LOCATION SERVICES

• US 20100321181A1
• Filed: 09/09/2008
• Published: 12/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Broadbent, Neil
• Granted Patent: US 9,429,641 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A portable device arranged to repeatedly determine its position, determine when it has been in the same location for a predetermined length of time on the basis of the periodically determined positions and, when it determines that it has been in the same location for the predetermined length of time, keep a record of that location. The device being further arranged to perform said determining and recording continuously and independently of a user.

Claims

1-16. -16. (canceled)

17. A portable device arranged to:

repeatedly determine its position;

determine when it has been in the same location for a predetermined length of time on the basis of the periodically determined positions; and

, when it determines that it has been in the same location for the predetermined length of time;

keep a record of that location;

the device being arranged to perform said determining and recording continuously and independently of a user;

wherein the device comprises a memory for storing map data and a display for displaying a map representative of the stored map data, the device being further arranged to, when it displays the map, display a visual representation of the recorded location.

18. A portable device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the device is arranged to consider that two positions are at the same location if each of those positions is located within a predetermined distance of each other.

19. A portable device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the device is arranged to, when successively determined positions are within a predetermined distance of each other, determine that it has been located at the same location for at least the length of time between the time instant at which the first of those positions was determined and time instant at which the latest of those positions was determined.

20. A portable device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the device is arranged to determine that it has been located at the same location for the predetermined length of time by determining its position at a first time instant and determining that each of the positions it determines during the predetermined length of time following that time instant is within a predetermined distance of the position at determined at the first time instant.

21. A portable device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the device is arranged to determine a position corresponding to the location and to record that position.

22. A portable device as claimed in claim 21, wherein the device is arranged to record the position information as location coordinates.

23. A portable device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the device is arranged to record the location as a waypoint.

24. A portable device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the device is arranged to display the visual representation of the recorded location at a position on the map that corresponds to the position associated with the recorded location.

25. A portable device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the device comprises a user interface for receiving a user input, the device being arranged to receive a user input associated with the location and to record that user input in association with the recorded location.

26. A portable device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the device is arranged to keep a record of locations that are not of interest, to determine if the location is a location that is not of interest and, if the location is a location that is not of interest, not to keep a record of that location.

27. A method for a device to record its location, the method comprising the device:

repeatedly determining its position;

determining when it has been in the same location for a predetermined length of time on the basis of the its periodically determined position; and

, when the device has been in the same location for the predetermined length of time;

keeping a record of that location;

wherein determining, and keeping a record, are performed continuously and independently of a user;

further comprising;

displaying a map representative of stored map data; and

when displaying the map, displaying a visual representation of the recorded location.

28. A computer program for configuring a portable device to:

repeatedly determine its position;

determine when it has been in the same location for a predetermined length of time on the basis of its periodically determined position; and

, when it determines that it has been in the same location for the predetermined length of time;

keep a record of that location,

the computer program being capable of configuring the device to perform said determining and recording continuously and independently of a user;

display a map representative of map data stored on the device; and

when displaying the map, displaying a visual representation of the recorded location.