Apparatus, method and system for subsequently connecting people

• US 20100262932A1
• Filed: 11/10/2008
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S. Sejo Pan
• Original Assignee: S. Sejo Pan
• Inventors: Pan, S. Sejo
• Granted Patent: US 9,992,648 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/780
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

Apparatus, method and system to subsequently connect people who have crossed paths in person. A user can actively connect with other users, express interests to other users anonymously, or find out if other users have interests for him, from a previous or current encounter.

Claims

1. In a computer system with data storage, a method for subsequently connecting a first user with at least one other second user, wherein the first user and the second user have already crossed paths in person, the method comprising:

obtaining and storing a matching request from each of the first and the second user, wherein the matching request represents that at least one of the users deems the other as a connecting target and the matching request comprises a piece of encounter information, wherein the encounter information comprises at least one event, wherein the event comprises a location description and a time description;

determining if there is an event correlation between any event of the first user and any event of the second user;

determining a matching result between the matching requests of the first user and the second user based on said event correlation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining if there is an event correlation between the two events comprises at least one of the followings:

(a) calculating the difference of the location description and the difference of the time description between the two events, and comparing the location difference and the time difference against a respective threshold or set of thresholds;

(b) calculating one or more distance metrics in spacetime for the two events and comparing each distance metric against a threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the encounter information further comprises at least one of the following components:

(a) a description of self personal traits;

(b) a description of the connecting target'"'"'s personal traits;

(c) event-dependent information;

(d) an intention indicator;

and the step of determining the matching result between the matching requests is further based on at least one of the followings;

(a) when there are corresponding data provided by each user, either the first user'"'"'s description of the personal traits of his connecting target matches the second user'"'"'s description of self personal traits, or the other way around, or both;

(b) when each user provides event-dependent information, the event-dependent information provided by the users match;

(c) when each user provides an intention indicator, the intention indicators provided by the users match.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the location description comprises at least one wireless device ID.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the matching request from the first user is obtained from a wireless mobile device, said wireless mobile device is capable of obtaining event information based on at least one of the followings:

(a) being time-and-location-aware;

(b) being time aware and capable of obtaining ID'"'"'s of other wireless devices within a predetermined range and using the obtained ID'"'"'s as the location description;

(c) obtaining event information based on user input.

12. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

the wireless mobile device of the first user repeatedly obtaining current events while repeatedly sending the newly obtained events to the matching system;

the matching system repeatedly re-determining an updated matching result of the first user'"'"'s matching request as its events are being appended;

the wireless mobile device of the first user repeatedly obtaining the updated matching result for the matching request.

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14. A matching system for subsequently connecting a first user with at least one other second user, wherein the first user and the second user have already crossed paths in person, said system comprising:

a computer system with at least one computer and one data storage;

means for obtaining and storing a matching request from each of the first and the second user, wherein the matching request represents that at least one of the first user and the second user deems the other as a connecting target and the matching request comprises a piece of encounter information, wherein the encounter information comprises at least one event, wherein the event comprises a location description and a time description;

an event correlation program executing on said computer system for determining if there is an event correlation between any event of the first user and any event of the second user;

a matching program executing on said computer system for determining a matching result between the matching requests of the first user and the second user based on said event correlation.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the event correlation program determines if there is an event correlation between the two events using at least one of the followings:

(a) calculating the difference of the location description and the difference of the time description between the two events and comparing each of the location difference and the time difference against a respective threshold or set of thresholds;

(b) calculating one or more distance metrics in spacetime for the two events and comparing each distance metric against a threshold.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the encounter information further comprises at least one of the following components:

(a) a description of self personal traits;

(b) a description of the connecting target'"'"'s personal traits;

(c) event-dependent information;

(d) an intention indicator;

and the matching program'"'"'s determination of the matching result between the matching requests is further based on at least one of the followings;

(a) when there are corresponding data provided by each user, either the first user'"'"'s description of the personal traits of his connecting target matches the second user'"'"'s description of self personal traits, or the other way around, or both;

(b) when each user provides event-dependent information, the event-dependent information provided by the users match;

(c) when each user provides an intention indicator, the intention indicators provided by the users match.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the location description comprises at least one wireless device ID.

19. The system of claim 14, further comprising a wireless mobile device (WMD) from which the matching request of the first user is obtained, said WMD comprises:

a user input means;

means for generating the matching request, said means for generating the matching request comprises means for generating the location description and the time description.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the means for obtaining and storing the matching request comprises:

a user input interface system for guiding the user to enter the encounter information, said user input interface system comprises at least one of the followings;

(a) a graphical interface;

(b) a web-based interface;

(c) an interactive map on which the user indicates the location of an event by moving around on the map and/or zooming in/out on the map to select a location;

(d) an interactive tracing map on which the user traces a set of stored events and select one or more particular events;

(e) a translation interface for translating a location description from user input into a predetermined format of location description.

25. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

means for recording events of the first user over a time span and employing all or a part of the recorded events in the first user'"'"'s matching request.

26. The system of claim 19, further comprising a real-time means, said realtime means comprises:

means in the WMD for repeatedly sending newly obtained events to the matching system and repeatedly obtaining an updated matching result from the matching system; and

means in the matching system for repeatedly using newly added events to redetermine and update the matching result.

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28. A mobile wireless device (WMD) for facilitating subsequent connection of a first user of the WMD with at least one other second user of the WMD through a separate matching system wherein the first user and the second user have already crossed paths in person and at least one of them deems the other as a connecting target, said device comprising:

a user input means;

means for generating a matching request, wherein the matching request comprises a piece of encounter information, wherein the encounter information comprises at least one event, wherein the event comprises a location description and a time description;

means for feeding the matching request to the matching system, said feeding means comprises at least one of the following means;

(a) means for wirelessly transmitting the matching request directly or indirectly to the matching system;

(b) means for outputting the matching request in a portable format acceptable by the matching system.

29. The WMD of claim 28, wherein the encounter information further comprises at least one of the following components:

(a) a description of self personal traits;

(b) a description of the connecting target'"'"'s personal traits;

(c) event-dependent information;

(d) an intention indicator;

(e) a verification question.

30. The WMD of claim 28, wherein the location description in the matching request is generated by at least one of the following means:

(a) means for obtaining the location of the WMD;

(b) means for obtaining a relative location description of the WMD by obtaining ID'"'"'s of other wireless devices within a predetermined range;

(c) means for obtaining the location description by translating user input into a predetermined format of location description;

(d) means for obtaining the location description by using an interactive map on which the user indicates the location by moving around on the map and/or zooming in/out on the map to select a location;

(e) means for tracing a set of stored locations and selecting one or more there from.

31. The WMD of claim 28, further comprising:

means for recording events over a time span and employing all or a part of the recorded events in the matching request.

32. The WMD of claim 28, further comprising:

means for repeatedly obtaining current events while repeatedly sending the newly obtained events to the matching system;

means for repeatedly obtaining an updated matching result from the matching system.

33. The WMD of claim 29, further comprising:

means for recording events over a time span and employing all or a part of the recorded events in the matching request;

means for allowing the user of the WMD to trace the recorded events and select any particular event to enter other encounter information for that event.

38. The WMD of claim 32, further includes a distance means comprising either or both of:

(a) means for obtaining the distance between the user of the WMD and another matched user and notifying the user of the WMD said distance;

(b) means for repeatedly obtaining the distance change between the user of the WMD and another matched user as either user'"'"'s event information is being updated, and repeatedly notifying the user of the WMD said distance change.

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