The present invention relates to billing systems, and more particularly, to billing systems for use in public transportation facilities such as bus stations, train stations or subway stations.
The use of mobile terminals (mobile telephones, portable computers, PDA's, pagers, etc.) as payment tools is becoming an increasingly developed area in the wireless communications art. Mobile terminals can be used to pay for purchases within a store or for the payment of services. One area in which a mobile terminal would prove useful for the payment of services is in the public transportation area. A user could pay for a bus or train token at the bus or train station using their mobile terminal.
One problem with mobile terminal payment methodologies is the time that it takes for a user's mobile terminal to connect with a wireless system. A certain period of time is required to establish a wireless connection. This could potentially require a user to stand in one location for a period of time which is unacceptable. In order for a system of this type to prove effective, a user must be able to walk directly through the bus or train station without stopping for any period of time in order for their mobile terminal to connect with the wireless system. Therefore, a system is needed enabling a user to connect to a wireless unit within a train, subway or bus station in substantially real time such that no delays are required.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other problems with a system and method for obtaining payment for a ticket for a transportation system from a wireless mobile terminal. In a first embodiment, a wireless mobile terminal establishes a first connection with a first access unit upon entry of the mobile terminal into a first coverage area of the transportation system. Connection data for the wireless mobile terminal is obtained by the first access unit and forwarded to a second access unit. Responsive to the connection data and entry of the wireless mobile terminal into a second coverage area associated with the second access unit, a second wireless connection is established with the second access unit. Payment data is then obtained from the wireless mobile terminal by the second access unit via the second wireless connection.
In an alternative embodiment, a first connection is established between a first access unit and the wireless mobile terminal upon entry of the wireless mobile terminal into a first coverage area of the transportation system. The connection data is forwarded to a second access unit which responsive to the connection data and entry of the wireless mobile terminal into a second coverage area, establishes a second connection with the wireless mobile terminal. The second access unit forwards the connection data to a third access unit associated with the second access unit which establishes a third wireless connection upon entry of the wireless mobile terminal into a third coverage area. The third access unit obtains payment data from the wireless mobile terminal via the third wireless connection.
A more complete understanding of the method and apparatus of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein:
a and 5b illustrate the manner in which the entrance units and gate units may handoff data therebetween;
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
Once the wireless connection 30 has been established between the entrance unit 10 and the mobile terminal 25, connection data (i.e., frequency hop scheme, device address, clock-offset, etc.) may be transferred to the gate units 35 via a backbone network or dedicated wireless channel 40 between the entrance units 10 and the gate units 35. In a preferred embodiment, the entrance units 10 and gate units 35 of the present invention utilize the Bluetooth communications protocol in order to establish communications between the entrance unit 10, gate units 35 and mobile terminals 25. The communications between the entrance unit 10 and gate units 35 may also be via the Bluetooth protocol. By using the Bluetooth standard, multiple fixed entrance units 10 and gate units 35 may be interconnected via a central server as will be discussed more fully in moment. Each mobile terminal 25 can be connected to a single Bluetooth access unit and maintains that connection until the coverage area becomes too poor for communication.
The gate units 35 each have their own coverage area 45 located around a particular access gate 50 to the transportation system. Each of the gate units 35 searches for the mobile unit 25 using the Bluetooth Paging Procedure. Once one of the gate units 35 establishes a connection 55 with the mobile unit 25, the other gate units 35 cease paging for the mobile unit 25. Since an initial connection and synchronization with the mobile unit 25 need not be set up with the gate units 35 due to the connection information provided by the entrance units 10, a much shorter connection establishment period is required, and transaction data 61 for purchasing a ticket may be quickly retrieved from the mobile unit 25.
Referring now to
The first stage gate units 70 page for the mobile terminal 25 until one of the gate units 70 establishes a connection. Once one of the gate units 70, for example, gate unit 70a, establishes a wireless connection 90 with the mobile terminal 25, the mobile terminal 25 is removed from a wanted list, and the connection data is forwarded to the second stage gate 75a specifically associated with the first stage gate 70a that has detected the mobile unit 25. The first stage gate units 70 then cease paging for the mobile terminal 25. The second stage unit 75a establishes a wireless connection 95 with the mobile unit 25 using the provided connection data and obtains the transaction data 61 necessary to pay for a ticket or token on the bus, train or subway.
In yet a further embodiment of the system illustrated in
Referring now to
The transmissions between the entrance units 10 and gate units (30, 70, 75) may, in one embodiment, be solved by solutions such as dedicated bluetooth server or other centralized techniques. In this configuration, the control server 100 acts as an information hub and controls the access units. A dedicated bluetooth server has a database and functionality to connect with several Bluetooth access units and external computer systems. In the flowchart illustrated in
In an alternative embodiment, the quality of connection between a mobile terminal 25 and a gate unit (30, 70, 75) may be utilized. When a gate unit (35, 70, 75) contacts a mobile terminal 25, the gate unit (35, 70, 75) performs a short sequence of test communications to gather information on signal strength or error rate. One manner in which handovers between entrance units 10 and gate units (35, 70, 75) may be controlled is by measuring the signal strength of radio signals between an access unit and a mobile terminal 25. When radio signal strengths reach certain levels, handovers may then occur. However, it is not always convenient to have signal strength information communicated between different units within a system. An alternative method utilizes a record of retransmission packets (erroneous packets) over a wireless communications link and basing handoff decisions on this information. The signal strength or erroneous packet information is forwarded to the control server 100 and the connection between the connected gate units (35, 70, 75) and the mobile terminal 25 is shut down. When a number of gate units (35, 70, 75) report the information on signal strength or error rate to the control server 100 in a short time period, the control server 100 decides which gate unit (35, 70, 75) should serve the mobile terminal 25 and transmits the order to the determined gate unit (35, 70, 75).
In the embodiment described in
Situations may occur where a mobile terminal 25 is dropped from its connection due to various events, for example, the user of the mobile terminal may travel to a gate unit other than the expected gate unit, the mobile terminal may lose coverage, the user may leave the transportation station, etc. The default behavior in these scenarios would be for the gate units (35, 70, 75) to report the loss of the mobile terminal 25 to the control server 100 or access unit containing control logic 105. The entrance unit 10 would be able to reconnect with the mobile terminal 25 again when it enters its coverage area.
Referring now to
The previous description is of a preferred embodiment for implementing the invention, and the scope of the invention should not necessarily be limited by this description. The scope of the present invention is instead defined by the following claims.
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