GENERATING GEOFENCES

• US 20140066090A1
• Filed: 09/06/2012
• Published: 03/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Inventors: Henderson, William
• Granted Patent: US 8,965,406 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

A method of generating geofences includes a) storing a plurality of stored locations; b) obtaining a first current location of a mobile device; c) identifying a plurality of nearest locations to the first current location; d) identifying an outermost location and determining an outer bound location, the outer bound location being located farther from the first current location than any of the plurality of nearest locations other than the outermost location; e) generating, for each nearest location except the outermost location, a local geofence around the nearest location; f) generating a triggering geofence around the first current location, the triggering geofence perimeter including at least the plurality of nearest locations other than the outermost location but not including the outer bound location; g) upon detecting that the mobile device has exited the triggering geofence iterating steps b) to f) for a new current location of the mobile device.

Claims

1. A method of generating geofences, comprising:

a) storing a plurality of stored locations;

b) obtaining a first current location of a mobile device;

c) identifying a plurality of nearest locations to the first current location out of the plurality of stored locations;

d) identifying an outermost location of the plurality of nearest locations and determining an outer bound location based on the outermost location, the outer bound location being located farther from the first current location than any of the plurality of nearest locations other than the outermost location;

e) generating, for each nearest location in the plurality of nearest locations except the outermost location, a local geofence around the nearest location;

f) generating a triggering geofence around the first current location, the triggering geofence perimeter including at least the plurality of nearest locations other than the outermost location but not including the outer bound location;

g) upon detecting that the mobile device has exited the triggering geofence iterating steps b) to f) for a new current location of the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, where the nearest locations are merchant locations.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a second current location of the mobile device;

determining the second current location is located inside one of the local geofences; and

generating a notification on the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 3, where the nearest location associated with the local geofence is a merchant, where the notification is an indication that the mobile device is within the local geofence of the merchant, further comprising:

sending the notification to a computer system of the merchant.

5. The method of claim 1, where a radius of the triggering geofence is the distance between the first current location and an outer bound circumference location, the outer bound circumference location being located a distance of a radius of the local geofence from the outermost location.

6. A computer program product encoded on a computer storage medium, operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

a) storing a plurality of stored locations;

b) obtaining a first current location of a mobile device;

c) identifying a plurality of nearest locations to the first current location out of the plurality of stored locations;

d) identifying an outermost location of the plurality of nearest locations and determining an outer bound location based on the outermost location, the outer bound location being located farther from the first current location than any of the plurality of nearest locations other than the outermost location;

e) generating, for each nearest location in the plurality of nearest locations except the outermost location, a local geofence around the nearest location;

f) generating a triggering geofence around the first current location, the triggering geofence perimeter including at least the plurality of nearest locations other than the outermost location but not including the outer bound location;

g) upon detecting that the mobile device has exited the triggering geofence iterating steps b) to f) for a new current location of the mobile device.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, where the nearest locations are merchant locations.

8. The computer program product of claim 6, further comprising:

obtaining a second current location of the mobile device;

determining the second current location is located inside one of the local geofences; and

generating a notification on the mobile device.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, where the nearest location associated with the local geofence is a merchant, where the notification is an indication that the mobile device is within the local geofence of the merchant, further comprising:

sending the notification to a computer system of the merchant.

10. The computer program product of claim 6, where a radius of the triggering geofence is the distance between the first current location and an outer bound circumference location, the outer bound circumference location being located a distance of a radius of the local geofence from the outermost location.

11. A system comprising one or more computers operable to perform operations comprising:

a) storing a plurality of stored locations;

b) obtaining a first current location of a mobile device;

c) identifying a plurality of nearest locations to the first current location out of the plurality of stored locations;

d) identifying an outermost location of the plurality of nearest locations and determining an outer bound location based on the outermost location, the outer bound location being located farther from the first current location than any of the plurality of nearest locations other than the outermost location;

e) generating, for each nearest location in the plurality of nearest locations except the outermost location, a local geofence around the nearest location;

f) generating a triggering geofence around the first current location, the triggering geofence perimeter including at least the plurality of nearest locations other than the outermost location but not including the outer bound location;

g) upon detecting that the mobile device has exited the triggering geofence iterating steps b) to f) for a new current location of the mobile device.

12. The system of claim 11, where the nearest locations are merchant locations.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

obtaining a second current location of the mobile device;

determining the second current location is located inside one of the local geofences; and

generating a notification on the mobile device.

14. The system of claim 13, where the nearest location associated with the local geofence is a merchant, where the notification is an indication that the mobile device is within the local geofence of the merchant, further comprising:

sending the notification to a computer system of the merchant.

15. The system of claim 11, where a radius of the triggering geofence is the distance between the first current location and an outer bound circumference location, the outer bound circumference location being located a distance of a radius of the local geofence from the outermost location.