WO2003050728A1

WO2003050728A1 - System and method for preparing and transmitting notices

Info

Publication number: WO2003050728A1
Application number: PCT/FR2002/004299
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean-Michel Ortholand; Valérie Le Meur
Original assignee: France Telecom
Priority date: 2001-12-13
Filing date: 2002-12-12
Publication date: 2003-06-19
Also published as: FR2833790A1; FR2833790B1; AU2002364829A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a system for preparing and transmitting, to the addressee, notices concerning each a scheduled mission of a third party user, comprising a management computer center (24) including a plurality of user accounts and means for preparing notices from data concerning the scheduling of missions of third party users, a plurality of first terminals (12, 14, 16) operable by the third party users and designed to communicate with the management center for creating respective accounts therein and transmitting to the management center said data, and a plurality of second terminals (18, 20, 22) designed to receive notices.

Description

System and method for developing and transmitting notices.

The present invention relates to a system for developing and transmitting, to recipients, opinions each relating to a programmed mission of a third user.

It also relates to a process for the preparation and transmission of such opinions.

A particularly interesting application of such a system and such a process is the preparation and transmission of a transit advice note from an operator, for example a technician from an operator of an electrical energy distribution network or a municipal agent, at a private individual.

The object of the invention is to provide a system making it possible to prepare and transmit, before the execution of a mission, a notice making it possible to inform a recipient of the programming of the mission and to provide him with information relating to the scheduled mission. Such information may, for example, consist of the date, time and nature of the intervention, but also by pieces of information making it possible to easily identify the visitor.

Thus, according to the invention, there is proposed a system for developing and transmitting, to recipients, an opinion each relating to a programmed mission of a third-party user, comprising, according to one aspect of the system, a computer center management system comprising a set of user accounts and means for drawing up opinions from data relating to the programming of the missions of third-party users, a set of first terminals which can be handled by third-party users and which are suitable for communicating with the management for the creation of respective accounts in the management center and the transmission to the latter of said data, and a set of second terminals adapted for the reception of notices.

According to one embodiment of this system, the management center includes means for authenticating third-party users. According to one embodiment of the means for authenticating third-party users, these include means for developing authentication codes suitable for delivering to each third-party user an authentication code when the system is used for the first time, and means for verifying the authentication code of third party users during subsequent uses of the system.

According to another characteristic of this system, the management center includes means for transmitting each notice, either to an operator for the authentication of the corresponding third party user and the transmission of the notice to the recipient, when the system is first used. by the third user, or to one of said second terminals during subsequent uses of the system by said third user.

According to another characteristic of the system, the management center includes mission planning means accessible from the first terminals for entering data relating to the programming of the missions.

Preferably, the means for drawing up opinions comprise means for drawing up images, the second terminals comprising a device for displaying the notices in the form of an image.

Advantageously, the data relating to the programming of the mission includes a photograph of the third-party users.

In the case where the notices include an image, for example a photograph of one of the third users, the second terminals to which the notice is sent are connected to an image transmission server with which the management center is adapted to communicate .

The invention also relates to the use of a system as defined above for the preparation and transmission of a notice of visit by an operator to a private individual. According to the invention, a method is also proposed for preparing transmissions, to a recipient, of an opinion relating to a programmed mission of a third user, by means of a system as defined above. According to one aspect of this method, this comprises the authentication of the third user, the transmission to the computer center of data management relating to the programming of the. mission of the third user, drawing up the opinion and sending it to the recipient.

According to an embodiment of this method, when the system is used for the first time, a user account is created in the management center and an authentication code is retrieved in response. During subsequent uses of the system, prior to the transmission of the programming data, the authentication code is transmitted to the management center to authenticate with it.

Other objects, characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the following description, given solely by way of nonlimiting example, and made with reference to the appended drawings, in which: '^•' - ^' . ^''

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the general architecture of a system for preparing and transmitting opinions in accordance with the invention; and - Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the main phases of the process for developing and transmitting opinions according to the invention.

In Figure 1, there is shown the general architecture of a system for developing and transmitting opinions according to the invention.

In the example of implementation considered, the system is intended for the preparation and transmission of a visit notice from an agent of an operator of an electrical energy distribution network or from a municipal or municipal employee of a private individual with a view to informing the latter of the visit, providing him with information concerning this visit and making it possible to identify the visitor with certainty.

This system allows third-party users, namely the agents of the operator of the electrical energy distribution network or municipal or municipal officials, to plan the visit to a management body, designated by the general reference 10, which authenticates the visitor, prepares a message containing a notice of visit or, in general, an opinion on the mission programmed by the agent, then transmits the notice thus prepared to the recipient, that is to say to the individual with whom the agent must intervene.

As will be described in detail later, according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the visit notice includes a photograph of the agent and therefore allows identification of the visitor.

Thus, the system for preparing and transmitting opinions according to the invention comprises, in addition to the management body, a set of first terminals 12, 14 and 16 which can be manipulated by third parties or user agents to transmit to the organization for managing information relating to the assignment to be carried out, as well as a set of second terminals 18, 20 and 22 intended to be placed at the homes of individuals to inform them of the agent's visit and provide them with all the information relevant to the mission carried out by the agent.

With regard to the management body 10, this one, which is for example incorporated within the town hall of the commune on the territory of which reside individuals equipped with second terminals 18, 20 and 22. It essentially comprises a management computer center 24, constituted for example by a server center, in which are loaded all the software means making it possible to manage the programmed missions, the preparation and the transmission of transit advice notes.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the management center 24 is connected to a control station 26 which can be handled by a municipal employee for the transmission of data to the management center 24.

The management center incorporates all the hardware and software means enabling communication with the first and second terminals, to route the data either to the second terminals or, as will be described in detail below to the control station 26, in the event of failure to authenticate a third user, for example in the case of first use of the system, as well as means allowing authentication of agents.

These means are constituted by computer or hardware modules of conventional type, within the reach of a person skilled in the art. They will therefore not be described in detail below.

Furthermore, the center 24 communicates, via a telephone link, with a website 28 specifically designed to communicate with the first terminals 12, 14 and 16, via the telephone and internet networks 30, like this. is classic.

It can also be seen in FIG. 1 that the first terminals 12, 14 and 16 can communicate directly with the control station 26 of the management organization.

On the recipient side, the second terminals 18, 20 and 22 communicate with the management center 24 via a telephone or internet telecommunication network 32. According to a characteristic of the system which has just been described, and as mentioned previously, these second terminals 18, 20 and 22 are constituted by an image display device and are adapted to retrieve transit advice in the form of image, preferably consisting of a photograph of the agent to carry out the mission and including indications such as his name, first name, company, date and time of the visit, ...

In this case, the management center 24 communicates with these second terminals 18, 20 and 22 via a website 34 specifically provided for the reception and transmission of the images to the second terminals.

For example, as second terminals, it will be possible to use terminals of the “photo frame” type, such as those supplied by “Kodak” under the name “Smart Picture Fra e”, which are suitable for receiving images. in the form of photographs via a network called "Storybox Network" provided with a website specifically dedicated to this application.

As indicated previously, the management center 24 of the management organization comprises, stored in memory, a set of accounts each corresponding to a third user of the system and allowing each of these to authenticate with the organization of management before transmission of a visit notice.

In an application, as shown in FIG. 1, in which the second terminals 18, 20 and 22 are constituted by display devices, preferably, each directory incorporates a photograph of the agent, which is intended, as indicated previously, to be transmitted to the second terminals as a visit notification, accompanied by information corresponding to the mission to be carried out.

. In addition, each directory includes means for authenticating the agent, in the form of an authentication code.

This code is preferably in the form of a username and password developed by means of code generation incorporated in the management center and provided to each agent when the system is first used, that is i.e. when creating the account in the management center.

During subsequent uses, that is to say when declaring a visit to the management body, the management center 24 questions the agent so as to verify and control his identifier and his password. pass, the visit notice not being drawn up and sent to the used recipient only if the visitor is authenticated.

In fact, now referring to FIG. 2, when a third user connects, by means of his first terminal 12, 14 or 16 to the management body, via the website 28, the gestion 24 asks him if he wishes to create an account in order to be able to subsequently declare visits or, on the contrary, asks him to enter his username and password (step 36). In the case of a first use of the system, the third-party user must create an account within the management center 24. To do this, during the subsequent step 38, it transmits to the management body all the information necessary to identify it, in particular its name, first name, company, as well as a photo representing it.

After transmission of this information, the management center 24 prepares an authentication code comprising an identifier and a password, for example created randomly (step 40). At the end of this stage, it is created, within the management center

24, specific accounts for each agent likely to carry out a mission with users.

It will be noted that these steps for creating an account in the management center 24 can be carried out by any appropriate communication means capable of transmitting information relating to the identity of the agent in a certain and secure manner.

Indeed, as shown in FIG. 1, the accounts can be created by entering into communication with an agent of the management organization, by putting the first terminal 12, 14 or 16 of the third-party user into communication with the control station 26 of the municipal employee or, in general, by the agent of the management and transmission body, towards the latter, information enabling the third user to be identified.

The agent of the management organization then manipulates his control station 26 to create the account directly in the management center.

It will be noted that, after creation of the account, as visible in FIG. 2, the third user has the possibility of transmitting information relating to an already planned mission. Thus, if during the next step 42, the management center is informed that the third-party user wishes to draw up and transmit a visit notice, the management center retrieves information relating to the mission to be carried out (step 44), then prepares and transmits a visit notice, to a second terminal 18, 20 and 22 addressee, by associating with the photograph of the third user the information concerning the visit, such as the date, the time, the address, the nature of the visit, ..., then transmits this notice of visit by the intermediary of the website 34, of the telephone network 32, to the second terminal (step 46).

As a variant, the agent of the management body may directly be responsible for transmitting a visit notice by any other appropriate telecommunication method, such as, for example, by telephone, by post, by electronic mail, ... In the case where, during the previously mentioned step 36, the management center 24 has been informed that this is not a first visit, during the next step 48, the management organization recovers the identifier entered manually by the third-party user by means of its first terminal 12, 14 or 16 (step 48). During the next step 50, the management center performs a comparison between the identifier stored in memory in the corresponding directory and the identifier entered by the user. In the event of a mismatch, the procedure returns to the previous step 48 so as to invite the user to re-enter his identifier. If an incorrect identifier is entered a predetermined number of times, the directory can be locked.

In the event that, during this step 50, it has been verified that the identifier is correct, the management center 24 verifies the password entered manually by the user (step 52) by comparison with the word corresponding password stored in memory in the user's account (step 54).

In the event of a mismatch, the procedure returns to the previous step 52 so as to invite the user to re-enter his password and, if necessary, block the user account.

In the event of authentication of the user, that is to say if the identifier and the password are correct, during the next step 56, the management center 24 invites the user to enter the information relating to the mission to be carried out. For example, to do this, the management center 24 causes the display, on the first terminal 12, 14 or 16, of an information sheet comprising a set of fields intended to be filled in. During the next step 58, after retrieving the information, the management center proceeds to draw up the visit notice, as mentioned previously with reference to steps 44 and 46, by developing an image comprising a photograph of the visitor on which contain information relating to the visit. ^" The visit notification is then transmitted, via the server 34 and the telephone network 32, to the recipient's terminal.

As will be appreciated, the invention which has just been described allows a third user of the system, such as a municipal official or an employee of an operator of an electrical energy distribution or telecommunications network, to '' inform a subscriber to such a system of the scheduled execution of a mission, in an authenticated manner.

It also allows the subscriber to have information enabling the visitor to be identified with certainty before the latter enters his home.

Claims

1. System for developing and transmitting, to recipients, opinions each relating to a programmed mission of a third-party user, characterized in that it comprises a management computer center (24) comprising a set of accounts of '' and means of drawing up opinions from data relating to the programming of the missions of third users, a set of first terminals (12, 14, 16) which can be manipulated by third users and adapted to communicate with the management center (24) for the creation of respective accounts in the management center and the transmission to the latter of said data, and a set of second terminals (18, 20, 22) adapted for the reception of notices.

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the management center includes means for authenticating third-party users.

3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the means for authenticating the third-party users comprise means for developing authentication codes adapted to deliver to each third-party user an authentication code when the system is used for the first time. , and means for verifying the authentication code of third-party users during subsequent uses of the system.

4. System according to claim 3, characterized in that the management center (24) comprises means for transmitting each notice either to an operator for the authentication of the corresponding third party user and the transmission of the notice to the recipient, during from the first use of the system by the third user, or to one of said second terminals during subsequent uses of the system by said third user.

5. System according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the management center includes means for planning of the missions accessible from the first terminals for the input of data relating to the programming of the missions.

6. System according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the means for preparing opinions include. means for developing images, and in that the second terminals (18, 20, 22) comprise a device for displaying opinions in the form of an image.

7. System according to claim 6, characterized in that the data relating to the programming of the mission comprises a photograph of the third users.

8. System according to one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the second terminals are connected to an image transmission server (34) with which the management center is adapted to communicate.

9. Use of a system according to any one of claims 1 to 8 for the preparation and transmission of a notice of visit by an operator to a private individual.

10. Method for developing and transmitting, to a recipient, an opinion relating to a programmed mission of a third user, by means of a system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that '' it includes the authentication of the third-party user, the transmission to the management computer center (24) of data relating to the programming of the mission of the third-party user, the preparation of the opinion and the transmission of the opinion to the recipient.

11. Method according to claim 10, characterized in that when the system is used for the first time, a user account is created in the management center (24) and an authentication code is retrieved in response, and in that during subsequent uses of the system, prior to the transmission of the programming data, the authentication code is transmitted to the management center (24) in order to authenticate with it.