Patent Application
20170261329
Field of the Disclosure
The disclosed subject matter relates generally to mobile computing systems and, more particularly, to using identification tags in a mobile device for providing directions to a physical location.
Description of the Related Art
Many individuals transact with a provider to secure limited time usage for a selected physical location. For example, a consumer may secure a parking location, a storage location (e.g., locker), or a personal space location (e.g., seat on a transportation vehicle, such as a bus, train, or plane). Often, the provider maintains a centralized transaction terminal at which an individual may conduct a transaction for securing the usage of the selected physical location. For example, a parking structure or lot may have a central kiosk for an individual to conduct a transaction, such as paying for an already used location or reserving a particular location for a future time interval or usage.
The requirement for a centralized transaction terminal is inconvenient for the individual, as it requires the individual to travel from the particular location being secured to the transaction terminal. In the case of a large facility, the transaction terminal may not be close to the individual's location, such as being on a different level of a multiple level structure. In some instances, due to the need to travel to the transaction terminal, the consumer may become confused regarding how to find the selected physical location relative to the transaction terminal.
Distributing transaction terminals to more locations is generally costly, as hardware and communication services to conduct transactions must be provided at each distributed terminal.
The present disclosure is directed to various methods and devices that may solve or at least reduce some of the problems identified above.
The present disclosure may be better understood, and its numerous features and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.
In various embodiments, the device 100 may be embodied in a handheld or wearable device, such as a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a mobile device, a telephones, a personal data assistants, a music player, a game device, a wearable computing device, and the like. To the extent certain example aspects of the device 100 are not described herein, such example aspects may or may not be included in various embodiments without limiting the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application as would be understood by one of skill in the art.
In the device 100, the processor 105 may execute instructions stored in the memory 110 and store information in the memory 110, such as the results of the executed instructions. Some embodiments of the processor 105 and the memory 110 may be configured to implement an interrogator application 140. For example, the processor 105 may execute the interrogator application 140 to query a nearby identification tag 145 associated with a particular physical location to extract information such as identification data, security data, program instructions, etc., to facilitate data exchanges (e.g., commercial transactions) between a user of the device 100 and another party associated with the identification tag 145 over the communication link 137 (e.g., an operator responsible for the physical locations). The processor 105, memory 110, transceiver 120, and interrogator application 140 collectively define an interrogator 150. The particular software and signaling techniques for implementing the interrogator 150 are known to those of ordinary skill in the art, so they are not described in detail herein.
In general, an identification tag 125, 145 is a passive device that does not require a power source to function. An identification tag 125, 145 includes non-volatile memory or logic that stores data, such as identification data, security data, or instruction data, and transmits the stored data using a backscattering modulation technique responsive to a query from an tag interrogator, such as the interrogator 150 in reading the identification tag 145 or from a remote interrogator (not shown) in reading the identification tag 125 in the device 100. The particular circuit elements for constructing identification tags 125, 145 are known to those of ordinary skill in the art, so they are not described in detail herein. The switch 130 allows the identification tag 125 and the interrogator 150 to share the antenna 125 responsive to an enable signal. In some embodiments separate antennas (not shown) may be provided.
The processor 105 and the memory 110 may also be configured to implement a commerce application 155 for conducting transactions associated with the selected physical location and a guidance application 160 for directing a user to the selected location using information from nearby identification tags.
Within the context of the method 200 of
Referring to
In method block 210, the commerce application 155 communicates transaction data with the facility operator over the communication link 137 operated by the device 100, such as by employing the cloud computing resource 139. This exchange may include identification data for the user (e.g., name, address, telephone, auto license place, etc.), rate data from the operator, payment data from the user (e.g., account data, credit card data, payment service data). In some embodiments, the user may have previously contracted with the operator so that only identification data may need to be exchanged to facilitate the transaction. A user ID and/or password may also be requested from the user or managed by the device 100.
In method block 215, the commerce application 155 receives transaction completion data over the communication link operated by the device 100. The transaction completion data represents a receipt for the transaction. In an embodiment where the transaction initiation data included a security key, the transaction completion data may include a unique transaction key.
In method block 220, the commerce application 155 stores the transaction completion data in the identification tag associated with the selected physical location using the interrogator 150. The transaction completion data may include user identification data, usage period, transaction ID number, a ticket, etc.
The use of the device 100 to facilitate the communication with the operator, reduces the need for the operator to provide distributed hardware or communication services to the physical locations. Because the identification tags are passive devices, a power source is not required. The identification tags are inexpensive and easily installed. The storage of the transaction completion data on the identification tag simplifies the payment verification activities of the operator.
As illustrated in
In the case of the storage facility 400 of
Within the context of the transport vehicle 500 of
The distributed array of identification tags throughout a facility may also be employed to aid the user in returning to the selected physical location.
In method block 605, a plurality of identification tags 310A-310E are provided with each identification tag being associated with one of a plurality of physical locations. In method block 610, identification data is read from a selected one of the plurality of identification tags designated as a home location on the device 100. The interrogator 150 may read the identification data and provide it to the guidance application 160 of
In method block 620, a map of the plurality of physical locations is accessed using the identification data. The map may cover multiple levels of the facility 300. In some embodiments, the guidance application 160 may generate the map. For example, in instances where GPS data is available, the guidance application 160 may store coordinates for each identification tag 310A-310E read. In some embodiments, the operator may provide a map of the facility 300 that indexes the identification tags 310A-310E of the physical locations. The map or a link to the map may be retrieved by the guidance application 160 over the communication link 137, for example, when the session was established to complete the transaction for reserving the home location. In some embodiments, the map may simply be a sequential list of the identification tags 310A-310E encountered by the device 100 while the user traverses the facility 300.
In method block 625, the guidance application 160 provides guidance information to the home location on the display 115 of the device 100 based on the map and the identification data.
In one embodiment illustrated in
In one embodiment illustrated in
In one embodiment illustrated in
In embodiments where the map includes a sequential list of identification tags encountered by the user after leaving the home location, the guidance application 160 may display the identification data (e.g., parking space number) of the next location on the list on the return route. For example, a sequential list of parking spaces may be generated as the user leaves the facility 300. Upon re-entering the facility 300, the guidance application 160 may read an identification tag of a nearby parking space and find that space on the list. If a matching entry does not exist, the user may be provided with the last entry in the list indicating the exit point of the facility 300. Once, the user finds that space, the guidance application 160 may process the list in reverse order, directing the user back to the home location, which represents the first entry in the list.
In some embodiments, certain aspects of the techniques described above may be implemented by one or more processors of a processing system executing software. The techniques may be implemented by executing software on a computing device, such as the processor 105 of
The software may include one or more sets of executable instructions stored or otherwise tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The software can include the instructions and certain data that, when executed by one or more processors, manipulate the one or more processors to perform one or more aspects of the techniques described above. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium can include, for example, a magnetic or optical disk storage device, solid state storage devices such as Flash memory, a cache, random access memory (RAM) or other non-volatile memory device or devices, and the like. The executable instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be in source code, assembly language code, object code, or other instruction format that is interpreted or otherwise executable by one or more processors.
A computer readable storage medium may include any storage medium, or combination of storage media, accessible by a computer system during use to provide instructions and/or data to the computer system. Such storage media can include, but is not limited to, optical media (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-Ray disc), magnetic media (e.g., floppy disc , magnetic tape, or magnetic hard drive), volatile memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or cache), non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM) or Flash memory), or microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based storage media. The computer readable storage medium may be embedded in the computing system (e.g., system RAM or ROM), fixedly attached to the computing system (e.g., a magnetic hard drive), removably attached to the computing system (e.g., an optical disc or Universal Serial Bus (USB)-based Flash memory), or coupled to the computer system via a wired or wireless network (e.g., network accessible storage (NAS)).
A method includes providing a plurality of identification tags each associated with one of a plurality of physical locations. First identification data is read from a selected one of the plurality of identification tags designated as a home location on a device. Second identification data is read from at least a subset of the plurality of identification tags other than the selected one on the device. Directions to the home location are provided on a display of the device based on the first identification data and the second identification data.
A device includes a display, an antenna, an interrogator coupled to the antenna, a transceiver coupled to the antenna to operate a communication link, and a processor coupled to the display, the transceiver, and the interrogator. The processor is to read first identification data from a selected one of a plurality of identification tags. Each of the plurality of identification tags is associated with one of a plurality of physical locations. The processor is to read second identification data from at least a subset of the plurality of identification tags other than the selected one on the device and provide directions to the home location on a display of the device based on the first identification data and the second identification data.
The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. For example, the process steps set forth above may be performed in a different order. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. Note that the use of terms, such as “first,” “second,” “third” or “fourth” to describe various processes or structures in this specification and in the attached claims is only used as a shorthand reference to such steps/structures and does not necessarily imply that such steps/structures are performed/formed in that ordered sequence. Of course, depending upon the exact claim language, an ordered sequence of such processes may or may not be required. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.
