Methods and Systems for Temporarily Sharing Position Data Between Mobile-Device Users

• US 20130225205A1
• Filed: 04/11/2013
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: X One Inc.
• Original Assignee: X One Inc.
• Inventors: Haney, Richard D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,712,441 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• 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 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 that communicates with a remote Buddy Watch Server. The server gets or maintains position data for the wireless devices. When the server receives a request from a first device to set up a temporary position-sharing relationship between it and a second device, the server facilitates symmetrical position sharing between the two devices. While the relationship is active, the server can receive updated position data from one or both devices, and if necessary calculate or recalculate a path based on the updated data. The server can also alert one of the devices should the other move too close to or too far from a specified location. The request message or messages used to establish the temporary position-sharing relationship may include a timeout specifying when the server is to sever the position-sharing relationship.

Claims

1. A method of sharing position data between a first device associated with a first user and a second device associated with a second user, the position data including first position data indicating a first location of the first device and second position data indicating a second location of the second device, the method comprising:

receiving, from the first device, a first request to set up a position-sharing relationship between the first and second users;

transmitting a second request to the second device, the second request inviting the second user to accept the position-sharing relationship;

receiving a message from the second device indicating acceptance of the position-sharing relationship;

establishing the position-sharing relationship responsive to the acceptance;

transmitting the first position data to the second device and the second position data to the first device;

receiving updated first position data from the first device and updated second position data from the second device; and

transmitting the updated first position data to the second device and the updated second position data to the first device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a third request from one of the first device and the second device to calculate a path between the first position and the second position;

calculating the path between the first position and the second position; and

transmitting the calculated path to the one of the first device and the second device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating the first user with wireless devices of a list of buddies.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising sending locations of the wireless devices to the first device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the devices is GPS-enabled.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the GPS-enabled device is a phone.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising issuing a location update request to the GPS-enabled phone.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first request includes a timeout for terminating the position-sharing relationship, the method further comprising terminating the position-sharing relationship after the timeout.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the timeout specifies a default value.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving the timeout from the first user at the first device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising, responsive to a request from the first device, sending a maplet to the first device, the maplet centered on the second location.

12. The method of claim 1 carried out on a server executing non-transitory computer-readable instructions.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising publishing the first and second position data to a third device associated with a third user.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the publishing depicts the first and second users on a map.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the publishing identifies a relationship between the third user and at least one of the first and second users.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information indicative of a relationship between the first user and the second user.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the relationship is a buddy relationship.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information designating a fixed or moving target, associating a label with the target, and transmitting the label to at least one of the first device and the second device.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information designating a fixed or moving target, associating a picture with the target, and transmitting the picture to at least one of the first device and the second device.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information designating a fixed or moving target, associating a pointer to a camera file with the target, and transmitting content from the camera file to at least one of the first device and the second device.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information designating a fixed or moving target, associating a message with the target, and transmitting the message to at least one of the first device and the second device.

22. The method of claim 1, transmitting the first position data to the second device and the second position to the first device is responsive to position-update requests from the respective second device and first device.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after the second user accepts the position-sharing relationship, sending an alarm signal to the first device if the second device gets too close to, or too far from, a specified location.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising organizing the first and second users in a group of users, each of the users having a respective device, including the first device and the second device, and representing the group of users as a shape on a map encompassing the locations of the devices.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising sending an alert to at least one of the users in the group of one of the users leaves the group.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining a zone responsive to instructions from the first device and sending an alert to one or more devices when the first device enters or leaves the zone.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the zone may be used as a proximity room.

28. The method of claim 26, where the zone is a circle with a user-determined radius.

29. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining a zone by the first device and sending an alert to one or more devices when the second device enters or leaves the zone.

30. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after the second user accepts the position-sharing relationship, communicating to the first device the time of the last fix of the second position data.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising communicating to the first device a distance of the second device from the first device.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising displaying via the first device a name of the second user, the time of the last fix, and the distance of the second device from the first device.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising displaying on the first device a position of the second device on a map.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the second user is one of multiple buddies of the first user, each buddy being associated with a corresponding mobile device, including the second device, the method further comprising:

noting position data for each of the mobile devices, including the second position data;

calculating a center of gravity for the position data; and

displaying the position data for a subset of the buddies based on the center of gravity.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising picking a maplet based on the center of gravity and displaying a location of each of the subset of the buddies on the maplet.

36. The method of claim 1, further comprising relaying messages between the first and second users via the respective first and second devices during the position-sharing relationship.

37. A system comprising:

a server having server-side storage storing a list of people, the list including a first user associated with a first number and a second user associated with a second number;

a first mobile device associated with the first number and programmed to send the server a first request to set up a temporary position-sharing relationship between the first user and the second user, the first request including a timeout for terminating the position-sharing relationship, wherein the server, responsive to the first request, issues a second request;

a second mobile device associated with the second number and programmed to receive the second request, the second request inviting the second user to accept the temporary position-sharing relationship, the second mobile device to transmit to the server a message indicating acceptance of the temporary position-sharing relationship;

wherein the server;

establishes the position-sharing relationship responsive to the message indicating acceptance; and

until the timeout, transmits first position data identifying a location of the first mobile device to the second mobile device and transmits second position data identifying a location of the second mobile device to the first mobile device.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the server associates the first user with wireless devices of a list of buddies.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the server sends locations of the wireless devices to the first device.

40. The system of claim 37, wherein the timeout specifies a default value.

41. The system of claim 37, wherein the first user specifies the first device.

42. The system of claim 37, wherein the first mobile device supports a user interface listing the second user and depicting the second location on a maplet.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the first user selects the listing of the second user to center the map on the second user.

44. The system of claim 42, wherein the first user selects the listing of the second user to display details of the second user.