(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2001/0005171 A1
`Farringdon et al.
`(43) Pub. Date:
`Jun. 28, 2001
`
`US 2001 0005171A1
`
`(54) LOCATION ALARM
`(75) Inventors: Jonathan Farringdon, Penshurst (GB);
`Leonard H. Poll, Redhill (NL);
`Armando S. Valdes, Orpington (GB)
`Correspondence Address:
`Michael E. Marion
`c/o PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NORTH
`AMERICA CORPORATION
`Corporate Intellectual Property
`580 White Plains Road
`Tarrytown, NY 10591 (US)
`(73) Assignee: U.S. PHILIPS CORPORATION.
`(21) Appl. No.:
`09/747,111
`(22) Filed:
`Dec. 21, 2000
`(30)
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`Dec. 23, 1999 (GB)......................................... 9930645.8
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51) Int. Cl." ..................................................... G08B 23/00
`(52) U.S. Cl. ............. 340/573.1; 340/573.4; 342/357.01;
`342/357.06; 342/357.07
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A portable location alarm device is provided which allows a
`user to preset an alarm event to occur when the device
`arrives at a pre-determined location. The alarm event alerts
`the user by audible, Visual or vibrating means. The alarm
`device determines it's actual location using GPS data. In one
`embodiment the user bookmarks particular locations while
`physically present at a given location. Part of the bookmark
`ing process involves the device Simultaneously receiving
`GPS data that describes the physical location. The user can
`Subsequently Set an alarm event for any bookmarked loca
`tion without the need for the device to carry large databases,
`for example of the type croSS-referencing place names to
`mapping co-ordinates.
`
`
`
`Google, Exhibit 1010
`IPR2022-00742
`Page 1 of 7
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`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Jun. 28, 2001
`
`US 2001/0005171 A1
`
`
`
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`IPR2022-00742
`Page 2 of 7
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`US 2001/0005171 A1
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`Jun. 28, 2001
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`LOCATION ALARM
`
`DESCRIPTION
`0001. The present invention relates to a method and
`apparatus for producing an alarm Signal in mobile equip
`ment, and in particular to Such a method and apparatus for
`producing an alarm Signal in consumer electronics devices.
`0002. It is known to provide mobile terminals, such as
`personal digital assistants (PDAs) with a time scheduling
`function. By including a calendar and clock in the mobile
`terminal, together with an alarm facility, a user of the
`terminal is able to Set in advance a date and time for which
`an alarm should be generated.
`0003) While such temporal alarms are useful, a person
`may need to perform certain tasks that are preferably or even
`necessarily executed at particular locations. One example of
`Such a task might be when a perSon is requested by a friend
`to obtain Some information from a local theatre next time
`they visit it. ASSume the perSon occasionally visits the
`theatre, although not on a regular basis. Since the perSon
`Visits the place at irregular times, Setting a temporal alarm
`for Such a task is of limited value. Such a temporal alarm can
`only remind a user that they need to visit the location
`(theatre) to perform the task. In Some instances a user may
`have recently visited a location where they needed to
`perform a particular task, but failed to perform the task
`because they forgot to. They may have even Set a temporal
`alarm to remind them of the task, but if the alarm is
`generated after the person has departed from the location it
`is too late to be of benefit.
`0004. The paper entitled 'Shopper's Eye: Using loca
`tion-based filtering for a shopping agent in the physical
`world, from Proceedings of the Second International Con
`ference on Autonomous Agents, Minneapolis, Minn., USA
`May 9-13, 1998 (Proceedings of the Second International
`Conference on Autonomous Agents, pp. 416–421), intro
`duces Shopper's Eye', a PDA-based, Global Positioning
`System (GPS)-enabled agent prototype that relies on
`knowledge of a shopper's physical location to Support the
`Shopping task while Shopping in a mall. While at home,
`Shoppers create a shopping list of items by Selecting items
`from a pre-existing Set of product categories and also
`indicate the Shopping venue that they intend to visit by
`Selecting a venue from a list of Shopping malls. Upon
`arriving at the mall, ShopperS Eye begins by Suggesting the
`closest Store that Sells at least one item that is on the
`Shopping list of the user. ShopperS Eye is an example of
`location based filtering-exploiting the user's location to
`constrain the task of an agent.
`0005. In order for the Shoppers Eye to perform satis
`factorily, it is necessary to provide a database which includes
`information about how the particular shopping mall is
`designed, which shops are present in the mall, where those
`shops are in the mall and which shops Sell which products.
`Only when all of this information is available can the correct
`filtering be applied to the agent. Furthermore, information
`will need to be updated on a regular basis for it to be of use,
`especially the information relating to products Sold by the
`shops. Clearly, a large amount of information needs to be
`
`stored in the database which is more likely to be built up and
`maintained commercially than by an individual user. Indeed,
`unless a venue is listed in the database, ShopperS Eye will
`not be of assistance.
`0006. It will therefore be seen that the concept behind
`ShopperS Eye will not provide any assistance to the perSon
`noted in the theatre scenario above. Firstly, it is unlikely that
`a Small local theatre will be in a relatively localised area
`Such as a shopping mall and So is unlikely to appear on the
`database for selection. Secondly, the user of 'Shoppers Eye’
`is primarily concerned with the main task of Shopping and
`as a result of this, the user engages in a conscious act of
`preparing 'ShopperS Eye prior to embarking on the task of
`Shopping itself-the perSon knows that they will be in a
`particular shopping mall in the immediate future. In contrast,
`the perSon Visiting the theatre will be looking forward to
`enjoying a performance and the main objective of the Visit
`is not of gathering the information requested by his friend
`Some weeks before. As a result of this the person will not
`necessarily engage in a conscious preparation of listing all
`the things that they need to do at the theatre immediately
`prior to actually visiting it. There are a limited number of
`things one wants to do at a theatre and to employ the
`equivalent of 'Shoppers Eye for every task for a variety of
`activities that a user is likely to perform is an unattractive
`OC.
`0007. In accordance with a first aspect of the present
`invention there is provided a location alarm apparatus com
`prising:
`0008 alarm setting means allowing a user to specify one
`or more alarm location;
`0009 storage means for storing data defining the speci
`fied alarm locations,
`0010 location establishing means for determining the
`current location of the apparatus, and
`0011
`output signal generating means for generating an
`output Signal when the condition is met that the current
`location is Substantially the Same as a Specified alarm
`location.
`0012 Preferably, the location establishing means
`includes means for processing Global Positioning System
`information.
`0013 Optionally, the alarm setting means allows the user
`to Specify an alarm location which corresponds to the
`current location as determined by the location establishing
`means. This feature allows the user of the location alarm,
`when Situated at a particular location, to simply Set the
`apparatus to produce an output signal on the occurrence of
`a Subsequent visit to that particular location. Advanta
`geously, because information describing the physical loca
`tion is derived from the location establishing means, there is
`no requirement for the user to input Such information.
`Hence, there is no requirement for the user to have any
`knowledge of where they are in terms of physical geo
`graphic location as may normally be described, for example,
`with reference to navigational co-ordinates or the like. A
`further advantage is that because the user can specify the
`alarm location without making any reference to Such a
`
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`IPR2022-00742
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`physical geographic co-ordinate System, there is no need for
`the user to be provided with access to a map or the like,
`either in the form of a paper map or a map Stored electroni
`cally.
`0.014. The location alarm apparatus may further be pro
`Vided with Specified alarm location recording means for
`maintaining a record of previously specified alarm locations.
`This allows previously specified alarm locations to be
`recalled by the user and re-set as Specified alarm locations
`once more. Hence, once an alarm location has been Specified
`and the corresponding information describing the associated
`physical location is known, the user can re-set a specified
`alarm location even when they are at a physical location that
`does not correspond with the physical location of the re-set
`alarm location.
`0.015 The location alarm apparatus may allow for the
`asSociation of Supplementary information with the or each
`Specified alarm location. This information may also be used
`for Specifying alarm locations during the alarm Setting
`proceSS.
`0016. Where supplementary information is associated
`with a specified alarm location, on the condition being met
`that the current location is Substantially the same as a
`Specified alarm location, the output Signal generating means
`may generate an output signal of a type dependent on the
`Supplementary information associated with the Said Speci
`fied alarm location.
`0.017. Where supplementary information is associated
`with a specified alarm location, on the condition being met
`that the current location is Substantially the Same as the
`Specified alarm location, at least part of the Supplementary
`information associated with the Said specified alarm location
`may be reproduced.
`0.018 Where the alarm setting means allows the user to
`Specify an alarm location in terms of an item of data, this
`data may include navigational co-ordinates, a place name or
`mapping Symbols donating the presence of physical objects.
`0019. In accordance with another aspect of the present
`invention there is provided a method of generating a location
`dependent alarm output signal in a device comprising the
`Steps of:
`0020 specifying one or more location for which an
`output signal should be generated;
`0021 establishing the current location of the device; and
`0022 generating the output signal when the current loca
`tion is Substantially the same as a specified location.
`0023. Other aspects and optional features of the present
`invention appear in the appended claims, to which reference
`should now be made and the disclosure of which is incor
`porated herein by reference.
`0024. Embodiments of the present invention will now be
`described by way of example only with reference to the
`accompanying drawings in which:
`0.025
`FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of one imple
`mentation of the location alarm apparatus of the present
`invention; and
`
`0026 FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of functional
`components of the location alarm of the present invention.
`0027 Referring to the Figures, a mobile location alarm
`apparatus is provided in the form of alarm device 1 which is
`of a size and weight Suitable for being carried on the perSon
`or in personal luggage. The device 1 is provided with a
`keypad 2 allowing the user to input information necessary to
`use the device. The device 1 is also provided with a display
`3 which is used to display information that assists the user
`during use but which may also display information on the
`occurrence of an alarm event.
`0028. The main functional components include a micro
`processor 10, an alarm Setting means 11 which represents
`items necessary to Set an alarm location, a location estab
`lishing means 12 for determining the current location of the
`device 1 and an output Signal generating means 13, which
`generates an alarm output Signal when an alarm event
`occurs; that is when the device is determined to be at a
`location for which an alarm location is Set. The output Signal
`is used to drive an annunciation device, in this case a speaker
`14. However, the user can be alerted to the occurrence of an
`alarm event by using the alarm output Signal to drive a
`Vibrating device mounted in the alarm device 1, a visual
`indicator Such as an LED, to generate a message in the
`display 3 or a suitable combination thereof. Indeed, the user
`may be alerted to the occurrence of an alarm event in any
`Suitable manner.
`0029. The location establishing means 12 establishes the
`current, actual location of the device 1 by processing Global
`Positioning System (GPS) information. Such information is
`broadcast by GPS satellites and the information is received
`by antenna 15.
`0030. When the user wishes to set an alarm location, that
`is, a location for which they want an alarm event to occur,
`there are a number of methods for Specifying Such alarm
`locations. One preferred method is to set the alarm while the
`device is actually present at the location for which the alarm
`event is required. This allows information describing the
`physical location of the Specified alarm location to be
`obtained directly from the location establishing means 12
`and Stored in a Storage means in the form of memory 16. The
`user initiates this process by means of the keypad 2. This
`method has the advantage that an alarm location may be
`Specified very easily merely by being present at a location
`and indicating to the device that an alarm event should be set
`for that location by, for example, Simply pressing a button
`marked set.
`0031. Once the device moves away from the specified
`alarm location for which the alarm event is required, the
`device becomes enabled-that is the alarm becomes “set”
`for that location. The enabling process may be automatic or
`manually activated by the user. When the device 1 subse
`quently returns to the Specified alarm location for which the
`alarm is Set the current location matches the physical loca
`tion of the Specified alarm location causing the output Signal
`to be generated. A location alarm event thus occurs.
`0032. The above described process of setting the alarm
`provides particular advantages. The user of the alarm can Set
`an alarm event for a specified alarm location merely by
`being at the physical location of the Specified alarm location.
`
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`The user does not need to input any information describing
`to the device where the required specified alarm location is
`physically. The user just instructs the device to obtain that
`physical location information from the location establishing
`means 12. In one example implementation the user indicates
`that an alarm event should be set for that location simply by
`pressing a button marked Set.
`0033. Thus, the user requires no knowledge in terms of
`navigational coordinates or the like of where he is situated
`for the purpose of Setting the location alarm Since he is not
`required to input Such physical location information.
`Another advantage of this System is that it is unnecessary for
`the alarm device 1 to Store large databases of information
`croSS referencing coordinates with maps or place names or
`the like merely in order for the user to refer to Such a map
`or place name when Setting an alarm event.
`0034.
`In order to avoid the user needing to physically
`re-visit a specified alarm location every time they want to Set
`an alarm event for that location, location device 1 may be
`provided with Specified alarm location recording means 17
`which retains information relating to each specified alarm
`location including the data defining the physical location.
`Once the user has physically visited a location and Set an
`alarm event for that location once, they can Set further alarm
`events for that Same location by recalling information Stored
`in the alarm location recording means 17. Indeed, by use of
`the keypad 2 (or other input means), the user may instruct
`the location recording means 17 to take a record of the
`current location, which record includes information obtained
`from the location establishing means 12 describing the
`physical location, but without actually committing the cur
`rent location to becoming a set alarm location. In this way
`the user of the device can roam around gathering physical
`location information of locations of interest to build up a Set
`of location bookmarks, without actually Setting an alarm
`event for these locations. After a period of Such activity the
`user will have effectively built a library of specific alarm
`locations and the user can Subsequently access this infor
`mation at will for Setting an alarm event.
`0.035
`Each specified alarm location may be provided
`with associated information (in addition to that describing
`the physical location). One type of associated information is
`a text String that may be used to identify an alarm location.
`For example, for a Specified alarm location having a physical
`location situated in the theatre, an associated text String is
`added by the user to spell the word “Theatre, which may be
`presented by the display accordingly. A user wishing to Set
`an alarm event to occur when next visiting the theatre is then
`able to interrogate the contents of the location recording
`means 17 until they find the Specified alarm location having
`the associated identity information Theatre'.
`0036) A simple user interface provided by the interaction
`of the keypad 2 and display 3 allows the user to Specify
`alarm locations, asSociate text Strings with those locations
`and Subsequently Scroll through a list of recorded alarm
`locations by identity or otherwise, to Set an alarm event for
`one or more of those Stored locations.
`0037 For a given specified alarm location the associated
`information may be reproduced on the occurrence of an
`alarm event. Taking the above example of a location alarm
`
`Set with a specified alarm location of the theatre, a Subse
`quent Visit to the theatre will trigger the occurrence of an
`alarm event. On occurrence of this alarm event the word
`Theatre appears in the display 3.
`0038. The information associated with a specified alarm
`location may be more comprehensive. In the case of the
`above example, on the occurrence of the Said alarm event the
`display presents a message that reminds the user of what
`they need to do while at the theatre, for example, to enquire
`about a forthcoming production. The message would have
`been input by the user at the time of Setting the alarm event,
`or may be appended to the Set alarm event Some time later.
`0039. The device 1 allows the user to take a number of
`Specified alarm locations and give them a common identity.
`One example would be where there are several alarm
`locations each corresponding to a chemists shop. If the user
`of the device is not concerned with Visiting a specific
`chemists shop then he can Set the device to generate an alarm
`event the next time he is at any one of the chemists shops.
`By grouping a number of Such alarm locations together, a
`generic alarm location type may be defined giving the group
`an identity. An alarm event may be Set in terms of this
`identity. A Subsequent visit to any of the alarm locations
`belonging to that group may then produce an alarm whereby
`information associated with the group identity rather than
`the Specific alarm location is displayed.
`0040. It is possible to select the type of alert produced by
`the device on the occurrence of an alarm event. The type of
`alert can be chosen at the time of Setting the alarm or can be
`associated with the specified alarm location (or generic
`alarm location) itself. For example, should the user wish to
`Set an alarm event for a Specified alarm location which is
`physically located in a noisy place, they may prefer to be
`alerted using the Visual alert or the vibrating device. Thus the
`type of alert can be chosen to be appropriate to the context.
`0041) A second method of setting the location alarm is to
`Specify the alarm location with reference to a database. Such
`a database may contain place names or a representation of a
`map, and the user Sets the alarm by Specifying an alarm
`location with reference to the database. The database is
`interrogated to obtain information describing the physical
`location of the Selected place name or position Selected on
`the map. This allows an alarm to be set for a particular
`location without the need to have ever physically visited the
`location. Where the database contains a representation of a
`map, an alarm location may be specified in terms of features
`of the map. An example would be the Selection of a Symbol
`on a map showing the location of a public telephone to Set
`an alarm event that will occur when the device is next in the
`vicinity of a public telephone. The database may be inte
`grated to the device 1 or held on Supplementary Storage
`means Such as a ROM, magnetic disc, Solid State flash
`memory, optical disk or the like, which is accommodated in
`a Socket 4 of the device 1. Alternatively, the database may
`be held remotely on a Server and accessed on demand over
`a wired or wireless interface. Each Specified alarm location
`may be provided with associated information as described
`above.
`
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`0042. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art
`that it is permissible for an alarm event to occur even when
`there is a discrepancy between the determined current loca
`tion of the device 1 and the physical location of the specified
`alarm location. This means that an alarm event may occur
`when a user is near a particular Specified alarm location but
`not exactly at that location. Indeed, the user may specify a
`tolerance on an individual basis for each specified alarm
`location.
`0.043
`Preferably, the device establishes it's location
`using GPS data. However, the present invention is not solely
`restricted to obtaining the current location information in
`this manner and other Suitable methods may be employed, as
`will be apparent to the person skilled in the art.
`0044 One other way in which a device could establish
`it's location would be through the reception of transmissions
`originating from base Stations of a mobile cellular telephone
`System. Transmissions received from a base Station indicate
`to the device that it is reasonably near to the base Station.
`Transmissions may be received from more than one base
`Station simultaneously and by using triangulation techniques
`to process the received transmissions it should be possible to
`establish the position of a device with an accuracy in the
`order of a few meters to a few tens of meters.
`0.045 Although the present invention has been described
`as a discrete device, the location alarm apparatus may be
`incorporated in a mobile communications terminal Such as a
`mobile telephone, in a personal digital assistant or used with
`wearable computer apparatus. In these circumstances the
`location alarm apparatus may communicate and exchange
`data with Such equipment during normal operation. For
`example a GPS enabled personal digital assistant would
`provide the location alarm apparatus with information relat
`ing to the current location, which may be GPS data or
`processed location information.
`0046. Furthermore, the user may input information
`describing the physical location of a specified alarm location
`in other ways, as will be apparent to the perSon Skilled in the
`art. For example, if the user has access to navigational or
`mapping co-ordinates, they may be input directly using the
`keypad 2. In any case, the keypad is representative of an
`input device and as Such other variations or alternatives may
`be provided. Where a keypad is maintained, it could be
`provided in the form of a full alpha-numeric keypad or in the
`form of just several buttons.
`0047. Other variations include, for example, where the
`output signal generating means may produce an output
`Signal capable of triggering an event. Such events include
`presentation of a news feature, reproduction of music or
`Some other event. It is also possible to stipulate that in order
`for the output Signal generating means to generate an output
`signal, further criteria must be fulfilled together with the
`requirement that the current location is Substantially the
`Same as the Specified alarm location. For example, when the
`current location is Substantially the same as a Specified alarm
`location, an output Signal will only be generated on particu
`lar days of the week, or within a certain time of day. It is
`envisaged that where the user activity can also be estab
`lished, for example whether the user is walking, driving,
`Sitting at a desk and So forth, the presently established
`activity of the user may also be used in determining whether
`an output Signal will be generated.
`
`0048. From reading the present disclosure other modifi
`cations will be apparent to the perSon Skilled in the art. Such
`modifications may involve other features which are already
`known in the design, manufacture and use of Systems and
`devices and component parts thereof and which may be used
`instead of or in addition to features already described herein.
`1. A location alarm apparatus comprising:
`alarm Setting means allowing a user to specify one or
`more alarm location;
`Storage means for Storing data defining the Specified alarm
`locations,
`location establishing means for determining the current
`location of the apparatus, and
`output signal generating means for generating an output
`Signal when the condition is met that the current
`location is Substantially the same as a specified alarm
`location.
`2. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim 1
`wherein the location establishing means includes means for
`obtaining and processing Global Positioning System infor
`mation.
`3. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim 2
`wherein the location establishing means further comprises
`receiving means for receiving data transmitted by Satellites
`according to the Global Positioning System.
`4. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim 1,
`wherein the alarm Setting means allows the user to Specify
`an alarm location which corresponds to the current location
`as determined by the location establishing means.
`5. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim 1
`and further comprising Specified alarm location recording
`means for maintaining a record of previously specified alarm
`locations.
`6. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim 5,
`wherein the alarm Setting means allows the user to Specify
`an alarm location Selected from the record of previously
`Specified alarm locations.
`7. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim 1
`and further comprising means for associating Supplementary
`information with a specified alarm location.
`8. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim 7
`wherein the alarm Setting means allows the user to Specify
`an alarm location Selected from the record of previously
`Specified alarm locations, and further wherein the alarm
`Setting means allows the user to Specify one or more alarm
`locations in terms of the associated Supplementary informa
`tion.
`9. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim 7
`wherein, on the condition being met that the current location
`is Substantially the same as a specified alarm location, the
`output Signal generating means generates an output signal of
`a type dependent on the Supplementary information associ
`ated with the Said specified alarm location.
`10. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim
`7, wherein, on the condition being met that the current
`location is Substantially the Same as a Specified alarm
`location, at least part of the Supplementary information
`asSociated with the Said Specified alarm location is repro
`duced.
`11. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim
`1 and further comprising database means which relates items
`of data with one or more location.
`
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`12. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim
`11 wherein the alarm Setting means allows the user to
`Specify an alarm location in terms of an item of data.
`13. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim
`12 wherein the data includes navigational co-ordinates.
`14. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim
`12 wherein the data includes a place name.
`15. A location alarm apparatus in accordance with claim
`12 wherein the data includes mapping Symbols denoting the
`presence of physical objects.
`16. A mobile communications terminal including the
`location alarm apparatus of claim 1.
`17. A personal digital assistant having the location alarm
`apparatus of claim 1.
`
`18. An interactive electronic device having the location
`alarm apparatus of claim 1.
`19. Wearable electronic computer apparatus having the
`location alarm apparatus of claim 1.
`20. A method of generating a location dependent alarm
`output signal in a device comprising the Steps of:
`Specifying one or more location for which an output
`Signal should be generated;
`establishing the current location of the device; and
`generating the output signal when the current location is
`Substantially the same as a specified location.
`
`k
`
`k
`
`k
`
`k
`
`k
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`IPR2022-00742
`Page 7 of 7
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