Confirming a Venue of User Location

• US 20130210463A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 08/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Enhanced Geographic LLC
• Inventors: Busch, James David
• Granted Patent: US 8,774,839 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0233 Method of redeeming a frequent usage reward
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0245 Surveys
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• 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: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• 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 4/025 : using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/30 : Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 : for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Methods and systems that record the location of a user and transmit targeted content to a user based upon their current and past location. A network is configured to include a server programmed with a database of targeted content, a database of location information, a database of user information, a database searching algorithm, and a wireless communication system capable of communicating with the user'"'"'s mobile device. The location of the mobile device is ascertained and recorded. The location information is analyzed to determine businesses visited by the user, and other behaviors of the user. Targeted content is sent to the mobile device of the user and whether the user visits the physical locations associated with the targeted content is monitored. Payment systems, phone exchange systems, and other features may also be integrated to provide detailed conversion tracking to producers of targeted content and business owners.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A computer-implemented method to verify a venue of user location, the method comprising:

transmitting, by a mobile computing device and for receipt by a computerized system that is remote from the mobile computing device, information based on a geographic location sensor of the mobile computing device that identifies an estimated geographic location of the mobile computing device or that can be used to identify the estimated geographic location of the mobile computing device;

receiving, by the mobile computing device and as having been sent by the computerized system in response to the transmitting, an identification of a first suggested venue at which the mobile computing device may be located;

presenting, by the mobile computing device, a user interface that concurrently displays (i) an indication of the first suggested venue, and (ii) a first user interface element with which a user of the mobile computing device is able to confirm that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue;

receiving, by the mobile computing device, confirmation that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue as a result of user interaction with the first user interface element, and in response, identifying the first suggested venue as a confirmed venue at which the mobile computing device is confirmed to be located; and

providing, by the mobile computing device, a communication that identifies that the mobile computing device is located at the confirmed venue.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the user interface displays, concurrent with the display of the indication of the first suggested venue and the first user interface element, a second user interface element whose selection results in the mobile computing device concurrently displaying (i) an indication of a second suggested venue, and (ii) a second user interface element with which the user is able to confirm that the mobile computing device is located at the second suggested venue.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the computerized system selected the first suggested venue from a plurality of suggested venues based, at least in part, on the estimated geographic location.

24. The computer-implemented method of claim 23, wherein the first suggested venue is not one of the plurality of suggested venues that is closest in geographic distance to the estimated geographic location.

25. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the first user interface element displays the indication of the first suggested venue.

26. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising:

displaying, by the mobile computing device and in response to receiving the confirmation that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue, an indication that the first suggested venue has been identified as the confirmed venue.

27. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the information includes data identified based on signals that the mobile computing device received from one or more satellites in a global satellite-based geographic location identification system.

28. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the user interface displays, concurrent with the display of the indication of the first suggested venue and the first user interface element, a prompt that requests that the user confirm whether the mobile computing device is located at the suggested venue.

29. The computer-implemented method of claim 28, further comprising:

removing the prompt from the user interface, by the mobile computing device and in response to receiving the confirmation that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue, so that the user interface identifies the suggested venue as the confirmed venue.

30. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein:

the user interface is displayed by a touchscreen display device;

and receiving the confirmation that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue includes identifying that the user physically contacted a region of the touchscreen display at which the touchscreen display displays the first user interface element.

31. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein:

the communication includes a user-submitted post that is broadcast to a group of people who have agreed to subscribe to posts authored by the user, and wherein the user-submitted post includes a user-defined textual post and an indication of the confirmed location.

32. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the indication of the first suggested venue includes a name of a business.

33. The computer-implemented method of claim 32, further comprising:

determining, by the computing system and based on the estimated geographic location of the computing device, multiple additional suggested venues at which the computing device may be located;

transmitting, by the computing system and for receipt by the computing device, identifications of the multiple additional suggested venues; and

wherein the user interface displays a second user interface element concurrently with the indication of the first suggested venue and the first user interface element, the second interface element displaying an additional user interface element with which the user is able to confirm that the mobile computing device is located at an additional suggested venue of the multiple additional suggested venues.