Location-Based Notification

• US 20140297773A1
• Filed: 06/16/2014
• Published: 10/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Dyor, Matthew Graham
• Granted Patent: US 9,608,955 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

Location-based notification includes establishment of a rally point and subsequent notification of a user when another user enters the rally point. Senders may set up rally points at various physical locations and specify one or more target recipients that are to be notified when the sender enters the rally point. Target recipients may specify communication settings that dictate whether and/or how they wish to receive notifications under a variety of circumstances. When a sender having a computing device enters a rally point location, a notification is sent from the computing device to a location-based notification service, which notifies each of the target recipients in a manner that complies with the target recipient'"'"'s individual communication settings.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. One or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing device, configure the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

monitoring locations of multiple users over time;

determining locations at which the multiple users have met in the past;

generating a rally proposal to propose a meeting between the multiple users at one of the determined locations at which the multiple users have met in the past; and

sending the rally proposal to the multiple users.

3. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 2, the rally proposal being based at least in part on:

a time since a last meeting between the multiple users;

schedules of the multiple users in one or more appointment calendars of the multiple users;

a weather forecast;

explicit preferences of the multiple users specified in user profiles of the multiple users;

or

implicit preferences based on meetings that the multiple users have attended or declined in the past.

4. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 2, the rally proposal comprising a proposed date, time, and location for the meeting.

5. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 2, wherein generating the rally point further comprising:

determining whether one of the multiple users has requested a rally proposal; and

based at least in part on determining that no users of the multiple users has requested a rally proposal, checking whether a predetermined time threshold has passed since the multiple users have last met.

6. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein based at least in part on determining that one of the multiple users has requested a rally proposal:

establishing a rally proposal at least partly in response to receiving the request from the one of the multiple users; and

storing the rally proposal in memory in association with the one of the determined locations and the identification of the multiple users.

7. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 2, wherein the locations comprise geographical coordinate locations.

8. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 2, wherein the locations comprise point of interests or street addresses.

9. A method implemented at least partially by one or more processors, the method comprising:

monitoring locations of multiple users over time;

determining one or more locations at which the multiple users have previously met;

generating a meeting proposal to propose a meeting between the multiple users at one of the determined locations at which the multiple users have previously met, wherein generating is based at least in part on one of;

determining whether one of the multiple users has requested a rally proposal;

determining that no users of the multiple users has requested a rally proposal, checking whether a predetermined time threshold has passed since the multiple users have last met; and

sending the rally proposal to the multiple users.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving a user profile from one of the multiple users specifying communication settings for the one of the multiple users.

11. The method of claim 10, the profile specifying available communication modes usable to send notifications to the multiple user, and times at which the multiple user is available to receive notifications.

12. The method of claim 11, the profile further specifying a particular communication mode to be used for a notification, based at least in part on a date and time of the notification and/or a location of the multiple users.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein sending the rally proposal further comprising sending a notification to the multiple users when a first user of the multiple users is at the one of the determined locations.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the meeting proposal being based at least in part on:

a time since a last meeting between the multiple users;

schedules of the multiple users in one or more appointment calendars of the multiple users;

a weather forecast;

explicit preferences of the multiple users specified in user profiles of the multiple users;

or

implicit preferences based on meetings that the multiple users have attended or declined in the past.

15. A system comprising:

a memory;

one or more processors coupled to the memory to perform acts comprising;

monitoring locations of multiple users over time;

determining locations at which the multiple users have rallied in the past;

generating a rally proposal to propose a rally between the multiple users at one of the determined locations at which the multiple users have rallied in the past, wherein the rally proposal being based at least in part on a time since a last rally between the multiple users; and

sending the rally proposal to the multiple users.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein generating the rally proposal further based at least in part on:

schedules of the multiple users in one or more appointment calendars of the multiple users;

a weather forecast;

explicit preferences of the multiple users specified in user profiles of the multiple users;

or

implicit preferences based on meetings that the multiple users have attended or declined in the past.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein generating the rally proposal further comprises:

receiving, from one of the multiple users, a request to establish a rally point, the request including;

an identification of the one of the multiple users;

a location for the rally point;

identification of one or more target recipients of the multiple users to be notified when the one of the multiple users is at the rally point; and

a sensitivity of the rally point specifying an amount of time the one of the multiple users is to be present at the rally point before a notification is sent;

receiving, from each of the one or more target recipients, a recipient profile specifying a particular communication mode to be used to send the notification to the target recipient when the one of the multiple users is at the rally point;

receiving an indication that the one of the multiple users is at the rally point;

sending, based at least in part on receiving the indication, a rally point request to the one or more target recipients, the request sent based at least in part on the particular communication mode specified;

receiving an acceptance of the rally point request from at least one of the one or more target recipients;

establishing a rally point at least partly in response to receiving the acceptance from the at least one of the one or more target recipients; and

storing the rally point in memory in association with the location and the identifications of the one of the multiple users and the one or more target recipients.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising, in response to determining that the at least one of the one or more target recipients and the one of the multiple users are both at or en route to the rally point:

prompting the one of the multiple users to initiate a communication session with at least one of the one or more the target recipients;

prompting the at least one of the target recipients to initiate a communication session with the one of the multiple users;

or

automatically initiating a communication session between the at least one of the target recipients and the one of the multiple users.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the rally proposal comprises a proposed date, time, and location for the rally.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the rally proposal comprises one or more of the following:

a duration that one of the multiple users expects to stay at the rally point;

the multiple users expected to be at the rally point; and

a geographical boundary of the rally point.

21. The system of claim 15, further comprising storing the rally point in memory in association with the location and the identifications of the multiple users.