Abstract:
A method for facilitating a commercial transaction based on a current location of a mobile customer and a mobile merchant provides opportunity for commercial transaction not previously possible. In one application, the method establishes a wireless link between a server on a wide-area network and mobile customer, and obtains from the mobile customer a current location by reading automatically from a positioning device associated and located with said customer. Based on the current location so obtained, the server matches the mobile customer, as one party of the commercial transaction, with one or more business concern within a predetermined distance from the current location, so that the business concern can act as a counter-party to complete the commercial transaction. This and other location-relevant services can be delivered to the mobile person in a system including a positioning device mounted on a vehicle and an associated-handheld unit that the mobile person can carry around as he or she is outside the vehicle in its vicinity. The handheld unit communicates with the positioning device using a second wireless link (e.g., a local RF or infra-red link).

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to positioning technology. In particular, the present invention relates to applications of positioning technology to delivering relevant services to a vehicle. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     In recent years, commercial applications based on positioning systems have been developed. These applications are based, for example, on the Global Position System (GPS), or a cellular telephone network (using triangulation method). For example, one position-based system delivering services over the internet is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,159 (“Copending Application”), entitled “Method and Structure for Distribution of Travel Information Using a Network,” to Fan et al., filed Mar. 8, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,577, filed Aug. 28, 1997. The Copending Application and its parent application are assigned to @Road, Inc., the assignee also of the present invention. The disclosure of the Copending Application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for facilitating a commercial transaction based on a current location of a mobile customer is disclosed. In one embodiment of the present invention, the method establishes a wireless link between a server on a wide-area network and a mobile customer, and obtains from the mobile customer a current location by reading automatically from a positioning device associated and located with the customer. Based on the current location so obtained, the server matches the mobile customer, as one party of the commercial transaction, with one or more business concern within a predetermined distance from the current location, so that the business concern can act as a counter-party to complete commercial transaction. In one embodiment, the business concern is also mobile, and the server provides the matching based on both the mobile customer&#39;s current position and the business concern&#39;s current location. In one instance, the server facilitates the commercial transaction by arranging the business concern or concerns to participate in an on-line auction for the mobile customer&#39;s business. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the server obtains from the mobile customer a list of tasks to be performed at specified locations or specified times, as the mobile customer travels from place to place. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a system is disclosed for providing location-relevant services from a server over a wide-area computer network. One embodiment includes a positioning device that receives ranging signals to determine a current position and a first wireless interface for communication with the server. In addition, the positioning device includes a capability for, either through a built-in wireless interface or through an external device, communicating with a handheld device over a second wireless link (e.g., a local RF or infra-red link). The handheld device includes an input device, such as a keyboard, for receiving data over the second wireless link, and an output device, such as a video display, for providing data over the second wireless link. In one application, the second wireless link allows a user of the handheld device to communicate with the server through the positioning device. 
     In one embodiment, the handheld device includes a cellular telephone to allow an operator of the handheld device to communicate with the server independent of the positioning device. In that instance, the handheld device stores the location of the positioning device when the handheld device communicated with the positioning device. Thus, location-relevant services can still be provided to the operator even though the operator may have traveled outside of the range of the second wireless link. In one embodiment, the handheld device includes a personal digital assistant. 
     The present invention is better understood upon consideration of the detailed description below and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows positioning system  100  in which the present invention is applicable. 
         FIG. 2  shows one implementation of ILM  101  by circuit  200 . 
         FIG. 3  shows system  300 , including docking station  301  and handheld device  302 , suitable for use in one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates two modes of operation of system  300  in conjunction with ILM  101 , according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates location-relevant services that can be achieved using system  300  in conjunction with ILM  101 , according to another aspect of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates examples of location-relevant services that can be delivered to an operator of a vehicle, in accordance with another aspect of the invention. 
     
    
    
     In the detailed description below, to provide clarity, and to facilitate correspondence among the figures, like elements in the figures are provided like reference numerals. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention provides a system and a method for delivering services to a vehicle or a traveler based on the vehicle or the traveler&#39;s location determined in a positioning system.  FIG. 1  shows positioning system  100  in which the present invention is applicable. As shown in  FIG. 1 , positioning system  100  includes an internet location manager (ILM)  101 , which is a mobile control device having the capabilities of both obtaining its own position from a positioning system (e.g., GPS) and communicating over a computer network (e.g., the internet) to a server providing services of the present invention. ILM  101  can be provided, for example, in a vehicle. One possible implementation of ILM  101  is shown in  FIG. 2 , which is discussed in further detail below. As shown in  FIG. 1 , ILM  101  interacts with a user through, for example, console device  102 . Typically, console device  102  includes a keyboard or a pointing device for data entry, and a display for output of information. 
     ILM  101  receives from the positioning system (e.g., GPS satellite  104 ) position input information, which is processed to provide ILM  101 &#39;s current position. In addition, ILM  101  communicates over wireless link  103  (e.g., a CDPD, GSM, iDEN, CDMA or another wireless or cellular telephone communication link) with server  105 , which delivers location relevant services to ILM  101  over wide area network  106  (e.g., the internet). As shown in  FIG. 1 , wireless link  103  connects ILM  101  with wireless communication system  106  that includes cellular telephone network  107  and gateway  108 . Gateway  108  is typically a switch or a computer that couples and provides protocol conversion for data traffic between cellular telephone network  107  and wide area network  106 . Server  105  can have, for example, a hypertext “web” interface and provides access to a database having location-relevant information. 
       FIG. 2  shows one implementation of ILM  101  by circuit  200 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , circuit  200  includes central processing unit (CPU)  201 , which is typically a general-purpose microprocessor, such as a Motorola 68331 microprocessor. CPU  201  is the main controller of the system. Crystal oscillator  202  provides a time reference for circuit  200 . Flash memory module  203  and static random access memory (SRAM)  204  provide non-volatile and volatile storage for CPU  201 . In this embodiment, flash memory module  203  provides 512 K-bytes of non-volatile storage, and SRAM  204  provides 128 K-bytes of storage. The non-volatile storage is used primary for storing the firmware of ILM  101 , GPS look-up tables for positioning information calculation, and configuration parameters, such as device identification. SRAM  204  provides run-time storage, such as positioning information—position, velocity and time (PVT). 
     Battery  205  maintains the content of SRAM  204 . Real time clock (RTC) and system controller  206  provides a real time clock and non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) control. In addition RTC controller  206  includes an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. In this embodiment, the A/D converter is used to receive ignition, temperature and GPS antenna data. RTC and system controller  206 , which receives a clock signal from 32.768 KHz oscillator  216 , can be implemented, for example, by an integrated circuit DS 1670E, which is available from Dallas Semiconductor. 
     GPS RF front-end  208  and GPS Engine  207  implement the GPS signal processing functions of ILM  201 . In this embodiment, GPS RF front-end  208  can be implemented by four VRF-2 application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) or a VRF-12 ASIC, all of which are integrated dual conversion front end ASICs available from @Road, Inc. GPS RF ASIC  208  receives L 1  (1575.42 MHz) GPS signal, and provide a down-converted bandpass 2-bit quantized signal for data processing. GPS Engine  207 , which receives down-converted signals from GPS RF front-end  208  and provides signal processing to compute PVT information for ILM  201 . In this embodiment, GPS Engine  208  can be implemented by a VGP-12 ASIC available from @Road, Inc. In this embodiment, GPS Engine  207  provides a memory-mapped interface to CPU  201 , a GPS clock controller, and GPS correlator channels with common control, receiver gain control, and parallel and serial ports. In this embodiment, GPS Engine  207  communicates with CPU  201  over a 16-bit parallel bus. One example of GPS signal data processing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,827, entitled “Structure of a Position Processing Apparatus,” to Fan et al., filed Mar. 28, 1997, which is also assigned to @Road, Inc., the assignee also of this invention. 
     Modem  210  provides an interface to an external communication system, such as a cellular telephone network. Modem  210  allows ILM  101  to communicate with server  105  over the external communication system and gateway  108 . In this embodiment, modem  210  can be implemented, for example, by a Novatel NRM-6812 modem card. Modem  210  communicates with CPU  201  over input-output (I/O) bus  217 . Modem  210  receives a serial bit stream from and transmits a serial bit stream to a built-in universal asynchronous receiver and transmitter (UART) in GPS Engine  207 . 
     ILM  101  communicates with external circuits through industry standard interfaces at one or more data ports, such as data ports  212  and  213  of circuit  200 . In one implementation, circuit  200  communicates over output port  212 , provided as an RS-232 interface, with a multimedia output device during normal operation, and a configuration tool and a debugging tool during manufacturing and testing. A multimedia output device provides video output, audio output or both. Data port  213  is provided to interface with additional external devices and systems. In one embodiment, described in further detail below, data port  213  is implemented as an interface to a docking station of a hand-held device. Such a docking station can be provided with a radio frequency (RF) link to the handheld device using infra-red, 900 MHz, FRS or other local wireless technology. In one embodiment, the handheld device may be a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, another position device, a data collection device, or a similar device. Such a handheld device includes a cellular telephone that allows it to communicate with a third party (e.g., server  105 ) over a cellular telephone connection. 
     In addition, circuit  200  provides visual status indicators to an operator of the vehicle using LEDs  213 . Some examples of status indicators that can be implemented by LEDs  213  include power on/off, active/inactive communication with external communication network, operative/non-operative status of the GPS system in circuit  200 , active/inactive link to server  105 . In this embodiment, input and output terminals  215  provide additional means for input and output control signals that can be used by the firmware of ILM  101 . 
     The firmware in ILM  101  can be loaded and updated using over-the-air programming (OTAP) through modem  210 . OTAP can be provided using industry standard TFTP (“trivial file transfer protocol”). In TFTP, a TFTP file server is provided from which ILM  101  can request one or more files under operator control, or control by server  105 . Upon receiving the requested file, ILM  101  is reconfigured by executing a programming file to load the new firmware into non-volatile memory  203 . The programming file can be one of the files transferred under TFTP. 
     Using ILM  101 , a large number of location-relevant services can be delivered to an operator of a vehicle. Some examples of such location-relevant services are illustrated by  FIG. 6 . For example, based on the location of the vehicle reported by ILM  101 , server  105  can provide the operator driving directions to a specific destination, to a nearest gas station, hotel or motel, cinema, or an automatic teller machine etc. In addition, server  105  can provide price information regarding these facilities, vacancies or occupancy conditions in these nearby hotels or motels. In one application, server  105  can provide the vehicle operator access to e-commerce sites (e.g., on-line travel agencies), where the operator can obtain more information regarding a service, make a reservation, negotiate a price or arrange for payment of a service in advance of his or her arrival at a facility. Server  105  can also allow operators of these facilities to compete for the vehicle operator&#39;s business. For example, server  105  can provide discount offers to the vehicle operator from a particular merchant who has made arrangements with server  105  to provide such discount to its subscribers. Alternatively, the vehicle operator can publish his or her need for a particular service on server  105 , which then allows providers of the service to bid for the vehicle operator&#39;s business under, for example, a reversed auction mechanism. 
     In these instances, a commercial transaction is facilitated by the dynamically determined location of one party of the transaction. In fact, in some instances, neither party of the transaction need be stationary! For example, an operator of a vehicle that has unexpectedly broken down on the road can be matched up with a traveling mechanic, not from a stationary garage, but who moves from job to job carrying all his or her equipment in a truck. Previously, such a transaction would not be possible without involving a human dispatcher. 
     For many products and services, the distance between the provider and the consumer is not predictable in advance. As a result, in pricing the product or service, the merchant often prices by allocating the cost of transportation, which can be a significant variable in the cost for providing a product or a service and can vary quite significantly with distance, to all customers equally without regard to the actual transportation cost with respect to each customer. However, with the system described above, the customer&#39;s current location can be easily obtained from server  105 . As a result, pricing according to a more precise estimate of transportation cost is possible, thus allowing commerce to be more efficiently conducted, and allowing merchants to compete more effectively. 
     In one embodiment, the operator maintains a “things-to-do” list on server  105 . In that application, the operator specifies the time, the location, or both, at which each item on the list is to be performed. As ILM  101  reports its location, server  105  compares the time or location against items on the list. An appropriate alert, together with other helpful location-relevant services, is delivered to the operator of the vehicle when the location or time, or both, specified for an item list is approached. 
     As mentioned above, in one embodiment, data port  213  communicates with a docking station for a handheld device.  FIG. 3  shows an example of such a system  300 , including docking station  301  and handheld device  302 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , controller  313 , which can be implemented, for example, by a microprocessor, controls docking station  301 . Firmware for controller  313  can be stored in memory  310 , which may include a read-only component. To communicate with ILM  101  over data port  213 , docking station  301  includes interface  311  (e.g., an RS-232 interface). System  300  provides a wired connection between docking station  301  and handheld device  302  through wired interface  314 , when handheld device  302  is docked. In system  300 , when handheld device is removed from docking station  301 , a wireless link can be activated using wireless transmitter-receiver  312  between docking station  301  and handheld device  302 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , handheld device  302  is controlled by a controller  321  and includes memory  325 , which provides both firmware and run time storage. Wired interface  322  and wireless transmitter-receiver  320  maintain the wired and wireless communication links with docking station  301 . In addition, handheld unit includes input device  326  and output devices  323  and  324 . In one embodiment, output device  324  includes an LCD or plasma display to provide text and graphical output. Output device  323  includes a sound reproduction subsystem that provides audio output through a speaker (not shown) to an operator of handheld device  302 . In this embodiment, input device  326  includes a touch-sensitive tabloid or a keyboard mounted in a housing that includes also output device  323 . In addition, handheld device  302  can also be provided with a capability to maintain an independent second wireless link (e.g., over a cellular telephone network) with a third party. 
       FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrate location-relevant services that can be achieved using ILM  101 , in conjunction with system  300 .  FIG. 5  illustrates location-relevant services that can be achieved using system  300  in conjunction with ILM  101 , according to one aspect of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 5 , ILM  101  maintains communication link  501  over the Internet with server  503  to provide services to an operator of a vehicle, using the methods described above with respect to  FIG. 1 . For example, in one application, server  105  may provide directions to a destination to the operator based on the current location of the vehicle. The information (e.g., textual description of turn-by-turn directions, or a map) from server  101  can be displayed on a display device connected to data port  212 , for example. Additional multimedia output (e.g., voiced directions) is also possible. In another application, server  105  can provide, for example, emergency road-side assistance (e.g., step-by-step directions to change a flat tire, or emergency repair instructions). However, in some instances, the operator may require such services away from ILM  101 . For example, step-by-step instructions for changing a flat tire is best delivered to the operator as he or she carries out the tire-changing procedure. Alternatively, to perform such tasks as inventory control or asset monitoring, an ability to maintain connection with server  105  while moving around within a small local vicinity is valuable. Handheld device  302  can provide services away from ILM  101 . 
     When handheld device  302  is docked at docking station  301 , handheld device  302  can communicate with ILM  101  over wired interfaces  314  and  322 , interface  311  and data port  213 . While handheld device  302  is docked at docking station  301 , handheld device  302  can remain idle. Alternatively, input device  326  and output devices  323  and  324  can be used to allow the user to interact with server  105 . However, when handheld device  302  is removed from docking station  301 , input and output operations directed to ILM  101  are carried out on hand held device  302 , using input and output devices  323  and  324  and the wireless link maintained by receiver-transmitters  312  and  320 . Thus, an operator changing a flat tire can, for example, have handheld unit  302  by his or her side to receive step-by-step instructions (services  504 ). This operation is illustrated by operation mode  401 , in which the operator maintains a limited-range wireless link (i.e., between receiver-transmitters  312  and  320 .) Alternatively, communication between ILM  101  and server  105  can be initiated from handheld device  302  over wireless link  403  (services  506  of  FIG. 5 ). 
     Since wireless link  403  typically has a limited range, the present invention can provide an additional wireless communication link  404  directly with server  105 , under operation mode  402 . Under operation mode  402 , a wireless link need not be maintained between handheld unit  302  and docking station  301 , i.e., the operator of the vehicle be away from ILM  101  beyond the range of local wireless link  403 . For example, if the vehicle breaks down at an inconvenient location, the operator may need to obtain help beyond the range of local wireless link  403 . Under operation mode  402 , if wireless link  403  is not maintained between docking station  301  and handheld unit  302 , handheld unit stores the last position of ILM  101  at the time handheld unit  302  is removed from the docking station. Server  105  can provide location-specific services for the operator of the vehicle, using this last stored location of ILM  101 . 
     The detailed description above is provided to illustrate specific embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to be limiting. Numerous variations and modifications within the scope of the present invention are possible. For example, while the above detailed description describes docking station  301  as a device between ILM  101  and handheld unit  302 , the docking station can be eliminated within the scope of the present invention by providing in ILM  101  an additional wireless communication interface to allow direct wireless communication between handheld unit  302  and ILM  101 . As another example, while the embodiments provide for illustration purpose only server  105 , in practice, any number of servers can be provided. In addition, these servers can also share amongst themselves location information from either ILM  101  or handheld unit  302 , and each server can independently provide ILM  101  and handheld unit  302  location-relevant services. The present invention is set forth in the accompanying claims.