Use of geofences for location-based activation and control of services

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a geofence service that enables various remote control and automatic operations based a user's current geographic position as determined by the user's mobile device's current geographic location. The geofence service enables the user to define one or more geofences based on specific geographic locations. Such geofences may be applied against several geofence applications for remote and automatic control of devices. In one embodiment, the mobile device's volume or power control settings are adjusted based on the user's location inside or outside a geofence. In one embodiment, temperature setting of a building or house is controlled based on user's proximity to a geofence. In one embodiment, electrical appliances within a home are activated and controlled automatically based on user's current geographic location.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 397,727, entitled “Remote Appliance Control utilizing Geofencing Techniques,” filed on Jan. 3, 2011, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by this reference.FIELD[0002]This application generally relates to the field of controlling electrical and electronic appliances and services offered by such appliances utilizing geofencing capabilities offered through the user's mobile device.BACKGROUND[0003]With the ever increasing availability of smart phones, more and more users are able to use their mobile devices not just for telephone conversations, but for advanced services (e.g., Internet browsing, digital video playback, etc.) that would normally require a personal computer. Such smart phones typically include geo-positioning capabilities (e.g., GPS locators, etc.), allowing the mobile device to be cognizant of its present geographic location.[0004]These advanced services come at...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]This application discloses a geofence service that enables various remote control and automated operations based a user's current geographic position as determined by the user's mobile device's current geographic location. The geofence service enables the user to define one or more geofences based on particular geographic locations. Such geofences may be used in conjunction with several mobile-based “geofence applications” for remote and automatic control of devices. In one example, the mobile device's volume or power-control settings (e.g., wireless radios, Bluetooth radios) are automatically adjusted based on the user's location inside or outside a geofence. In one example, the temperature setting of a building or house is selectively controlled based on the user's proximity to a geofence defined relative to the building or the house. In one example, electrical appliances within a geofence (e.g., within a house) are automatically activated and controlled based on the user's current geographic location relative to the geofence.

Problems solved by technology

These advanced services come at the cost of increased power consumption, requiring a user to frequently charge the phone for reliable and continuous usability.

However, when the user is on the road, the user would have to remember to turn off the radios to be able to conserve power.

The user may forget to change these settings every time he leaves or enters his house, leading to either missed calls at home or unintended interruption at public places.

However, such automatic settings are unintelligent in that they are consistently applied regardless of whether the user is actually located at his home or not.

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