(12) United States Patent
`Lehikoinen et al.
`
`I lllll llllllll Ill lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll 111111111111111111111111111111111
`
`US00684 7823B2
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`Jan.25,2005
`
`(54) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACCESSING
`LOCAL SERVICES WITH A MOBILE
`TERMINAL
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Juha Lehikoinen, Lakiala (FI); Riku
`Suomela, Tampere (FI)
`
`(73) Assignee: Nokia Corporation, Espoo (FI)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 608 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/742,844
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Dec. 20, 2000
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2002/0077060 Al Jun. 20, 2002
`
`Int. Cl.7 .................................................. H04Q 7/20
`(51)
`(52) U.S. Cl. ................................ 455/456.1; 455/556.3;
`705/14
`(58) Field of Search ........................... 455/456.1, 556.3;
`705/14
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,963,861 A * 10/1999 Hanson ................... 455/456.1
`
`6,122,530 A * 9/2000 Overy et al. ................ 455/566
`6,208,866 Bl * 3/2001 Rouhollahzadeh et al.
`...... 455/
`456.5
`6,327,535 Bl * 12/2001 Evans et al. ................ 701/300
`6,452,498 B2 * 9/2002 Stewart ................... 340/573.1
`6,505,046 Bl * 1/2003 Baker ...................... 455/456.3
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner-Lee Nguyen
`Assistant Examiner-Minh D. Dao
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Cohen, Pontani, Lieberman
`& Pavane
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`In a mobile communication system, a method and system for
`obtaining location-dependent services information by using
`a mobile station. An information beacon containing services
`information pertaining to the location of the beacon is
`disposed in an environment. The beacon is capable of
`communicating with the mobile station when the mobile
`station is located within the operating range of the beacon.
`The mobile station includes a services access key which,
`when selected while the mobile station is within the oper(cid:173)
`ating range of the beacon, will transmit a query to the beacon
`requesting location-based services. In response to the query,
`location-based services information will be transmitted to
`the mobile station.
`
`35 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
`
`2
`DISPLAY
`
`SHORT
`RANGE
`TRANS(cid:173)
`CEIVER
`
`4.06
`NElWO
`RK
`TRANS(cid:173)
`CEIVER
`
`5.~M:i:c~s
`A<c.ES.5
`KE
`
`{V\obi It 5/ATJ.ON
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 1
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan.25,2005
`
`Sheet 1 of 9
`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`PSTN
`/SDN
`SC
`
`OMC
`
`GMSC
`
`HLR
`
`MSC
`
`VLR
`
`BSS"\.J
`
`SSC
`
`:
`
`BSC
`
`rBSS
`
`! : r .
`I
`1 MS
`! t
`~ BTS1
`BTS2 BTS3 i ! BTS4
`~
`.
`t-------~~--.J .
`! :
`~
`lA2
`LA1
`____ __, =------~
`Fig. 1
`fr-ior Arc
`
`•
`
`·.·.=
`
`~
`i I
`i l
`
`=·:~
`. !
`
`::::I
`
`BTSS-
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 2
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan.25,2005
`
`Sheet 2 of 9
`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`fJ6-.
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 3
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 25, 2005
`
`Sheet 3 of 9
`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`4~
`
`"'
`~ 1, iANTENNA "
`"'
`"
`,.
`312'11
`SHORT
`RANGE-
`TRANS-
`CEiVER -
`.. ~
`
`,~ 'llF"
`CPU
`
`.
`302
`
`~
`
`.....
`
`~
`
`""I
`
`, J
`
`.....
`
`....
`..- SHORT
`31 ~RANGE
`-
`fl"" TRANS-
`CEfVER
`
`""'
`
`30f ~ SHORT
`RANGE
`~ TRANS-
`CEIVER
`306
`STORAGE
`
`..
`...
`
`...
`
`~
`
`I
`
`....
`,- MEMORY
`3QL
`=··· •.... ... ·••··
`
`t'--
`
`.,
`
`Fig.3 Beacon device
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 4
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 25, 2005
`
`Sheet 4 of 9
`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`DISPLAY
`
`.,j ..
`
`-
`
`J/04~r-
`SHORT
`RANGE
`TRANS(cid:173)
`CEIVER
`
`t.fog., ..
`_ CPU
`
`l/.06~~
`NETWO
`RK·
`TRANS(cid:173)
`CEIVER
`
`4 ....
`
`~
`
`-~10
`
`~MEMO
`RY
`
`..
`
`• )
`
`.... ·-------·---·---~·-.. . ----- -·· ..
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 5
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan.25,2005
`
`Sheet 5 of 9
`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`Beacon
`
`Remote
`SMS
`Server
`
`500
`
`Mobile
`Station
`
`Services
`Access
`Key
`420
`
`FIG. 5
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 6
`
`

`
`N
`~
`~
`N
`~
`""-l
`.i;;..
`~
`O'I
`rJ'J.
`
`e
`
`\C
`0 .....,
`O'I
`~ .....
`'Jl =-~
`
`Ul
`
`N c c
`
`Ul
`N
`?
`~
`~
`
`~
`
`~ = ......
`~ ......
`~
`•
`\JJ.
`d •
`
`~ l~~GV
`'-lo?.. I
`
`* Return to main
`*Help
`* Browse context
`
`Context: Cinema
`
`on the device.
`and it can be viewed
`Context is downloaded
`
`~~GV
`
`@
`~
`
`l/leo
`
`context (C) Button
`User presses the
`
`L/O).
`
`...
`
`I
`
`I
`
`©Vi.a
`
`[!]
`
`f 1
`
`I
`
`f ;r&. 6A
`
`p,
`
`become available
`she enters the I ocal cinema beacon range. The services offered by the beacon
`Example scenario: A movie theatre. When the user approaches the ci neina, he or
`
`The User Ser an
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 7
`
`

`
`N
`~
`~
`N
`~
`""-l
`.i;;..
`~
`O'I
`rJ'J.
`
`e
`
`\C
`0 .....,
`-..J
`~
`
`'Jl =-~
`
`Ul
`
`N c c
`
`~Ul
`N
`?
`~
`~
`
`~ = ......
`~ ......
`~
`•
`\JJ.
`d •
`
`f:r-Cr· 68
`
`I
`
`I
`
`f 1
`
`I
`
`@EJ@
`... more ...
`I
`I* Prices
`*Timetables -
`*Starting next
`
`1'02
`
`©Y'l.o
`[!]
`
`Context: Cinema
`
`as a list.
`This example shows the data
`downloaded data
`And can now browse the
`User selects browse context
`
`Br OV\Se context
`
`I
`
`p,
`
`f B
`@ ~ G_?)
`
`Y1o
`~1i ~
`
`I* B rowse context I
`-----
`
`tfo'J..
`
`*Return to main
`*Help
`
`Context: Cinema
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 8
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan.25,2005
`
`Sheet 8 of 9
`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`Enter operating
`region of
`infonnation beacon
`
`7 I'
`
`Select service access key on
`mobile station to activate local
`information request from beacon
`
`Transmit available location(cid:173)
`dependant information from
`beacon to mobile station
`
`Scroll through received
`information on mobile
`station to select desired
`information
`
`No
`
`Transmit short
`message to short
`message server
`along with
`geographic location
`of mobile station
`
`7.7
`
`Transmit short
`message from server
`to mobile station
`containing location(cid:173)
`dependent
`information
`
`/. 8
`
`Yes
`
`Transmit desired
`information from
`beacon lO mobile
`station
`
`FIG. 7
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 9
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan.25,2005
`
`Sheet 9 of 9
`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`Select Services
`Access Key on
`MS
`
`~ ' I
`
`Enter Remote
`Server Mode
`
`No
`
`Yes
`
`Go To Step
`7.3
`
`No
`
`Contact Remote Server
`(e.g., GSM, SMS,
`GPRS, HSCSD)
`
`g -1 ,/'-._., of Service
`
`Obtain List
`
`Categories
`
`Select Desired
`Category From
`List
`
`Receive Information on
`Selected Category
`Based on Approximate
`MS Location
`
`FIG. 8
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 10
`
`

`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`1
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACCESSING
`LOCAL SERVICES WITH A MOBILE
`TERMINAL
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention relates to a mobile communication
`network and, more particularly, to accessing local services
`pertaining to a geographic location of a mobile station.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`Various service announcements can be transmitted to
`mobile stations on the basis of a service request of a
`subscriber in mobile communication systems. Generally, 15
`these services are most often arranged to be provided from
`outside the actual mobile communication system. By plac(cid:173)
`ing a call to a required service number, a mobile subscriber
`is able to order a selected service announcement to be
`delivered to the display of the mobile station, for example. 20
`These individual services may include weather forecast,
`traffic announcements, local news and other local services,
`such as taxi information, automobile service station
`announcements, mass transportation announcements and
`schedule information and various other commercial service 25
`announcements where the mobile subscriber seeks the
`desired announcement on the basis of the subscriber's
`current geographical location. The mobile subscriber gen(cid:173)
`erally desires to have the service announcement related to
`the subscriber's current location which varies due to the
`mobile nature of the mobile subscriber.
`FIG. 1 shows a simplified block diagram of the pan(cid:173)
`European GSM mobile communication system. It will be
`understood that this is only an example of a GSM network.
`The mobile station MS is connected via the radio path to one
`of the base transceiver stations BTS, such as the base station
`BTSl in FIG. 1. The base station system BSS comprises a
`base station controller BSC and base stations BTS controlled
`by the BSC. Usually several base station controllers are
`controlled by a mobile services switching center MSC. The
`mobile services switching center is connected to other
`mobile services switching centers.
`The GSM is connected to other networks through a
`gateway mobile services switching center GMSC, such as
`the public switched telephone network PSTN, to a public
`land mobile network PLMN, to an integrated services data
`network ISDN or to a service center SC, such as the short
`message service center SMSC. The operation and mainte(cid:173)
`nance center OMC monitors the operation of the entire
`system. The subscriber data of the mobile station MS is
`stored permanently in a home location register HLR and
`temporarily in a visitor location register VLR in the area of
`which the mobile station MS is located at a particular time.
`The location information of the mobile station MS is stored
`in the visitor location register VLR. The geographical area 55
`monitored by the visitor location register is divided into one
`or more location areas LA. One or more base stations BTS
`can operate in each location area.
`The base stations BTS continuously broadcast informa(cid:173)
`tion on a broadcast channel concerning themselves and their 60
`environment, such as a base station identity code BSIC,
`adjacent cell information and a location area identifier LAI
`broadcast on a paging channel. The cell broadcast center
`situated at the base station controller BSC, for example,
`manages the messages of the cell broadcast channels of the 65
`base stations BTS. The cell broadcast center transmits via
`the base station controller BSC the broadcast messages
`
`10
`
`2
`assigned for each individual base station BTS on the basis of
`initial information supplied by the operator. The broadcast
`on paging channels and cell broadcast channels, for
`example, has no address, is not encrypted and is intended to
`5 be received by all mobile stations MS within the geographi(cid:173)
`cal area covered by the transmission of the base station. The
`location information can then be used to solicit location
`based services, as more fully described in PCT Patent
`Document WO 98/19479.
`The availability of various types of wireless communica(cid:173)
`tion devices produces a need to have these devices interact
`with each other in a manner which is cost efficient and which
`can be easily implemented. Such communication can occur
`in GSM systems using SMS wherein short messages are
`communicated directly between two or more terminal
`devices, such as mobile stations, e.g. telephones, PDAs, etc.
`Terminal devices can also communicate with each other
`using infrared signals or radio frequency (RF) signals.
`Recently, low power RF systems have been proposed for
`providing communications between a plurality of transceiv(cid:173)
`ers through a short-range radio link having a broadcast range
`of several meters. One such local RF system is currently
`under development and is referred to as "Bluetooth". This
`system will be commercially available in the near future and
`is designed to operate in the open spectrum, e.g., around 2.4
`gigahertz. The Bluetooth system will allow for devices such
`as mobile phones, computers, and other types of terminal
`devices which are located within an operable range of the RF
`system to communicate with each other.
`Such local RF communication between various types of
`wireless devices has been proposed through the use of
`information beacons. For example, in commonly-owned
`U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/612,872, such informa-
`35 tion beacons are used to store, forward and receive short
`messages via local wireless communication, such as Blue(cid:173)
`tooth. The information beacons are essentially wireless
`transceiver devices capable of communicating within an
`associated operating range and, in particular, with wireless
`40 communication devices or other beacons located within the
`associated operating range.
`There are difficulties in accessing location dependent
`services from local RF communication systems and from
`SMS because the short message queries used to solicit such
`45 services information must be formulated, e.g. by depressing
`numerous keys on a mobile station keypad, etc. Moreover,
`the user will not know, until such a service request is placed,
`where such desired information is located, i.e. on a local RF
`server or on an SMS server. Thus, the user may be required
`50 to submit multiple inquiries and then select among the
`received transmissions, to obtain the desired information.
`
`30
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`To overcome limitations in the prior art described above
`and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent
`upon reading and understanding the present specification,
`the present invention discloses a system, apparatus and
`method for communicating services to a wireless terminal
`operating within a wireless network. The wireless device is
`not limited to any preset navigational structure, and provides
`the ability to remotely access services.
`In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a
`method of providing location-dependent services informa(cid:173)
`tion to a mobile station is provided, the mobile station being
`capable of short range communication. The method includes
`determining whether the mobile station is within an oper(cid:173)
`ating range of a short range communication beacon for
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 11
`
`

`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`4
`one another predetermined message requesting for location(cid:173)
`dependent services usable for different type of communica(cid:173)
`tion; starting short range communication in response to
`selecting the service access key using the predetermined
`5 message requesting for location-dependent services usable
`for short range communication; periodically scanning the
`value of the communication response; and if the communi(cid:173)
`cation response value exceeds the threshold value, starting
`communication using the predetermined message requesting
`10 for location-dependent services usable for different type of
`communication.
`Other objects and features of the present invention will
`become apparent from the following detailed description
`considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
`It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are
`designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a
`definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference
`should be made to the appended claims. It should be further
`understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to
`20 scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely
`intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and proce(cid:173)
`dures described herein.
`
`25
`
`3
`effecting wireless communication between the mobile sta(cid:173)
`tion and the beacon; establishing a communication link
`between the mobile station and the beacon if it is determined
`that the mobile station is within the operating range of the
`beacon; activating a services access key on the mobile
`station for transmitting a short range wireless communica(cid:173)
`tion query to the beacon for requesting location-dependent
`services information pertaining to a location of the mobile
`station; and transmitting, from the beacon to the mobile
`station in response to the mobile station query, location(cid:173)
`dependent services information.
`In accordance with another embodiment, the mobile sta(cid:173)
`tion of the method contains a memory and wherein the
`mobile station is capable of communicating with a base
`transceiver station, the method further includes broadcasting 15
`location information to the mobile station over the base
`transceiver station broadcast channel; storing the location
`information in the mobile station memory; sending a request
`along with the stored memory location from the mobile
`station to a remote service provider for location-dependent
`services information concerning services pertaining to the
`location information if it is determined that the mobile
`station is not within the operating range of the beacon; and
`transmitting, from the service provider to the mobile station,
`location-dependent services information.
`According to yet another embodiment of the present
`invention a system for providing location-dependent ser(cid:173)
`vices information to a mobile station is described, the mobile
`station being capable of short range communication, includ(cid:173)
`ing a mobile station including at least a short range trans- 30
`ceiver and a service access key, the mobile station located
`within an operating range of a short range transceiver of a
`short range communication beacon; the service access key
`of the mobile station being selectable for requesting
`location-dependent services information pertaining to a 35
`location of the mobile station, and; the short range trans(cid:173)
`ceiver of the mobile station being capable of sending a
`request for location-dependent services information and
`receiving a reply from the short range transceiver of the
`short range communication beacon in response to the 40
`request for location-dependent services.
`According to yet another embodiment, the inventive
`system also includes a memory in the mobile station which
`is capable of communicating with a base transceiver station,
`the system further including means for broadcasting to the 45
`mobile station over the base transceiver station broadcast
`channel, location information; means for storing the location
`information in the mobile station memory; means for send(cid:173)
`ing a request along with the stored memory location infor(cid:173)
`mation from the mobile station to a remote service provider 50
`for location-dependent services information concerning ser(cid:173)
`vices pertaining to the location information; and means for
`transmitting, from the service provider to the mobile station,
`location-dependent services information.
`According to yet another embodiment, the present inven- 55
`tion is directed to a mobile station having an access key for
`requesting location based services. The mobile station may,
`according to another embodiment, include a processor; a
`memory unit; a short range transceiver enabling short range
`communication; a network transceiver enabling communi- 60
`cation in a mobile network; an output device for outputting
`received content; and software means operative on the
`processor. The software means operates for maintaining in
`the memory unit a database including a communication
`response value and a threshold value and at least one 65
`predetermined message requesting for location-dependent
`services usable for short range communication and at least
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`In the drawings:
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art GSM mobile
`communication system according to one embodiment of the
`invention;
`FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of a beacon commu(cid:173)
`nication system according to one embodiment of the inven(cid:173)
`tion;
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a short range low power
`beacon for use in the communication system of FIG. 1
`according to one embodiment of the invention;
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a mobile station for use in the
`communication system according to one embodiment of the
`invention;
`FIG. 5 is a graphical representation of a local service
`access system in accordance with one embodiment of the
`invention;
`FIGS. 6A and 6B depict an illustrative usage scenario
`according to one embodiment of the invention;
`FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method
`in accordance with one embodiment of the present inven(cid:173)
`tion; and
`FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method
`in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`In the following description of the various embodiments,
`reference is made to the accompanying drawings which
`form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of
`illustration various embodiments in which the invention
`may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodi(cid:173)
`ments may be utilized, and structural and functional modi(cid:173)
`fications may be made without departing from the scope of
`the present invention.
`FIG. 2 depicts, according to one embodiment of the
`invention, an information beacon 14 operable in an operat(cid:173)
`ing range 5 for communicating with one or more mobile
`stations or terminal devices, such as PDAs or mobile phones
`P 1 , P 2 which are located within the operating range 5. The
`term "beacon" refers herein to a wireless store/forward
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 12
`
`

`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`5
`transceiver relay device, as explained more fully below, for
`storing messages and transmitting the stored messages to
`one or more terminal devices. It should be noted that beacon
`14 can also serve as a network node or connection point
`which provides access to and communication with a
`network, such as a host device, as more fully described in
`U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/614,508, filed on Jul. 11,
`2000, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by
`reference.
`The beacon 14 is a relatively small, portable transceiver
`device which communicates data between itself, neighbor(cid:173)
`ing beacons, and mobile stations within the respective
`beacon operating range. Each beacon 14 includes an RF
`receiver and transmitter capable of receiving and transmit(cid:173)
`ting data over the operative range of the RF receiver. For
`example, if Blue tooth technology is employed, the operating
`range of each beacon and, consequently, the distance
`between a beacon and a mobile station or an adjacent beacon
`in a network (i.e. the length of each link) using current
`technology is in the range of approximately 10 meters for a
`normal power mode and 300 meters for a high power mode.
`A detail of a preferred beacon device 14 according to one
`embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 3. The
`beacon includes a central processing unit (CPU) 302 inter(cid:173)
`faced with one or more short range (e.g., Bluetooth) trans(cid:173)
`ceivers 308, 310, 312 for communicating with other beacons
`14 or with a host in a network. If the beacon 14 serves as a
`host, the beacon will include means (not shown) for com(cid:173)
`municating with other networks. A memory 304 and storage
`area 306 are provided for storing application software as
`well as data to be communicated to intended recipients. Each
`beacon functions as a transceiver device and is operable in
`the corresponding region 5 (shown in FIG. 2), typically
`defined by the radius of its transmission range. Thus, for a
`10 meter operating range, each beacon 14 will be able to
`communicate with devices contained within a relatively
`circular geographic area defined by the operating range and
`centered at the location of the beacon 14. Such communi(cid:173)
`cation may be between a subject beacon and one or more
`neighboring beacons or between a subject beacon and one or
`more mobile stations. The operation of beacons 14 is more
`fully described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/612,
`872, the entire content of which is incorporated by reference.
`A detail of a preferred mobile station and, particularly, a
`mobile phone P 1 according to one embodiment of the
`invention is illustrated in FIG. 4. As shown, the mobile
`phone includes a display 402, such as an LCD display as is
`known in the art, a central processing unit (CPU) 408 and a
`memory 410. Standard mobile transmission and reception
`occurs via a network transceiver 406 connected to an
`antenna 412, a keypad 418 and short range transmission for
`communication with a subject beacon 14 in a local RF
`environment is conducted via a short range transceiver 404
`connected to the antenna. The keypad typically contains
`numerous function keys such as alpha-numeric keys an
`directional (arrow) keys for scrolling among contents con(cid:173)
`tained in memory or displayed on the display 402. The
`mobile station also includes one or more services access
`function keys 420 (also referred to herein as a "context" key)
`which may be separate from or part of the keypad 418 for
`transmitting a short range transmission request to a neigh(cid:173)
`boring beacon for soliciting location based information
`pertaining to the geographic location of the requesting
`mobile station, as explained more fully below.
`To communicate with the beacons 14, the mobile stations
`include a low power infrared or RF communication feature,
`such as Bluetooth. It is presently contemplated that com-
`
`5
`
`6
`munication between a mobile device and a particular beacon
`will be limited to relatively short text messages in a manner
`analogous to the Short Message Service available in present
`GSM systems, but may also include audio messages and
`larger text messages. To forward a message from a particular
`beacon to a mobile station, the mobile station (MS) must be
`capable of communicating with the particular beacon. This
`is accomplished by activating a low power RF communica(cid:173)
`tion feature of the mobile station P 1 (e.g. a Blue tooth chip).
`10 In the preferred embodiment, this is accomplished by select(cid:173)
`ing the services access key 420 on the MS when the MS is
`positioned within the operating range of the beacon. This
`will automatically transmit an information request to the
`receiving beacon for requesting location-based services
`15 information. Thus, by simply selecting the services access
`key, a service request query will be transmitted to a beacon
`located within the reception range of the query. As the
`request for services information is made via the low power
`short range RF communication feature (Bluetooth) of the
`20 MS, by definition, the general geographic location of the
`requesting MS is known. In other words, the location of the
`requesting MS is within the operating range of the receiving
`beacon. In response to the query, the beacon will wirelessly
`transmit short range messages in response to the service
`25 request query.
`As an example, one or more beacons disposed in a train
`station may receive continuous updates on train schedule
`information such as arrivals, departures and track changes.
`A traveler entering the train station (and the operating ranges
`30 of the train station beacons), will be able to obtain the stored
`train schedule information by simply selecting the services
`access key 420 on the user's mobile station. This will cause
`a service request to be wirelessly communicated to a beacon
`disposed in relative close proximity to the mobile station,
`35 whereupon available location-based information will be
`transmitted to the requesting mobile station for conveyance
`to the user, e.g., as a text or audio message, etc. This is
`graphically shown in FIG. 5 embodying the invention.
`In certain instances location based information may be
`40 stored in beacons by category or topic to facilitate transmis(cid:173)
`sion to the requesting mobile station. In the train station
`example discussed above, for example, information may be
`categorized as schedule information, traffic information
`(e.g., traffic in locations proximate the train station) and
`45 weather information (e.g. weather conditions surrounding
`the train station). When a local services query is submitted
`by a requesting MS to a beacon, the beacon will transmit the
`categories of information available (e.g. schedule, traffic,
`weather) whereupon the user will select, using functionality
`50 on the MS, the category of desired information. The selected
`information will then be wirelessly transmitted (e.g., by
`Bluetooth transmission) to the mobile station for review by
`the mobile station user. As a further illustrative example, and
`with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B embodying the
`55 invention, the inventive system may be used to obtain
`information pertaining to a cinema by entering an operating
`range of a cinema beacon and requesting information stored
`on the cinema beacon by depressing or selecting the context
`key 420 on a user's phone P 1 . The stored content is then
`60 transmitted to the phone such as by Bluetooth technology
`and the user can then use the phone keypad (e.g., the scroll
`up and down keys, etc.) to browse a category of the
`downloaded information. In this manner movie schedules,
`selection, prices, playing duration, etc. may be readily
`65 obtained.
`In the event the mobile station desires location-based
`services other than the services provided by the information
`
`Apple Inc. Exhibit 1015 Page 13
`
`

`
`US 6,847,823 B2
`
`7
`beacon, or in the event such information is unavailable from
`the beacon, location-based services can also be requested
`using known mobile phone communication techniques, such
`as short messaging, by communicating with a remote server
`500 (FIG. 5) such as an SMS server via a short range
`message communication as is known in the art. For example,
`after the mobile station has attempted, for a period of time
`(e.g., 20 seconds, etc.) to access a beacon via Bluetooth
`transmission, an attempt to contact the remote server will
`occur automatically. To provide location based services that 10
`are relevant to the geographic location of the mobile station
`user, however, the position of the user must be known to the
`remote server. This may be accomplished through known
`GPS location identification techniques or, in the case of
`SMS, by including the base station identity code (BSIC) of 15
`the base station currently in contact with the mobile station
`and attaching the code with the location based services short
`message request. This latter technique is more fully
`described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/101,041, the
`entire content of which is incorporated by reference. For 20
`privacy and security reasons, access to the BSIC codes
`and/or the GPS location information should be restricted so
`that the general location of particular mobile stations will
`not be divulged.
`With reference now to FIG. 7, the inventive location 25
`based information method is performed according to one
`embodiment of the invention by positioning a mobile station
`within an operating broadcast region of an information
`beacon (step 7.1). This may be accomplished, for example,
`when a mobile station user enters a location serviced by the 30
`information beacon, e.g., an airport, train station, shopping
`mall, etc. Once within the beacon operating range, the
`mobile station service access key 420 is selected whereupon
`a local wireless information request is transmitted by the MS
`short range transceiver 404 to the beacon 14 (step 7.2). In 35
`response to the request, the receiving information beacon
`will transmit location based information relevant to the
`general geographic position of the mobile station via a local
`wireless transmission (e.g., Bluetooth) (step 7.3). The trans(cid:173)
`mitted information may be information categories (e.g.
`departure schedule information, arrival schedule
`information, track information, etc.) whereupon the receiv(cid:173)
`ing MS will be used to scroll through and select the desired
`information category, for example, by using function keys
`on the keypad 418 of the MS (step 7.4). The desired
`information category will be selected and the information
`pertaining to the selected category will be transmitted from
`the beacon to the MS (step 7.6). Alternatively, all available
`information may be downloaded and the recipient can then
`use a terminal device keypad to browse through the infor(cid:173)
`mation and review the desired information categories. If the
`desired information category is not located, an SMS or other
`transmitted request along with an indication of the general
`geographic location of the MS can be transmitted from the
`MS to a service provider server, e.g., an SMS server (step
`7.7). In response, the SMS server will transmit, either
`directly or through a service provider server in communi(cid:173)
`cation with the SMS server, one or more short messages
`containing location service information relevant to the MS
`location (step 7.8). In this manner, a user who is urgently
`seeking location information services (such as train schedule
`information), can simply select the services access key 420
`as the user enters the train station for receiving location
`based information.
`A