Delivery confirmation using overlapping geo-fences

• US 10,445,685 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2017
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bhatia, Sandeep, Davenport, Jr., Kevin Lee, Sharma, Rahul, Vasudevan, Vinoo, Tomay, Beryl
• Primary Examiner(s): Rampuria, Sharad
• Application Number:
  US15/607,980
• Publication Number:
  US 20170372261A1
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06 characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• 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 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

Disclosed are approaches for using overlapping geo-fences to confirm delivery of a shipment. A first client computing device and a second client computing device may be in data communication with a server computing device. The server computing device may receive a delivery notification from the first client computing device. The server computing device may receive a first position of the first client computing device and a second position of the second client computing device. The server computing device may then determine that the second position is within a threshold distance of the first position or vice versa. Finally, the server computing device may generate a delivery confirmation in response to a first determination that the second position is within a threshold distance of the first position and a second determination that the first position is within a threshold distance of the second position.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, via a computing device, a delivery notification from a first mobile computing device;

requesting, via the computing device, a first multilaterated position of the first mobile computing device from a network provider system, the first multilaterated position being based at least in part on a signal strength of a cellular network access point detectable by the first mobile computing device;

receiving, via the computing device, the first multilaterated position from the network provider system;

obtaining, via the computing device, a second multilaterated position of a second mobile computing device from the network provider system;

determining, via the computing device, that the first multilaterated position of the first mobile computing device is within a threshold distance of the second multilaterated position of the second mobile computing device; and

generating, via the computing device, a delivery confirmation in response to determining that the first multilaterated position is within the threshold distance of the second multilaterated position.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the second multilaterated position further comprises:

requesting, via the computing device, the second multilaterated position from the network service provider, the second multilaterated position being based at least in part on a round trip time of a radio communication between the second mobile computing device and a cellular network access point detectable by the second mobile computing device; and

receiving, via the computing device, the second multilaterated position from the network service provider.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the second multilaterated position further comprises:

requesting, via the computing device, the second multilaterated position from the network service provider, the second multilaterated position being based at least in part on a signal strength of a Wi-Fi access point detectable by the second mobile computing device; and

receiving, via the computing device, the second multilaterated position from the network service provider.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, via the computing device, the delivery confirmation to the first mobile computing device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, via the computing device, the delivery confirmation to the second mobile computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the second multilaterated position further comprises:

requesting, via the computing device, the second multilaterated position from the network service provider, the second multilaterated position being based at least in part on a signal strength of a cellular network access point detectable by the second mobile computing device; and

receiving, via the computing device, the second multilaterated position from the network service provider.

7. A system comprising:

a computing device comprising a processor and a memory; and

machine readable instructions stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to at least;

receive a delivery notification from a first mobile computing device;

request a first multilaterated position from a network provider system, the first multilaterated position being based at least in part on a round trip time of a radio communication between the first mobile computing device and a cellular network access point detectable by the first mobile computing device;

receive the first multilaterated position from the network provider system;

obtain a second multilaterated position of a second mobile computing device from the network provider system;

determine that the first multilaterated position of the first mobile computing device is within a threshold distance of the second multilaterated position of the second mobile computing device; and

generate a delivery confirmation in response to determining that the first multilaterated position is within the threshold distance of the second multilaterated position.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the machine readable instructions that cause the computing device to obtain the second multilaterated position further cause the computing device to at least:

request the second multilaterated position from the network service provider, the second multilaterated position being based at least in part on a signal strength of a cellular network access point detectable by the second mobile computing device; and

receive the second multilaterated position from the network service provider.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the machine readable instructions that cause the computing device to obtain the second multilaterated position further cause the computing device to at least:

request the second multilaterated position from the network service provider, the second multilaterated position being based at least in part on a round trip time of a radio communication between the second mobile computing device and a cellular network access point visible to the second mobile computing device; and

receive the second multilaterated position from the network service provider.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the machine readable instructions that cause the computing device to obtain the second multilaterated position further cause the computing device to at least:

request the second multilaterated position from the network service provider, the second multilaterated position being based at least in part on a signal strength of a Wi-Fi access point detectable by the second mobile computing device; and

receive the second multilaterated position from the network service provider.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to send the delivery confirmation to the first mobile computing device.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to send the delivery confirmation to the second mobile computing device.

13. A system, comprising:

a computing device comprising a processor and a memory; and

machine readable instructions stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to at least;

receive a delivery notification from a first mobile computing device;

request a first multilaterated position from a first mobile computing device, the first multilaterated position being based at least in part on signal strength of a Wi-Fi access point visible to the first mobile computing device;

receive the first multilaterated position from the first mobile computing device;

obtain a second multilaterated position from a second mobile computing device;

determine that the first multilaterated position of the first mobile computing device is within a threshold distance of the second multilaterated position of the second mobile computing device; and

generate a delivery confirmation in response to determining that the first multilaterated position is within the threshold distance of the second multilaterated position.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the machine readable instructions that cause the computing device to obtain the second multilaterated position further cause the computing device to at least:

request the second multilaterated position from the second mobile computing device, the second multilaterated position being based at least in part on a signal strength of a cellular network access point detectable by the second mobile computing device; and

receive the second multilaterated position from the second mobile computing device.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the machine readable instructions that cause the computing device to obtain the second multilaterated position further cause the computing device to at least:

request the second multilaterated position from the second mobile computing device, the second multilaterated position being based at least in part on a round trip time of a radio communication between the second mobile computing device and a cellular network access point visible to the second mobile computing device; and

receive the second multilaterated position from the second mobile computing device.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the machine readable instructions that cause the computing device to obtain the second multilaterated position further cause the computing device to at least:

request the second multilaterated position from the second mobile computing device, the second multilaterated position being based at least in part on signal strength of a Wi-Fi access point visible to the second mobile computing device; and

receive the second multilaterated position from the second mobile computing device.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to send the delivery confirmation to the first mobile computing device.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to send the delivery confirmation to the second mobile computing device.