Mobile device proximity notification

• US 10,327,102 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2016
• Issued: 06/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mochizuki, Tomoka, Shioya, Tomohiro, Unno, Asuka, Wen, Lianzi
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Harry K
• Application Number:
  US15/146,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20160360363A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,139 Days
• Field of Search: 342451
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0226 Transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• 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 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/005 Transmission of information for alerting of incoming communication

Abstract

Aspects of the present invention disclose a method, computer program product, and system for mobile computing device proximity notification. The method includes one or more processors acquiring location information for a plurality of mobile computing devices. The method further includes one or more processors creating a first group of mobile computing devices based on location proximity in the acquired location information of the plurality of mobile computing devices, wherein the created first group includes a first mobile computing device and a second mobile computing device. The method further includes one or more processors determining whether the first mobile computing device is within a predetermined distance to the second mobile computing device, and the first mobile computing device and the second mobile computing device are outside of an area associated with the first group.

Claims

1. A method for mobile computing device proximity notification, the method comprising:

acquiring, by one or more processors, location information for a plurality of mobile computing devices;

creating, by one or more processors, a first group of mobile computing devices based on location proximity in the acquired location information of the plurality of mobile computing devices, wherein the created first group includes a first mobile computing device and a second mobile computing device;

determining, by one or more processors, whether the first mobile computing device is within a predetermined distance to the second mobile computing device, and the first mobile computing device and the second mobile computing device are outside of an area associated with the first group;

counting, by one or more processors, a number of detections of a third mobile computing device within the area associated with the first group; and

determining, by one or more processors, whether to add the third mobile computing device to the first group based on comparing the number of detections of the third mobile computing device to a predetermined threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to determining that the first mobile computing device is within a predetermined distance to the second mobile computing device, and that the first mobile computing device and the second mobile computing device are outside of an area associated with the first group, generating, by one or more processors, a notification for the first mobile computing device and the second mobile computing device; and

delivering, by one or more processors, the generated notification to the first mobile computing device and the second mobile computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein acquiring location information for the plurality of mobile computing devices comprises:

periodically acquiring, by one or more processors, location information for each mobile computing device within the plurality of mobile computing devices.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the first group of mobile computing devices based on location proximity in the acquired location information of the plurality of mobile computing devices further comprises:

identifying, by one or more processors, candidate mobile computing devices that are within a defined proximity to the first mobile computing device; and

creating, by one or more processors, the first group of mobile computing devices, wherein the first group includes one or more of the identified candidate mobile computing devices.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein identifying candidate mobile computing devices that are within the defined proximity to the first mobile computing device further comprises:

monitoring, by one or more processors, a number of detections of mobile computing devices within the defined proximity to the first mobile computing device within a time period that the first mobile computing device is present within an area.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of mobile computing devices are a plurality of smartphones.