Methods, Devices and Systems for Targeting Content to the Users of Digital Devices

• US 20130218681A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 08/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: X One Inc.
• Original Assignee: X One Inc.
• Inventors: Haney, Richard D.
• Application Number:
  US13/835,207
• Publication Number:
  US 20130218681A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.58
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/01 Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/03 Cooperating elements; Interaction or communication between different cooperating elements or between cooperating elements and receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1046 Joining mechanisms
• 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: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72418 for supporting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2044 Group features, e.g. closed user group
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 : including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42093 : Notifying the calling party of information on the called or connected party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4228 : in networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 : Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 : Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 : of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 : Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 : Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 : Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 : with dynamic range variability
• 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 4/027 : using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 : User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 : Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 : Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 : for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 : Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 : Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 : Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 : locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/12 : Inter-network notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/121 : for groups of terminals or users
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 : Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A system for exchanging GPS or other position data between wireless devices for purposes of group activities, child location monitoring, work group coordination, dispatching of employees etc. Cell phones and other wireless devices with GPS receivers have loaded therein a Buddy Watch application and a TalkControl application. The Buddy Watch application communicates with the GPS receiver and other wireless devices operated by buddies registered in the users phone as part of buddy groups or individually. GPS position data and historical GPS position data can be exchanged between cell phones of buddies and instant buddies such as tow truck drivers via a buddy watch server. Emergency monitoring services can be set up with notifications to programmable individuals in case an individual does not respond. Positions and tracks can be displayed. TalkControl simplifies and automates the process of joining talk groups for walkie talkie services such as that provided by Nextel.

Claims

1. An apparatus to target content to a user of a digital device, comprising:

server-accessible storage to store information associated with respective geolocations, the information representing content associated with an enterprise at each respective geolocation; and

instructions stored on non-transitory machine-readable media, the instructions operable to cause at least one server to

receive a geographic indication from the digital device,

automatically filter the information from the server-accessible storage based on the geographic indication, to generate filtered information representing at least one of the respective geolocations, and

automatically transmit the filtered information to the digital device for display thereon.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the digital device includes a sensor adapted to determine at least one of a position and direction, wherein the instructions are operable to cause the at least one server to receive the at least one from the digital device, and are operable to cause the at least one server to automatically filter the information based on the at least one.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one includes position of the digital device, and wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to transmit information identifying a route connecting the position of the digital device to a geolocation of the at least one geolocation represented by the filtered information.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to transmit a map to the digital device for display thereon, the map representing a spatial geography dependent on at least one of the geographic indication and at least one geolocation of the respective geolocations which is represented by the filtered information.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the filtered information includes an icon associated with a specific geolocation, and wherein the instructions operable to automatically transmit the filtered information are further operable to transmit the icon for display on coordinates of the map corresponding to the specific geolocation.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein:

the instructions are further operable to cause a first sever to retrieve the map from a map server; and

the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to render at least some of the filtered information onto the map in a manner corresponding to each of the at least one of the respective geolocations prior to transmission of the map to the digital device.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the instructions are further operable to permit the user to specify a desired maplet size, and wherein instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to transmit the map to the digital device in a manner corresponding to the desired maplet size.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to also transmit the at least one geolocation to the digital device.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information stored in association with respective geolocations includes advertisements, and wherein the instructions are further operable to transmit at least one advertisement to the digital device as a location-based advertisement.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information stored in association with respective geolocations includes commercial content, and wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to transmit to the digital device commercial content filtered according to a location corresponding to the geographic indication.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to filter the information by identifying a geography associated with the geographic indication and by selecting ones of the respective geolocations satisfying a predetermined proximity requirement relative to the geography, and wherein the filtered information transmitted to the digital device corresponds to the ones.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the geography includes a point and wherein the predetermined proximity requirement is presence within a radius about the point.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to transmit to the digital device a distance between a point representing the geographic indication and each respective geolocation represented by the filtered information.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to transmit to the digital device information identifying a route between a point representing the geographic indication and each respective geolocation represented by the filtered information.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the digital device is a first digital device;

the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to store data identifying a target group, represented by digital devices of respective users, including the first digital device; and

the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to transmit the filtered information to digital devices associated with plural users in the target group in dependence on the stored data.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein selection of the plural users within the group to which the filtered information is transmitted is dependent on at least one of position associated with the respective user of the plural users and a user preference associated with the respective user of the plural users.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises instructions stored on non-transitory machine-readable media that are adapted to download software to the digital device, the software operable to implement functionality in the digital device to display the filtered information.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the software is operable to cause the display the filtered information on a map on the digital device in a manner where the at least one of the respective geolocations is plotted on the map together with a respective visual annotation corresponding to the respective content.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the software is operable to invoke an interface screen on the digital device in a manner operable to permit the user to set preferences associated with display of the filtered information on the digital device.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the digital device is a web-enabled cell phone, and wherein the software is operable to cause the web-enabled cell phone to exchange information with the at least one server in extensible markup language (XML) format.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the software is operable to cause the digital device to permit user selection of filtered information representing a specific geolocation, and to permit the user to append via the digital device a message to the selected, filtered information.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein:

the digital device is a first digital device;

the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to store data identifying a group, represented by digital devices of respective users, including the first digital device; and

the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to transmit the message to plural users in the group in association with the selected, filtered information.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the at least one server to store data associated with permissive time for transmission of the filtered information, and to withhold transmission of the filtered information at times outside of the permissive time.

24. A method of targeting content to a user of a digital device, comprising:

storing information associated with respective geolocations in computer-accessible storage, the information representing content associated with an enterprise at each respective geolocation;

receiving a geographic indication from the digital device;

automatically filtering the information based on the geographic indication, to generate filtered information representing at least one of the respective geolocations; and

automatically transmitting the filtered information to the digital device for display thereon.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the digital device includes a sensor adapted to determine at least one of a position and direction, wherein receiving the geographic indication includes receiving the at least one from the digital device, and wherein automatically filtering includes automatically filtering the information based on the at least one.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the method further comprises transmitting a map to the digital device for display thereon, the map representing a spatial geography dependent on at least one of the geographic indication and at least one geolocation of the respective geolocations which is represented by the filtered information.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein:

the method further comprises retrieving the map from a map server; and

transmitting the map comprises rendering at least some of the filtered information onto the map in a manner corresponding to each of the at least one of the respective geolocations prior to transmitting the map to the digital device.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the method further comprises permitting the user to specify a desired maplet size, and wherein transmitting the map to the digital device includes transmitting the map to the digital device in a manner corresponding to the desired maplet size.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein storing the information includes receiving data corresponding to at least one of a speed and a direction for a specific geolocation, and wherein transmitting the filtered information includes transmitting to the digital device information associated with the specific geolocation in dependence upon the at least one of the speed and the direction.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein transmitting the information associated with the specific geolocation includes transmitting to the digital device at least one of a current location and a time associated with a last known location.

31. The method of claim 24, wherein automatically transmitting the filtered information further comprises also transmitting the at least one geolocation to the digital device.

32. The method of claim 24, wherein the information stored in association with respective geolocations includes advertisements, and wherein automatically transmitting includes transmitting at least one advertisement to the digital device as a location-based advertisement.

33. The method of claim 24, wherein the information stored in association with respective geolocations includes commercial content, and wherein automatically transmitting includes transmitting commercial content filtered according to a geography corresponding to the geographic indication.

34. The method of claim 24, wherein automatically filtering the information includes identifying a geography associated with the geographic indication, wherein automatically filtering includes selecting ones of the respective geolocations satisfying a predetermined proximity requirement relative to a geographic represented by the geographic indication, and wherein automatically transmitting includes automatically transmitting filtered information to the digital device which corresponds to the ones.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the geography includes a point and wherein the predetermined proximity requirement is presence within a radius about the point.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein automatically transmitting comprises transmitting to the digital device a distance between a point representing the geographic indication and each of the at least one of the respective geolocations for display on the digital device.

37. The method of claim 24, wherein:

the digital device is a first digital device;

the method further comprises storing data identifying digital devices corresponding to a target group of users, including the first digital device; and

automatically transmitting the filtered information comprises transmitting the filtered information to digital devices associated with plural users in the target group in dependence on the stored data.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising selecting identity of the plural users from the group in dependence on at least one of position associated with each respective user in the group and a user preference associated with each respective user in the group.

39. The method of claim 24, further comprising receiving and appending to the filtered information associated with a specific geolocation a user message.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein:

the digital device is a first digital device;

the method further comprises storing data identifying digital devices corresponding to a group of users, including the first digital device; and

automatically transmitting the user message to plural users in the group in association with the specific geolocation.

41. The method of claim 24, further comprising storing data associated with permissive time for transmission of the filtered information, and withholding transmission of the filtered information at times outside of the permissive time.

42. An apparatus to target content to a user of a digital device, comprising:

means for storing information associated with respective geolocations in computer-accessible storage, the information representing content associated with an enterprise at each respective geolocation;

means for receiving a geographic indication from the digital device;

means for automatically filtering the information based on the geographic indication, to generate filtered information representing at least one of the respective geolocations; and

means for automatically transmitting the filtered information to the digital device for display thereon.