METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR NOTIFYING PROXIMITY OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINALS USERS

• US 20120252498A1
• Filed: 09/30/2009
• Published: 10/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Inventors: Trinchero, Umberto, Montalbano, Guido
• Granted Patent: US 8,831,640 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• 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 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

A method for notifying proximity of users of mobile communication terminals, comprising: a) having a mobile communication terminal obtaining from a remote server data suitable to be used by the mobile communication terminal for deriving a distance between a position of another mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication terminal; b) having the mobile terminal determining, based on said obtained data, whether the position of the other mobile communication terminal falls within a predetermined distance range; and c) in case the position of the other mobile communication terminal falls within said predetermined distance range, having the mobile communication terminal generating a notification for the user of the mobile communication terminal. A corresponding system is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for notifying proximity of users of mobile communication terminals, comprising

a) obtaining from a remote server by a mobile communication terminal data suitable for the mobile communication terminal to derive a distance between a position of another mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication terminal;

b) determining by the mobile terminal, based on the obtained data, whether the position of the other mobile communication terminal falls within a predetermined distance range; and

c) in case the position of the other mobile communication terminal falls within the predetermined distance range, generating by the mobile communication terminal a notification for a user of the mobile communication terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining by the mobile communication terminal comprises obtaining, from the remote server, geographic coordinates of the position of at least the other mobile communication terminal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining by the mobile communication terminal comprises obtaining, from the remote server, an indication of the distance between the mobile communication terminal and the other mobile communication terminal.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining by the mobile communication terminal comprises comparing the distance of the other mobile communication terminal from the mobile communication terminal to a predetermined threshold distance.

5. The method of claim 4, comprising repeating steps a), b) and c) after a time interval that depends on the threshold distance and on the calculated distance between the mobile communication terminal and the other mobile communication terminal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the time interval is proportional to the difference between the calculated distance and the threshold distance.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining by the mobile communication terminal comprises causing the remote server to condition the provision of the data to an assessment of whether the mobile communication terminal is authorized to gain the data.

8. A computer readable storage device having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a data processing apparatus perform a method comprising:

a) obtaining from a remote server by a mobile communication terminal data suitable for the mobile communication terminal to derive a distance between a position of another mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication terminal;

b) determining by the mobile terminal, based on the obtained data, whether the position of the other mobile communication terminal falls within a predetermined distance range; and

c) in case the position of the other mobile communication terminal falls within the predetermined distance range, generating by the mobile communication terminal a notification for a user of the mobile communication terminal.

9. A mobile communication terminal comprising:

a data processing apparatus; and

a computer readable storage device having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a data processing apparatus, perform a method comprising;

a) obtaining from a remote server by a mobile communication terminal data suitable for the mobile communication terminal to derive a distance between a position of another mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication terminal;

b) determining by the mobile terminal, based on the obtained data, whether the position of the other mobile communication terminal falls within a predetermined distance range; and

c) in case the position of the other mobile communication terminal falls within the predetermined distance range, generating by the mobile communication terminal a notification for a user of the mobile communication terminal.

10. A communication system comprising:

a server;

a mobile communication terminal in a communication relationship with the server, the mobile communication terminal including

a data processing apparatus; and

a computer readable storage device having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a data processing apparatus, perform a method comprising;

a) obtaining from a remote server by a mobile communication terminal data suitable for the mobile communication terminal to derive a distance between a position of another mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication terminal;

b) determining by the mobile terminal, based on the obtained data, whether the position of the other mobile communication terminal falls within a predetermined distance range; and

c) in case the position of the other mobile communication terminal falls within the predetermined distance range, generating by the mobile communication terminal a notification for a user of the mobile communication terminal.