WO1999001997A1

WO1999001997A1 - Cordless telephone system

Info

Publication number: WO1999001997A1
Application number: PCT/DE1998/001847
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ralf RÜTHER
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 1997-07-04
Filing date: 1998-07-03
Publication date: 1999-01-14
Also published as: DE19728694C1

Abstract

The invention relates to a cordless telephone system comprising base stations (FP1, FP2) which are situated in different geographical locations (STA1, STA2, ...) and which supply cells, as well as associated mobile parts (PP). After a communication has been established between a mobile part (PP) and a base station (FP1), at least one geographical destination entered by the user is transmitted via the base station (FP1, ... FP4) to a central computer (ZRE). Said computer determines a suitable geographical link between the position of the base station given by means of geographical coordinates and the transmitted destination and transmits a corresponding route information (WIF) to the mobile part. Said link can be displayed on the display of the mobile part.

Description

description

Cordless phone system

The invention relates to a cordless telephone system with cell-providing base stations located at geographically different locations and with mobile parts which are set up to establish a connection within the radio cell of a base station.

The object on which the invention is based is to make it easier for people, in particular travelers who are unfamiliar with the location, to reach a specific destination.

Comfortable solutions for this task are to rent a taxi with a local driver or a rental car with a satellite navigation system. These solutions are too expensive for the majority of travelers. The cost-effective solutions, namely to find the destination and a route using timetables and city maps, are again the most inconvenient and require a considerable amount of time.

It is known to set up interactive display boards or screen devices at airports, subway stations, etc., at which the location has to be entered, the traveler can enter a destination address, and the most suitable connection between the location and the destination via a computer is determined and then displayed on the display. If such facilities exist at all, the problem for the traveler is to find them, which is difficult in large underground stations or train stations.

The invention achieves the present object, starting from a cordless telephone system of the type mentioned at the outset, in that at least several of the base stations are assigned at least one central computer which is used for processing geographic data and their assignment to traffic routes is set up so that the system is set up to transmit at least one geographic destination entered by a user via the base station to the central computer after establishing a connection between a handset and the central computer Determination of an expedient geographical connection between the position of the base station given by geographical coordinates and the transmitted destination, and for the transmission of a corresponding route information via the base station to the mobile part.

The invention enables an individual query of the travel route by any traveler who carries with him a suitable handset, for example borrowed on arrival in a city. In the context of the invention, “geographical coordinates” are usually not understood to mean physical coordinates in the sense of a task of geographical longitude and latitude, but merely designations, for example of stations or places.

A useful embodiment is characterized in that the system is set up to transmit a list of geographical destinations to the handset after a connection has been established between a handset and a base station, which can be shown on a display of the handset. This gives the user a choice and he can then enter the selected destination, be it e.g. by voice or via the keyboard so that it is transmitted to the central computer.

A particularly convenient handling is achieved if at least one of the displayed destinations of the transmitted list can be provided with a marking with the aid of an input device and the at least one marked destination can be transmitted to the central computer via the base station. An expedient development of the invention, which also enables rapid processing, is characterized in that a coordinate register is provided which contains the geographical coordinates of the base stations and their identifications, and the central computer by comparing a received identification with the entries in the coordinate register for retrieval that is set up for the base station specific coordinates.

The geographic coordinates can also be stored in a memory of each base station, so that a comparison with the identification does not necessarily have to be made.

In more extensive areas, e.g. At airports or train stations, it is recommended that two or more base stations with identical geographic coordinates are provided at a geographical location.

For convenience, the list can be an alphabetical list of street and / or place names. In this sense, it is also advantageous if the route information is a sequence of street names and / or traffic lines with stations.

Another convenience is the user if the handsets have a built-in printer.

In many cases it can be expedient if voice information from the central computer and / or a base station can be transmitted to a mobile part, since additional information can thus be transmitted to the user quickly.

In order to be able to call up information in speech at any time and also outside of a radio cell, it is recommended that the handset has a speech memory for the transmitted speech information. In the interest of increased convenience of use, it may be appropriate for the user to be able to enter the geographic destinations in a voice-controlled manner.

If the cordless telephone system is a DECT system, this results in an implementation that is simple to carry out, since many hardware and software requirements have already been met, e.g. the so-called "Location Update".

The invention and further advantages are explained in more detail below with the aid of an exemplary embodiment which is illustrated in the drawing. 1 shows a cordless telephone system according to the invention in a schematic illustration and FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a possible connection processing.

In Fig. 1 four radio cells FZ1 ... FZ4 are symbolized by circles or ellipses. These radio cells are formed by base stations FP1, FP2A, FP2B, FP3, FP4 of a cordless telephone system. These radio cells are installed at stations STA1 ... STA4, for example subway stations, airports, public places, etc. In this example it was assumed that the station STA2 has two base stations STA2A, STA2B to cover the station area and to form a correspondingly larger radio cell FZ2 due to the larger spatial extent.

Each STAL ... STA4 station has geographic coordinates or other variables within a city, in general an area, which serve to determine the location, for example on a map. In the following, one speaks of geographic coordinates GK1 ... GK4, which are assigned to the stations STAl ... STA4. In a known manner, each base station FP1 ... FP4 has a memory SPE for an identification ID of the device. In addition, this memory SPE can also contain the geographic coordinates GK of the station STAL ... STA4, which, however, is not necessary for the function of the system described below.

All base stations FP1 ... FP4 are connected to at least one central computer ZRE, for example an additional computer from the local transport company, which contains all the necessary data about the city's traffic network or route network, which is required to determine the cheapest connection between two locations. In particular, the central computer ZR contains a coordinate register GKR in which the geographic coordinates GKT. All stations STAi and the identifications ID_ of the base stations in a corresponding assignment to the geographic coordinates.

In the example described, the base stations FP2A, FP2B of the station STA2 are assigned identical geographic coordinates, since these base stations cover a common radio cell FZ2.

The cordless telephone system according to the invention naturally includes mobile parts which can establish a radio connection to base stations. 1 schematically shows a mobile part PPy in the radio cell FZ3, a mobile part PPx is shown in somewhat more detail in the radio cell FZ1. Mobile parts PP used for the invention are generally modified compared to conventional mobile parts, for example the known DECT system (DECT = Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications). In addition to a keypad TAF, a loudspeaker LSP and a microphone MIC, a relatively large-area display ANZ, for example an LCD display, is present; if appropriate, a small printer PRI is also built into the handset PP. The function of the system according to the invention is explained below using an example of use. A person arriving in a city rents a PPx handset, for example at an airport tourist office.

Assuming that there is also a base station of the cordless telephone system according to the invention at the airport, the user of the PPx handset now switches the device on and sets, e.g. by a suitable key selection on the TAF key field, a connection to the base part, e.g. FPl, fro. This corresponds to point 1 in the flow diagram according to FIG. 2, but in the DECT system the so-called “location update” process takes place after switching on without any action by the user, and the base station PPx shares a temporary identification with the handset ID here. It should be mentioned that in the DECT system each base station has its own identification, the so-called "Radio Fixed Part Identification" RFPI, which, for example is explained in more detail in the ETSI standard ETS 300 175-6, Sept. 1996. The user can now, for example, press a button for establishing a connection, and the known “set-up” and “connect” information is exchanged between the handset and the base station. After the connection has been established, a list of streets in the city or only part of such a list is then transmitted to the handset PPx, usually from the central computer ZRE, and is shown on the display ANZ. According to item 4 of FIG. 2, the user can now "scroll" in this list, for example by pressing the up / down buttons. When a first part of the list has been scrolled, corresponding information is "scrolled" to the base station and from this to the central computer ZR, and the next part of the list is forwarded to the handset PPx and shown on the display ANZ.

The user can now select a destination selected by him, for example a street or an underground / subway station, which is best done by marking the corresponding destination on the Display occurs. With the help of a suitable, for example an "Enter" key, the selected destination can be passed on as information "destination" to the base station or to the central computer ZR. Alternatively, the above-mentioned process can also be carried out by entering a destination in alpha-numerical form.

After the central computer ZR has received the desired destination, it transmits the most convenient route for the user, in this case e.g. from the airport to a hotel or subway station. This route information WIF can now be stored in the handset PPx and simultaneously shown on the display ANZ or, if a printer PRI is available, can also be printed out on a paper strip as information WIF. This has the advantage that the user can then e.g. can be stowed in a pocket and only has to use the paper strip, which is insignificant in terms of weight, until it requests a route to a new destination via its PPx handset.

After the user has received the route information, he can clear the connection by pressing a button (point 7 in FIG. 2), and the usual information exchange “Release” and “Release Complete” takes place. Since the most convenient way is stored in the handset PPx, it is of course also available to the user after the connection has ended (point 8 in FIG. 2).

In the example described above, requests to the

Central computer entered via a keypad, and the display, and thus the response of the central computer, takes place on a graphic surface, for example an LCD display or a paper strip. In addition, it is also possible to provide the user with voice information, especially from the central computer, in particular requests to enter certain information or to actuate certain keys. A such voice information can help shorten the operating sequence considerably. In addition to the pure information regarding geographical destinations, advertising text and / or music can also be transmitted.

By using a corresponding voice evaluation, which is switched on between the user and the central computer and is located, for example, in the central computer or in the base stations, it is also possible to have the entire information exchange controlled by voice. For example, after establishing a connection between the handset and the base station, the user can enter a desired destination when asked, for example, "Now clearly speak your destination into the microphone", e.g. "Südbahnhof". The central computer can now transmit corresponding information in voice to the user via the base station, e.g. "Use bus line 13A and drive seven stops". This information can optionally also be stored in a voice memory of the handset, so that the user can access it at any time, even after leaving the radio cell of the base station. Of course, the combination "language display" is also possible and particularly useful in many cases.

Claims

claims

1. Cordless telephone system with cell-providing base stations (FPI, FP2) located at geographically different locations (STAl, STA2, ...) and with mobile parts (PP), which are set up within the radio cell of a base station with this Establish a connection, characterized in that at least several of the base stations (FP1, FP2, ...) are assigned at least one central computer (ZRE), which is set up to process geographic data and to assign them to traffic routes, the system is set up for this purpose is, after establishing a connection between a handset (PP) and a base station (FPl) to transmit at least one geographic destination entered by a user via the base station (FPl, ... FP4) to the central computer, which for determining a expedient geographical connection between the position of the base station and the transmitted destination, as given by geographical coordinates, and is set up to transmit a corresponding route information (WIF) via the base station to the handset.

2. Cordless telephone system according to claim 1, characterized in that the system is set up to transmit a list (LIS) with geographical destinations after establishing a connection between a handset (PP) and a base station (FPl) to the handset can be displayed on a display (ANZ) of the handset.

3. Cordless telephone system according to claim 2, characterized in that with the aid of an input device (TAF) at least one of the displayed destinations of the transmitted list (LIS) can be provided with a marking and the at least one marked destination can be transmitted to the central computer via the base station (FP1, ... FP4).

4. Cordless telephone system according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a coordinate register (GKR) is provided, which the geographic coordinates (GK1 ... GK4) of the base stations (FPl ... FP4) and their identifications (ID1 ... ID4), and the central computer (ZRE) is set up to retrieve the coordinates specific to the base station by comparing a received identification with the entries in the coordinate register.

5. Cordless telephone system according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the geographic coordinates (GK1 ... GK4) are stored in a memory (SPE) of each base station (FPl ... FP4).

6. Cordless telephone system according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that two or more base stations (FP2A, FP2B) with identical geographical coordinates (GK2) are provided at a geographical location (STA2).

7. Cordless telephone system according to one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the list (LIS) is an alphabetical list of streets and / or place names.

8. Cordless telephone system according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the route information (WIF) is a sequence of street names and / or traffic lines with stations.

9. Cordless telephone system according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the handsets (PP 1) have a built-in printer (PRI).

10. Cordless telephone system according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that voice information on the part of the central computer (ZR) and / or a base station (FPl ... FP4) can be transmitted to a handset (PP1 ... PP4) .

11. Cordless telephone system according to claim 10, characterized in that the mobile part (PP) has a voice memory for the transmitted voice information.

12. Cordless telephone system according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the input of the geographic destinations can be carried out by the user in a voice-controlled manner.

13. Cordless telephone system according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that it is a DECT system.