Methods for Receiving and Responding to Location-Based Data

• US 20090093260A1
• Filed: 10/03/2008
• Published: 04/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Plainsight Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: ZOS Communications LLC
• Inventors: Ziskind, Russell, Field, Alan, Ziskind, Jonathan
• Granted Patent: US 8,155,669 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A location-based messaging system and its methods of operation are disclosed, including methods for receiving and responding to location-based data. Methods for sending geographic location information for a target address from a computing device to a receiving device that will enable the receiving device to display a map and/or directions from a geographic location of the receiving device to the geographic location of the target address, methods for processing and distributing location-based data, and methods for virally distributing location-based applications are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for receiving a set of location identifiers corresponding to a target address, comprising the steps of:

receiving a message with a receiving device having a unique identifier, the message being sent to the receiving device by an application server after receiving a request containing the target address and the unique identifier from a sending device;

identifying a location of the receiving device;

responding to the message by sending a response to the application server requesting the set of location identifiers; and

receiving the set of location identifiers from the application server with the receiving device in response to the response, the set of location identifiers enabling a user of the receiving device to be provided with a route from the location of the receiving device to the target address.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the message includes a prompt, wherein the step of receiving the message includes detecting the prompt, and wherein the step of responding includes the step of automatically sending the response to the application server.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the receiving device includes a software application for responding to the message and providing the route based on the set of location identifiers, and wherein the step of automatically sending includes the step of activating the software application in response to the prompt.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the response is a HTTP request, and wherein the set of location identifiers is a HTTP response.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the message is a text message, and wherein the step of receiving the message further includes intercepting the text message including the prompt from being processed as a standard text message by the receiving device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the text message is a SMS message, and wherein the step of intercepting the SMS message includes placing the SMS message in an application queue for processing messages including the prompt instead of an SMS application queue for processing SMS messages.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the message is an email message, and wherein the step of receiving the message further includes intercepting the email message including the prompt from being processed as a standard email message by the receiving device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is a URL, wherein the response is a HTTP request, and wherein the set of location identifiers is a HTTP response.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the route is a route map highlighting a path from the location of the receiving device to the target address.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the route map is sent to the receiving device as part of the set of location identifiers.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the route map is developed by a mapping application installed on the receiving device in response to the set of location identifiers.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the route is a textual description of a route from the location of the receiving device to the target address.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the textual description is sent to the receiving device as part of the set of location identifiers.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the response includes the location of the receiving device, wherein the textual description is a set of turn by turn directions from the location of the receiving device to the target address, and wherein the set of turn by turn directions is a series of SMS messages with one turn per SMS message.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the textual description is developed by a mapping application installed on the receiving device in response to the set of location identifiers.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the route is a verbal description of a route from the location of the receiving device to the target address.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying additional content contained with the message to a user of the receiving device.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing a set of data associated with the message for future use.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of forwarding a set of data associated with the message to another device.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the message indicates to the receiving device that an unretrieved data message containing the set of location identifiers is available for download to the receiving device from the application server.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the route is a route map highlighting a path from the location of the receiving device to the target address, wherein the route is a textual description of a route from the location of the receiving device to the target address, and wherein the step of receiving the set of location identifiers includes the step of allowing the user to choose between the route map and the textual description.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving device is a location aware device.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the location aware device is a mobile phone.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the location aware device is a GPS navigation device.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of replying to the message by sending a request including the location of the receiving device to the application server so the application server can send the location of the receiving device to the sending device.

26. A method for receiving a geographic location corresponding to a target address, comprising the steps of:

receiving a message with a receiving device having a unique identifier, the message being sent to the receiving device by an application server after receiving a request containing the target address and the unique identifier from a sending device;

identifying a geographic location of the receiving device;

responding to the message by sending a response to the application server requesting the geographic location corresponding to the target address; and

receiving the geographic location corresponding to the target address from the application server with the receiving device in response to the response, the geographic location corresponding to the target address enabling the receiving device to provide a route from the geographic location of the receiving device to the geographic location corresponding to the target address.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the message includes a prompt, wherein the step of receiving the message includes detecting the prompt, and wherein the step of responding includes the step of automatically sending the response to the application server.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the receiving device includes a software application for responding to the message and providing the route, and wherein the step of automatically sending includes the step of activating the software application in response to the prompt.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising the step of displaying the route to a user of the receiving device.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the response is a HTTP request, and wherein the set of location identifiers is a HTTP response.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the message is a text message, and wherein the step of receiving the message further includes intercepting the text message including the prompt from being processed as a standard text message by the receiving device.

32. The method of claim 27, wherein the message is an email message, and wherein the step of receiving the message further includes intercepting the email message including the prompt from being processed as a standard email message by the receiving device.

33. The method of claim 26, wherein the message is a URL, wherein the response is a HTTP request, and wherein the geographic location corresponding to the target address is sent by the application server as a HTTP response.

34. The method of claim 26, wherein the route is a route map highlighting a path from the geographic location of the receiving device to the geographic location corresponding to the target address.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the route map is developed by a mapping application installed on the receiving device in response to receipt of the geographic location corresponding to the target address.

36. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of displaying additional content contained with the message to a user of the receiving device.

37. The method of claim 26, wherein the message indicates to the receiving device that an unretrieved data message containing the geographic location corresponding to the target address is available for download to the receiving device from the application server.

38. The method of claim 26, wherein the receiving device is a location aware device.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the location aware device is a mobile phone.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the location aware device is a GPS navigation device.

41. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of storing a set of data associated with the message for future use.

42. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of forwarding a set of data associated with the message to another device.

43. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of replying to the message by sending a request including the geographic location of the receiving device to the application server so the application server can send the geographic location of the receiving device to the sending device.