A short messaging communication system for communicating short messages to a user located in an operating region of the system. Information beacons or beacons which function as store and forward devices operable in a corresponding local operating region communicate with terminal devices that are located within the local operating region. Short messages can be “private” messages wherein only specified recipients are permitted access, or “public” messages whose access is not limited to specific users. A message stored on a beacon can be retrieved by a recipient when the recipient's presence in the operating range is detected, whereupon the beacon will wirelessly transmit the message to the recipient device. For private messages, a password or other security access code may be required for input into the receiving device to decipher the received message.
FIG. 1 depicts an information beacon  14 operable in an operating range 5 for communicating with one or more wireless terminal devices, such as PDAs or mobile phones P1, P2 which are located within the operating range 5. The term beacon refers to a wireless store/forward transceiver relay device, as explained more fully below, for storing short messages and transmitting the stored messages to one or more terminal devices.
In one embodiment, a network of beacons  14 may be employed in a short range RF network or local area network (LAN) 10 illustrated in FIG. 2. Network 10 includes a plurality of wireless transceiver beacons 14 connected either directly or indirectly to a host 12 through a plurality of communication paths 16. In the example shown in FIG. 2, three direct paths, 16 a, 16 b and 16 c, are generally shown for connecting the beacons 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, to the host 12. Each communication path is made up of a direct link 18 a, 18 b, 18 c, defined as a wireless connection between the host 12 and a beacon 14 a 1, 14 b 1, 14 c 1, and may include one or more indirect links 20 a and 20 b 1-20 b 4, defined as a wireless connection between two beacons. In the network 10, path 16 a is made up of a direct link 18 a between beacon 14 a, and host 12, and an indirect link 20 a between beacons 14 a 2 and 14 a 1. Thus, beacon 14 a 2 communicates with host 12 only through the use of beacon 14 a 1 in path 16 a. Path 16 c includes only a single direct link 18 c between beacon 14 c 1 and host 12. As for path 16 b, this includes a direct link 18 b between beacon 14 b 1 and host 12 and also contains a plurality of indirect links 20 b 1, 20 b 2, 20 b 3 and 20 b 4, which provide a communication path between host 12 and beacons 14 b 2, 14 b 3 and 14 b 4.
As shown in path  16 b, certain beacons establish multiple communication links through which communication with the host 12 can occur. For example, beacon 14 b 3 can communicate with beacon 14 b 1 and, ultimately, with host 12 through either beacon 14 b 2 via intermediate paths 20 b 2 and 20 b 4 or through beacons 14 b 4 and 14 b 2 through intermediate paths 20 b 1, 20 b 3 and 20 b 4.
The host  12 is responsible for routing data to the beacons in the network 10 and may interface the network 10 with an external network such as the Internet 2, in a manner well-known to those having ordinary skill in the art. For example, the interface can be a connection 4 which may be a fiber optic or other “hard-wired” connection scheme, wireless low power RF connections (e.g. Bluetooth), cellular connection, infrared and modem. The host 12 is preferably a personal computer having low power RF communication ability including custom designed software for network administration. The host serves as a central maintenance unit for storing a running inventory register of beacons, as explained below, to which the host is connected, as well as the manner in which the beacons are connected to each other, e.g., through direct links 18 a, 18 b, 18 c or indirect links 20. The inventory register can be based, for example, on Bluetooth device addresses. Moreover, the host 12 can interface with one or more additional hosts (not shown) depending on the requirements or demands of the network 10.
The beacons  14 are relatively small, portable transceiver devices which communicate data between themselves and the host 12 along direct links 18 and indirect links 20 of communication paths 16 in the network 10. Each beacon 14 includes an RF receiver and transmitter capable of receiving and transmitting data over the operative range of the RF receiver. For example, if Bluetooth technology is employed, the operating range of each beacon and, consequently, the distance between adjacent beacons in a network (i.e. the length of each link) using current technology is in the range of approximately 10 meters for a normal power mode and 300 meters for a high power mode.
A detail of a preferred beacon device  14 is illustrated in FIG. 4. The beacon includes a central processing unit (CPU) 302 interfaced with one or more short range transceivers 308, 310, 312 for communicating with other beacons 14 or hosts 12. A memory 304 and storage area 306 are provided for storing application software as well as data to be communicated to intended recipients, as explained more fully below.
Each beacon functions as a transceiver device and is operable in a corresponding region  5 (shown in FIG. 1), typically defined by the radius of its transmission range. Thus, for a 10 meter operating range, each beacon 14 will be able to communicate with devices contained within a circular geographic area defined by the operating range and centered at the location of the beacon 14. Such communication may be between a subject beacon (e.g. beacon 14 b 3) and one or more neighboring beacons (e.g. 14 b 2, 14 b 4) or between a subject beacon and one or more mobile devices such as, for example, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or mobile telephones shown as P1 and P2.
A detail of the terminal device or mobile phone P 1 is illustrated in FIG. 5. As shown, the mobile phone includes a display 202, such as an LCD display as is known in the art, a central processing unit (CPU) 208 and a memory 210. Standard mobile transmission and reception occurs via a network transceiver 206 connected to an antenna 212, and short messaging for communication with a subject beacon 14 is conducted via a short range transceiver 204 connected to the antenna.
For the mobile devices to communicate with the beacon or with the network  10, each device will have a designated address code, such as an e-mail address. As shown in FIG. 2, telephone P1 is illustratively located within the operating ranges of beacons 14 b 3 and 14 b 4 and telephone P2 is illustratively located within the operating range of beacon 14 b 3. It will be appreciated that as the telephones P1, P2 are mobile devices, their exact positions relative to specific beacons are dynamically changing as a telephone user moves about an environment in which the information beacons 14 or the network 10 operates. Thus, at a later time telephone P2 may be in the operating range of beacon 14 b 1 while telephone P1 moves within the operating range of beacon 14 c 1.
Each beacon  14 functions as a store and forward device for providing communication of messages between the mobile devices P1, P2. The messages may be intended for receipt by one or more specific or designated recipients based on the recipient identification (“private messages”) or may be accessible to multiple recipients without the requirement of recipient identification (“public messages”). The communication of both types of messages are discussed more fully below.
To communicate with the beacons  14, the mobile devices include a low power infrared or RF communication feature, such as Bluetooth, as is known in the art. It is presently contemplated that communication between a mobile device and a particular beacon will be limited to relatively short text messages in a manner analogous to the Short Message Service available in present GSM systems, but may also include audio messages and larger text messages. To forward a private message to a particular beacon (e.g. 14 b 3) from device P1, the device must be capable of communicating either directly or indirectly with beacon 14 b 3. This is accomplished by activating a low power RF communication feature of the device P1 (e.g. a Bluetooth chip) and positioning the device P1 within the operating range of beacon 14 b 3. A text or audio message can then be created and transmitted, in a known manner, along with an address (e.g., e-mail address) of an intended recipient, for temporary storage in a memory location of the receiving beacon (14 b 3). The message can be designated for storage on a particular beacon (e.g., 14 b 3) or for storage on some or all beacons in direct or indirect communication with beacon 14 b 3, e.g., a broadcast message to a plurality of beacons.
As an alternative to directly communicating with beacon  14 b 3 and transmitting a message for storage, indirect communication can occur by, for example, transmitting a message through the network 10 to beacon 14 b 4 and providing a destination address to allow the message to be forwarded to beacon 14 b 3. This allows for the message sender (i.e. the operator of device P1) to be in the operating range of beacon 14 b 4 and not within the operating range of beacon 14 b 3. One circumstance in which this feature may be useful is in coordinating a time for a meeting scheduled to take place within an operating environment of the network 10. For example, if a meeting place within the operating range of beacon 14 b 3 was previously scheduled by a party who is within the operating range of a remote beacon (e.g. beacon 14 b 1,) and who is going to be delayed, the delayed party can forward a message through beacon 14 b 1 to beacon 14 b 3 via communication links 20 b 4, 20 b 2, to inform an intended recipient that there will be a delay to the meeting.
One of the various alternatives to PGP encryption is assigning each user address (e.g. e-mail address) with a corresponding password that will be used to access a message stored by a sender. In such a system, the sender will use the recipient's e-mail address to transmit the message to a desired beacon for storage and the recipient will gain access to the message by entering the recipient's password. Thus, the password will be entered onto the recipient's device (e.g., P 2) when access to messages is desired. The verification of the password is preferably performed in the recipient device, which will insure that the beacon architecture design can remain relatively simple and transparent with standard memory and transceiver electronics (e.g., Bluetooth chips) without requiring the storing of operation of verification software for confirming password validity, etc. However, password verification at the recipient device may pose certain security risks, especially if the password is saved in memory contained in the recipient device. To alleviate or reduce this risk, the mobile devices may contain security information in the device application software necessary to guarantee the user identity such as by including a hard-coded security algorithm that is unable to be duplicated.
As explained above, private messages are intended to be received by one specific recipient or by a group of recipients. Private messages are transmitted from a subject beacon (e.g.,  14 b 3), or in the case of a broadcast message which is stored on a plurality of subject beacons, to an intended recipient when the intended recipient enters into the operating range of the beacon and the intended recipient device is detected. To accomplish this, the intended recipient device must be activated for automatic access, i.e. the Bluetooth function or the infra-red function is operating, to identify the recipient device to the transmitting beacon. Once the recipient device is identified (e.g., “connected’ to the network 10), the private message will be transmitted automatically from one of the subject beacons containing the private message. After receipt, the message can be decrypted such as by entering an encryption password on an input (e.g. a keyboard) of the receiving device, whereupon the message is conveyed to the recipient in text, audio or other format. After the recipient receives a private message, a reply can be sent solely to the transmitting beacon or as a broadcast signal to multiple beacons for receipt by the message originator, by utilizing the message originator's address and the sender's password.
The inventive method described above for communicating a private message from a sender to a recipient through the use of a beacon is illustrated in FIG. 3. When a private message is prepared by a sender, it is encrypted and transmitted to a designated beacon. The transmission may occur directly between a sender's device and the designated beacon by transmitting the message (step  3.1) within a corresponding operating range of the beacon, or indirectly, as explained above, via use of another beacon in communication with the designated beacon. A determination as to whether the message is private will then be made (step 3.2) by detecting, for example, a security code or an encryption format. The private message will then be stored in memory on the designated beacon with a security code (step 3.3). When an activated recipient device enters the operating range of the designated beacon, the beacon will sense or become aware of the recipient (step 3.4) by detecting, for example, a Bluetooth signature, SIM card or other corresponding address code associated with the intended recipient or recipient device, and transmit the stored message (step 3.5). Upon receipt, the recipient can enter a decryption code or password, if required, to decipher or gain access to the received message (step 3.6).
Although intended recipients of private messages are preferably alerted when they enter into an operating range of a beacon, recipients of public messages may be required to request delivery of public messages. The public messages can be created by, for example, a service provider of one or more networks  10 and stored in location specific destinations to maximize user accessibility and use of the public messages. With reference to FIG. 6, for example, a system is depicted having a plurality of networks or LANs (10 1, 10 2, 10 3, 10 4) each containing a plurality of beacons (in FIG. 6, only one beacon BT is shown for each LAN as 14 1, 14 2, 14 3, 14 4, respectively). The LANs are connected through the Internet 2 to one or more service providers which operate the LANs. The service providers preferably operate the LANs and may also control the public messages intended for storage on the individual beacons. Thus, if a commercial establishment desires to have a particular public message posted on a beacon (e.g. a beacon having a transmission area in which the commercial establishment or a competitor is located), the appropriate service provider would be contacted. The service provider can then access the desired LAN and beacon, such as via the Internet using appropriate software applications and addresses, to store the desired message. If one of the networks (e.g. LAN 10 1,) operates in a shopping center containing various types of retail establishments, public messages may be created and strategically placed at appropriate beacons (e.g., BT 14 1) positioned proximate certain retail establishments to alert potential patrons in the vicinity of the specific retail establishments of available promotional offers. For example, a public message containing information on a clothing sale offered by a store, proximate a specific information beacon containing the message will be transmitted to devices (e.g., P1) that are within the operating range of the specific beacon 14 1. This process is generally depicted in steps 3.7-3.10.
The network  10 also functions as an electronic message center or “bulletin board” wherein users can access information posted by other users (either directly or through the service providers) on one or more beacons which are strategically located in high user traffic areas such as an entrance to a shopping center. As an example, if a user wants to post a message or advertisement concerning the user's sale of an item, such as furniture, the user will send a short message request to a desired beacon where the advertisement is to be stored. The user may then receive a message from the beacon containing an information solicitation form seeking certain information from the user (e.g. the price of the item for sale and, optionally, a digital image of the item). The information is then provided by the user to the beacon for storage. When a second user enters the operating range of the subject beacon containing the first user's stored message, the second user may send a SMS message request to the beacon for all “sale” items. The second user will receive, in response, a message containing a list of categories for sale items. The user can then scroll through the list to find the “furniture” category and then select the desired message, whereupon the beacon will transmit the first user's message to the second user's mobile phone.
wirelessly transmitting the message from said beacon to the recipient device.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of encrypting the message prior to storing the message in said beacon memory, and decrypting the message after the message is received by the recipient device.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said detecting step further comprises the step of transmitting a command from the recipient device to said beacon to transmit the stored message to the recipient device.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said beacon and the recipient device employ Bluetooth technology.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the recipient device has an assigned unique address code and wherein said detecting step comprises detecting the unique address code.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of designating the message with the address code of the recipient device.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of assigning a time period to the message during which the message will be transmittable from said beacon to the recipient device.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of deleting the message from said beacon after the time period expires.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of deleting the message from said beacon after the message is transmitted to the recipient device.
10. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of wirelessly transmitting the message from the sender to said beacon further comprises the steps of wirelessly transmitting a plurality of messages having topic categories, and wherein said step of transmitting a command from the recipient device to said beacon further comprises the step of selecting specific categories of messages for transmission by said beacon to the recipient device.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein said recipient device is a mobile phone.
wirelessly transmitting the retrieved message from said particular beacon to the recipient device.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said step of wirelessly transmitting the message to said specific one beacon comprises the step of transmitting the message to a second beacon in communication with said specific one beacon, and forwarding the message from said second beacon to said specific one beacon.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein said step of storing the message comprises storing the message in the memory of said second beacon.
15. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of encrypting the message prior to storing the message in memory, and decrypting the message after the message is received by the recipient device.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein said detecting step further comprises the step of transmitting a command from the recipient device to said particular beacon to transmit the stored message to the recipient device.
17. The method of claim 12, wherein said plurality of transceiver beacons and the recipient device employ Bluetooth technology.
18. The method of claim 12, wherein the recipient device has an assigned unique address code and wherein said detecting step comprises detecting the unique address code.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of designating the message with the address code of the recipient device.
20. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of assigning a time period to the message during which the message will be transmittable from said particular beacon to the recipient device.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of deleting the message from memory after the time period expires.
22. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of deleting the message from memory after the message is transmitted to the recipient device.
23. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of deleting the message from memory after the message is transmitted to the recipient device.
24. The method of claim 12, wherein said recipient device is a mobile phone.
25. The method of claim 12, wherein said plurality of beacons includes an information beacon.
26. The method of claim 12, wherein the wireless local area network is in communication with a mobile network.
27. The method of claim 12, wherein the wireless local area network is in communication with a global computer network.
means for wirelessly transmitting the message from said beacon to the recipient device.
29. The system of claim 28, further comprising means for encrypting the message prior to storing the message in said beacon memory, and means for decrypting the message after the message is received by the recipient device.
30. The system of claim 28, wherein said means for wirelessly transmitting the message from the sender to said beacon and said means for transmitting the message from said beacon to the recipient device comprise Bluetooth technology.
31. The system of claim 28, wherein the recipient device has an assigned unique address code and wherein said means for detecting comprises means for detecting the unique address code.
32. The system of claim 28, wherein said recipient device is a mobile phone.
33. The system of claim 28, further comprising means for connecting said information beacon to a global computer network in communication with a service provider, and means for communicating a second message from the service provider to said information beacon by transmitting the second message over the global computer network.
means for wirelessly transmitting the retrieved message from said particular beacon to the recipient device.
35. The system of claim 34, wherein said means for wirelessly transmitting the message to said specific one beacon comprises means for transmitting the message to a second beacon in communication with said specific one beacon, and means for forwarding the message from said second beacon to said specific one beacon.
36. The system of claim 35, wherein said storing means comprises storing the message in the memory of said second beacon.
37. The system of claim 34, further comprising means for encrypting the message prior to storing the message in memory, and means for decrypting the message after the message is received by the recipient device.
38. The system of claim 34, wherein said detecting means further comprises means for transmitting a command from the recipient device to said particular beacon to transmit the stored message to the recipient device.
39. The system of claim 34, wherein said plurality of transceiver beacons and the recipient device employ Bluetooth technology.
40. The system of claim 34, wherein the recipient device has an assigned unique address code and wherein said detecting means comprises means for detecting the unique address code.
41. The system of claim 40, further comprising means for designating the message with the address code of the recipient device.
42. The system of claim 34, further comprising means for assigning a time period to the message during which the message will be transmittable from said particular beacon to the recipient device.
43. The system of claim 42, further comprising means for deleting the message from memory after the time period expires.
44. The system of claim 34, further comprising means for deleting the message from memory after the message is transmitted to the recipient device.
45. The system of claim 35, further comprising means for deleting the message from memory after the message is transmitted to the recipient device.
46. The system of claim 34, wherein said recipient device is a mobile phone.
47. The system of claim 34, wherein said plurality of beacons includes an information beacon.
48. The system of claim 34, wherein the wireless local area network is in communication with a mobile network.
49. The system of claim 34, wherein the wireless local area network is in communication with a global computer network.
ES2208038B1 (en) * 2001-12-10 2005-09-01 Airtel Movil, S.A. Storage system short messages (sms).