SYSTEM FOR LOCATING NEARBY PICTURE HOTSPOTS

• US 20120110031A1
• Filed: 10/28/2010
• Published: 05/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Fund 83 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Lahcanski, Tomi, Winters, Dustin L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,581,997 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/812
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/583 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5838 using colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5854 using shape and object relationship
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/587 using geographical or spatial information, e.g. location
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00344 with a management, maintenance, service or repair apparatus monitoring H04N1/00002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2125 Display of information relating to the still picture recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2187 with image input from a plurality of different locations or from a non-central location, e.g. from one or more users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2191 for simultaneous, independent access by a plurality of different users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0039 Connection via a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3253 Position information, e.g. geographical position at time of capture, GPS data

Abstract

Portable communication devices transmit digital images and their location information to a central server. If a particular location is often photographed it can be designated as a hot spot. Thereafter, if a communication device is currently transmitting from within a vicinity of the hot spot, based on the location data received from the communication device, notification data can be transmitted to the communication device for notifying the user of the hot spot. The notification data can include directional information for the user to access on the communication device for enabling the user to find the hot spot.

Claims

1. A network connected computer comprising:

a processor for controlling communications over the network with a plurality of portable communication devices that are connected to the network, for receiving digital images from the plurality of portable communication devices, for receiving location data and user data from the plurality of communication devices, for storing each digital image in a database in association with at least one of the location data and with at least one of the user data, for storing a location as a hotspot location if the location is determined to be associated with a plurality of the stored digital images based on their associated location data, for determining that one of the plurality of portable communication devices is currently transmitting from within a preselected distance from a hotspot location based on the location data received from said one of the plurality of portable communication devices;

electronic storage for storing the hotspot location; and

a network communication port for transmitting notification data over the network to said one of the plurality of portable communication devices for notifying a user of the communication device that the communication device is within the preselected distance from the hotspot location.

2. The network connected computer of claim 1, wherein the notification data includes directional information for the user to access on said one of the plurality of portable communication devices for enabling the user to find the hotspot location.

3. The network connected computer of claim 2, wherein the directional information is selected from the group consisting of:

information identifying a geographic direction to the hotspot location, information identifying a distance from said one of the plurality of portable communication devices to the hotspot location, audio data for playback on a speaker, descriptive text data for display on a display screen, numerical coordinate data for display on the display screen, and map image data for display on the display screen.

4. The network connected computer of claim 1, further comprising stored instructions executable by the processor for performing said step of determining that one of the plurality of portable communication devices is currently transmitting from within a vicinity of a hotspot location, said instructions including use of the received location data and user data from said one of the plurality of portable communication devices.

5. The network connected computer of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable by the processor for identifying digital images of the hotspot location that are stored in the database.

6. The network connected computer of claim 5, further comprising stored instructions executable by the processor for transmitting at least one digital image captured within a preselected distance of the hotspot location over the network to said one of the plurality of portable communication devices.

7. The network connected computer of claim 1, wherein the network includes the internet and the location data includes GPS derived data.

8. The network connected computer of claim 4, further comprising stored instructions executable by the processor for determining that the database includes a preselected number of digital images captured within a preselected distance of the hotspot location.

16. The network connected computer of claim 1, wherein the processor is used for storing the location as a hotspot location only if, in addition to determining that the location is associated with the plurality of the stored digital images, one or more of the plurality of the stored digital images is each associated with at least one of the user data.

9. A portable communication device comprising:

electronic storage;

a wireless network communication module;

a geographic location receiver module; and

a processor coupled to the digital storage, the wireless network communication module, and to the geographic location receiver module for controlling their operation, the processor transmitting location data and user data over a wireless network via the communication module, the location data generated by the geographic location receiver module, and the user data retrieved from the electronic storage; and

the processor for receiving and storing in the electronic memory location data at the portable communication device, the notification data received over the wireless network in response to the transmitted data, the location data for notifying a user of the portable communication device that the communication device is in a vicinity of a hotspot location.

10. The portable communication device of claim 9, wherein the location data includes distance or directional information for enabling the user to find the hotspot location.

11. The portable communication device of claim 10, wherein the directional information is selected from the group consisting of audio data for playback on a speaker of the communication device, descriptive text data for display on a display screen of the communication device, numerical coordinate data for display on the display screen of the communication device, and map image data for display on the display screen of the communication device.

12. The portable communication device of claim 9, wherein the notification data includes at least one digital image of the hotspot location for the user to view on a display of the portable communication device.

13. The portable communication device of claim 10, wherein the directional information is based upon GPS coordinate data.

14. The portable communication device of claim 9, wherein the communication device generates a visual notification on a display of the communication device in response to being transported within a preselected distance from the hotspot location.

15. The portable communication device of claim 9, wherein the communication device generates an audible notification through a speaker of the communication device in response to being transported within a preselected distance from the hotspot location.