ENHANCED STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL OF SPATIALLY ASSOCIATED INFORMATION
First Claim
1. A spatial association method, comprising:
- receiving geographic coordinates identifying a current physical location of a mobile computing device of a user;
receiving demographic information identifying at least one current demographic characteristic of the user;
accessing a database containing a plurality of information files, each of the plurality of information files being linked with at least one spatial coordinate and at least one geo-demographic tag;
determining whether the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates has a predetermined relationship with at least one spatial coordinate to which the plurality of information files are linked;
determining whether at least one demographic characteristic identified by the received demographic information matches at least one geo-demographic tag to which the plurality of information files are linked; and
transmitting an association message to the mobile computing device, the association message adapted to alert the user via the mobile computing device as to the presence of any information files linked both to at least one spatial coordinate determined to have the predetermined relationship with the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates and to at least one geo-demographic tag determined to match at least one demographic characteristic identified by the received demographic information.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Numerous embodiments exemplarily described herein offer a solution to the problem of overcrowding of spatially associated information by providing geo-demographic tags as a means of targeting spatially associated information at persons who meet certain demographic characteristics. In this way, a user who walks past a busy street corner can configure his or her portable computing device to alert him or her to information that is most appropriate for his or her personal demographic characteristics. In some embodiments, only information that is demographically relevant to a user will trigger an alert and/or be displayed by that user'"'"'s portable computing device. In some embodiments, the plurality of distinct pieces of spatially associated information that are within a certain proximity of a given user will be presented to the user in a displayed order or hierarchy that is dependent upon the demographic relevance of that information to that particular user.
165 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A spatial association method, comprising:
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receiving geographic coordinates identifying a current physical location of a mobile computing device of a user;
receiving demographic information identifying at least one current demographic characteristic of the user;
accessing a database containing a plurality of information files, each of the plurality of information files being linked with at least one spatial coordinate and at least one geo-demographic tag;
determining whether the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates has a predetermined relationship with at least one spatial coordinate to which the plurality of information files are linked;
determining whether at least one demographic characteristic identified by the received demographic information matches at least one geo-demographic tag to which the plurality of information files are linked; and
transmitting an association message to the mobile computing device, the association message adapted to alert the user via the mobile computing device as to the presence of any information files linked both to at least one spatial coordinate determined to have the predetermined relationship with the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates and to at least one geo-demographic tag determined to match at least one demographic characteristic identified by the received demographic information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A spatial association method, comprising:
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receiving geographic coordinates identifying a current physical location of a mobile computing device of a user;
accessing ambient information identifying at least one ambient condition present at the current physical location of the mobile computing device of the user;
accessing a database containing a plurality of information files, each of the plurality of information files being linked with at least one spatial coordinate and at least one geo-ambient tag;
determining whether the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates has a predetermined relationship with at least one spatial coordinate to which the plurality of information files are linked;
determining whether at least one ambient condition identified by the received ambient information matches at least one geo-ambient tag to which at least one of the information files are linked when at least one spatial coordinate is determined to have the predetermined relationship with the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates; and
transmitting an association message to the mobile computing device, the association message adapted to alert the user via the mobile computing device as to the presence of any information files linked both to at least one spatial coordinate determined to have the predetermined relationship with the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates and to at least one geo-ambient tag matching at least one ambient condition identified by the accessed ambient information. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A spatial association method, comprising:
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receiving geographic coordinates identifying a current physical location of a mobile computing device of a user;
receiving current speed information of the mobile computing device;
accessing a database containing a plurality of information files, each of the plurality of information files being linked with at least one spatial coordinate and at least one speed-related mobility tag;
determining whether the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates has a predetermined relationship with at least one spatial coordinate to which the plurality of information files are linked;
determining whether the current speed matches at least one mobility tag to which at least one of the information files are linked when at least one spatial coordinate is determined to have the predetermined relationship with the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates; and
transmitting an association message to the mobile computing device, the association message adapted to alert the user via the mobile computing device as to the presence of any information files linked both to at least one spatial coordinate determined to have the predetermined relationship with the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates and to at least one mobility tag matching the current speed. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A spatial association system, comprising:
a server containing circuitry adapted to;
receive geographic coordinates identifying a current physical location of a mobile computing device of a user;
receive current demographic information identifying at least one current demographic characteristic of the user;
access a database containing a plurality of information files, each of the plurality of information files being linked with at least one spatial coordinate and at least one geo-demographic tag;
determine whether the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates has a predetermined relationship with at least one spatial coordinate to which the plurality of information files are linked;
determine whether at least one demographic characteristic identified by the received demographic information matches at least one geo-demographic tag to which the plurality of information files are linked; and
transmit an association message to the mobile computing device, the association message adapted to alert the user via the mobile computing device as to the presence of any information files linked both to at least one spatial coordinate determined to have the predetermined relationship with the physical location identified by the received geographic coordinates and to at least one geo-demographic tag determined to match at least one demographic characteristic identified by the received demographic information. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
Specification