SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRACKING EVENTS

• US 20130318097A1
• Filed: 05/21/2013
• Published: 11/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gaurav Ahuja, Nitin Gambhir
• Original Assignee: Gaurav Ahuja, Nitin Gambhir
• Inventors: Gambhir, Nitin, Ahuja, Gaurav
• Granted Patent: US 10,430,404 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/746
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2379 Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2477 Temporal data queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

A system and method for keeping track of events. In the preferred embodiment, a counter is created on a mobile device and is set to update one or more values based on the occurrence of a triggering event. The triggering event may be based on the user pressing a button or otherwise interacting with the mobile device, or may be based on other functions of the mobile device, such as the arrival in a particular location as determined by GPS. Counters may be shared with other mobile devices, and data in the counters may be stored on the mobile device or in a remote location. Mobile devices can share data from their counters with other mobile devices, and counters can be set to compare data between different mobile devices. Alerts can be set based on predetermined criteria.

Claims

1. A method for maintaining and updating information on an electronic device, the method comprising:

creating a counter, said counter comprising a name and a first data field, wherein the data field is stored in memory and is identified by a tag;

initializing said data field in said counter;

associating an event with said counter; and

updating the data field upon occurrence of said event, wherein said updating the data field comprises;

reading a value of the data field;

modifying the value; and

storing the value.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a database for storing data associated with each counter.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said updating the data field comprises:

reading a value of the data field that is stored in the database;

modifying the value; and

storing the value in the database.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the event comprises arriving at a predetermined location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the event comprises the arrival of a predetermined date.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the event comprises the arrival of a predetermined time.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising wirelessly communicating information upon occurrence of the event.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the information comprises:

the name of the counter;

the updated value of the data field;

the tag associated with the data field;

a time stamp corresponding to the time the event occurred; and

device identification information.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising wirelessly receiving second information from a second electronic device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second information comprises:

a name of a second counter;

an updated value of a second data field;

a tag associated with the second data field;

a time stamp corresponding to the time a second event occurred; and

second device identification information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a comparison value is determined by comparing the updated value of a second data field to the updated value of the data field.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising triggering an alert if the comparison value meets a predetermined criterion.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a role within the counter;

associating the role with another device.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

wirelessly receiving second information from a second electronic device; and

determining if the second electronic device is associated with a role in the counter.

22. The system of claim 1, further comprising a wireless communication device, wherein the wireless communication device receives second information from a second electronic device.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the second information comprises:

a name of a second counter;

a modified value of a second data field;

a tag associated with the second data field;

a time stamp corresponding to the time a second event occurred; and

second device identification information.

24. The system of claim 23, further comprising a value comparator that created a compared value by comparing the modified value of a second data field to the modified value of the data field.

25. The system of claim 24 further comprising triggering an alert if the compared value meets a predetermined criterion.

15. A system for maintaining and updating a counter on an electronic device, the system comprising:

a database;

an electronic device comprising an input device and a memory device, said electronic device capable of communicating with the database;

an event counter created on the electronic device and stored in the memory device and associated with an event, wherein the event counter comprises a name and a data field, each data field identified by a tag and initialized with a value;

an event detector; and

an event updater that modifies the value in the data field when the event associated with the event counter is detected by the event detector.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the event updater further comprises:

reading a value of the data field that is stored in the database;

modifying the value; and

storing the value in the database.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the event detected is the arrival at a predetermined location.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the event detected is the arrival at a predetermined date.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the event detected is the arrival at a predetermined time.

20. The system of claim 15, further comprising a wireless communication device, wherein the wireless communication device transmits information when the event associated with the event counter is detected by the event detector.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the information comprises:

the name of the counter;

the updated value of the data field;

the tag associated with the data field;

a time stamp corresponding to the time the event occurred; and

device identification information.