Automated location determination and electronic reminders

• US 10,063,999 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2016
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aura Home, Inc. (Pushd, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pushd, Inc.
• Inventors: Cherry, Ben, Chowdhury, Abdur, Frieder, Ophir, Jensen, Eric, Sanford, Matt
• Primary Examiner(s): Keller, Michael A
• Application Number:
  US14/989,486
• Publication Number:
  US 20160183048A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0258 controlling an operation mode according to history or models of usage information, e.g. activity schedule or time of day
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method, system, and/or apparatus for automatically tracking and sending electronic reminder messages to a mobile user using the user'"'"'s mobile device as a function of the user'"'"'s tracked location. This invention is particularly useful in the field of social media, such as for detecting and tracking the location of a user and her community for actuating reminders based upon the user'"'"'s location and/or the location of members of the community. The method or implementing software application uses or relies upon location information available on the mobile device from any source, such as GPS, cell phone usage, WiFi triangulation, and/or other device applications.

Claims

1. A method of tracking mobile users to deliver location specific messages, the method executed by a computer system and comprising:

receiving an electronic message from a user through an electronic device, the electronic device including a location module receiving location transmissions;

storing the electronic message;

automatically receiving location information through the location module as the electronic device travels to locations;

automatically placing the location module into a sleep mode between the locations;

automatically awakening the location module upon receipt of a location transmission;

automatically determining when the electronic device is at an actuating position; and

automatically posting the electronic message upon determining the electronic device is at the actuating position;

wherein the user is a member of a social media community including a plurality of mobile users, and the locations comprise a plurality of different location identifications from the plurality of mobile users, the method further comprising ranking the different location identifications based on context, user bias, community bias, or combinations thereof.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location module goes into the sleep mode upon a determined arrival at a location, whenever a time since the awakening exceeds a predetermined time allocation, and during extended travel upon a determined rate of travel exceeding a predetermined threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the actuating position comprises a proximity to a location or to a second electronic device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically posting the electronic message comprises delivering the electronic message by short message service, e-mail, and/or a common wireless connection.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic message includes an electronic message recipient selected from a predetermined social media community of the user.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising delivering the electronic message to the electronic message recipient when the electronic device is within a proximity to the electronic message recipient.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising automatically determining a location of the electronic device and a second electronic device of the electronic message recipient.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising automatically repeatedly determining the location of each of the electronic device and the second electronic device.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising increasing the accuracy of the location information by overlapping a plurality of locations transmissions from different mobile user visits to the locations.

9. A method of tracking mobile users to deliver location specific messages, the method executed by a computer system and comprising:

receiving an electronic message from a user through an electronic device, the electronic device including a location module receiving location transmissions;

storing the electronic message;

automatically receiving location information through the location module as the electronic device travels to locations;

automatically placing the location module into a sleep mode between the locations;

automatically awakening the location module upon receipt of a location transmission;

automatically determining when the electronic device is at an actuating position;

automatically posting the electronic message upon determining the electronic device is at the actuating position; and

automatically determining a user activity at each of the locations and automatically sharing the associated user activity in a social networking service upon future user arrivals at the location as a function of automatically comparing learned context information to a future context of each of the future user arrivals, without receiving any manually entered confirmation or manually entered additional user information, wherein each of the learned context and the future context comprises at least one of;

a time of day, a day of a week, a calendar date, a preceding user activity to the user visits, a weather condition, people accompanying the user, or community member activity bias information for the destination.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the user is a member of a social media community including a plurality of mobile users, and the locations comprise a plurality of different location identifications from the plurality of mobile users, the method further comprising ranking the different location identifications based on context, user bias, community bias, or combinations thereof.

12. A method of tracking mobile users to deliver location specific messages, the method executed by a computer system and comprising:

automatically receiving location information through a location module of an electronic device at each of a plurality of locations as the electronic device travels to the locations;

automatically placing the location module into a sleep mode between the locations, wherein the location module goes into the sleep mode;

after automatically determining location information, and during extended travel upon an automatically determined rate of travel exceeding a predetermined threshold;

automatically awakening the location module at each of the locations upon receipt of a location transmission;

receiving an electronic message from a user through the electronic device;

automatically storing the electronic message for posting at a future visit to an actuating position, wherein the actuating position is a corresponding one of the locations relevant to the electronic message;

automatically determining with the location module and the location information when the electronic device is at the actuating position; and

automatically posting the electronic message upon determining the electronic device is at the actuating position;

wherein the method further comprises;

receiving with the location module a first location transmission for a first one of the locations;

incrementing a timer count configured to monitor a duration of time, wherein whenever a time exceeds a predetermined time allocation, the location module is placed into the sleep mode;

incrementing a stationary counter configured to monitor a duration of time since a previous detected movement of the mobile user;

receiving a second location transmission of a second one of the locations;

comparing the second one of the locations to the first one of the locations;

calculating a rate of travel when the second one of the locations differs from the first one of the locations, wherein if the rate of travel exceeds a predetermined threshold the location module is placed into the sleep mode;

receiving a third location transmission of a third one of the locations;

comparing the third one of the location to at least one of the first one of the locations or the second one of the locations;

further incrementing the stationary counter when the second or third one of the locations is the same as the first one of the locations;

determining an arrival event upon reaching a predetermined arrival threshold of the stationary counter;

storing data of the locations; and

placing the location module into the sleep mode.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the location module further goes into the sleep mode whenever a time since the awakening exceeds a predetermined time allocation.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the actuating position comprises a proximity to a location or to a second electronic device.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein automatically posting the electronic message comprises delivering the electronic message by short message service, e-mail, and/or a common wireless connection.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein automatically posting the electronic message comprises delivering or displaying the electronic message to the user via the electronic device.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the electronic message includes an electronic message recipient selected from a predetermined social media community of the user.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

automatically determining a location of the electronic device and a second electronic device of the electronic message recipient; and

automatically delivering the electronic message to the electronic message recipient when the electronic device is within a proximity to the electronic message recipient.