitted (33) to the mobile unit (10) in the form of a text message.

Description

METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR A MOBILE TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and an arrangement for delivering information to a mobile telephone in a mobile telephone communication system Particularly, the invention relates to information that can be of interest for a user of a mobile unit within a limited geographic area

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A utility which is increasingly used within mobile telephony is to send and receive so-called SMS messages (SMS, Short Messaging Service) These messages are sent by a protocol called IS-136

It is among other things known to transmit SMS messages from a message center (MC, Message Center) comprising information, such as e g weather reports, traffic information, or stock exchange quotations to a user of a mobile telephone through a mobile exchange and a base station The information that a user of a mobile telephone wants to receive is defined by the user first transmitting an SMS message to the messsage center with information about which information is sought

For the user of such a service it is, however, a troublesome and time-consuming procedure to create and send an SMS message from a mobile unit, as the telephone is generally provided with a key pad with a limited number of buttons Further, you must know how the text message should be formed for the actual specific service to obtain the right information back Through each of GB 2201865 and FR 2711033 it is known how a user receives site specific information, where the user calls a telephone number to obtain the information and where the localization of the user is obtained by examining which base station that sets up the connection

Disadvantages with this method are that the localization of the user is not completely precise and that it is a technically complex solution

Through WO 9856197 it is further known how a user receives site specific information, either through SMS or through a data map in the mobile telephone, and where the localization of the user is performed through GPS or through marking directly on a data map on the mobile telephone of the user

A disadvantage with this method is that the localization of the user is a technically complex solution

Further, through EP 0851696 it is known how a user calls an information service distributor, whereby an identification of the user, e g the calling number, is sent on to the distributor The information service distributor may use the identification to access user specific data, e g a PIN code The user is then provided with voice messages or menu choices to choose information, whereby the user by pushing some buttons on the key pad of the telephone or by voice answer make a choice of the specific information desired Thereafter the information distributor creates a message comprising the desired informa- tion and eventually the user specific data, whereby this is transmitted to a message center, which in turn passes on the chosen information in an SMS message to the user

A disadvantage of this method is that a channel must be kept open during the procedure in order to choose information If this comprises navigating through a menu with several hierarchic levels it may imply a considerable cost at the same time as network capacity is occupied Further, it may be difficult to memorize codes for the respective menu choices when these are only given as voice messages, particularly when the menu includes many alternatives and when one is unfamiliar with the contents of the menu

Further, it is through US 5131020 known how a user gets uppdated information through text, fax or speech during a period of time after a first inquiry for site specific information

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for delivering site specific information, which may be of interest for a user of a mobile unit, to the mobile unit according to which it should be possible to use an existing mobile unit

This object, among others, is obtained by methods as claimed in claims 1 and 4, and by arrangements as claimed in claims 14 and 15

More objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description

An advantage is obtained if a timer is started when the call is received, where the timer is associated with the A-number

Another advantage is obtained if information about the user at the call is added to the set associated with the called B-number and later is removed from the group when the timer is released

Yet an advantage is obtained if the time-out of the timer is determined in advance A further advantage is obtained if the data base is accessable for setting a time-out of a timer, where the timer is associated with the A-number

Yet a further advantage is obtained if the processing device is arranged to add information about the user to the set that is associated with the B-number at the call and to remove the information about the user when the timer time-out

Advantages of the present invention comprise a simplified method for providing site specific information and also a lower usage of the capacity in the telephone net

More advantages of the invention and features thereof will be apparent in the following description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description of embodiments given below and the accompanying figures, which are given by way of illustration only and shall thus not in any way limit the present invention, in which

Fig 1 shows a flow chart of a method according to the present invention,

Fig 2 shows a table displaying how the information in the date base may be stored, and

Fig 3 schematically shows a mobile unit and an information server and signalling therebetween DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, for describing and not limiting purposes, specific details are set forth, such as particular techniques and applications, in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention However, it will be apparent for the man skilled in the art that the invention may be practised in other embodiments that depart from these specific details In other instances a detailed description of well-known methods and arrangements is omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary details

In its most general form the present invention comprises a method for delivering site specific information regarding information service places, personal service places, friend societies or any other information which may be of interest to a user of a mobile unit from an information server to the mobile unit The method comprises the steps of receiving in an information server a request for setting up a call through a first called telephone number, the so-called B-number, together with the number of the mobile unit, the so-called A-number, and in dependence of said B-number transmitting information to the A-number, i e the mobile terminal, in the form of a text message, preferably as an SMS message

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to Fig 1 A user who wants to obtain information that is related to a geographic area will need a mobile unit and knowledge of a telephone number to the provider of the sought information The user calls the telephone number associated to where the user is located, e g in the Old Town, in Queen Street or the like or another place about which the user wishes to obtain information The user terminates the demand of the set up and awaits a text message with the sought informa¬

The call from the mobile unit is received 30 by an information server, where the A- and B-numbers are registered 31 A data base 32 is accessed and searched for information that is related to the B-number The database 32 comprises different sets of site specific information An example of how the data base 32 may be disposed is shown in Fig 2 and there three different B-numbers are shown with their respective sets including A-numbers, personal and information services The information transmitted 33 to the mobile unit is at least a subset of the set related to the B-number having been registered The information to the mobile unit is transmitted as a text message, e g as an SMS message If the amount of information is as large such that it will not fit in an SMS message the information is divided into several parts wherein each part fits into one SMS message och each part is transmitted as a separate SMS message

The user is probably only interested in a subset of the information related to the B-number which he has called The user may e g only be interested of banks within the geographic area that is related to the called B-number or to some persons which eventually may be within the area It is therefore possible to store a profile that limits the information transmitted to the mobile unit The data base is accessible for uppdating through e g Internet where the user may state what information he wants to obtain He may e g state that only information about Nissse with the phone number 070-124, Lisa with the phone number 070- 125, or Johan with the phone number 070-127 shall be transmitted to his mobile

If the above profile is used and the data base contains information according to Fig 2 and the user calls 08-123456, he will obtain information about Nisse and Lisa being within the geographic area related to the telephone number 08- 123456 for 10 and 27 minutes more, respectively If the user calls 08-123457, he will obtain the information about Johan being within the geographic area related to the B-number 08-123457 for 12 minutes more Should the user on the other hand call 08-123458, he will obtain a message that no persons at present are in the sought area As the user has called a B-number a timer will start which states for how long the user will be within the related geographic area The timer's time-out has a predetermined value that is dependent on the geographic area The value may also be set in the profile of the user If e g the user is in another place than the one related to the B-number when he calls, the time-out may be set to zero Alternatively, several telephone numbers may be related to each geographic area with the same sets but where the timer's time-out is different for the different telephone numbers in the geographic area

The time-out of the timer is used to state partly for other users for how long the user is in the geographic area, as described above, and partly for the information service provider to send updated information Information may e g be sought about time tables for buses or other means of transportation and information about updated times is sent stating when departure takes place or stating that problems have ansed, which have caused that a departure has been cancelled or suspended

An alternative for the user is that it is stated in the profile that if a certain A- number calls the information server the information should be sent to a mobile unit, or other unit that can receive a text message, with a telephone number differing from the telephone number which is identified at the call One example when this method could be useful is if the user is home and wants to obtain information about a certain geographic area but also utilize the possibility of calling via the stationary telephone network The user may then state in a profile in the database, e g through Internet as described above, that the timeout of the timer is zero, since he is not in the geographic area and that sought information shall be sent to his mobile unit when a call takes place from his stationary telephone

In an alternative embodiment a choice of the profile of the user is stated as codes when calling the respective B-number It may e g be voice controlled choices, where it is stated which parts of a set that the user wants to have transmitted to the mobile unit and where the choices are made by means of DTMF (DTMF, Dual Tone Multi Frequency) codes

In Fig 3 an arrangement 13, 14, 15 is schematically shown, which may be used to perform a method according to the present invention A mobile unit 10 calls 12 an information server 15, which is provided with a receiving device 14 receiving a demand for a call set up where the A- and B-numbers are registered The information server 15 is arranged in dependence on the called B-number and possibly also in dependence on a timer to search through a data base after information The information matching the B-number and possibly the timer value is arranged to be transmitted 11 through a transmitting device 13 to the mobile unit 10 in the form of a text message, preferably an SMS message If there is much information which is to be transmitted and it will not fit in an SMS message the transmitting device 13 is arranged to divide the information into several separate messages which are then sent separately

In another alternative embodiment the user is registered in the data base at the time when the user calls the information server The user remains registered in the data base during a period of time that is controlled by a timer's time-out A profile of what the user is interested in, which e g may be obtained by using profile data bound to the A-number, is used in order to transmit profile dependent commercials to the user together with the information asked for by the user or later within the period of time controlled by the timer's time-out

If the user e g calls a B-number, which is related to the Old Town in Stockholm, in order to obtain information about friends which are in the area (which takes place according to the method described above), it is then possible to transmit profile based commercials that are actual for the area during the period of time controlled by the timer's time-out

Another example is if it in the date base is stored that a pub has "happy hour" between 17 and 20 and a user being registered in the geographic area covering the pub (i e calls the B-number related to said geographic area) and if the user has further registered a profile which states an interest for bars, a message is transmitted about "happy hour" to the mobile unit (i e the user) The message may be sent directly when the user calls the information server and the information matches the profile or later when the conditions for matching is fulfilled, e g if the user calls at 16 and the pub will start its "happy hour" at 17, the message is sent at 17 provided that the timer's time-out has not yet been timed out Alternatively, if the information about "happy hour" between 17 and 20 in the pub is stored in the data base after the user being registered, a new test is performed after matching in the data base and if the timer's time-out states that the user is still in the geographic area covering the pub and further the profile of the user states bars as interesting, the information is sent to the user at 17

A person wanting to transmit commercials to the user can access the data base and there extract which profiles that are suitable to reach with a desired commercial message

Whether a call is really set up or not when the user calls the information server is of less importance for the invention It is possible that the call is not set up (but the user gets e g a busy tone), that it is set up and a confirmation that the signal has arrived is sent back to the user, e g as a voice message of the type "Instructions received Please, hang up the phone", or that it is set up without a confirmation In the case when no call is set up, no DTMF codes can of course be transmitted to the information server Clearing of a connection may be performed either by the user hanging up or the server initiating clearing of the call

Advantages of the present invention include among other things the following

• No SMS messages have to be sent by the user of the mobile unit • No speech channel needs to be kept open during the procedure in order to choose information, which implies lower costs at the same time as less network capacity is occupied

• It is a very simple solution, whereby existing mobile units may be used in order to utilize the telephone service described above

It will be obvious that the present invention may be varied in a plurality of ways Such variations are not regarded as departure from the scope of the present invention All such variations, as should be obvious for a man skilled in the art, are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention

Claims

1 A method for delivering site specific information to a user of a mobile unit in a mobile telephone system, characterized in - that a call is received (30) from the mobile unit (10) at one of a plurality of telephone numbers, called B-numbers, where said call comprises the telephone number of the mobile unit, called A-number,

- that a data base (32) is accessed, which comprises a plurality of sets with site specific information, where each set relates to a specific geographic area and is related to a respective B-number,

- that the data base (32) is searched after the set of site specific information which matches the B-number called from the mobile unit (10), and

- that at least a part of the matching set of site specific information is transmitted (33) to the mobile unit (10) in the form of a text message, wherein it is in advance determined which part of the matching set of site specific information that is thereafter to be sent to the mobile unit

2 The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the part of the matching set of site specific information that is determined in advance is defined by the user through a user profile that is associated with the A-number

3 The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein at least some of the sets of site specific information in the data base (32) comprises information about other users that have stated that they are within the geographic area matching the intended set

4 A method for delivering site specific information to a user of a mobile unit in a mobile telephone system, characterized in

- that a call is received (30) from the mobile unit (10) at one of a plurality of telephone numbers, called B-numbers, where said call comprises the telephone number of the mobile unit, called A-number, - that a data base (32) is accessed, which comprises a plurality of sets with site specific information, where each set relates to a specific geographic area and is related to a respective B-number,

- that at least a part of the matching set of site specific information is transmitted (33) to the mobile unit (10) in the form of a text message, wherein at least some of the sets of site specific information in the data base (32) comprises information about other users that have stated that they are within the geographic area matching the intended set

5 The method as claimed in any of claims 1-4, wherein the text message is transmitted as one or several SMS messages

6 The method as claimed in any of claims 1 -4, wherein the complete matching set of site specific information is transmitted to the mobile unit (10) as one or several SMS messages

7 The method as claimed in any of claims 1-6, wherein the call further comprises a code to specify which part of the matching set of site specific information that is thereafter to be sent to the mobile unit (10)

8 The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein a timer is started when the call is received, where the timer is associated with the A-number

9 The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein information about the user is added to the set associated with the called B-number and is later removed from the group when the timer time-out

10 The method as claimed in claim 7 or 8, wherein the timer's timeout is set in advance 11 The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the data base (32) comprises information about the number of or which sales places or service places, such as restaurants or petrol stations, that are within the geographic area

12 The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein it is in advance determined which part of the matching set of site specific information that is htereafter to be sent to the mobile unit

13 The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the part of the matching set of site specific information that is determined in advance is defined by the user through a user profile that is associated with the A-number

14 An arrangement for delivering site specific information to a user of a mobile unit (10) in a mobile telephone system comprising a receiver (14), a transmitter (13), a data base and a processing device (15), characterized in that

- the receiver (14) is arranged to receive (12) a call from the mobile unit (10) at one of several telephone numbers, called B-numbers, where said call comprises the telephone number of the mobile unit, called A-number,

- the data base comprises a plurality of sets of site specific information, where each set relates to a particular geographic area och is related to a respective B-number,

- the processing device (15) is arranged to search the data base for the set of site specific information matching the B-number called (12) from the mobile unit, and

- the transmitter (13) is arranged to transmit (11 ) at least part of the matching set of site specific information to the mobile unit (10) in the form of a text message, wherein the data base is accessible for setting which part of the matching set that is transmited (1 1 ) to the mobile unit 15 An arrangement for delivering site specific information to a user of a mobile unit (10) in a mobile telephone system comprising a receiver (14), a transmitter (13), a data base and a processing device (15), characterized in that - the receiver (14) is arranged to receive (12) a call from the mobile unit (10) at one of several telephone numbers, called B-numbers, where said call comprises the telephone number of the mobile unit, called A-number,

- the transmitter (13) is arranged to transmit (11 ) at least part of the matching set of site specific information to the mobile unit (10) in the form of a text message, wherein the data base is accessible for setting a timer's time-out, where the timer is associated with the A-number, and wherein the processing device (15) is arranged to add informtion about the user to the set associated with the B-number at the call and to remove the information about the user when the timer time-out

16 The arrangement as claimed in claim 14 or 15, wherein the text message is formed of one or several SMS messages

17 The arrangement as claimed in any of claims 14-16, wherein the data base is accessible through Internet