Acquiring, managing, distributing, and presenting contextual data relating to a known postion for location-based services to and between users
First Claim
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1. A contextual location-based service apparatus, comprising:
- a) a computer-based infrastructure, comprising;
1) at least one database for storing information on at least one location;
2) a context manager, coupled to the database, for indexing and sorting the information stored in the database;
3) a contribution engine, coupled to the database, for entering, storing, managing, and retrieving additional information in the database;
4) a locator, coupled to the contribution engine and the database, for converting a plurality of references to a specific location to a common location designation;
5) a location browser, coupled to the database, for retrieving and reviewing information in the database; and
b) at least one client, which communicates with the infrastructure, for entering, editing, and retrieving information from the database.
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Abstract
The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for supporting the acquisition, management, distribution, and presentation of contextual information related to positioning information sharing location services to, from, and between users. An infrastructure-based system connects users to location-associated data entries that give historical, contextual, and informational data for specific locations, as well as providing the ability for users to enter their own personal data. Access levels to the data can be achieved through a number of methods.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A contextual location-based service apparatus, comprising:
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a) a computer-based infrastructure, comprising;
1) at least one database for storing information on at least one location;
2) a context manager, coupled to the database, for indexing and sorting the information stored in the database;
3) a contribution engine, coupled to the database, for entering, storing, managing, and retrieving additional information in the database;
4) a locator, coupled to the contribution engine and the database, for converting a plurality of references to a specific location to a common location designation;
5) a location browser, coupled to the database, for retrieving and reviewing information in the database; and
b) at least one client, which communicates with the infrastructure, for entering, editing, and retrieving information from the database. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for providing contextual location-based information, comprising:
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associating a plurality of information to the transition between locations;
entering a plurality of pieces of contextual information into a database;
determining a location reference for each piece of contextual information;
sorting the contextual information by determined location reference;
accessing the database by a location query, wherein the location query is compared to the determined location reference of the contextual information; and
reporting results of the location query to a client. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A contextual location services system, comprising:
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a database for storing contextual information on a plurality of geographic locations, and a client, which communicates with the database, for retrieving the stored contextual information, comprising a mobile communications device, wherein the client retrieves information based on geographic location and is able to select one or more pieces of contextual information for presentation on the client, wherein presentation on the client includes audio presentation, video presentation, and audio/visual presentation, and the contextual information includes at least location information and at least one other piece of information about the geographic location.
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Specification