EP2642460B1 - Method for alert using a mobile terminal - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a warning method using a mobile terminal, and a mobile terminal and a server arranged to implement such a method.

During a trip, especially for sports, the user of a mobile terminal may be in difficulty, for example following an accident, malaise or aggression. Therefore, it may be advantageous for a user to have on his mobile terminal means arranged to allow him to quickly alert third parties, such as his relatives or emergency services.

For this purpose, there are known solutions for mobile terminal that allow the user to trigger an alert by a simple action, including activation of a specific button.

For example, the iREGA® application developed by the Swiss Air Rescue Service (REGA) for the Apple® iPhone® allows the user to automatically call the REGA dispatch center by simply activating a button displayed on the screen of his mobile terminal. In addition, this application includes means for automatically calculating the geographical coordinates of the user after activation of the button and means for sending to the central intervention said coordinates and personal data of said user, including relating to his identity.

In addition, the document WO-2011/106200 discloses a location system comprising a wireless device and an adjunct device for connection to a port of a mobile terminal, said devices each comprising a specific user interface and being connected by a wireless communication type Bluetooth®. To trigger an alert, the user presses a button specific to the interface of one of the devices, so that the mobile terminal automatically issues an emergency call, for example in the form of an SMS (for Short Message Service ), said call comprising position information of said terminal, including geographical coordinates.

However, these solutions are not entirely satisfactory, in that the user must view the button to be operated and thus enter his mobile terminal to be able to trigger an alert. In addition, some applications require several manipulations of the mobile terminal, in particular to navigate the menus of said terminal and / or to confirm an alert before its effective trigger.

However, in the case of a serious accident or aggression, the user may not have the time and / or the physical capacity to perform such manipulations, which complicates the triggering of the alert.

The invention aims to improve the prior art by proposing in particular a solution allowing the user of a mobile terminal to trigger an alert in a simple, fast and intuitive way.

• déterminer au moins une information de position dudit terminal mobile ;
• identifier au moins une personne à contacter ;
• envoyer un message d'alerte comprenant ladite information de position à ladite personne à contacter.

For this purpose, according to a first aspect, the invention proposes a method of alerting by means of a mobile terminal, said mobile terminal comprising at least one port on which a peripheral device is connected, said method providing for monitoring the state the connection of said device and, in case of detection of a change of state of said connection, of:

• determining at least one position information of said mobile terminal;
• identify at least one person to contact;
• send an alert message including said position information to said contact person.

• des moyens pour surveiller l'état de la connexion d'un dispositif périphérique audit port, lesdits moyens étant aptes à détecter un changement d'état de ladite connexion ;
• des moyens pour déterminer au moins une information de position dudit terminal mobile à la suite de ladite détection ;
• des moyens pour identifier au moins une personne à contacter ;
• des moyens pour envoyer un message d'alerte comprenant ladite information de position à ladite personne à contacter.

According to a second aspect, the invention proposes a mobile terminal comprising at least one port on which a peripheral device is intended to be connected, said terminal further comprising an application which comprises:

• means for monitoring the state of the connection of a peripheral device to said port, said means being adapted to detect a change of state of said connection;
• means for determining at least one position information of said mobile terminal as a result of said detection;
• means for identifying at least one person to contact;
• means for sending an alert message including said position information to said contact person.

According to a third aspect, the invention proposes a server comprising means for receiving from such a terminal a notification comprising a position information of said terminal and at least one coordinate of a person to be contacted, as well as means for sending a message. alert to said person to contact.

• la figure 1 représente schématiquement une architecture pour la mise en oeuvre d'un procédé selon l'invention ;
• les figures 2 et 3 représentent schématiquement l'interaction entre un terminal mobile et respectivement un type de dispositif périphérique.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear in the description which follows, made with reference to the appended figures, in which:

• the figure 1 schematically represents an architecture for carrying out a method according to the invention;
• the Figures 2 and 3 schematically represent the interaction between a mobile terminal and respectively a type of peripheral device.

In connection with these figures, an alerting method is described below by means of a mobile terminal 1. The mobile terminal 1 can be a smartphone, such as the Iphone® marketed by the Apple® company, and is connected to a telecommunications network, for example a GPS network (for the English Global Positioning System), a telephony network, or a satellite beacon network. In particular, the mobile terminal 1 can be connected to a GPRS network (for General Packet Radio Service), a GSM network (for Global System for Mobile Communications), an EDGE network (for Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution), a UMTS network (for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), or an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network.

In known manner, the mobile terminal 1 comprises at least one port 2, including a physical port or radio, for example a USB port (for the English Universal Serial Bus), a jack or a RCA port (for English Radio Corporation of America). A peripheral device 3 is intended to be connected to the port 2, the method providing for monitoring the state of the connection of said device, in order to trigger an alert in case of detection of a change of state of said connection. In particular, the method is able to trigger an alert in case of disconnection of the device 3.

The peripheral device 3 may be an accessory specific to the triggering of an alert and which is provided with a plug 4 compatible with the port 2. The accessory may furthermore comprise an element 5 for assisting its grip by the user. 6 of the mobile terminal 1. In relation to the figure 2 , the gripping aid element may be a ribbon 5 which is connected to the jack 4 of the peripheral device 3 by a cord 5a and on which is written a text message 5b to indicate to the user 6 that must pull on said ribbon to disconnect said device and thereby trigger an alert.

As a variant not shown, the gripping aid element 5 may be a pin or an emergency lever.

The peripheral device 3 can also be a conventional accessory compatible with the mobile terminal 1. In particular, as shown in FIG. figure 3 , the peripheral device 3 may be a set of headphones or a hands-free kit.

To be able to implement the method, the mobile terminal 1 comprises an application which comprises means for monitoring the state of the connection of the peripheral device 3 to the port 2, said means being able to detect a change of state of said connection, for example following a disconnection of said device. In particular, the monitoring means can be arranged to detect the appearance or disappearance of a short circuit at the terminals of the port 2, for example following the disconnection of the plug 4 of the device 3 of said port.

Furthermore, especially when the peripheral device 3 is a set of headphones or a hands-free kit provided with a jack 4, the means of monitoring can be arranged to detect a change in impedance or resistance between the mass and one of the other channels of said socket, in particular following the deactivation of at least one of the accessories of said device. For example, such deactivation may occur when the cable connecting an accessory, including a speaker, earpiece or microphone, to the socket 4 of the device 3 is damaged, but that said plug remains connected to the port 2.

In case of detection of a change of state of the connection of the peripheral device 3, the method provides for determining at least one position information of the mobile terminal 1. To do this, the application of the mobile terminal 1 comprises means for determine at least one such information as a result of such detection. In particular, the determination means may be able to calculate the geographical coordinates of the mobile terminal 1 as position information of said mobile terminal.

The method further provides for identifying at least one person to contact 7. To do this, the application of the mobile terminal 1 includes means for identifying at least one person to contact 7.

In particular, the person to be contacted 7 can be predefined by the user 6 of the mobile terminal 1, in particular by means specific to the application of said mobile terminal that enable said user to predefine said person to contact by entering at least one coordinate such as a telephone number or an email address, of said contact person.

The method then provides to send to the person to contact 7 an alert message including the position information of the mobile terminal 1. To do this, the application of the mobile terminal 1 comprises means for sending such a message of alert 8, for example a text message (SMS, for Short Messaging Service) comprising the geographical coordinates of the mobile terminal 1, to the person to contact 7.

According to one embodiment, the method provides for sending to a server 9 via the mobile terminal 1 a notification 10 comprising the position information of said mobile terminal and at least one coordinate of a person to contact 7, said server sending an alert message 11 to said person to contact.

In relation to the figure 1 the mobile terminal 1 comprises means for sending to a server 9 such a notification 10, said server comprising means for receiving said notification and means for sending an alert message 11 to at least one person to contact 7 according to the coordinates present in said notification.

In particular, the alert message 11 sent by the server 9 may be an email and may include an interactive link allowing the person to contact 7 to access the position information of the mobile terminal 1. For example, the link interactive can allow the person to contact 7 to display a map on which are indicated the geographical coordinates of the mobile terminal 1.

In addition, the server 9 comprises means for storing the information contained in the notification 10, in particular the identifier of the mobile terminal 1 having sent said notification, the position information of said mobile terminal and the coordinates of the persons to contact 7, but also the time of receipt of the said notification. Thus, this information may for example be transmitted later to emergency services.

According to the type of coordinates entered by the user 6 of the mobile terminal 1 for the person to contact 7, the method can send an alert message 8, 11 to said person directly via said mobile terminal and / or by the user. 9. For example, if the entered coordinate is the mobile phone number 12 of the contact person 7, a message SMS alert 8 can be sent to said number directly via the mobile terminal 1 of the user 6.

Similarly, if the input coordinate is an email address of the contact person 7, the mobile terminal 1 can send a notification 10 to the server 9, said server sending to said person to contact an alert message 11 of the email type that said nobody can visualize by consulting for example his mailbox on his mobile terminal 12.

Advantageously, the mobile terminal 1 can simultaneously send a first alert message 8 to at least one person to contact 7 and a notification 10 to the server 9, so that said server sends a second alert message 11 to at least one user. person to contact 7, including a person other than the person receiving the first message 8. Thus, whatever the type of coordinates entered by the user 6 to predefine the people to contact 7, all these people 7 can be identified by the application of the mobile terminal 1 and all will receive an alert message 8, 11.

According to one embodiment, the person to be contacted 7 is identified according to a position information determined by the mobile terminal 12 of said person, said mobile terminal being arranged to periodically send to the server 9 a notification 14 comprising said position information. .

To do this, the mobile terminal 12 of the person to contact 7 may include an application that includes means for determining a position information of said terminal, for example geographic coordinates, and means for periodically sending the server 9 a notification 14 comprising said position information. In particular, such an application can be offered to people 7 wishing to assist users 6 in difficulty.

In addition, the server 9 comprises means capable of identifying the person to contact 7 according to the position information contained in the notification 14 sent by the mobile terminal 12 of said person. In particular, these means may be able to compare the position information communicated by the portable terminals 1, 12 respectively of the user 6 and the person to contact 7, said contact person being identified according to said comparison.

To do this, the server 9 may comprise a database in which the position information of the persons to be contacted 7 are stored, said database being updated by the periodic sending of notifications 14 comprising new position information for said persons to contact.

So, in relation to the figure 1 when the mobile terminal 1 of the user 6 sends the server 9 a notification 10 with its geographical coordinates, the identification means of said server can query the database of the people to contact 7 in order to compare said geographical coordinates with the coordinates geographical area of said persons to contact.

In addition, the server identification means 9 may be arranged to identify the contact persons 7 whose geographical coordinates are closest to the geographical coordinates sent in the notification 10, for example as a function of the distance between said coordinates.

Then, the server 9 sends an alert message 11 to the contact persons 7 thus identified, so that said persons provide assistance to the user 6 of the mobile terminal 1 and / or serve as a relay on site to possible emergency services .

Claims (5)

1. Method for alert using a first mobile terminal (1), said first mobile terminal comprising at least one port (2) to which is connected a peripheral device (3); said method providing to monitor the status of the connection of said device and, in the case a change in the status of said connection is detected, to:

   - determine at least one first position information of said first mobile terminal;

   - identify at least one person to be contacted (7) according to a second position information determined by a second mobile terminal (12) associated to said person to be contacted, said second mobile terminal being arranged to periodically send to a server (9) a notification (14) comprising said position information;

   - send an alert message (8, 11) to said person to be contacted comprising said first position information;

   - send to said server by the intermediary of the first mobile terminal (1) a notification (10) comprising said position information of said mobile terminal and at least one coordinate of said person to be contacted, said server sending an alert message (11) to said person to be contacted.
2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the person to be contacted (7) is predefined by the user (6) of the first mobile terminal (1).
3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the alert message (11) sent by the server (9) comprises an interactive link allowing the person to be contacted (7) to access the first position information of the first mobile terminal (1).
4. Server (9) comprising means for receiving from a first mobile terminal (1) a notification (10) comprising a first position information of said first mobile terminal and at least one coordinate of a person to be contacted (7) as well as means for sending an alert message (11) to said person to be contacted, said first mobile terminal comprising at least one port (2) to which a peripheral device (3) is intended to be connected, said first mobile terminal further comprising an application that comprises:

   - means for monitoring the status of the connection of a peripheral device (3) to said port, said means being able to detect a change in the status of said connection;

   - means for determining at least said first position information of said first mobile terminal following said detection;

   - means for identifying one person to be contacted (7);

   - means for sending an alert message (8) comprising said first position information to said person to be contacted;

   - means for sending to said server a notification (10) comprising said first position information and at least said coordinate of said person to be contacted;

   said server comprising means able to identify the person to be contacted (7) according to a first position information determined by a second mobile terminal (12) associated to said person to be contacted.
5. Server (9) according to claim 4, characterised in that the alert message (11) comprises an interactive link allowing the person to be contacted (7) to access the position information of the first mobile terminal (1).

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