WO2002005189A1

WO2002005189A1 - Transfer of personalized travel information

Info

Publication number: WO2002005189A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/021709
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eric Schorman
Original assignee: Motorola, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-07-11
Filing date: 2001-07-10
Publication date: 2002-01-17
Also published as: AU2001280502A1

Abstract

A method of delivering travel itinerary information. A travel server (100) stores an itinerary of a traveller (142) and airline schedules in a travel storage device (110). This information is transferred via a communication channel (104). Travel server (100) may be controlled by a travel agency (130) or other travel service providers (120). Typically, a traveller (142) will make reservations with a travel agency (130) via communication channel (144). The travel agency (130) will coordinate with the travel server (100) to schedule an itinerary for the traveller (142). When the initinerary is finalized, the traveller (142) will be notified via a paying system (150) of up-to-date flight information for example terminal and gate.

Description

TRANSFER OF PERSONALIZED TRAVEL INFORMATION

Technical Field

This invention pertains to personal travel information for a traveler and more particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for distributing and receiving travel information for the traveler.

Background Art

With the increase in travelers utilizing air travel, and the increase in delays and gate changes, it has become more important for travelers to be able to receive current information regarding when a particular flight is scheduled to depart and from what current gate the flight is scheduled to depart. In addition, it is also important for travelers to know the estimated time of arrival and a corresponding gate.

Conventional travel systems require a user to use a telephone, or the like, to dial a predetermined sequence of numbers corresponding to a certain flight number, and thereafter receive information regarding the arrival and corresponding gate, or departure and corresponding gate. However, this process is tedious and time consuming. The traveler must continue to redial the predetermined sequence of numbers up to the time of departure to make sure that the departure time and gate have not changed. The same process is necessary for those awaiting the arrival of the traveler. The person awaiting the arrival of the traveler must also call and enter a predetermined sequence of numbers and receive the current arrival information. As delays become more frequent, variance in arrival times is considerable. Therefore, those awaiting arrival of travelers must continue to redial and enter the sequence of numbers to verify that the arrival time and gate have not changed.

Therefore, a system is required which will automatically transfer travel information regarding departure and arrival times, including gate information, to a traveler. In addition, a system is required which will automatically transfer the same information to those aw.aiting the arrival of a traveler, or those scheduled to transport the traveler to/from the airport, for example. Brief Description of Drawings

Objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated for the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a distribution of travel itinerary information, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic mail message notifying a traveler of a scheduled itinerary and the corresponding gate and terminal information, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic mail message notifying a traveler of an itinerary schedule change and the corresponding new gate and terminal information, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic mail message notifying a secondary party of a traveler's itinerary and corresponding gate information, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a distribution of travel itinerary information, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Disclosure of Invention

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. In accordance with the preferred embodiments, there are provided apparatuses and methods of transferring and receiving personalized travel information automatically.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a method of delivering travel itinerary information, including, for example, gate and terminal information. Referring now to FIG. 1 , a travel server 100 stores information encompassing, for example, a traveler profile, an itinerary of a traveler 142, and airline schedules in a travel storage device 110. This information is transferred to/from travel storage device 110 via communication channel 104. The traveler profile may include information regarding the traveler, such as, credit card information, seat preferences, meal preferences, phone numbers, pager addresses, and electronic mail addresses, for example. Travel server 100 may be controlled by a travel agency 130; alternatively, travel server 100 may be controlled by other travel service providers, such as airlines (not illustrated), or train and bus providers (not illustrated), for example.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , for example, a traveler provider 120 may provide travel information via a communication channel 122 to travel server 100. This travel information may include, for example, schedules of air flights, and may also indicate changes in a previous flight, terminal, and gate schedules. Although the information stored by traveler server 100 has been indicated as including the traveler profile and/or itinerary information, it is not limited thereto and could store additional information.

Typically, traveler 142 will make reservations with a travel agency 130 via communication channel 144 such as the public switched telephone network or the internet. Accordingly, travel agency 130 will coordinate, via a communication channel 132, scheduling of traveler's itinerary (not illustrated) with travel server 100 and with schedules provided by travel provider 120. When an itinerary is finalized, traveler 142 will typically be notified through a computer communication channel 152, for example, via paging system 150 by travel server 100 of up-to-date flight information, including, for example, terminal and gate information, if available.

Traveler 142 may manually request flight information by sending a request by a communication channel 144, such as a telephone, electronic mail, or web request, for example to travel agency 130 or directly to the travel server 100. Alternatively, traveler 142 may be automatically notified as follows. At a predetermined time before the scheduled flight-departure time, travel server 100 will automatically transfer to a traveler receiver 140, via paging system 150, the then up-to-date flight information, including, for example, gate information, if available.

Typically, traveler receiver 140 may be, for example, a personal digital assistant . (PDA), a cell telephony device, or a pager. Alternatively, traveler receiver 140 may be a desktop computer or device with the capability of receiving electronic mail. Traveler receiver 140 of traveler 142 should at least include communication receivers for receiving information directed to the traveler, such as by way of the traveler's electronic mail address or pager number, for example.

The aforementioned automatic notification feature would preferably include, for example, notification being performed by a computer in an automated manner. For example, travel server 100 might notify traveler 142 at one or two hours prior to the scheduled departure time the aforementioned up-to-date flight information, although different predetermined notification times could be requested by traveler 142.

Travel server 100 may then notify traveler 142 of up-to-date flight information, via an email or pager address, for example, which is stored as a part of the traveler profile. Traveler 142 may also be notified via a method other than electronic mail or pages. The aforementioned computer communication channels 152 and 153 represent a transfer of computer understandable communications via a communication channel.

In addition, because it is typical that flights are postponed and departure gates often change, travel server 100 will notify traveler 142 automatically upon a change of, for example, departure time, terminal, or gate. Further, notifications to traveler 142 may be purged from paging system 150 and travel server 100 after the travel has commenced or been canceled, for example.

Additional elements of the present invention allow for traveler 142 to determine what secondary parties should be notified. Secondary parties 160, as illustrated in FIG. 1 , may not need all the information needed by traveler 142, or may actually need additional information stored in the traveler profile. Typical secondary parities 160 may include, but are not limited to, a spouse, boss, service companies, such as limousine or car rental companies, or even hotels.

When traveler 142 determines that secondary party 160 should be notified, travel server 100 automatically notifies secondary party 160, via communication channel 102, paging system 150 and computer communication channel 153, of pertinent information such as departure or arrival times, estimated arrival times, and corresponding gate information, for example. In addition, there may be multiple secondary parties 160 which all may be notified by paging system 150. Therefore, a spouse or boss, for example, may be kept updated of the traveler's itinerary and current travel status. In addition, traveler 142 may determine what additional information is necessary for each of the secondary parties 160. Further, secondary parties may also receive the aforementioned automatic predetermined time notifications and automatic scheduling change notifications. This allows for a traveler's boss or spouse, for example, or any other entity the traveler chooses, to be kept abreast of the traveler's travel plans and current status.

When traveler 142 determines that secondary parties 160 could include service companies for example, limousine companies, car rental companies, or hotels, for example, these secondary parties 160 can be kept updated of the arrival or departure of traveler 142. According to an embodiment, a limousine company may decide, based on received itinerary information, when to arrive to take traveler 142 to the airport or when to pick up traveler 142 from the airport, and at which gate. In addition, because travel server 100 has access to the traveler profile, similarly notified hotels, for example, may make special accommodations, such as a preferred check-in or special meals. Likewise, a preferred type of car could be available at the car rental company upon arrival of traveler 142. Further, each secondary party could be kept abreast of potential delays or even cancellations. In addition, preferred customer benefits for different service companies can be stored in the traveler profile so all potential appropriate benefits can be collated, properly accumulated, and potentially applied to the traveler's corresponding service company. Through the aforementioned notifications, the different service companies additionally may be given traveler's electronic mail address, phone number, or the like, for direct communication with traveler 142.

According to the traveler profile stored in travel storage device 110, different methods of message delivery may be requested for different secondary parties 160. In addition, traveler 142 may indicate in the traveler profile that certain notifications to certain secondary parties 160 may be permanently requested, or may only be requested for onetime events. Further, as noted above, electronic mail or pager addresses, for example, of certain secondary parties may be stored in the traveler profile, or may be available, for example, through databases and lists available to travel server 100. Additional methods of communicating the travel information to the secondary parties may be available and may be indicated within the traveler profile.

Although the above discussions have assumed physically separate entities for the various agencies, servers, etc., much of the functionality in total or part may be collocated at any one of the entities. For example, much of the server functionality may be included with or shared with the traveler receiver.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment where traveler 142 receives an electronic message, through computer communication channel 152, from paging system 150 (as shown in FIG. 1). Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic mail message indicates the traveler's itinerary, including terminal and gate data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment where the traveler receives an additional electronic message indicating an itinerary change and potential gate and terminal change information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the aforementioned secondary party notification. Referring FIG. 4, a secondary party 160 has been electronically mailed the traveler name, itinerary, terminal, and gate information. Thus, if the secondary party is a limousine service, the limousine would be able to promptly arrive to take traveler 142 to the airport, for example, or promptly arrive at the airport, for example, to take traveler 142 to additional destinations.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a distribution of travel itinerary information, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, travel server 100 begins the notification process by collating travel schedules from travel provider 100 with the traveler profile and itinerary of traveler 142 in operation 300. From operation 300, the process moves to operation 305, where traveler 142 is notified at a predetermined time before the beginning time of the traveler's itinerary. From operation 305, the process moves to operation 310, where it is determined whether there are secondary parties 160 that should also be notified.

If there are secondary parties that need to be notified, the process moves from operation 310 to operation 315, where traveler server 100 determines, based on the traveler profile, what information each secondary party 160 should receive.

From operation 315, the process moves to operation 320, where the secondary parties 160 are notified at a predetermined time that may differ from the predetermined time at 305. After notifying secondary parties 160 in operation 320, or if travel server 100 determines that there are no secondary parties, the process moves to operation 325 where it is determined whether there has been a change in the traveler's itinerary.

If the travel server 100 determines that there is a change in the traveler's itinerary in operation 325, the process moves to operation 330, where the traveler is notified of the change. If the travel server 100 determines that there is no change in the traveler's itinerary, the process moves to operation 350, where travel server 100 determines whether the traveler's itinerary is complete. If travel server 100 in operation 350 determines that the traveler's itinerary is not complete, then the process moves to operation 325, where traveler server 100 determines whether there is a change in the traveler's itinerary.

Once the traveler is notified of a change in itinerary, in operation 330, the process moves to operation 335, where travel server 100 determines whether the traveler profile indicates that there are any secondary parties 160. If there are secondary parties that need to be notified, the process moves to operation 340, where traveler server 100 determines what information each secondary party 160 is to receive. From operation 340, the process moves to operation 345, where traveler server 100 notifies the secondary party 160 of information related to the change in traveler's itinerary. From operation 345, the process moves to operation 350, where travel server 100 determines whether the itinerary is complete. If the itinerary is not complete then the process moves to operation 325, where travel server 100 determines whether there are changes in the traveler's itinerary, otherwise the process moves to operation 355, where travel server 100 may purge the traveler's itinerary from travel server 100 operations and cease the notification process.

The flow chart of FIG. 3 is merely one embodiment, thus there could be a multitude of potential processes that could be implemented by one of ordinary skill in the art to accomplish similar notification goals.

Additionally, it is noted that the communication channels 132, 122, 104, 102, 144 and computer communication channels 152 and 153, shown in FIG. 1 , may employ, but are not limited thereto, a multitude of communication environments, including, for example, the Internet, wireless networks, local area networks, wide area networks, optical communication networks, telephonic networks, or the like. Further, although notifications between paging system 150 of FIG. 1 have been disclosed as employing computer communication channels such as electronic mail or paging systems, many different methods of communication would be acceptable, including automated telephonic messaging, wireless telephone messaging, two-way paging, and the like.

Lastly, although the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 utilizes a travel agency, it is noted that embodiments of the present invention may also be employed by transportation companies directly, such as an airline or railway companies, or the like. Further, it is envisioned that non-transportation companies may also implement the above-disclosed embodiments.

What is claimed is:

Claims

1. A method of distributing travel information, characterized by: automatically transferring traveler itinerary information of a traveler, via a computer communication channel, to a predetermined electronic receiver at a predetermined time prior to an arrival and/or departure time of the traveler, the predetermined time being based on the traveler itinerary information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic receiver is a mobile electronic receiver of the traveler and the transferred traveler itinerary information includes at least one of gate information and terminal information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic receiver is one of the group consisting of a personal digital assistant, a pager and a cell phone.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein additional travel itinerary information is automatically transferred to the electronic receiver upon a change in the traveler itinerary information.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a determination of whether an electronic receiver is the predetermined electronic receiver is based on a traveler profile.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic receiver receiving the transferred traveler itinerary information corresponds to a secondary party other than the traveler.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the secondary party receives the traveler itinerary information including additional information, based on a traveler profile.

8. The method of claim 1 , further characterized by transferring the traveler itinerary information by electronic mail.

9. An apparatus to distribute travel information, characterized by: a server storing traveler itinerary information; and a paging system to automatically transfer the traveler itinerary information of a traveler, via a computer communication channel, to a predetermined electronic receiver at a predetermined time prior to an arrival and/or departure time of the traveler, the predetermined time being based on the traveler itinerary information.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the electronic receiver is a mobile electronic receiver of the traveler and the transferred traveler itinerary information includes at least one of gate information and terminal information.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the electronic receiver is one of the group consisting of a personal digital assistant, a pager and a cell phone.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein additional travel itinerary information is automatically transferred to the electronic receiver in response to a change in the traveler itinerary information.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein it is determined whether an electronic receiver is the predetermined electronic receiver based on a traveler profile.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the electronic receiver receiving the transferred traveler itinerary information corresponds to a secondary party other than the traveler.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the secondary party receives the traveler itinerary information including additional information, based on a traveler profile.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said paging system transfers the traveler itinerary information by electronic mail.

17. A method of receiving travel information, characterized by: automatically receiving transferred traveler itinerary information of a traveler, via a computer communication channel, with a predetermined electronic receiver at a predetermined time prior to an arrival and/or departure time of the traveler, the predetermined time being based on the traveler itinerary information.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the electronic receiver is a mobile electronic receiver of the traveler and the transferred traveler itinerary information includes at least one of gate information and terminal information.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the electronic receiver is one of the group consisting of a personal digital assistant, a pager, and a cell phone.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the electronic receiver receives additional traveler itinerary information in response to a change in travel information.

21. A travel information distribution method, characterized by: storing traveler itinerary information of a traveler in a server, the traveler itinerary information including at least a departure time, departure gate, estimated arrival time, or arrival gate; automatically transferring at a predetermined time the traveler itinerary information to a mobile electronic receiver of the traveler; changing the traveler itinerary information upon a change in travel information, including at least a change in departure time, departure gate, estimated arrival time, or arrival gate; automatically transferring said changed traveler itinerary information to the mobile electronic receiver of the traveler; and transferring the changed traveler itinerary information to an electronic receiver of a predetermined secondary party based on a traveler profile of the traveler.

22. An apparatus to receive travel information, characterized by: an electronic receiver to automatically receive transferred traveler itinerary information of a traveler, via a computer communication channel, at a predetermined electronic receiver at a predetermined time prior to an arrival and/or departure time of the traveler, the predetermined time being based on the traveler itinerary information.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the electronic receiver is a mobile electronic receiver of the traveler and the transferred traveler itinerary information includes at least one of gate information and terminal information.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the electronic receiver is one of the group consisting of a personal digital assistant, a pager, and a cell phone.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the electronic receiver receives additional traveler itinerary information in response to a change in travel information.