LOCATION RESTRICTED MESSAGE EXCHANGE SYSTEM

• US 20150006648A1
• Filed: 07/01/2013
• Published: 01/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cao, Koson
• Granted Patent: US 9,819,627 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing location-restricted message exchange include receiving, by a system provider device over a network from a sender device, a location-restricted message that includes sender message information and first location information that is associated with a first location. The system provider device then receives, over the network from a first receiver device, second location information that is associated with a second location. The system provider device then determines that the second location is in a limited geographic message exchange area with the first location and, in response, sends at least some of the sender message information by the system provider device over the network to the first receiver device. They system provider device may use filtering criteria provided by the first or second receiver device and use that filtering criteria to determine whether to send the sender message information to the first or second receiver device.

Claims

1. A location-restricted message exchange system, comprising:

a non-transitory memory storing information defining a limited geographic message exchange area;

one or more hardware processors coupled to the memory and operable to read instructions from the memory to perform the steps of;

receiving, over a network from a sender device, a location-restricted message that includes sender message information and first location information that is associated with a first location;

receiving, over the network from a first receiver device, second location information that is associated with a second location;

determining that the second location is in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location; and

sending at least some of the sender message information over the network to the first receiver device in response to the second location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first location information includes location coordinates generated by the sender device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are operable to read instructions from the memory to perform the steps of:

receiving at least one filtering criteria over the network from the first receiver device, wherein the at least some of the sender message information is sent over the network to the first receiver device in response to the sender message information satisfying the at least one filtering criteria and the second location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are operable to read instructions from the memory to perform the steps of:

providing, over the network to the first receiver device, a graphical display of the limited geographic message exchange area that includes an indication of the first location.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are operable to read instructions from the memory to perform the steps of:

receiving, over the network from a second receiver device, third location information that is associated with a third location;

determining that the third location is in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location; and

sending at least some of the sender message information over the network to the second receiver device in response to the third location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are operable to read instructions from the memory to perform the steps of:

receiving, over the network from the first receiver device, a location-restricted response message that includes receiver message information;

receiving, over the network from a second receiver device, third location information that is associated with a third location;

determining that the third location is in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location and the second location; and

sending at least some of the receiver message information over the network to the sender device, and sending the at least some of the receiver message information over the network to the second receiver device in response to the third location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location and the second location.

7. A method for providing location-restricted message exchange, comprising:

receiving, by a system provider device over a network from a sender device, a location-restricted message that includes sender message information and first location information that is associated with a first location;

receiving, by the system provider device over the network from a first receiver device, second location information that is associated with a second location;

determining, by the system provider device, that the second location is in a limited geographic message exchange area with the first location; and

sending at least some of the sender message information by the system provider device over the network to the first receiver device in response to the second location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first location information includes location coordinates generated by the sender device.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving at least one filtering criteria by the system provider device over the network from the first receiver device, wherein the at least some of the sender message information is sent by the system provider device over the network to the first receiver device in response to the sender message information satisfying the at least one filtering criteria and the second location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

providing, by the system provider device over the network to the first receiver device, a graphical display of the limited geographic message exchange area that includes an indication of the first location.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, by the system provider device over the network from a second receiver device, third location information that is associated with a third location;

determining, by the system provider device, that the third location is in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location; and

sending at least some of the sender message information by the system provider device over the network to the second receiver device in response to the third location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, by the system provider device over the network from the first receiver device, a location-restricted response message that includes receiver message information;

receiving, by the system provider device over the network from a second receiver device, third location information that is associated with a third location;

determining, by the system provider device, that the third location is in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location and the second location; and

sending at least some of the receiver message information by the system provider device over the network to the sender device, and sending the at least some of the receiver message information over the network to the second receiver device in response to the third location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location and the second location.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the limited geographic message exchange area includes a venue having a plurality of sections, a plurality of rows associated with each section, and a plurality of seats associated with each row, and wherein the first location information identifies a particular section of the plurality of sections, a particular row of the plurality of rows in the particular section, and a particular seat of the plurality of seats in the particular section in the particular row.

14. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, are adapted to cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

receiving, over a network from a sender device, a location-restricted message that includes sender message information and first location information that is associated with a first location;

receiving, over the network from a first receiver device, second location information that is associated with a second location;

determining that the second location is in a limited geographic message exchange area with the first location; and

sending at least some of the sender message information over the network to the first receiver device in response to the second location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first location information includes location coordinates generated by the sender device.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving at least one filtering criteria over the network from the first receiver device, wherein the at least some of the sender message information is sent by the system provider device over the network to the first receiver device in response to the sender message information satisfying the at least one filtering criteria and the second location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

providing, over the network to the first receiver device, a graphical display of the limited geographic message exchange area that includes an indication of the first location.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, over the network from a second receiver device, third location information that is associated with a third location;

determining that the third location is in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location; and

sending at least some of the sender message information over the network to the second receiver device in response to the third location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, over the network from the first receiver device, a location-restricted response message that includes receiver message information;

receiving, over the network from a second receiver device, third location information that is associated with a third location;

determining that the third location is in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location and the second location; and

sending at least some of the receiver message information over the network to the sender device, and sending the at least some of the receiver message information over the network to the second receiver device in response to the third location being in the limited geographic message exchange area with the first location and the second location.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the limited geographic message exchange area includes a venue having a plurality of sections, a plurality of rows associated with each section, and a plurality of seats associated with each row, and wherein the first location information identifies a particular section of the plurality of sections, a particular row of the plurality of rows in the particular section, and a particular seat of the plurality of seats in the particular section in the particular row.