WO2005020608A1

WO2005020608A1 - Method and device for automatic messaging of a waiting person

Info

Publication number: WO2005020608A1
Application number: PCT/EP2004/008913
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stephan Wilke
Original assignee: Stephan Wilke
Priority date: 2003-08-16
Filing date: 2004-08-10
Publication date: 2005-03-03
Also published as: DE10337603B3

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a system for automatic messaging of a waiting person, informing of the end of the waiting time. For said system and method, the waiting person must have a mobile telephone (2), which is used in the messaging process. The identifier for the mobile telephone (2) (call number) is entered in a messaging system and the person waiting can then leave the immediate vicinity of the contact point for the expected appointment. Should the turn of the waiting person come up, said person, optionally with a delay time, is sent a message by a messaging device (1), by means of said mobile telephone (2). The messaging device (1) preferably sends a text message (SMS) to the mobile telephone (2) of the waiting person.

Description

Method and system for automatically notifying a waiting person

The invention relates to a method and a system for automatically notifying a waiting person.

For example, when visiting a doctor, visiting a hairdresser, going to the authorities or the like, you are often forced to wait before your matter is actually dealt with. This is often indispensable even when e.g. B. a specific treatment appointment has been made with a doctor's office. Such waiting times can often be half an hour and longer.

During this time, you are forced to stay in the area where you want to do something, e.g. with a doctor in the waiting room or at the vehicle registration office in a waiting room. Because if you moved away from this place, you would no longer be informed about the progress of those waiting in front and would run the risk of missing your appointment.

Although there eg. In the waiting rooms of doctors in general magazines, where you scroll to bridge the waiting time to read that you can, but in most cases the waiting time "waste of time ^Λ, the better other things has been to do would. In addition, other patients are waiting in doctor's offices, for example, who may be suffering from contagious diseases, so that there is a certain risk of infection during the time in the waiting room.

It is therefore important to strive to find a method or a system which makes it possible to wait outside the immediate area of the point at which something is to be done, e.g. B. to spend outside the doctor's office or the authority. Then the time until the appointment is finally free could be used sensibly, e.g. by doing shopping, phone calls or the like. With the invention, such a method is specified as a method with the features of claim 1. Such a system is described in independent claim 4.

Advantageous refinements of the method and of the system are specified in dependent claims 2 and 3 or 5 to 7.

The highlight of the invention is to use a technology that is already available today in large parts of the population, namely the mobile radio technology (the cell phone), in order to allow the waiting person to leave the immediate area of the place where he is waiting become.

Instead of spending the entire waiting time in the area of this point and waiting for it to be called, the person waiting can enter his or her cell phone ID (phone number) in the notification device and leave the immediate waiting area. He can do his shopping or do other activities. As soon as the waiting time has expired (possibly including a lead time to enable the waiting person to return in time for his free appointment), the notification system will contact the waiting person via his mobile phone. This can be a call in which the waiting person is informed about the expiry of his waiting time via a band announcement, a voice message, a text message or any other form of the message which can be transmitted using the mobile radio technology. Within the scope of the invention, however, the sending of an SMS by the notification device is preferred. The text for such a text message can be specified in a standardized manner by the agency that issues the appointments, for example an authority, a doctor's office or the like. He may be able to ask for personal data relating to the waiting person, such as B. the salutation "Mr. Meyer" can be added. This personal data can be entered in the notification device by entering the mobile phone identification. Mobile data is preferably used to enter the data and is in the possession of the person waiting. In addition to the cell phone identification of the waiting person's cell phone, further data can be stored in this memory, such as, for example, the above-mentioned salutation or other information for the administration of the system, e.g. B. when using the system for billing, data required. In the context of the invention, a chip card is preferred as the mobile memory. It should have a format that is already widely used in everyday life, e.g. B. with the health insurance cards. In return, the notification device then has a memory reader, preferably a card reader.

The notification device can be connected to an automatic waiting number management system, as is known, for example, from authorities (vehicle registration offices, resident registration authorities). In such a system, the waiting person receives a number at the beginning, which he is waiting to be called. When the number is called, it is his turn. These systems are automated today and interfaces can be provided. The notification device can then automatically send a notification as soon as a number of the waiting number management system that is lower by a certain number is waiting to be called up. The number of numbers in front of his waiting number by which the waiting person will be notified earlier can be determined by the office that assigns the waiting numbers based on experience, so that the waiting person arrives on time for his free appointment when notified, even if he moves further away removed his request. Also can also be provided that for the purposes of that lie ahead of its number waiting number, they are notified of their call möch ^¬ te, may determine (considering a default of waiting time per waiting number) of the waiting even this "lead time". This has the Advantage that the waiting person taking into account his planned activity for the waiting time and the resulting return time Determine the time of notification so that he can not return to his free appointment too early, but in good time.

Where there is no automatic waiting number management system, e.g. in a doctor's office, the personnel entrusted with the organization of the appointments (e.g. the receptionists in a doctor's office) can trigger the automatic notification of the person waiting by the notification device by actuating a trigger function. Here too, the notification can take place before the actual call, in order to allow the waiting person sufficient time for his return. This time can be set by the appointing body or determined by the person waiting on the basis of his plans for the waiting time.

Finally, it is also conceivable that the method or the system is used for the simultaneous notification of several waiting parties. So it can e.g. B. in air travel occur that a complete flight is canceled. The passengers who are now waiting in vain can register in a system according to the invention by entering the mobile radio identification and leave the airport. If something new arises, such as a replacement flight, all passengers on the canceled flight can be notified simultaneously via the notification system on their mobile phones.

With the system and method of the invention, the En ^¬ of the can of the waiting period more information about the system ver ^¬ divides course, be in addition to pure notice. In the case of the last example, the flight data of the replacement flight can be transmitted. May xen at Arztpra ^¬ equal to the treatment room, with authorities the Free Agents (space / switch) is transmitted, even more efficient at the process. An exemplary structure of a system according to the invention is shown in the single figure, FIG. 1, and is described below with reference to this figure.

1 shows an embodiment variant for the system according to the invention as three parts. It consists of the components notification device 1, mobile telephone 2 and memory chip card 3. The latter is not absolutely necessary for the implementation of the invention, but is a convenient way of entering the relevant data in the notification device 1.

The mobile phone 2 and also the memory chip card 3 are assigned to the person waiting, whereas the notification device 1 is assigned to the location at which the appointment to be awaited is taking place and is preferably stationary there.

The notification device 1, the “limits” of which are indicated by dashed lines, contains various components which do not necessarily have to be combined in a single housing. The heart of the notification device 1 is the controller 10, for example a CPU Chip card reader 11 connected as the first input device The arrow drawn between the memory chip card 3 and the chip card reader 11 indicates that the former can be inserted into the second.

Next 1 includes the notification means includes a memory 12 (preferably a RAM), a mobile transmitter 13, a keyboard 14 as another input device, and ei ^¬ ne display (display) 15. The arrows at the individual E- ELEMENTS connecting lines indicate the communication directions.

Finally, at 4 the mobile radio connection between the mobile radio transmitter 13 and the mobile telephone 2 is indicated. Not shown here is a possible connection of the notification device 1 (more precisely the controller 10) to an automatic waiting number management system, which in principle is possible in the manner described above.

As already mentioned, the individual components of the notification device 1 need not be arranged in a single housing. In particular, the mobile radio transmitter 13 can be arranged separately from the rest of the notification device 1 where its radiation is potentially dangerous (eg in hospitals). It can either be connected via a simple cable connection or via an interposed fixed telephone network. In particular, if so-called SMS are to be sent, a mobile radio transmitter from a general provider can also be used as the mobile radio transmitter 13 of the notification system 1, to which the SMS message is transmitted via the fixed telephone network with the aid of appropriate interface software.

The system shown works as follows:

At the beginning or in the course of his waiting time, a waiting person uses the memory chip card 3 assigned to him and the chip card reader 11 to enter the identification of his cell phone 2 into the notification device 1 or has this done by a third party. There, the data are supplied to the controller 10, which it stores in the memory 12. The waiting person can now, for example, leave the doctor's waiting room and perform other activities during his waiting time. If an appointment that is free for the waiting person is approaching, it is automatically notified by the notification device 1. 10 For this purpose, the controller reads the Tenden to the War ^¬ associated data from the memory 12 and causes the automatic notification of the waiting means is ^¬ nes mobile telephone 2. In the example shown will be sent to over the mobile station 13 an SMS message to the waiting (indicated at 4). The standard text for such an SMS can be created by the appointing body itself. The keyboard 14 can be used for this. This text is then also stored in the memory 12 and called up by the controller 10 as required. The controller 10 can then add to the standard text the personal data of the person waiting, such as the salutation, which has been removed from the memory chip card 3 and is also located in the memory 12.

A message then appears on the cell phone 2 of the person waiting, that he can go to his appointment without having to spend time waiting in a waiting room, for example.

The status of the device can be checked at any time on the display 15 or, for example, an entered SMS text can be checked. In the case of self-service of the notification device 1 by the waiting person, instructions for the operating steps can also be shown on the display.

Overall, the method and the system according to the invention open up the advantage that waiting outside the immediate area around the location of the appointment is possible without the risk of missing the appointment when called (end of the waiting time) because of absence. The waiting person gains a high degree of freedom and can plan and use his time more efficiently - the waiting time would often be wasted time.

LIST OF REFERENCES

notifier

mobile phone

Memory chip card

radio link

control

Smart card reader

Storage

Mobilfunksender

keyboard

display

Claims

Expectations

1.A method for automatically notifying a waiting person about the end of his waiting time with the aid of his mobile radio terminal (cell phone), the identifier (telephone number) of the cell phone being entered at the beginning or in the course of the waiting time in a notification device and the notification device when the waiting time has expired or at the waiting person is automatically notified via his mobile phone at a predetermined time (lead time) earlier.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the notification device sends a text message (SMS) to the mobile phone.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the lead time is determined by the person waiting.

4. System for automatically notifying a waiting person about the end of his waiting time with: a mobile radio terminal (mobile phone) (2) assigned to the waiting person and a notification device (1), the notification device (1) comprising the following components: a mobile radio transmitter (13), one to the mobile radio transmitter (13) for communication and for controlling the same connected controller (10), a memory (12) connected to the controller (10) for storing the identifier (call number) of the mobile phone (2) of the person waiting and a first one with the controller (10) connected input unit (11) for entering the identifier of the cell phone (2) of the waiting person.

5. System according to claim 4, characterized in that it further contains the identifier of the mobile phone (2) containing ^¬ tende, mobile storage unit (3), in particular one Chip card, and that the first input unit (11) is a memory reader for reading out the mobile memory unit (3), preferably a card reader.

6. System according to claim 5, characterized by a second, with the controller (10) connected input unit (14) for entering message texts in the memory.

7. System according to any one of claims 4 to β, characterized in that the controller (10) is additionally connected to an automatic waiting number management and calling system so that it can at least read the waiting numbers called by the calling system.