Place-specific buddy list services

• US 10,206,065 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2017
• Issued: 02/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: De Vries, Jean Pierre
• Primary Examiner(s): Vuong, Quochien B
• Application Number:
  US15/727,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20180160268A1
• Time in Patent Office: 491 Days
• Field of Search: 4554141, 4554221, 4554561, 4554562, 4554564, 4554566, 455457, 455466, 455518, 455566, 340993
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 2001/085 Partner search devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/14 between corresponding nodes

Abstract

An information service provides search and notifications to inform when certain people (e.g., friends, family, business contacts, etc.) are nearby so as to facilitate communications with those people. Users may define lists of people whose locations may be tracked by positioning equipment based on personal communications/computing devices carried by the people. The information service processes this people and place data to identify those of the listed people that are in the user'"'"'s vicinity, and provide notifications and user-initiated search results informing the user such as via the user'"'"'s personal communications/computing device.

Claims

1. A method for providing a location information service, the method comprising:

receiving an indication that a user of a first mobile computing device input a request to make a location of the first mobile computing device visible to one or more other users;

receiving, from the first mobile computing device, a first report of a location of the first mobile computing device;

determining, based at least in part on the first report of the location, one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device;

communicating to the first mobile device a first instruction for the first mobile device to display information for the one or more places; and

upon receiving an indication that a selection of a specific place from the one or more places was made, communicating the specific place to a second mobile computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second report of an updated location of the first mobile computing device when the first mobile computing device is no longer at the specific place.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising transmitting the updated location to the second mobile computing device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific place has a role.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the role comprises a work place for a user of the first computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a user of the first mobile computing device has an established relationship with a user of the second mobile computing device through a social network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises communicating an availability status of the user of the first mobile computing device to the second mobile computing device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the indication is provided when one or more users are selected from a list of users having a relationship with the user of the first mobile device in a social network.

9. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media encoding computer executable instructions which, when executed by a computing device, performs a method for providing a location information service, the method comprising:

receiving an indication that a user of a first mobile computing device input a request to make a location of the first mobile computing device visible to one or more other users;

receiving, from the first mobile computing device, a first report of a location of the first mobile computing device;

determining, based at least in part on the first report of the location, one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device;

communicating to the first mobile device a first instruction for the first mobile device to display information for the one or more places; and

upon receiving an indication that a selection of a specific place from the one or more places was made, communicating the specific place to a second mobile computing device.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a second report of an updated location of the first mobile computing device when the first mobile computing device is no longer at the specific place.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises transmitting the updated location to the second mobile computing device.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 9, wherein the specific place has a role.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 12, wherein the role comprises a work place for a user of the first computing device.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 9, wherein a user of the first mobile computing device has an established relationship with a user of the second mobile computing device through a social network.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises communicating an availability status of the user of the first mobile computing device to the second mobile computing device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the indication is provided when one or more users are selected from a list of users having a relationship with the user of the first mobile device in a social network.

17. A computing device comprising a processor and computer storage media encoding computer executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, causes the computing device to perform a method for providing a location information service, the method comprising:

receiving an indication that a user of a first mobile computing device input a request to make a location of the first mobile computing device visible to one or more other users;

receiving, from the first mobile computing device, a first report of a location of the first mobile computing device;

determining, based at least in part on the first report of the location, one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device;

communicating to the first mobile device a first instruction for the first mobile device to display information for the one or more places; and

upon receiving an indication that a selection of a specific place from the one or more places was made, communicating the specific place to a second mobile computing device.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a second report of an updated location of the first mobile computing device when the first mobile computing device is no longer at the specific place.

19. The computing device of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises transmitting the updated location to the second mobile computing device.

20. The computing device of claim 17, wherein a user of the first mobile computing device has an established relationship with a user of the second mobile computing device through a social network.