NOTIFYING A USER OF A PORTABLE WIRELESS DEVICE

• US 20090029717A1
• Filed: 03/27/2008
• Published: 01/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Slingshot IOT LLC
• Original Assignee: Cary Lee Bates, John M. Santosuosso
• Inventors: Bates, Cary Lee, Santosuosso, John Matthew
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,256 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• 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 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/14 between corresponding nodes

Abstract

A method, apparatus and system for notifying a user of a portable communication device. In one embodiment, a location of a first portable communication device is determined for a first user and the location of a second portable communication device is determined for a second user. A determination is made as to whether the location of the second portable communication device is within a same region containing the first portable communication device. If the second portable communication device is within the same region as the first portable communication device, then the first user is notified of the presence of the second user.

Claims

1. A portable communication device for notifying a first user of the presence of another user, the portable communication device comprising:

a position detector for determining a location of the portable communication device;

a memory for storing a user alert program;

a network interface for receiving information from a network, wherein the information includes location information indicative of a location of another portable communication device of another user; and

a processor which, upon executing the group alert program, is configured to;

determine whether the location of the another portable communication device is within a same region as the retrieved location;

determine whether the first user has permission to locate the other user, wherein determining whether the first user has permission to locate the other user comprises;

(i) determining whether the first user is in a group of a plurality of users, wherein the group is accessed from a data structure having the group stored thereon; and

(ii) determining whether the group has predefined permission to locate the second user by accessing a permission setting that is selectively settable to a first setting permitting the location to be determined by the users of the group and a second setting restricting the location from being determined by the users of the group;

if so, cause a notification message to be sent to the first user of a presence of the another user if the location of the another portable communication device is within a same region as the portable communication device and if the first user has permission to locate the other user;

wherein the notification is automatically provided via the portable communication device on the basis of previous selections made by the first user of the portable communication device to be notified of the presence of the second user, wherein the previous selections specifically identify the second user according to an identification value unique to the second user stored in the portable device.

2. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium bearing instructions for performing a method for notifying a first user of a portable communication device, the method comprising:

determining whether a location of a second portable communication device is within a same region as a first portable communication device;

notifying, with a first notification message, the first user of the first portable communication device of a presence of a second user of the second portable communication device if the location of the second portable communication device is within the same region as the first portable communication device, wherein the notification is automatically provided via the first portable communication device on the basis of previous selections made by the first user of the first portable communication device to be notified of the presence of the second user, wherein the previous selections specifically identify the second user according to an identification value unique to the second user stored in the first portable communication device;

determining whether a location of a third portable communication device is within a same region as the first portable communication device;

determining whether the first user has permission to locate a third user of the third portable communication device, wherein determining whether the first user has permission to locate the third user comprises;

(i) determining whether the first user is in a group of a plurality of users, wherein the group is accessed from a data structure having the group stored thereon; and

(ii) determining whether the group has predefined permission to locate the third user by accessing a permission setting that is selectively settable to a first setting permitting the location to be determined by the users of the group and a second setting restricting the location from being determined by the users of the group; and

upon determining that the first user has permission to locate the third user, notifying, with a second notification message, the first user of the location of the third portable communication device.

3. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium bearing instructions for performing a method, comprising:

determining a location of a second portable communication device by determining a rate of travel and a direction of travel of the second portable communication device of a second user;

determining whether the location of a second portable communication device is within a same region as a first portable communication device;

notifying a first user of the first portable communication device of a presence of a second user of the second portable communication device if the location of the second portable communication device is within the same region as the first portable communication device, wherein the notification is provided via the first portable communication device on the basis of previous selections made by the first user of the first portable communication device to be notified of the presence of the second user;

determining whether the first user has permission to locate the second user, wherein determining whether the first user has permission to locate the second user comprises determining whether the first user is in a group of a plurality of users, the group having predefined permission to locate the second user;

upon determining that the first user has permission to locate the second user, notifying the first user of the location of the second portable communication device of the second user;

determining, if the location of the second portable communication device is outside the same region containing the first portable communication device, whether the second portable communication device is about to approach the same region containing the first portable communication device; and

notifying the first user of the impending presence of the second user in the same region if the second portable communication device is about to approach the same region containing the first portable communication device.

4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein the first portable communication device and the second portable communication device are mobile telephony devices comprising Global Positioning System (GPS) devices.