SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE AUTOMATED NOTIFICATION OF COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN REAL-TIME NETWORK PARTICIPANTS

• US 20110137951A1
• Filed: 01/31/2011
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jedi Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Jedi Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Baker, Benjamin D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,417,729 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/794
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/20 of structured data, e.g. relational data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/105 Human resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• 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 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• 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: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

The present invention is a method and system for using predetermined preferences/characteristics to ascertain personal compatibility between network or chat room participants based upon profile information. When the system determines that these preferences are favorable for interpersonal compatibility, the system will automatically notify or page the participants so as to facilitate their introduction. Further functionality, aside from the compatibility based upon profile information, includes e-mail and other electronic notification of personal compatibility as well as geographic compatibility.

Claims

12. A method for determining compatibility of participants of a network based upon predetermined criteria, comprising:

collecting human participant-specific data for a plurality of the participants;

storing, in memory, the human participant-specific data collected;

sorting said human participant-specific data from a plurality of participants by compatibility criteria, said compatibility criteria including a pre-designated location;

processing the stored human participant specific data, using the compatibility criteria to calculate interpersonal compatibility between at least two participants;

automatically determining the compatibility of at least two participants using the calculated interpersonal compatibility, including periodically monitoring the positions of the participants to determine when at least one participant is at the pre-designated location; and

notifying compatible participants of their compatibility, including sending each compatible participant a message.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein periodically monitoring the positions of the participants includes obtaining a participant'"'"'s location information from a global-positioning system.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein periodically monitoring the positions of the participants includes obtaining a participant'"'"'s location information using a cellular phone location.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein at least one user is further determined to be a family member based solely upon the pre-designated location.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein at least one other family member is automatically notified when the user is present at the pre-designated location.

17. A method for determining compatibility of participants of a network based upon predetermined criteria, comprising:

collecting human participant-specific data for a plurality of the participants;

storing, in memory, the human participant-specific data collected;

sorting said human participant-specific data from a plurality of participants by compatibility criteria;

processing the stored human participant specific data, using the compatibility criteria to calculate interpersonal compatibility between at least two participants, said compatibility criteria being further used to identify participants as members of a family; and

notifying at least one member of the family of the identity of at least one other family member.

1. A method for determining compatibility of at least two participants of a network based upon predetermined criteria and notifying the compatible participants, comprising:

collecting human participant-specific data for a plurality of the participants;

storing, in memory, the human participant-specific data collected;

sorting said human participant-specific data from a plurality of participants by compatibility criteria, said compatibility criteria including at least one pre-designated location;

processing the stored human participant specific data, using the compatibility criteria to calculate interpersonal compatibility between at least two participants;

automatically determining the compatibility of at least two participants using the calculated interpersonal compatibility, including monitoring the positions of the participants to determine whether at least one participant is at the at least one pre-designated location; and

notifying at least one compatible participant of the compatibility.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one participant is further determined to be a family member based solely upon the at least one pre-designated location, and where the system records the location, and further including notifying the participant when other family members are located at the at least one pre-designated location.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein notifying the at least one participant when other family members are located at the at least one pre-designated location includes notifying the at least one participant of the compatibility of the other family members.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one pre-designated location is designated by a participant.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein compatibility criteria includes a plurality of pre-designated locations for at least one participant.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein compatibility criteria includes a plurality of pre-designated locations and where at least one participant is notified of the compatibility of participants determined to be present at the plurality of pre-designated locations.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a time when a participant will be at the at least one pre-designated location is indicated by a participant.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein compatibility is determined for participants located at the pre-designated location.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein notifying at least one compatible participant of the compatibility includes sending a message indicating the compatibility to the participant.

10. The method according to claim 1, further including notifying the at least one compatible participant when another participant is nearby the predesignated location.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein participants may adjust a threshold distance used to determine nearby the predesignated location.

18. The method according to claim 17, further including notifying at least one participant that is a member of the family when another member of the family is in proximity.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein at least one participant is able to specify the level of proximity at which the participant is notified of a family member.

20. The method according to claim 19 further including retrieving at least one participant'"'"'s location from a global positioning system, and wherein the at least one participant'"'"'s location is determined using the information retrieved from a global-positioning system.

21. The method according to claim 19 further including determining at least one participant'"'"'s location using cellular phone technology.

22. The method according to claim 17, wherein at least one of said compatibility criteria used to identify participants as members of a family includes a plurality of pre-designated locations.

23. The method according to claim 22 wherein at least one of said compatibility criteria further includes a future time when the participant will be at one of said pre-designated locations.

24. The method according to claim 17 further including processing the stored human participant specific data, using the compatibility criteria to calculate interpersonal compatibility between at least two participants, said compatibility criteria being further used to identify participants as members of at least a second family.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the compatibility criteria used to determine if a participant is a member in at least one family includes participant-specified preferences.

26. The method according to claim 17, wherein the compatibility criteria used to determine family membership includes a plurality of familiar places.

27. The method according to claim 26 wherein at least one of said familiar places are identified as participant-specified preference by at least one member of the family.

28. The method according to claim 17, wherein at least one of said compatibility criteria used to identify participants as members of a family includes threads of participants'"'"' conversations.

29. The method according to claim 17, further including indicating the compatibility of at least one member of the family.

19-1. The method according to claim 18, wherein the proximity between two participants that are members of a family is determined based upon the participants'"'"' locations.

30. A method for determining compatibility of at least two participants of a network based upon predetermined criteria and notifying the compatible participants, comprising:

collecting human participant-specific data for a plurality of the participants, including participants'"'"' current locations;

storing, in memory, the human participant-specific data collected;

sorting said human participant-specific data from a plurality of participants by compatibility criteria, said compatibility criteria including location;

processing the stored human participant specific data, using the compatibility criteria to calculate interpersonal compatibility between at least two participants;

automatically determining the compatibility of at least two participants using the calculated interpersonal compatibility, including monitoring the locations of the participants to determine whether at least one participant is at the same location; and

notifying at least one compatible participant of the compatibility when at the same location.

31. A method for the automated display of human participant-specific data to a human participant of a real-time network, comprising:

collecting human participant specific data for a plurality of network participants, wherein said step of collecting human participant-specific data includes presenting to the human participant an on-line survey comprising a plurality of questions; and

detecting and recording the human participant responses to the questions;

storing, in memory, the human participant specific data collected, wherein said step of storing the collected human participant-specific data includes creating at least one data table within a database that includes data for a plurality of human participants, and within said table storing at least one record containing information indicative of the human participant responses to the questions;

processing the stored human participant specific data, using the compatibility criteria, to determine interpersonal compatibility between at least two network participants, wherein said step of processing the stored human participant-specific data includes retrieving at least one compatibility criteria, wherein the compatibility criteria includes at least one characteristic and a threshold, and applying the compatibility criteria to a plurality of records containing information indicative of the human participant responses in the data table within a database so as to determine the compatibility of the human participants;

sorting said human participant specific data from a plurality of network participants by interpersonal compatibility; and

(e) automatically displaying at least a portion of the sorted human participant specific data to at least one participant in association with the network, wherein the participant-specific data includes a chat time a first participant is available to chat, and notifying compatible participants including prompting a compatible participant.