WO2005060225A1

WO2005060225A1 - Partner search device, system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2005060225A1
Application number: PCT/GB2004/005260
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marc Phillippe De Speville
Original assignee: Marc Phillippe De Speville
Priority date: 2003-12-16
Filing date: 2004-12-16
Publication date: 2005-06-30
Also published as: GB2409374A; GB2409374B; GB0329169D0

Abstract

The present invention is a device (200), system and method (300) for linking users. There is a receive circuit (204) for receiving a wireless request signal (111) and a wireless acknowledgement signal (112) arriving externally from the device. A transmit circuit (202) transmits a directional wireless request signal (111) and a directional wireless acknowledgement signal (112). An alert circuit is connected to the receive circuit (204) to alert a user when a wireless request signal (111) is received by the receive circuit (204) and when a wireless acknowledgement signal (112) is received by the receive circuit (204) when a request signal (111) has been previously transmitted from the transmit circuit (202).

Description

PARTNER SEARCH DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device, system and method for linking two users. Generally the users will be unknown to each other, for example in a social environment or any public place, such as a bar, restaurant, party, airport or street. The device and method allows two such users to establish a link with each other when both of them indicate a preference for each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Human nature dictates that it is difficult to get to know people who are unknown to each other unless there is some form of common link. This link may be physical attraction or common interests. However, in the case of physical attraction, it is almost impossible to know whether one person will find another person, who they do not know, physically attractive. Often, if a first person finds a second person physically attractive, the first person might be wary of letting the second person know for fear that the second person might not find them physically attractive.

A recent development in social interaction has been the concept of "speed dating" which commonly occurs at parties in which all the people in a room are given a chance to meet each other and can then indicate to an independent party (e.g. an independent adjudicator or computer) which people they would like to meet again. When the computer or independent adjudicator determines that two people have both indicated a preference for each other, their contact details (e.g. mobile telephone number or email address) are passed to each other. Hence, the initial barrier of getting to know people is overcome by letting an independent party (i.e. the adjudicator or computer) match people who indicate a preference for each other. Thus, embarrassment of one or both parties is generally avoided.

One problem with speed dating is that it can generally only occur at an organised event in a fixed location dedicated to that purpose at which the participants have registered with the independent party.

Accordingly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a device, system and method which allows two or more parties to become linked to each other when they indicate a preference for each other when the parties involved are not simply confined to a location dedicated for that purpose. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the foregoing, the present invention is set out in the appendant claims.

In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for linking two users, comprising: a receive circuit for receiving a wireless request signal and a wireless acknowledgement signal arriving externally from the device; a transmit circuit for directionally transmitting a wireless request signal towards a first point at request of a user and directionally transmitting a wireless acknowledgement signal towards a second point at request of a user only when a request signal has been received; and an alert circuit connected to the receive circuit for alerting a user when a wireless request signal is received by the receive circuit and for alerting the user when a wireless acknowledgement signal is received by the receive circuit when a request signal has been previously transmitted from the transmit circuit.

Transmission of a directional wireless signal ensures that a user of one device can contact another user of a second device without knowing their contact details, but without targeting any other users in the vicinity. A directional signal is defined as a signal which can be targeted towards a given point, such that there exist points outside the field of transmission which will not be in the path of the transmitted signal (i.e. a directional signal is one in which the energy in the signal is not transmitted iso tropically).

The wireless request and acknowledgement signals, which may contain data, may be encrypted.

Preferably, the wireless request signal comprises first identification data for the device from which it is being transmitted and the transmit circuit is adapted to receive first identification data in a received wireless request signal and transmit an acknowledgement signal comprising second identification data which includes at least part of the first identification data. Furthermore, the alert circuit is adapted to alert a user only when first identification data transmitted from the transmit circuit is included in second identification data received at the receive circuit. This ensures that only the first user who made the initial transmission of a request signal is notified if the second user transmits an acknowledgement signal to the first user. If the second user transmits an acknowledgement signal to a third device other than that from which the request signal was transmitted, then the third device will not alert its user.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the first and/or second identification data comprise a telephone number. The telephone number can be displayed on a display screen of a device receiving it so that the user of the receiving device can contact the user who transmitted the telephone number.

Preferably, the device further comprises: a keypad for entering data to be transmitted in the wireless request or acknowledgement signals; and a display screen for displaying data received in a received wireless request signal or a received wireless acknowledgement signal.

In one embodiment, data transmitted in the wireless request signal or the received wireless acknowledgement signal is in the form of an alphanumeric text message. The user of the device can enter a text message similar to a conventional SMS message using the keypad and the display screen for transmission in the request or acknowledgement signal. In fact, the protocol used to generate, transmit and receive the alphanumeric message may be identical to conventional SMS message systems. For example, a text message sent in a request message could read "Fancy meeting? I'm near the bar". If the text message is transmitted in the acknowledgement signal, it will only be displayed if the device to which it is sent was the device which transmitted the original request signal (i.e. the identification data in the acknowledgement signal matches the identification data stored in the receiving device).

The alert signal may be any form of warning which attracts the attention of the user. For example, the alert signal can be one or more of an audible tone, a vibration or a flashing LED or display screen depending on the configuration settings of the device. In one embodiment of the present invention, the transmit circuit comprises an infrared transmitter, the receive circuit comprises an infra-red receiver and the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are infra-red signals. In a first embodiment, the transmit and receive circuits are configured so that the infra-red signal can be transmitted and received over a distance greater than 10 m. In a second embodiment, the transmit and receive circuits are configured so that the infra-red signal can be transmitted and received over a distance greater than 15 m. In a third embodiment, the transmit and receive circuits are configured so that the infra-red signal can be transmitted and received over a distance greater than 20 m.

Alternatively, the transmit and receive circuits may be configured to transmit and receive an infra-red signal over a distance of between 10 to 20 m. The strength of the infra-red signal can be such that it can penetrate a layer of clothing situated up to a distance of 20 m away from the infra-red transmitter. The transmit circuit may be configured so that a user can vary the strength of the infra-red signal being transmitted.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the transmit circuit comprises a directional radio transmitter, the receive circuit comprises a radio receiver and the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are radio frequency signals.

The receive circuit may be adapted to identify the location from which the request signal is being transmitted. A message can be displayed on the display screen indicating the position relative to the orientation of the receiving device. The location can be identified by, for example, having two receive circuits in a single device separated by a certain distance and detecting the phase or amplitude difference between a wireless request or acknowledgement signal that is received.

In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless communications apparatus comprising the device of any one of the preceding claims. Preferably, the wireless communications apparatus is a mobile telephone. The device can be integrated into the mobile phone so that its features (e.g. activation into a receiving mode, transmitting signals, alert signals and inputting text messages) can all be accessed through the keypad and display screen of the mobile phone and its menu system. Further, when a telephone number is received in the identification data, the telephone number can be extracted from the identification data and input automatically into a conventional text message for sending over the cellular network to the mobile phone of the user sending the identification data in a request or acknowledgement message.

In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for linking two parties comprising: a first unit adapted to be directed towards a first point, transmit a directional wireless request signal towards said first point and receive a wireless acknowledgement signal; and a second unit at the first point adapted to receive the directional wireless request signal, notify a user of the second unit when the directional wireless request signal has been received and, only when a directional wireless request signal has been received, at request of a user, transmit a directional wireless acknowledgement signal towards a second point, wherein the first unit is further adapted to notify a user of the first unit when the first unit located at the second point receives the directional wireless acknowledgement signal from the second unit located at the first point.

Preferably, the distance between the first and second points is greater than ten meters.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are infra-red signals.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are radio frequency signals. In a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of linking two parties, comprising: transmitting a directional wireless request signal from a first unit towards a first point; receiving the wireless request signal at a second unit at the first point; alerting a user of the second unit that a wireless request signal has been received; transmitting a directional wireless acknowledgement signal only when a wireless request signal has been received by the second unit and when requested by a user of the second unit; receiving the directional wireless acknowledgement signal at the first unit; and alerting a user of the first unit that a wireless acknowledgement signal from the second unit has been received. Preferably, the wireless request signal comprises first identification data for the first unit and the second unit receives first identification data and transmits, at the request of a user of the second unit, an acknowledgement signal comprising second identification data which includes at least part of the first identification data. In one embodiment of the present invention, the user of the second unit is only alerted when first identification data transmitted from the transmit circuit is included in second identification data received at the second unit.

Advantageously, the first and/or second identification data may comprise a telephone number.

In one embodiment of the present invention, data transmitted in the wireless request signal or the received wireless acknowledgement signal is in the form of an alphanumeric text message.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are radio frequency signals. Preferably, the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are transmitted and received over a distance of greater than ten metres.

In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided the further step of transmitting personal data to the second unit identifying the user of the first unit from the first unit when the wireless acknowledgement signal from the second unit has been received.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the personal data is transmitted over a cellular network to the second unit.

Advantageously, the personal data may comprise a telephone number.

Other personal data may be stored in memory in the units. The personal data can include any information which defines a user of the unit, such as, for example, interests of the user, their preferences for partners or their own body characteristics (e.g. hair and eye colour, height, weight etc.). A control circuits in the unit may be configured to alert a user only when the personal data received in either a request or acknowledgement signal matches the data stored in the memory (e.g. the interests of both users are similar or one user's preferences for a partner matches the characteristics of the other user). The matching can be done by allocating a score to each feature that is compared. If the total score is above a certain level, a match can be confirmed and the user alerted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention is now described by way of reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 shows one embodiment of a system according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows one embodiment of a device for use in the system of Fig. 1 ; Fig. 3 shows one embodiment of the method in which the device of Fig. 2 is operated; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a directional wireless signal that may be transmitted from and received at the device of Fig. 2.

DETAD ED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Referring to Fig. 1, one embodiment of the present invention is shown as a system

(100) comprising a plurality of units (101, 102, 103, 104 and 105). There may be any number of units (101, 102, 103, 104 and 105) located in a given area, such as a room. The units (101, 102, 103, 104 and 105) are carried by users, for example in their hand, attached to their clothing or in a pocket, or located near to them, for example on a table.

When a first user of a first unit (101) wishes to contact a user of another unit, when, for example, they do not know the user, the first unit (101) is directed by the first user towards the user that the first user wishes to contact. In Fig. 1, the user of the first unit

(101) wishes to contact a second user of a second unit (102). On operation of the first unit (101) by pressing a request button (not shown) on the first unit (101) whilst the first unit (101) is directed towards the second unit (102), the first unit (101) transmits a request signal (111) towards the second unit (102).

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the request signal (111) is a directional infrared signal which can be received by any of the units in the path of the request signal (111). A third unit (103) and a fourth unit (104) which are not in the path of the request signal (111) will not receive the request signal (111). However, the second unit (102) which is in the path of the request signal (111) will receive the request signal (102).

When the second unit (102) receives the request signal (102), the second user of the second unit (102) will be alerted by the second unit (102) with an alert signal, which in the present embodiment of the invention is an audible tone. The second user can now decide to respond with an acknowledgement signal (112), even though the second user may not know the location of the first unit (101), for example, if the second user does not know who the first user is. The second user can direct the second unit (102) in any direction at any other user in the vicinity. Upon operation of the second unit (102), by pressing an acknowledgement button (not shown) on the second unit (102), an acknowledgement signal (112) is transmitted in the direction in which the second unit (102) is directed. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the acknowledgement signal (112) is a directional infra-red signal which can be received by any of the units in the path of the acknowledgement signal (112). A fifth unit (105) which is not in the path of the acknowledgement signal (112) will not receive the acknowledgement signal (112). However, if the first unit (101) is in the path of the acknowledgement signal (112), the acknowledgement signal will be received by the first unit (101).

The request signal (111) sent by the first unit (101) contains first identification data identifying the first unit (101). In responding to the request signal (111), the second unit (102) transmits the acknowledgement signal (112) containing the first identification data.

On receipt of the acknowledgement signal (112), the first unit (101) determines whether the acknowledgement signal (112) contains the first identification data which it originally transmitted. If this is the case, then the first unit (101) alerts the first user of the first unit (101) with an audible tone which is different to the audible tone which would be output on receipt of a request signal.

The first user of the first unit (101) now knows that the second user of the second unit (102) wants to meet and can approach them accordingly.

If an unrelated acknowledgement signal (114) from the fourth unit is transmitted in the direction of the first unit (101) when the first unit (101) has not first transmitted a request signal (111) with its identification data to the fourth unit (104), the first unit (111) can determine that the unrelated acknowledgement signal (114) is not in reply to its request signal (111) and will not output an audible signal. In a similar way, if the fifth unit (105) receives the unrelated acknowledgement signal (114) (when it is in the path of the acknowledgement signal (114)), but has not previously transmitted a request signal, then no alert signal will be generated by the fifth unit (115). Each of the units (101, 102, 103, 104 and 105) can operate in two modes. A send- only mode is one in which a unit is operable to transmit a request signal (111) and will alert a user in response to an acknowledgement signal (112) sent in reply to a transmitted request signal (111). However, in the send-only mode, the unit will not produce an alert signal when a request signal (111) is received from another unit. A send-and-receive mode is one in which a unit is operable to transmit a request signal (111) and will alert a user in response to an acknowledgement signal (112) sent in reply to a transmitted request signal (111). In addition, in the send-and-receive mode, the unit is configured to produce an alert signal when a request signal (111) is received from another unit. Whether the unit is in the send-only mode or the send-and-receive mode is determined, in one embodiment of the invention, by a switch (not shown) on the unit. Alternatively, the mode can be set by operation of a keypad. Of course, the unit can be turned off so that neither a transmit signal (111) or acknowledgement signal (112) can be sent or received.

Fig. 2 shows internal components of a unit (200), in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, which may be any of the units (101, 102, 103, 104 and 105) referred, to in Fig. 1. The unit (200) comprises a transmit circuit (202) and a receive circuit (204). In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the request signal (111) and the acknowledgement signal (112) are in the form of infra-red light beams which are transmitted and received by an infra-red transmit LED (202a) and an infra-red receiver (204a) connected to the transmit and receive circuits (202, 204) respectively. Of course, it will be appreciated that, although Fig.2 shows the receive circuit (204) receiving an acknowledgement signal (112), it could also receive a request signal (111) transmitted from another unit (not shown).

A person skilled in the art will appreciate that a power supply (not shown) will be connected to the control circuit (206) and transmit and receive circuits (202, 204). The transmit circuit (202) receives an identification code (not shown) on transmit bus (202b) connected between the transmit circuit (202) and a control circuit (206) and provides a stream of serial data containing the identification code and formatted with one or more error correction codes to the transmit LED (202a) which outputs a binary infra-red signal corresponding to the stream of serial data.

The infra-red receiver (204a) receives a binary infra-red signal containing a stream of serial data. The stream of serial data is converted to multi-bit digital data and checked for errors by the receive circuit (204) applying the error correction code contained in the serial data to the digital data. If errors are detected in the digital data, then these errors are corrected using the error correction signal. The digital data is output on a receive bus (204b) connected to the control circuit (206). The digital data will contain an identification code from another unit from which the binary infra-red signal was transmitted.

The transmit bus (202b) and the receive bus (204b) may form part of a single bidirectional bus between the transmit and receive circuits (202, 204) and the control circuit (206). The identification code is specific to each unit (200). Thus, the first unit (101) will have a different identification code to the second unit (102). The identification code will be pre-programmed into each unit during manufacture.

The control circuit (206) is a micro-controller with built-in random access memory (207). The memory (207) will store the identification code for each unit. The control circuit (206) is programmed to receive and transmit digital data across the transmit and receive buses (202b, 204b). Of course, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the control circuit (206) and receive and transmit circuits (202, 204) could be combined into a single integrated circuit (IC).

The control circuit (206) is connected to a keypad (210) and a display screen (208) which is an LCD screen. In addition, the control circuit (206) is connected to a piezoelectric transducer (209) which can output an audible tone. The keypad (210) can be used to manipulate menus displayed on the display screen (208) thereby allowing user- friendly control of the control circuit (210) to commence transmission of a request signal (111) or to switch between send-only and send-and-receive modes.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, when the control circuit (206) and receive and transmit circuits (202, 204) are combined into a single integrated circuit (IC), the integrated circuit may then be integrated into a wireless communications device, such as a mobile phone, and the control circuit will then operate in conjunction with the keypad and display screen of the mobile phone. The intensity of the infra-red light beam generated by the infra-red transmit LED (202a) is such that it can penetrate clothing located at a distance of greater than 20 meters from the transmit LED (202a). Thus, an infra-red receiver (204a) on a unit which is covered by clothing is still responsive to the infra-red light beam.

The method of the present invention (200) will now be described with reference to Fig. 3 which is a schematic flow diagram of its operation.

At a first step (301), a user of the first unit (101) can instigate the transmission of a request signal (111) to the second unit (102) by pointing the transmit LED (202a) in any direction and using the keypad to instigate transmission of the request signal (11 1). Generally, the user of the first unit (101) will point the transmit LED (202a) towards a person who they would like to meet and who may or may not be carrying the second unit (102). The person may be carrying the second unit (102) under their clothing. Actuation of one or more key sequences on the keypad (210) is interpreted by the control circuit

(206) as an instruction to send request data including the identification code of the first unit (101) to the transmit circuit (202) which formats the data to send from the transmit LED (202a) as an infra-red light beam in the request signal (111). The request data comprises the identification data for the first unit (101) and a flag to indicate that the signal to be transmitted is a request signal (111).

At a second step (302), the request signal (111) is received by the second unit (102) at the infra-red receiver (204) of the second unit (102) and checked for errors (see above). The received data is then passed to the control unit (206) of the second unit (102) which identifies the received data from the flag as a request signal (111) and extracts the identification code of the first unit (101).

At a third step (303), providing the control circuit (206) has been set to send-and- receive mode by use of the keypad (210), the control circuit (206) will generate an audible tone through the piezoelectric transducer (209) thereby alerting a user of the second unit that the request signal (111) has been received. In addition, depending on the configuration settings of the control circuit (206), a message may be displayed on the display screen (208). If the control circuit (206) of the second unit (102) has been set to send-only mode, then the control circuit (206) will not generate an audible tone.

At a fourth decision step (304), the user of the second unit (102) must indicate to the control circuit (206) of the second unit (102) whether an acknowledgement signal (112) is to be transmitted from the second unit (102). The user of the second unit (102) points the transmit LED (202a) in any direction, but most likely towards a person who they would like to meet and instigates transmission of the acknowledgement signal (102) through a key sequence on the keypad (208) thereby indicating to the control circuit (206) that they wish to respond. If the user of the second unit (102) takes no action, transmission of an acknowledgement signal (112) will not take place.

At a fifth step (305), the control circuit (206) of the second unit (102) compiles acknowledgement data which is passed to the transmit circuit (204). The acknowledgement data includes the identification code of the first unit ( 101 ) (as received by the second unit (102) and a flag indicating that the signal to be transmitted is an acknowledgement signal (112) (as opposed to a request signal (111)). In addition, the acknowledgement data may contain the identification code of the second unit (102) or other identifying data, such as the telephone number of the user of the second unit (102) which can be input via the keypad (208) and stored in the memory (207) of the control circuit (206). The transmit circuit (204) formats the acknowledgement data into a serial data stream which is passed to the transmit LED (202a). The transmit LED (202a) generates the acknowledgement signal (112) in the form of a directional infra-red beam in the direction in which the transmit LED (202a) is pointing.

At a sixth step (306), providing there is a receiving unit (which may or may not be the first unit (101)) located in the path of the acknowledgement signal (112) and the infrared receiver of the receiving unit is directed so as to receive the acknowledgement signal (112), the receive circuit (204) will decode the acknowledgement signal (112) and pass received acknowledgement data to the control circuit (206) of the receiving unit. The control circuit (206) of the receiving unit determines that the acknowledgement data is an acknowledgement signal and extracts the identification code (of the unit which transmitted the request signal (111) to the receiving unit) from the acknowledgement data. At a seventh decision step (307), the control circuit (206) of the receiving unit determines whether its identification code (stored in its memory (207)) matches the identification code received in the acknowledgement data. If the identification codes do not match, the control circuit (206) of the receiving unit does nothing. In fact, the user of the receiving unit remains completely unaware that any acknowledgement signal (112) has been received.

If, however, the identification codes do match (in the case where the receiving unit is the first unit (101)), then at an eighth step (308), the control circuit (206) will output an audible signal via the piezoelectric transducer thereby alerting the user of the first unit (101) that an acknowledgement signal (112) has been received. The tone of the audible signal will be different to that which is output when a request signal (111) is received by a unit. In addition, the control circuit (206) may display the other identifying data contained in the acknowledgement data (e.g. the telephone number of the user of the second unit (102)) on the display screen (208). This way, the user of the first unit (101) knows that the user of the second unit (102) would like to meet and can either approach them directly or contact them later using the other identifying data. If, on receipt of acknowledgement data, the first unit (101) is connected to or integrated into a cellular network device, such as a mobile phone, and if a mobile telephone number is received in the acknowledgement data, then the control circuit (206) of the first unit (101) may automatically instruct the cellular network device to transmit other identifying data for the user of the first unit (101) (stored in memory (207) of the first unit (101)) across the cellular network to the mobile phone identified by the received mobile telephone number. For example, a Short Message Service (SMS) message can be transmitted to the mobile phone of the user of the second unit (102) with the telephone number of the cellular network device of the first user (101). This way, the user of the second unit (102) can automatically obtain other identifying data for the user of the first unit (101) if they correctly select the user (who transmitted the request signal (111)) and then transmit an acknowledgement signal (112) to that user. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a directional wireless signal that may be transmitted from the transmit circuit of the device (200) through a source (400) which may be a directional antenna or LED (depending on the nature of the signal). In one embodiment, the wireless signal is an infra-red signal and the source (400) is the LED (202a).

The intensity of the signal, I, at a distance, d, from the source (400) is related to the transmit angular aperture, γ_t, of the signal leaving the source, the distance, d, and the energy, E, of the source.

Hence, for a receiver (401) having a threshold intensity for responding to the wireless signal, I_T, the distance at which the signal is received can be controlled by varying γ_t and E. For example, to increase the distance, d, the transmit angular aperture, γ_t, can be decreased.

In a similar way, the threshold frequency, I , can be varied at the receiver (401), along with the receive angular aperture, γ_r. In one embodiment, the wireless signal is an infra-red signal and the receiver (401) is the infra-red receiver (204a). Accordingly, the transmit parameters, E and γ_t, of the source (400) can be varied at the transmit circuit (202) depending on the environment. The transmit parameters can be set through a configuration menu on the display screen (208) of the device (200). For example, if a room is crowded, the transmit angular aperture, γ_t, may be set to be low so that the wireless signal is more directed and therefore less likely to connect with devices other than the device at which the transmitting device is directed.

In a similar way, the receive parameters, I and γ_r, of the receiver (401) can be varied by the receive circuit (204). The receive parameters can be set through a configuration menu on the display screen (208) of the device (200). For example, if a room is not crowded, the receive angular aperture, γ_r, may be set to be low so that a transmitted wireless signal is more likely to be received. It will of course be understood that the present invention has been described above purely by way of example and modifications of detail can be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A device for linking two users, comprising: a receive circuit for receiving a wireless request signal and a wireless acknowledgement signal arriving externally from the device; a transmit circuit for directionally transmitting a wireless request signal towards a first point at request of a user and directionally transmitting a wireless acknowledgement signal towards a second point at request of a user only when a request signal has been received; and an alert circuit connected to the receive circuit for alerting a user when a wireless request signal is received by the receive circuit and for alerting the user when a wireless acknowledgement signal is received by the receive circuit when a request signal has been previously transmitted from the transmit circuit.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the wireless request signal comprises first identification data for the device from which it is being transmitted and the transmit circuit is adapted to receive first identification data in a received wireless request signal and transmit an acknowledgement signal comprising second identification data which includes at least part of the first identification data.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the alert circuit is adapted to alert a user only when first identification data transmitted from the transmit circuit is included in second identification data received at the receive circuit.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the first and/or second identification data comprise a telephone number.

5. The device of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: a keypad for entering data to be transmitted in the wireless request or acknowledgement signals; and a display screen for displaying data received in a received wireless request signal or a received wireless acknowledgement signal.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein data transmitted in the wireless request signal or the received wireless acknowledgement signal is in the form of an alphanumeric text message.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the data is in the form of a short message service (SMS) message.

8. The device of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the transmit circuit comprises an infra-red transmitter, the receive circuit comprises an infra-red receiver and the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are infra-red signals.

9. The device of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the transmit circuit comprises a directional radio transmitter, the receive circuit comprises a radio receiver and the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are radio frequency signals.

10. The device of any one of the preceding claims, the receive circuit is adapted to receive wireless request and acknowledgement signals from that a device located greater than ten meters away.

11. The device of any one of the preceding claims, the transmit circuit is adapted to transmit wireless request and acknowledgement signals to a device located greater than ten meters away.

12. A wireless communications apparatus comprising the device of any one of the preceding claims.

13. The wireless communications apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the wireless communications apparatus is a mobile telephone.

14. A system for linking two parties comprising: a first unit adapted to be directed towards a first point, transmit a directional wireless request signal towards said first point and receive a wireless acknowledgement signal; and a second unit at the first point adapted to receive the directional wireless request signal, notify a user of the second unit when the directional wireless request signal has been received and, only when a directional wireless request signal has been received, at request of a user, transmit a directional wireless acknowledgement signal towards a second point, wherein the first unit is further adapted to notify a user of the first unit when the first unit located at the second point receives the directional wireless acknowledgement signal from the second unit located at the first point.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the distance between the first and second points is greater than ten meters.

16. The system of claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are infra-red signals.

17. The system of claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are radio frequency signals.

18. A method of linking two parties, comprising: transmitting a directional wireless request signal from a first unit towards a first point; receiving the wireless request signal at a second unit at the first point; alerting a user of the second unit that a wireless request signal has been received; transmitting a directional wireless acknowledgement signal only when a wireless request signal has been received by the second unit and when requested by a user of the second unit; receiving the directional wireless acknowledgement signal at the first unit; and alerting a user of the first unit that a wireless acknowledgement signal from the second unit has been received.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the wireless request signal comprises first identification data for the first unit and the second unit receives first identification data and transmits, at the request of a user of the second unit, an acknowledgement signal comprising second identification data which includes at least part of the first identification data.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the user of the second unit is only alerted when first identification data transmitted from the transmit circuit is included in second identification data received at the second unit.

21. The method of claim 18 or claim 20, wherein the first and/or second identification data comprise a telephone number.

22. The method of any one of claims 18 to 21 , wherein data transmitted in the wireless request signal or the received wireless acknowledgement signal is in the form of an alphanumeric text message.

23. The method of any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are infra-red signals.

24. The method of any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are radio frequency signals.

25. The method of any one of claims 18 to 24, wherein the wireless request and acknowledgement signals are transmitted and received over a distance of greater than ten metres.

26. The method of any one of claims 18 to 25, further comprising the step of transmitting personal data to the second unit identifying the user of the first unit from the first unit when the wireless acknowledgement signal from the second unit has been received.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the personal data is transmitted over a cellular network to the second unit.

28. The method of claim 26 or claim 27, wherein the personal data comprises a telephone number.

29. A device, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

30. A system, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

31. A method, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.