Configurable point of interest alerts

• US 10,091,620 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2016
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Repenning, Debra Lin, Wang, Ray Xiaohang, Okshtein, Yakov, Shamsi, Farhan, Singleton, David, Zhang, Lixin, Newberger, Alan, Thota, Chandrasekhar, Gresham, Douglas Alexander, Fey, Nicholas, Foster, Marcus Alexander, Cross, Petra, Morales, Andres
• Primary Examiner(s): Raymond, Edward
• Application Number:
  US15/142,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20160249175A1
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• Field of Search: 702150, 702182-185, 702188
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 with dynamic range variability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

Receiving point of interest zones and alerts on user devices comprises communicating, by a user computing device to a remote computing device, a request for point of interest data corresponding to points of interest within a proximity of the user device; presenting the received point of interest data; identifying a particular point of interest; and outputting an alert regarding the particular point of interest. Receiving point of interest zones on user devices comprises communicating a request for point of interest data; receiving the point of interest data from the remote network device wherein a size of the point of interest zone is determined based on a density of points of interest in the proximity of the user, and wherein the shape of the point of interest zone is expanded in a direction of travel and contracted in the opposite direction; and presenting the received point of interest data.

Claims

1. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage device having computer-executable program instructions embodied thereon that when executed by a computer cause the computer to deliver server-controlled point of interest alerts to user computing devices when user computing devices approach points of interest based on server-provided point of interest zones, the computer-executable program instructions comprising;

computer-executable program instructions to receive initial user account configuration data from a user computing device;

computer-executable program instructions to configure a database of points of interest for the user account and one or more offers associated with one or more of the points of interest;

computer-executable program instructions to receive location data from a user computing device associated with the user account;

computer-executable program instructions to identify points of interest from the database that are proximate to the user computing device based on the location data and the one or more offers associated with the points of interest;

computer-executable program instructions to determine a boundary of a point of interest zone based at least in part on the location data associated with the user computing device;

computer-executable program instructions to identify a plurality of points of interest in the point of interest zone;

computer-executable program instructions to transmit point of interest data to the user computing device, the point of interest data comprising at least a portion of a point of interest identity, a point of interest location, and point of interest marketing data for each of the plurality of points of interest in the a point of interest zone; and

computer-executable program instructions to transmit instructions to the user computing device to display a particular point of interest at such time as the user computing device enters within a configured range of the particular point of interest.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the point of interest data for the particular point of interest comprises an alert format, the alert format being determined by a configured alert procedure, the alert procedure specifying the alert format based at least in part on the number of instances that the particular point of interest has been identified in a configured period of time.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the alert procedure resets to the beginning of the alert procedure if a configured period of time has elapsed since the alert procedure began.

4. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein an alert associated with the alert format comprises one or more of a visual notification, an audible alert, or tactile alert.

5. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the intensity of an alert associated with the alert format reduces with each subsequent usage of the alert procedure.

6. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the alert procedure is managed by the user computing device.

7. A system to receive server-controlled point of interest alerts on user computing devices, comprising:

a user computing device associated with a user account comprising a processor and a point of interest alert application executed by the processor; and

a point of interest location computing system comprising a processor and a point of interest location system application executing therein;

the point of interest alert application configured to;

communicate a request for point of interest data corresponding to points of interest within a proximity of the user computing device, the request comprising location data associated with the user computing device;

receive the point of interest data from the point of interest location computing system, the point of interest data comprising at least a portion of a point of interest identity, a point of interest location, and point of interest marketing data for each of a plurality of points of interest in a point of interest zone defined by the point of interest location system, wherein the point of interest zone is determined based at least in part on the location data associated with the user computing device;

identify a particular point of interest at such time as the user computing device enters within a configured range of the particular point of interest;

output an alert regarding the particular point of interest, wherein the alert comprises point of interest data for the particular point of interest, and

the point of interest location system application configured to;

receive location data from the user computing device associated with the user account;

identify points of interest in the database that are proximate to the user computing device based on the location data and one or more offers associated with the points of interest;

determine a boundary of a point of interest zone based at least in part on the location data associated with the user computing device;

identify a plurality of points of interest in the point of interest zone;

transmit the point of interest data to the user computing device, the point of interest data comprising at least a portion of a point of interest identity, a point of interest location, and point of interest marketing data for each of a plurality of points of interest in the point of interest zone;

and

transmit instructions to the user computing device to display a particular point of interest at such time as the user computing device enters within a configured range of the particular point of interest.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the point of interest data for the particular point of interest comprises an alert format, the alert format being determined by a configured alert procedure, the alert procedure specifying the alert format based at least in part on the number of instances that the particular point of interest has been identified in a configured period of time.

9. The system claim 8, wherein the alert format procedure resets to the beginning of the alert procedure if a configured period of time has elapsed since the alert procedure began.

10. The system claim 8, wherein the alert format comprises one or more of a visual notification, an audible alert, or tactile alert.

11. The system claim 8, wherein the intensity of an alert associated with the alert format reduces with each subsequent usage of the alert procedure.

12. The system claim 8, wherein the alert procedure is managed by the user computing device.

13. The system claim 7, the point of interest alert application further configured to:

determine whether a specified period of time has passed since the user computing device received the point of interest data;

request transmission of updated point of interest data in response to a determination that the specified period of time has passed since the user computing device received the point of interest data, the point of interest data comprising a second point of interest zone;

receive updated point of interest data, the updated point of interest data comprising at least a portion of a point of interest identity, a point of interest location, and point of interest marketing data for each of a plurality of points of interest in the second point of interest zone;

identify a second particular point of interest at such time as the user computing device enters within a configured range of the second particular point of interest;

output an alert regarding the second particular point of interest, wherein the alert comprises point of interest data for the second particular point of interest.

20. The system of claim 7, wherein the alert is provided by the user computing device in a manner based at least in part on an alert format received from the point of interest location computing system.

21. The system of claim 7, the point of interest alert application further configured to:

receive initial user account configuration from the user computing device; and

establish a database of points of interest for the user account and one or more offers associated with one or more of the points of interest.

14. A computer-implemented method to deliver server-controlled point of interest alerts to user computing devices, comprising:

receiving, using one or more computing devices, initial user account configuration data from a user computing device;

configuring, using the one or more computing devices, a database of points of interest for the user account and one or more offers associated with one or more of the points of interest;

receiving, using the one or more computing devices, location data from a user computing device associated with the user account;

identifying, using the one or more computing devices, points of interest in the database proximate to the user computing device based on the location data and the one or more offers associated with the points of interest;

determining, using the one or more computing devices, a boundary of a point of interest zone based at least in part on the location data associated with the user computing device;

identifying, using the one or more computing devices, a plurality of points of interest in the point of interest zone;

transmitting, using the one or more computing devices, point of interest data to the user computing device, the point of interest data comprising at least a portion of a point of interest identity, a point of interest location, and point of interest marketing data for each of the plurality of points of interest in the point of interest zone;

transmitting, using the one or more computing devices, instructions to the user computing device to display a particular point of interest at such time as the user computing device enters within a configured range of the particular point of interest.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the point of interest data for the particular point of interest comprises an alert format, the alert format being determined by a configured alert procedure, the alert procedure specifying the alert format based at least in part on the number of instances that the particular point of interest has been identified in a configured period of time.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the alert procedure resets to the beginning of the alert procedure if a configured period of time has elapsed since the alert procedure began.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein an alert associated with the alert format comprises one or more of a visual notification, an audible alert, or tactile alert.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the intensity of an alert associated with the alert format reduces with each subsequent usage of the alert procedure.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the alert procedure is managed by the user computing device.