WO2005050505A1

WO2005050505A1 - Information dissemination system

Info

Publication number: WO2005050505A1
Application number: PCT/FR2004/002888
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alain Tixier
Original assignee: Okdak
Priority date: 2003-11-17
Filing date: 2004-11-10
Publication date: 2005-06-02
Also published as: FR2862475B1; EP1704540A1; FR2862475A1; MA28181A1; TNSN06139A1

Abstract

The inventive system for disseminating information to a mobile telephone user (1) comprises at least two remote terminals (2) each of which is provided with a screen (4) and means (43) for displaying a terminal identifier and a server access code (11) on the terminal, a database (9) gathering information on each terminal, a computer unit (5) connected to said database and to the screens of the terminals for displaying at least one menu of options and the database information, means (6) for connecting the server to the computer unit in order to convert signals emitted by the mobile telephone into the input of the computer unit which contains an associated software for displaying information extracted from the database according to the terminal identifier and the user's selection from the menu options.

Description

Information dissemination system

The present invention relates to a system for broadcasting information to a mobile phone user.

When a person foreign to a city or a place wishes to have information on this city or on this place, it generally goes to the tourist office of the city or the place in question, in which all the information is gathered which may interest him, in particular maps and lists of hotels, restaurants, shops, activities ...

Outside the opening hours of this tourist office, the tourist or the visitor can obtain this information only by referring to maps which are displayed on the back of advertising panels distributed in the city. One drawback of these maps is that it is sometimes difficult to find one's way in cities on the basis of these maps alone and that the information contained therein is limited in order to preserve their readability.

It is also known plans on the edge of which are listed a number of places each associated with a button. These buttons control the lighting of diodes representing a route between the location of the panel on said map and the location in question. Although more practical than purely passive maps, route plans have the drawback that the number of places that it is possible to include therein is limited and cannot be easily modified. Information services are also known which deliver pages accessible from a mobile telephone implementing the WAP ("Wireless Application Protocol") protocol. One could have thought of using these services to provide tourist information. However, the screen available on cell phones bles is small in size and generally of low quality. In addition, the amount of information available is small in order to limit the time for downloading this information. As a result, access to these services is limited and quickly becomes off-putting. In addition, the use of such applications presupposes on the part of the user of the mobile telephone an in-depth knowledge of his mobile telephone. In most cases, mobile phone users only know the most common features of their mobile phone.

It would therefore be interesting to have an information dissemination system which does not have the aforementioned drawbacks. To this end, there is provided, according to the invention, a system for broadcasting information to a mobile telephone user, comprising:

- at least two remote terminals each provided with a screen and means for displaying on the terminal an identifier of the terminal and a code for accessing a server,

- a database gathering information relating to each of the terminals,

- a computer unit associated with the database and connected to the terminal screens to display at least one option menu and information from the database,

means for connecting the server to the computer unit to transform signals transmitted by the mobile telephone into inputs of the computer unit, the computer unit comprising a program arranged to display information drawn from one of the terminals of the database according to the terminal identifier and a choice of the user from the menu options. So the user's mobile phone is transformed into an input device of the computer unit and allows it to display on the screen of the terminal in front of which it is located, and which it has identified as such, the information concerning this terminal and especially its environment. The user can navigate through the information in the database by making choices from the menu or options menus presented to him. It is thus possible for the user to view the information that interests him on a larger screen and of better quality than that of his mobile phone.

Preferably, the server is a telephone server and the access code a call number.

This mode of implementation is particularly simple and suitable for most technical resources of potential users implementing this process.

Advantageously, the telephone server transmits voice messages for guiding the user in the operation of the system. The telephone server then assists the user with voice messages which are generally considered to be warmer than information simply presented on a screen. These voice messages help build user confidence in the operation of the system. The use of voice messages also makes it possible, by requesting a different sense of the user, not to overload the user with visual information.

Other characteristics and advantages will emerge on reading the following description of a particular non-limiting embodiment of the invention.

Reference will be made to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic view of the system according to the invention, - Figures 2 and 3 are displays of one screen.

With reference to the figures, the system according to the invention is a system for broadcasting information to a user of a mobile telephone 1, here of the GSM type, which conventionally comprises a multi-frequency keyboard of the DTMF type (" Dual-Tone Multi Frequency ") and a screen. The mobile telephone 1 is capable of receiving short messages of SMS type ("Short Message Service").

The system according to the invention comprises terminals (only two terminals generally designated in 2a, 2b are visible in FIG. 1) which are distant from each other and are for example dispersed in one city or distributed in a multitude of cities, sites, industrial zones, private estates, housing estates ... Each terminal 2a, 2b is marked with an alphanumeric identifier 3a, 3b specific to each terminal. Each terminal 2a, 2b has a screen 4a, 4b, here a plasma screen. Other types of screens, such as liquid crystal screens, are of course usable.

The screens 4 are connected to a computer unit 5. The computer unit 5 is a computer server of the conventional type comprising a memory 7 containing an information display program 8, a database 9 containing information specific to each terminal 2, and a route calculation program 10 known in itself. The information contained in the database includes for example a map, the contact details of the merchants, hotels, monuments to visit, official and administrative buildings, with possibly descriptions of the services offered, opening hours. This information is, of course, very dependent on the geographic location where the terminal is located, that is to say, activities in this location. If it is for example a industrial zone, this information concerns the occupants of this zone.

The computer unit 5 is connected to a telephone server 11 via a link member 6. The link member 6 is arranged to transform, in a manner known per se, the multi-frequency signals into signals input of the computer unit 5. The links between the computer unit 5 and the elements connected to it and between the link member 6 and the telephone server 11 can be wired links or radio links or any other type of links allowing the transport of signals.

The operation of the system will now be described. When the screens are not used to display information requested by a user, the computer unit 5 commands the screens 4a, 4b to broadcast a standby display (an example of such a display is shown in the figure 2). This standby display invites a user who is near the corresponding terminal to call the number of the telephone server 11. The user then types on the keypad of the mobile telephone 1 the telephone number in question here "01 01 01 01 "and is put in communication with the telephone server 11.

The telephone server 11 then transmits a voice message in several languages to the mobile telephone 1 so that the user can choose the language in which he wishes, on the one hand, to communicate with the telephone server 11 and, on the other hand, see the information displayed on screen 4. The choice is made by pressing a key on the keypad of mobile phone 1.

The telephone server 11 then transmits a voice message in the chosen language, asking the user to type on the keyboard of his mobile telephone. the identifier 3 of terminal 2 opposite which it is located.

In this case, the user is in front of the terminal 2a and enters the identifier 3a "1 2 3". The identifier 3a is then transmitted in the form of multi-frequency signals via the telephone server 11 to the link member 6.

The link member 6 then transforms these multi-frequency signals into inputs of the computer unit 5.

From the identifier 3a, the computer unit 5 can determine on which screen the display of information should take place. The computer unit 5, which executes the display program 8, controls the display of an option menu (represented in FIG. 3) on the screen 4a of the terminal 2a. The user is invited by a voice message from the telephone server 11 to enter on the keyboard of his mobile telephone 1 the number of the option about which he wishes to see information displayed.

The number in question is transmitted in the form of a multi-frequency signal to the link member 6 which transforms it into the input of the computer unit 5.

From this number, the computer unit 5 searches for the corresponding information in the database 9.

The information in question is presented, for example, in the form of a list of hotels opposite each of which appears an identification code. The hotels can also be positioned on a map displayed next to the list on screen 4a. The user is invited to select one of these hotels, and to enter the identification code thereof on the keyboard of his mobile telephone 1. This identification is transmitted as previously to the computer unit 5 which re- look in database 9 for information about this hotel such as services offered, photos, hotel contact details ...

If this hotel is suitable for the user, the user can inquire by telephone directly with the hotel to find out if there are any rooms available and reserve one if necessary.

The user can also ask the computer unit 5 beforehand for a route to be provided to guide him to the hotel. This calculation is carried out by means of the route calculation program 10 from the terminal identifier which makes it possible to determine the starting point of the route and the hotel identification code which makes it possible to determine the arrival point. The route is then sent to the user in the form of a short message which will appear on the screen of their mobile phone 1. If there are few terminals and few possible arrival points, routes can be determined in advance and stored in the database 9.

As a variant, once the hotel has been selected by the user, the computer unit 5 can display on the screen 4a of the terminal 2a the website of this hotel or the telephone server 11 can directly link the user with this hotel.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and it is possible to make variant embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. In particular, although for the sake of clarity of description, the system of the invention has been described with the display of a limited number of information, the number of information which it is possible to present depends essentially the size of the memory module 7 in which the database 9 is stored. When a large number of terminals are distributed over a territory, it is possible to assign each terminal a unique number and have a single telephone server telephone number and a single computer server. It is also possible to divide the terminals into groups and to match a call number to each group. The computer unit then identifies the terminal used from, on the one hand, the call number used and, on the other hand, the identifier of the terminal. The use of a single computer unit is advantageous because it makes it possible to carry out updates more easily. However, it is also possible to use a dedicated computer server for each group of terminals. It is also possible to provide, in the same territory, for having several systems, that is to say groups of terminals with each of which are associated a particular telephone server and computer unit.

The identifier of each terminal can be broadcast on the screen while the telephone server call number can be entered on the terminal.

Among the many other advantages of the invention, there will also be mentioned a use according to which, in the menu proposed to the user, there is offered a possibility of connection to one or more Internet sites, the mobile telephone then being used as navigation tool in each of the sites by means of a very slight adaptation relating to the establishment of a correspondence between numbers or numbers and DTMF frequencies assigned to the "WEB" pages of each site. This is facilitated access to this kind of media for people who have no capacity in the field or who have not even had any contact with a computer. It should also be mentioned that thanks to the information vention, a major motor handicapped person can, by manipulating with one finger the keyboard of a cell phone, fixed for example to the arm of an armchair, control the terminal, see without moving from his armchair the information displayed on a screen generous and hear the voice information through a speaker on his phone.

It should also be noted that the terminal can be used simultaneously by several users. At this time, the display screen is divided into zones each assigned to a user with of course the limit of the physical size of the screen.

The server can be a telephone server, an Internet server, an SMS server, etc. The telephone server can also be arranged to send and / or receive alphanumeric messages, for example of the SMS (Short Message Service) type or the like. . In this case, the user orders the change of menus by an SMS message. The telephone server recognizing that the signals received form an SMS will treat it as such. Furthermore, the information transferred between the computer unit and the terminals can for example be in the form of scripts of the XML ("Extensible Mark-Up Language") type transmitted by an ADSL link ("Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ", digital line with asymmetric pair) and / or satellite.

Claims

1. System for broadcasting information to a mobile telephone user (1), comprising: - at least two remote terminals (2) each provided with a screen (4) and display means (43) on the terminal an identifier of the terminal and access code to a server (11),

a database (9) gathering information relating to each of the terminals,

- a computer unit (5) associated with the database and connected to the terminal screens to display therein at least one menu with options and information from the database, - connection means (6) from the server to the computer unit for transforming signals transmitted by the mobile telephone into inputs of the computer unit, the computer unit comprising a program arranged to display on one of the terminals information taken from the database as a function of the identifier of the terminal and a user choice from the menu options.

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the server is a telephone server (11) and the access code a call number.

3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the telephone server (11) transmits voice messages for guiding the user in the operation of the system.

4. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the signals transmitted by the mobile telephone (1) are multi-frequency signals.

5. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the identifier of the terminal (3) is of alphanumeric type.

6. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the information relating to each of the terminals (2) includes identification codes of places neighboring the terminal.

7. System according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises means for establishing a route (10) from the identifier (3) of the terminal (2) and the location identification code neighbour.

8. System according to claim 7, characterized in that the route is transmitted in the form of a message to the user's mobile telephone (1).

9. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the signals transmitted by the mobile telephone form an SMS type message.