WO2014072510A2

WO2014072510A2 - Improved geofencing

Info

Publication number: WO2014072510A2
Application number: PCT/EP2013/073517
Authority: WO
Inventors: Xavier CORBIN
Original assignee: Doro AB
Current assignee: Doro AB
Priority date: 2012-11-09
Filing date: 2013-11-11
Publication date: 2014-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 2015-05-09
Also published as: WO2014072510A3

Abstract

A method of providing a mobile device (10) with geofencing ability is disclosed. According to the method, a first partial geofencing zone (21a) representing a first geographical area is defined. Moreover, a second partial geofencing zone (21b) representing a second geographical areais defined. The second partial geofencing zone is different from and non-overlapping with the first partial geofencing zone. A combined geofencing zone (20) is then generated for the mobile device based on the first and second partial geofencing zones.

Description

IMPROVED GEOFENCING

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method of providing a mobile device with geofencing ability. The disclosure also relates to an associated mobile device and an associated remote device.

BACKGROUND

A geofence is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area. Such a virtual perimeter will be referred to as a geofencing zone in this disclosure. A geofencing zone is often defined as an area around a geographical point or location. A location-aware mobile device may be used to detect when or if the mobile device moves outside the geofencing zone (i.e., crosses the geofence), and this information may be used to trigger an alarm or for other purposes, such as scientific, logistic or statistical.

The location-awareness of the mobile device may be provided by local or remote positioning means, such as a local navigation system receiver in the mobile device, and/or a network-based location service external to the mobile device. A commonly used type of local navigation system receiver is a Global Position Service (GPS) receiver.

Generally, in the fields of mobile devices, there is room for improvements when it comes to providing a mobile device with geofencing ability. This disclosure describes improvements which have been made as a result of inventive and insightful reasoning.

SUMMARY

A first aspect of the present disclosure is a method of providing a mobile device with geofencing ability. The method comprises defining a first partial geofencing zone representing a first geographical area. It also comprises defining a second partial geofencing zone representing a second geographical area, the second partial geofencing zone being different from and non-overlapping with the first partial geofencing zone. The method moreover comprises generating a combined geofencing zone for the mobile device based on the first and second partial geofencing zones.

An advantage obtainable for embodiments of this first aspect of the present disclosure is that the geofencing zone may be configured in an efficient manner for the mobile device, requiring only a low number of steps. Another advantage obtainable for embodiments of this first aspect of the present disclosure is that the geofencing zone may be configured locally at the mobile device or remotely from the mobile device.

Still another advantage obtainable for embodiments of this first aspect of the present disclosure is that it allows for flexible generation of a combined geofencing zone representing a geocorridor which need not be straight or uniform.

Yet another advantage obtainable for embodiments of this first aspect of the present disclosure is that it allows for a multi-layer geofencing service where one or more of the partial geofencing zones represent an area which is to be treated differently from other parts of the combined geofencing zone.

Further objectives, features and advantages of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure will appear from the detailed description and drawings.

A second aspect of the present disclosure is a mobile device comprising a controller, wherein the controller is configured to perform the following steps so as to provide the mobile device with geofencing ability: defining a first partial geofencing zone representing a first geographical area; defining a second partial geofencing zone representing a second geographical area, the second partial geofencing zone being different from and non-overlapping with the first partial geofencing zone; and generating a combined geofencing zone for the mobile device based on the first and second partial geofencing zones.

In addition, the second aspect of the present disclosure may comprise means or other logical or structural elements capable of performing the same or corresponding steps or functions of the method referred to above for the first aspect of the disclosure.

A third aspect of the present disclosure is a remote device comprising a controller, wherein the controller is configured to perform the following steps so as to provide the mobile device with geofencing ability: defining a first partial geofencing zone representing a first geographical area; defining a second partial geofencing zone representing a second geographical area, the second partial geofencing zone being different from and non-overlapping with the first partial geofencing zone; and generating a combined geofencing zone for the mobile device based on the first and second partial geofencing zones.

In addition, the third aspect of the present disclosure may comprise means or other logical or structural elements capable of performing the same or corresponding steps or functions of the method referred to above for the first aspect of the disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above, as well as additional objectives, features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be better understood through the following illustrative and non- limiting detailed description of embodiments, reference being made to the appended drawings.

Fig 1 is a general schematic view of a geo fencing system, where a combined geofencing zone is generated for a mobile device based on first and second partial geofencing zones.

Fig 2 is a schematic view of a geofencing system, where an outer geofencing zone and an inner geofencing zone are defined for a mobile device.

Figs 3 a to 3 f are schematic views illustrating different steps of defining a combined geofencing zone for a mobile device.

Fig 4 is a schematic view illustrating a combined geofencing zone for a mobile device, the combined geofencing zone confining a plurality of partial geofencing zones as well as intermediate geofencing zones.

Fig 5 is a schematic front view of a mobile device according to one embodiment, capable for use in the geofencing system.

Fig 6 schematically illustrates the general structure of a mobile device according to one embodiment, capable for use in the geofencing system.

Fig 7 is a schematic perspective view of a remote device according to one embodiment, capable for use in the geofencing system.

Fig 8 schematically illustrates the general structure of a remote device according to one embodiment, capable for use in the geofencing system.

Fig 9 is a schematic view of a satellite-based navigation system.

Fig 10 is a computer screen printout illustrating two geographical areas in a map, to be represented by two partial geofencing zones being defined.

Figs 11a and 1 lb illustrate an alternative manner of defining a geofencing zone based on a plurality of partial geofencing zones. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter, by way of example in a non-limiting sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Fig 1 shows a general view of a geofencing system. A mobile device 10 is movable in different directions in an environment, as is schematically indicated by arrows in the drawing. The mobile device 10 is location-aware, i.e. it contains or has access to positioning means, such as a local navigation system receiver in the mobile device 10 and/or a network-based location service. The positioning means may be used to determine the current geographical position of the mobile device 10. One

implementation, among various possible ones, of the mobile device 10 will be described in more detail later with reference to Figs 5 and 6, where positioning means in the form of a GPS receiver is seen at 660.

A geo fencing zone 20 is defined for the mobile device 10. Although shown as rectangular in the drawing, the geofencing zone 20 is generally not limited to any particular shape but may be for instance circular, elliptical, triangular, square, rectangular, or shaped as a polygon of order n, where n is an arbitrary integer number. More sophisticated shapes are typically possible, including irregular or asymmetric shapes.

The geofencing zone 20 is generated based on a first partial geofencing zone 21a and a second partial geofencing zone 21b. The first partial geofencing zone 21a represents a first geographical area, whereas the second partial geofencing zone 21b represents a second geographical area. The second geographical area, and therefore the second partial geofencing zone, is different from and non-overlapping with the second geographical area, and therefore the first partial geofencing zone. Examples of such non-overlapping first and second geographical areas are seen at 41a and 41b in Fig 10. In view of this, the geofencing zone 20 is referred to as a combined geofencing zone 20 in this disclosure. In more particular, as is seen in Fig 1, the combined geofencing zone 20 may be generated such that the boundaries of the first and second partial geofencing zones 21a, 21b are confined within the boundary of the combined geofencing zone 20.

In one embodiment, the geofencing zone 20 may be locally configured by a user of the mobile device 10 by means of a user interface of the latter. Hence, in this embodiment, the steps of defining the first partial geofencing zone 21a and the second partial geofencing zone 21b are performed at the mobile device 10. This may involve receiving, over a local user interface of the mobile device 10, respective indications of the first and second geographical areas from a user of the mobile device. The mobile device 10 may, for instance, be implemented as a mobile communications terminal 600 seen in Fig 6, having a local user interface 620. Figs 3a-3f contain a sample sequence of steps which may be performed by a user of the mobile device 10 in its local user interface so as to define the combined geofencing zone 20. In another embodiment, the geofencing zone 20 may be remotely configured from a remote device 30. This is seen at 40 in Fig 1. One implementation, among various possible ones, of the remote device 30 will be described in more detail later with reference to Figs 7 and 8. In this embodiment, the steps of defining the first partial geofencing zone 21a and the second partial geofencing zone 21b are thus performed at the remote device 30. This may involve receiving, at the remote device 30, respective indications of the first and second geographical areas from a person typically not being a primary user of the mobile device 10. For instance, if the primary user of the mobile device 10 is a person with some kind of assistance need for reasons such as old age (a senior citizen), juvenile age (a child), or mental or physical handicap, the person at the remote device 30 may be an adult son or daughter, a parent, or an administrator at a remote care center (telecare center), hospital institution or personal security surveillance center.

Also the step of generating the combined geofencing zone 20 may be performed at the remote device 30, wherein the generated combined geofencing zone 20 may be transmitted to the mobile device 10, as seen at 40 in Fig 1.

In both of these cases (i.e. local configuration and remote configuration), the definition of the geofencing zone 20 will be known to the mobile device 10 after configuration has taken place. Hence, the generated combined geofencing zone 20 maybe stored in local memory (e.g. 640, Fig 6) of the mobile device 10 (600, Fig 6).

In one embodiment, the mobile device 10 determines its current position (using its positioning means) and repeatedly checks it with respect to the configured definition of the combined geofencing zone 20. Hence, the mobile device 10 may determine whether it is inside the geofencing zone 20 (as seen at 12a in Fig 1) or outside the geofencing zone 20 (as seen at 12b), and take appropriate action accordingly.

Specifically, when the mobile device 10 finds itself to be outside the combined geofencing zone 20, it may initiate an action, such as trigger a remote alarm by sending a notification or other alarm-related information to the remote device 30. This is seen at 50 in Fig 1 and may for instance serve to make another party (such as a service provider, employer, parent, or relative) aware of the fact that the mobile device 10 - and therefore most likely also its user - has left the area in which the user is supposed to be.

In an alternative embodiment, the definition of the combined geofencing zone 20 is not made available to the mobile device 10 after remote configuration by the remote device 30. In this case, the mobile device 10 may still repeatedly use its positioning means to determine its current position, but it will not itself check the determined current position with respect to the combined geo fencing zone 20. Instead, the mobile device 10 will transmit the determined current position as position data to another device, which has access to the configured definition of the combined geo fencing zone 20.

Such another device may be the remote device 30 in Fig 1, wherein the transmission of such position data from the mobile device 10 to the remote device 30 is seen at 50. Upon receipt of the position data from the mobile device 10, said another device (e.g. the remote device 30) may check the position data with respect to the definition of the combined geofencing zone 20 and determine whether the mobile device 10 is inside the geofencing zone 20 (as seen at 12a) or outside the geofencing zone 20 (as seen at 12b), and initiate an appropriate action accordingly, such as triggering an alarm.

In one embodiment, illustrated in Fig 2, at least two levels of geofencing zones 22, 24 may be configured for the mobile device 10. As explained above for Fig 1, the configuration may be made locally in the mobile device 10 or remotely by the remote device 30. The geofencing zones 22, 24 in Fig 2 are overlapping in the sense that the inner geofencing zone 24 is confined within the bounds of the outer geofencing zone 22. In one embodiment, the combined geofencing zone 20 is defined as the outer geofencing zone 22 and may be generated in the manner already referred to above for Fig 1. There may be more than two such layers of overlapping geofencing zones.

By using outer and inner geofencing zones 22, 24 as seen in Fig 2, a more advanced alarm scheme is rendered possible. This will now be explained.

When the mobile device 10 is within the inner geofencing zone 24, as seen at 12a in Fig 2, no action (e.g. alarm) needs to be taken.

As is seen at 12b, when the mobile device 10 has crossed the boundary of the inner geofencing zone 24 but is still within the outer geofencing zone 22, a local alarm may be triggered in or by the mobile device 10. This is seen at 52 in Fig 2. A local alarm may for instance involve causing an audible, visual or haptic (e.g. vibrational) alert to the user of the mobile device 10 through its user interface. Such an alert may serve to make the user aware of him or her being about to exit the area in which he or she is supposed to be.

As is seen at 12c, when the mobile device 10 has crossed also the boundary of the outer geofencing zone 22, a remote alarm may be triggered by the mobile device 10. This is seen at 54 in Fig 2. The remote alarm may for instance be given to the remote device 30, for instance in the same way and for the same purpose as has already been described above with respect to reference numeral 50 in Fig 1. Optionally, a local alarm may be given in addition to the remote alarm in the situation shown at 12c in Fig 2.

Reference is now made to Figs 3a-3f which show a sample sequence of steps which may be performed by a user of the mobile device 10 in its local user interface so as to define the combined geofencing zone 20 (i.e. local configuration). Alternatively, the sequence of steps may be performed at the remote device 30 by the aforementioned person typically not being the primary user of the mobile device 10 (i.e. remote configuration of the combined geofencing zone 20).

First, as seen in Fig 3 a, the configuring user or person may specify an origin or start point pi = (x_{l s} yi) of the first geographical area, such as area 41a in Fig 10. In the example of Fig 10, xi = 55.700496 and yi = 13.199300.

Second, as seen in Fig 3b, the configuring user or person may specify a radius x of the first geographical area. In the example of Fig 10, ri = 100 m. Hence, the first partial geofencing zone 21a has been defined, representing the first geographical area (e.g. area 41a in Fig 10).

Third, as seen in Fig 3c, the configuring user or person may specify an origin or start point p₂ = (x₂, y₂) of the second geographical area, such as area 41b in Fig 10. In the example of Fig 10, x₂ = 55.707363 and y₂ = 13.190460.

Fourth, as seen in Fig 3d, the configuring user or person may specify a radius r₂ of the second geographical area. In the example of Fig 10, r₂ = 300 m. Hence, the second partial geofencing zone 21b has been defined, representing the second geographical area (e.g. area 41b in Fig 10).

Fifth, as seen in Fig 3e, an intermediate geofencing zone 23 may then be automatically calculated as the area formed between lines 27, 28 connecting upper and lower perimeter points of the circular first and second partial geofencing zones 21a, 21b. The perimeter of the combined shape formed by zones 21a, 21b and 23 will effectively define the boundaries of the combined geofencing zone 20, as best seen in Fig 3f. The combined geofencing zone 20 can be seen as a kind of geocorridor inside of which the mobile device 10 is allowed to move.

As seen in Figs 3a-3e, the different partial geofencing zones 21a and 21b may be of different sizes. Although both partial geofencing zones 21a and 21b are shown as circles in Figs 3a-3e, it is emphasized that this shape is for exemplifying purposes only and that the actual shape of each zone may be, for instance, circular, elliptical, triangular, square, rectangular, polygonal, irregular or asymmetric. All partial geofencing zones do not have to have the same shape; one partial geofencing zone may be circular whereas another is square, etc. Likewise, there is no limitation in the number of partial geofencing zones used, i.e. they may be two, three, four, five, or any higher number. Hence, it can be seen that the disclosed method allows for flexible generation of a combined geofencing zone representing a geocorridor which is not straight and not uniform; on the contrary it may be tailored - efficiently and with only a limited number of defining steps required - to any irregular shape, size and directions of the geocorridor that may be appropriate or desired in a given situation.

Fig 4 illustrates another example of a combined geofencing zone 20 in the form of a geocorridor which is composed of a number of partial geofencing zones with intermediate geofencing zones in between. More particularly, the geofencing zone 20 comprises a first circular geofencing zone 21a, a second circular geofencing zone 21b and a third circular geofencing zone 21c. A first intermediate geofencing zone 23 is defined between the first and second circular zones 21a and 21b. A second intermediate geofencing zone 25 is defined between the second and third circular zones 21b and 21c. The perimeter of the combined shape formed by zones 21a, 23, 21b, 25 and 21c will effectively define the boundaries of the combined geofencing zone 20, in analogy with the description above for Figs 3 a to 3 f.

As with the previous embodiments, there are no limitations in number, shapes or sizes of the zones 21a-21c, 23 and 25. The concept with inner and outer geofencing zones for local and remote alarm handling, as described above for Fig 2, may be applied also for the embodiment of Fig 4. Hence, in some embodiments, the combined geofencing zone 20 may be defined as an outer geofencing zone (cf 22 in Fig 2). In such embodiments, an inner geofencing zone (cf 24 in Fig 2) may be confined within the outer geofencing zone, hence allowing multi-level action handling as already described in conjunction with Fig 2. The inner geofencing zone may for instance be defined by one of the first, second or third partial geofencing zones 21a, 21b, 21c. Alternatively, the inner geofencing zone may be defined by any of the first or second intermediate geofencing zones 23, 25.

As a further alternative, one or more of the partial geofencing zones may in turn encompass an inner zone, as seen at 27 in Fig 4. Such an inner zone within a partial geofencing zone may represent an inner geofencing zone for instance for generating a local alarm when crossed, as has already been described for Fig 2.

Hence, for instance as is seen in Fig 4, the outer geofencing zone 20 (i.e. the geocorridor) may have an irregular perimeter defined by the outer bounds of the partial geofencing zones 21a-c and intermediate geofencing zones 23, 25 (in analogy with the perimeter illustrated in Fig 3f), whereas the inner geofencing zone 27 may have a perimeter with a regular shape, such as circle, rectangle or other geometrical shape.

Generally, a layered geocorridor structure is available, where the outer geofencing zone has an irregular perimeter defined by the outer bounds of the partial geofencing zones and intermediate geofencing zones, and one or more inner geofencing zone(s) is/are confined within the outer geofencing zone and has/have any desired geometrical shape.

As already mentioned, a sample computer screen printout illustrating such configuration is found in Fig 10. It is to be noticed that Fig 10 shows a stage during configuration where two circular partial geofencing zones have been defined (one having a radius of 100 m and the other having a radius of 300 m). Further circular partial geofencing zone(s) and intermediate geofencing zones may also be defined even though not seen in Fig 10.

Any or all of the geofencing zones described above may be time-dependent in the sense that they are only valid for a certain (possibly reoccurring) time period, and/or in the sense that the zones change dynamically depending on the current time, date, month, etc.

A possible use case will now be described which is been rendered possible by providing the mobile device 10 with geofencing ability in the form of a combined geofencing zone as disclosed herein. A first partial geofencing zone (such as 21a in Figs 3a-3f) may represent a home occupational area of an intended user of the mobile device 10. The home occupational area may for instance be a house, apartment or room in which the user normally resides.

A second partial geofencing zone (such as 21b in Figs 3a-3f) may represent a permitted remote occupational area of the intended user. The permitted remote occupational area may for instance be a kindergarten, school, daycare center, medical center, local grocery store, or the home of a relative or friend.

An intermediate geofencing zone (such as 23 in Figs 3a-3f 23) may represent a geocorridor which the intended user may travel when transiting from the home occupational area to the remote occupational area.

Based on this configuration of the combined geofencing zone, the mobile device and therefore the intended user may be monitored as follows.

If the current position indicates that the mobile device 10 has left the home occupational represented by the first partial geofencing zone 21a, and entered the geocorridor represented by the intermediate geofencing zone 23, a first notification is sent from the mobile device 10 to a remote device (such as 30 in Figs 1 or 2) for the purpose of indicating to the remote device 30 that the intended user of the mobile device has left his home.

If the current position indicates that the mobile device 10 has left the geocorridor represented by the intermediate geofencing zone 23 without entering the permitted remote occupational area represented by the second partial geofencing zone 21b, a second notification is sent from the mobile device 10 to the remote device 30 for the purpose of triggering a remote alarm.

If the current position indicates that the mobile device 10 has entered the permitted remote occupational area represented by the second partial geofencing zone 21b, a third notification is sent from the mobile device 10 to the remote device 30 for the purpose of indicating to the remote device that the intended user of the mobile device has arrived at the permitted remote occupational area.

One implementation, among various possible ones, of the mobile device 10 will now be described with reference to Figs 5 and 6.

Fig 5 shows a schematic overview of an implementation of the mobile device 10 in the form of a mobile communications terminal 500. In the embodiment shown the mobile communications terminal is a mobile phone 500 configured for operation in a mobile communication network such as, for instance, GSM, UMTS or LTE. In other embodiments the mobile communications terminal 500 is a surfpad (a.k.a. tablet computer), a personal digital assistant, a media player, a location finding device or generally any hand-held, user-carried or user- worn device capable of communicating with other devices.

The mobile phone 500 comprises a housing 510 in which a display 520 is arranged. In one embodiment the display 520 is a touch display. In other embodiments the display 520 is a non-touch display. Furthermore, the mobile phone 500 comprises a number of keys 530a, 530b. In this embodiment there are two keys 530a-b, but any number of keys, including none, is possible and depends on the design of the mobile phone 500. In one embodiment the mobile phone 500 is configured to display and operate one or more virtual keys 535 on the touch display 520. It should be noted that the number of virtual keys 535 are dependent on the design of the mobile phone 500 and an application that is executed on the mobile phone 500. In one embodiment the mobile communications terminal 500 comprises an ITU-T keypad or a QWERTY (or equivalent) keypad in addition to or as an alternative to a touch-sensitive display. In an embodiment where the keypad is an alternative to a touch-sensitive display, the display 520 is a non-touch-sensitive display. Fig 6 shows a schematic view of the general structure of a mobile communications terminal 600, which may be identical to the mobile communications terminal 500 in Fig 5. The mobile communications terminal 600 comprises a controller 610 which is responsible for the overall operation of the mobile communications terminal and is preferably implemented by any commercially available CPU ("Central

Processing Unit"), DSP ("digital signal processor") or any other electronic

programmable logic device, or a combination of such processors or other electronic programmable logic device. The controller 510 may be implemented using instructions that enable hardware functionality, for example, by using executable computer program instructions in a general-purpose or special-purpose processor that may be stored on a computer readable storage medium (disk, memory, etc) 640 to be executed by such a processor. The controller 610 may be configured to read such instructions from the memory 640 and execute these instructions to control the operation of the mobile communications terminal 600. The memory 640 may be implemented using any commonly known technology for computer-readable memories such as ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM, CMOS, FLASH, DDR, EEPROM memory, flash memory, hard drive, optical storage, or any combination thereof.

The memory 640 is used for various purposes by the controller 610, one of them being for storing application data and various software modules in the mobile com- munications terminal. The software modules include a real-time operating system, drivers for a user interface 620, an application handler as well as various applications 650. The applications 650 are sets of instructions that when executed by the controller 610 control the operation of the mobile communications terminal 600. The applications 650 can include a messaging application for short messaging service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS) and electronic mail, a media player application, as well as various other applications, such as applications for voice calls, video calls, web browsing, document reading and/or document editing, an instant messaging application, a phonebook application, a calendar application, a control panel application, a video game, a notepad application, location finding applications, etc.

One or more of the applications 650, and thus the controller 610, may be configured to perform the functionality described above for the mobile device 10 with reference to Figs 1, 2, 3a-3f and 4. Thus, such an application can be seen as a computer program product encoded with computer program code means which, when loaded and executed by a processing unit (controller 610), cause performance of the functionality described above for the mobile device 10. Alternatively or additionally, the memory 640 can be seen as a computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions (defining said application) which, when loaded and executed by a processing unit (controller 610), cause performance of the functionality described above for the mobile device 10.

In one embodiment the mobile communications terminal 600 further comprises positioning means 660 in the form of a local position determining device, such as a Global Positioning Systems (GPS) receiver, or a corresponding receiver for use in another Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) such as GLONASS, Beidou navigation system, Compass navigation system or the European Union's Galileo positioning system. The mobile communications terminal 600 is thus able to determine its present location through the positioning means 660. Alternatively or additionally, the positioning means 660 may involve a network-based location service such as network- assisted GNSS, Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) or (enhanced) cell ID positioning, as are available in for instance LTE.

The user interface 620 of the mobile communications terminal 600 is, in the mobile communications terminal 500 of Fig 5, comprised of the display 520, the keys 530a-b, 535, a microphone and a loudspeaker. The user interface (UI) 620 also includes one or more hardware controllers, which together with user interface drivers cooperate with the display 520 and keys 530a-b, as well as various other I/O devices such as microphone, loudspeaker, vibrator, ringtone generator, LED indicator, etc. As is commonly known, the user may operate the mobile terminal through the user interface thus formed.

The mobile communications terminal 600 further comprises a radio frequency interface 630. As is seen in Fig 9 (where the mobile communications terminal 600 is seen at 900), the radio frequency interface 630 is adapted to allow the mobile communications terminal to communicate with other devices 930, 940, 950 over a communication network 910 in one or more radio frequency bands through the use of one or more radio frequency technologies. Examples of such technologies are W- CDMA, GSM, UMTS, LTE and NMT, to name a few. Specifically, with reference to Figs 1 and 2, such communication will include the remote configuration 40 of the geofencing zone 20 of the mobile device 10, and the transmission of an alarm 50/54 or position data 50 from the mobile device 10 to the remote device 30.

The controller 610 is configured to execute the applications 650, such as the voice call and message handling applications, using the radio frequency interface 630 and software stored in the memory 640 (which software includes various modules, protocol stacks, drivers, etc. to provide communication services, such as transport, network and connectivity, for the radio frequency interface 630). The radio frequency interface 630 comprises an internal or external antenna as well as appropriate radio circuitry for establishing and maintaining a wireless link to a base station. As is well known to a person skilled in the art, the radio circuitry comprises a series of analogue and digital electronic components, together forming a radio receiver and transmitter. These components include, for instance, band pass filters, amplifiers, mixers, local oscillators, low pass filters, AD/DA converters, etc. The radio frequency interface 630 may further comprise components enabling short-range radio frequency communi- cation, such as Bluetooth™, Near Field Communication or wireless communication under the IEEE 802.1 lb standard (WiFi).

The mobile communications terminal 600 further comprises the aforementioned positioning means 660, e.g. GPS receiver. As is seen in Fig 9, such a GPS receiver 660 is arranged to establish connections 922 with a number of satellites 920 and determine a current position of the mobile communications terminal 600 (shown as 900 in Fig 9) from the position of the satellites, and to provide the controller 610 of the mobile communications terminal 600 with the position determined.

One implementation, among various possible ones, of the remote device 30 will now be described with reference to Figs 7 and 8.

Fig 7 shows an embodiment of the remote device 30 in the form of a communication apparatus 700 which is configured for network communication, either wireless or wired. In one embodiment, the communication apparatus 700 is configured for network communication, both wireless and wired. Examples of such a communication apparatus 700 are: a desktop personal computer (see 930 in Fig 9), a work station, a laptop computer (see 940 in Fig 9), or a mobile communications terminal (see 950 in Fig 9) designed much like the mobile communications terminal 500 and 600 described above and implementing the mobile device 10.

The communication apparatus 700 will hereafter be exemplified and described as a personal computer 700. The communication apparatus 700 comprises a display 710 and a housing 720. The housing comprises a controller or CPU (not shown) and one or more computer-readable storage media (not shown), such as storage units and internal memory. Examples of storage units are disk drives or hard drives. The communication apparatus 700 further comprises at least one data port. Data ports can be wired and/or wireless. Examples of data ports are USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports, Ethernet ports or Wi-Fi (according to IEEE standard 802.11) ports. Data ports are configured to enable the communication apparatus 700 to connect with other devices - including the mobile device 10 (seen as 900 in Fig 9).

The communication apparatus 700 further comprises at least one input unit such as a keyboard 730. Other examples of input units are computer mice, touch pads, touch screens or joysticks, to name a few.

Fig 8 shows a schematic view 800 of the general structure of the communication apparatus 700 according to Fig 7. The apparatus comprises a controller 810 which is responsible for the overall operation of the apparatus and is implemented by any commercially available CPU ("Central Processing Unit"), DSP ("Digital Signal Processor") or any other electronic programmable logic device. The controller 810 is implemented using instructions that enable hardware functionality, for example, by using executable computer program instructions in a general-purpose or special-purpose processor that may be stored on a computer readable storage medium (disk, memory, etc) 840 to be executed by such a processor. The controller 810 is configured to read instructions from the memory 840 and execute these instructions to control the operation of the communication apparatus. The memory 840 is implemented using any commonly known technology for computer-readable memories such as ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM, CMOS, FLASH, DDR, EEPROM memory, flash memory, hard drive, optical storage, or any combination thereof.

The communication apparatus further comprises one or more applications 850.

The applications are sets of instructions that when executed by the controller 810 control the operation of the communication apparatus. The memory 840 is used for various purposes by the controller 810, one of them being for storing application data and program instructions 850 for various software modules in the communication apparatus. The software modules include a real-time operating system, drivers for a user interface 820, an application handler as well as various applications 850. The applications 850 can include a messaging application such as electronic mail, a browsing application, a media player application, as well as various other applications 850, such as applications for voice calls, video calls, document reading and/or document editing, an instant messaging application, a calendar application, a control panel application, a video game, a notepad application, etc.

One or more of the applications 850, and thus the controller 810, may be configured to perform the functionality described above for the remote device 30 with reference to Figs 1, 2, 3a-3f and 4. Thus, such an application can be seen as a computer program product encoded with computer program code means which, when loaded and executed by a processing unit (controller 810), cause performance of the functionality described above for the remote device 30. Alternatively or additionally, the memory 840 can be seen as a computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions (defining said application) which, when loaded and executed by a processing unit (controller 810), cause performance of the functionality described above for the remote device 30.

The communication apparatus 800 further comprises drivers for the user interface 820 which in the disclosed embodiment of Fig 7 is comprised of the display 710 and the keypad 730. The user interface (UI) drivers 820 also includes one or more hardware controllers, which together with the UI drivers cooperate with the display 710 and keypad 730, as well as various other I/O devices such as sound system, LED indicator, etc. As is commonly known, the user may operate the communication apparatus through the user interface thus formed.

The communication apparatus further comprises a network interface for connecting to the communication network 910 of Fig 9. The network interface may comprise a radio frequency interface 830, which is adapted to allow the communication apparatus (see 940 and 950 in Fig 9) to communicate with other devices (see links 942 and 952 in Fig 9) through a radio frequency band through the use of different radio frequency technologies. Examples of such technologies are WiFi, Bluetooth, W- CDMA, GSM, UTRAN, LTE, and NMT, to name a few.

The communication apparatus may further or alternatively comprise a wired interface 835, which is adapted to allow the communication apparatus to communicate with other devices through the use of different network technologies (see 930 and 932 in Fig 9). Examples of such technologies are USB, Ethernet, and Local Area Network, TCP/IP (Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), to name a few.

The controller 810 is configured to execute an application among the applications 850, such as the web browsing or email application, using the RF interface 830 and/or the wired interface 835 and software stored in the memory 840 (which software includes various modules, protocol stacks, drivers, etc. to provide communication services (such as transport, network and connectivity) for the RF interface 830 and/or the wired interface 835). The RF interface 830 comprises an internal or external antenna as well as appropriate radio circuitry for establishing and maintaining a wireless link to a base station. As is well known to a person skilled in the art, the radio circuitry comprises a series of analogue and digital electronic components, together forming a radio receiver and transmitter. These components include, for instance, band pass filters, amplifiers, mixers, local oscillators, low pass filters, AD/DA converters, etc. The RF interface 830 and/or the wired interface 835 are to be seen as examples of device communication interfaces that enable communication between the communication apparatus 700/800/930-950 and another device. Specifically, with reference to Figs 1 and 2, such communication will include the remote configuration 40 of the geofencing zone 20 of the mobile device 10, and the transmission of an alarm 50/54 or position data 50 from the mobile device 10 to the remote device 30.

Some possible combinations of partial geofencing zones for the mobile device 10 in alternative embodiments will now be described with reference to Figs 11a and 1 lb. These alternative embodiments are presently not part of the subject matter of the claims as originally filed with this disclosure; however, they are considered to define valuable and inventive subject matter, and the right to prosecute all or part of this subject matter for patent protection at a later stage is hereby reserved. As seen in Fig 1 la, a geofencing zone 30 is composed by a number of partial geofencing zones 31a to 3 Id, wherein each partial geofencing zone is located next to one or more of the other partial geofencing zones. In this way, a combined geofencing zone 30 may be configured which defines a kind of geocorridor inside of which the mobile device 10 is allowed to move. The boundaries of the geocorridor formed by the exemplifying partial geofencing zones 31a-31d are seen at 35 in Fig 1 lb.

As seen in Fig 11a, the different partial geofencing zones 3 la-3 Id may be of different sizes. Although all the partial geofencing zones 3 la-3 Id are shown as squares in Fig 1 la, it is again emphasized that this shape is for exemplifying purposes only and that the actual shape of each zone may be, for instance, circular, elliptical, triangular, square, rectangular, polygonal, irregular or asymmetric. All partial geofencing zones 3 la-3 Id do not have to have the same shape; one partial geofencing zone may be circular whereas another is square, etc.

Likewise, there is no limitation in the number of partial geofencing zones 31a- 3 Id used, i.e. they may be two, three, four, five, or any higher number.

Some of the partial geofencing zones may be partially overlapping. This is seen in Fig 11a where the partial geofencing zones 31b and 31c partially overlap at 31c'.

One or more of the partial geofencing zones may surround an inner zone 31c".

Such an inner zone 31c" may represent an inner geofencing zone for generating a local alarm when crossed, as has already been described for Fig 2. In this case, as is seen in Fig 1 lb, the outer geofencing zone (i.e. the geocorridor) will have an irregular perimeter as seen at 35, whereas the inner geofencing zone will have a perimeter 36 shaped as a square, i.e. corresponding to the inner zone 31c". All embodiments described above are to be construed merely as illustrative examples of the present disclosure. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations and changes may be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In particular, different part solutions in the different embodiments can be combined in other configurations, where technically possible.

Claims

1. A method of providing a mobile device (10) with geofencing ability, comprising:

defining a first partial geofencing zone (21a) representing a first geographical area;

defining a second partial geofencing zone (21b) representing a second geographical area, the second partial geofencing zone being different from and non- overlapping with the first partial geofencing zone; and

generating a combined geofencing zone (20) for the mobile device based on the first and second partial geofencing zones.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the steps of defining the first partial geofencing zone (21a) and the second partial geofencing zone (21b) are performed at said mobile device (10) and involve receiving, over a local user interface (620) of the mobile device (10; 600), respective indications of the first and second geographical areas from a user of the mobile device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the steps of defining the first partial geofencing zone (21a) and the second partial geofencing zone (21b) are performed at a remote device (30) and involve receiving, at said remote device (30), respective indications of the first and second geographical areas from a person typically not being a primary user of the mobile device (10).

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein also the step of generating the combined geofencing zone (20) is performed at the remote device (30), the method further comprising transmitting (40) the generated combined geofencing zone to the mobile device (10).

5. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising storing the generated combined geofencing zone (20) in local memory (640) of the mobile device (10; 600).

6. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the step of generating the combined geofencing zone (20) for the mobile device (10) involves defining the combined geo fencing zone (20) such that the boundaries of the first and second partial geofencing zones (21a, 21b) are confined within the boundary of the combined geofencing zone.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the boundary of the combined geofencing zone (20) further encompasses an intermediate geofencing zone (23), the boundary of which is confined between the boundaries of the first and second partial geofencing zones (21a, 21b).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein

the first partial geofencing zone (21a) represents a home occupational area of an intended user of the mobile device (10),

the second partial geofencing zone (21b) represents a permitted remote occupational area of the intended user, and

the intermediate geofencing zone (23) represents a geocorridor which the intended user may travel when transiting from the home occupational area to the remote occupational area.

9. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the combined geofencing zone (20) is defined as an outer geofencing zone (22), the method further comprising defining an inner geofencing zone (24) confined within the outer geofencing zone.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the inner geofencing zone (24) is defined by one of said first and second partial geofencing zones (21a, 21b).

11. The method according to claim 9 when dependent on claim 7, wherein the inner geofencing zone (24) is defined by the intermediate geofencing zone (23).

12. The method according to any preceding claim, the method further comprising defining at least a third partial geofencing zone (21c) representing at least a third geographical area, the third partial geofencing zone being different from and non- overlapping with the first and second partial geofencing zones (21a, 21b), wherein the step of generating the combined geofencing zone (20) for the mobile device (10) involves defining the combined geofencing zone (20) such that the boundaries of the first and second partial geo fencing zones (21a, 21b) as well as the third partial geofencing zone (21c) are confined within the boundary of the combined geo fencing zone.

13. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising configuring the mobile device (10) for:

using positioning means (660) to determine a current geographical position of the mobile device;

checking the current position thus determined with respect to the combined geofencing zone; and

initiating an action if the current position indicates that the mobile device is currently outside of the combined geofencing zone (20).

14. The method according to any of claims 1-12 except claims 4 and 5, further comprising, in a remote device (30):

receiving position data from the mobile device (10), the position data being obtained by positioning means (660);

determining a current geographical position of the mobile device from the received position data;

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the positioning means

(660) is one or more of:

a local navigation system receiver (660) in the mobile device; and

a network-based location service external to the mobile device.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein initiating an action if the current position indicates that the mobile device (10) is currently outside of the combined geofencing zone (20) involves triggering a remote alarm by sending a notification (50) from the mobile device (10) to a remote device (30).

17. The method according to claim 13 when dependent on any of claims 9 to 11 where the combined geo fencing zone (20) is defined as an outer geofencing zone (22), wherein:

if the current position indicates that the mobile device (10) is currently outside of the outer geofencing zone (22), a remote alarm (54) is triggered by sending a notification from the mobile device (10) to a remote device (30); and

if the current position indicates that the mobile device (10) is currently inside of the outer geofencing zone (22) but outside of the inner geofencing zone (24), a local alarm (52) is triggered in or by the mobile device (10).

18. The method according to claim 13 when dependent on claims 8, wherein if the current position indicates that the mobile device (10) has left the home occupational area as represented by the first partial geofencing zone (21a) and entered the geocorridor represented by the intermediate geofencing zone (23), a first notification is sent from the mobile device (10) to a remote device (30) for the purpose of indicating to the remote device that the intended user of the mobile device has left his home;

if the current position indicates that the mobile device has left the geocorridor represented by the intermediate geofencing zone without entering the permitted remote occupational area represented by the second partial geofencing zone (21b), a second notification is sent from the mobile device to the remote device for the purpose of triggering a remote alarm; and

if the current position indicates that the mobile device has entered the permitted remote occupational area represented by the second partial geofencing zone, a third notification is sent from the mobile device to the remote device for the purpose of indicating to the remote device that the intended user of the mobile device has arrived at the permitted remote occupational area.

19. A mobile device (600) comprising a controller (620), wherein the controller is configured to perform the method according to any of claims 1-2, 5-13 or 16-18.

20. A remote device (800) comprising a controller (810), wherein the controller is configured to perform the method according to any of claims 1, 3-4 6-12 or 14.