System for Creating Anonymous Social Gatherings

• US 20150256976A1
• Filed: 05/26/2015
• Published: 09/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gary Fernandes, Jeffrey Scuba
• Original Assignee: Gary Fernandes, Jeffrey Scuba
• Inventors: Fernandes, Gary, Scuba, Jeffrey
• Granted Patent: US 9,357,350 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• 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: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/64 using geofenced areas
• 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 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A system for creating an anonymous social gathering of 3 or more persons. The system has a server digital device and a client digital device both operatively connected to a distributed network and thus to each other. The client device is configured to display an electronic mapping received from the server digital device through the distributed network and the electronic mapping displays at least one selectable geolocation indicator. Each geolocation indicator represents an indicated location of a gathering of at least two anonymous portable digital devices. The electronic mapping is configured to display indicator identification information on the user device for the momentarily selected indicator.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating social gatherings for a common-interest community of anonymous portable device users, the method comprising:

storing in a tangible computer-readable storage medium information associating each of a plurality of portable digital devices to one or more common-interest communities;

receiving, by a computing device from a wide area network, information indicative of the geographic location of selected ones of the plurality of portable digital devices;

determining, by a computing device, that a preselected number of portable digital devices which are each associated to a selected community have entered within a preselected proximity to at least one other portable digital device associated with the selected community; and

when the preselected number of portable digital devices which are each associated to the selected community have entered within the preselected proximity to at least one other portable digital device associated with the selected community, sending, by a computing device, information configured to create a display of a geographic location for the selectedly proximate digital devices to other portable digital devices which are associated with the selected community.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the display is selected from the group of displays consisting of a map with geographic icons and a textual list of geographic locations.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing, by a computing device, in a tangible computer-readable storage medium, the total number of selectedly proximate digital devices in a selected geographic area;

receiving, by a computing device from a wide area network, information indicative of the geographic location of each of the selectedly proximate portable digital devices;

determining, by a computing device, if a selectedly proximate portable digital devices leaves the preselected proximity to at least one other portable digital device; and

storing, by a computing device in the storage medium, an adjusted total number of selectedly proximate digital devices in the selected geographic area.

4. A method for locating a social gathering of a common-interest community, while remaining anonymous as a user, the method comprising:

sending, by a portable digital device, information configured to register the portable digital device with a service for facilitating social gatherings;

sending, by the portable digital device, information configured to select one or more communities of interest;

sending, by the portable digital device, signal usable to determine the geographic location of the portable digital device; and

receiving, by the portable digital device, information configured to create a display of a geographic location for a plurality of portable digital devices, each of which are associated with the selected community, and each of which are also within a selected proximity to at least one other portable digital device associated with the selected community.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the display is selected from the group of displays consisting of a map with geographic icons and a textual list of geographic locations.

6. A system for facilitating social gatherings for a common-interest community of anonymous portable device users, the system comprising:

a wide area network;

a network interface;

a tangible computer-accessible storage medium;

a processor coupled to the network interface and the storage medium;

a set of instructions stored in the storage medium, which, when executed by the processor cause the processor to;

store, in the storage medium, information associating each of a plurality of portable digital devices to one or more common-interest communities;

receive information indicative of the geographic location of selected ones of the plurality of portable digital devices;

determine that a preselected number of portable digital devices which are each associated to a selected community have each entered within a preselected proximity to at least one other portable digital device associated with the selected community; and

when the preselected number of portable digital devices which are each associated to the selected community have entered within the preselected proximity to at least one other portable digital device, send information over the wide area network through the network interface, the information being configured to create a display of a geographic location for the selectedly proximate digital devices to other portable digital devices which are associated with the selected community.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the display is selected from the group of displays consisting of a map with geographic icons and a textual list of geographic locations.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the set of instructions when executed by the processor further cause the processor to:

store, in the storage medium, the total number of selectedly proximate digital devices in a selected geographic area;

receive information indicative of the geographic location of each of the selectedly proximate portable digital devices;

determine if a selectedly proximate portable digital devices leaves the preselected proximity to at least one other portable digital device; and

store, in the storage medium, an adjusted total number of selectedly proximate digital devices in the selected geographic area.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the set of instructions when executed by the processor further cause the processor to send over the wide area network information configured to create a display indicative of rewards, the rewards being determined by a second selected number of portable digital devices selectedly proximate within a geographic location.