User Location and Identity Awareness

• US 20150365787A1
• Filed: 06/16/2014
• Published: 12/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Farrell, Corey
• Granted Patent: US 10,440,499 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management

Abstract

Systems and methods for performing actions based on a user'"'"'s location are described. A user profile correlating automated actions with locations may be generated and/or stored. The user'"'"'s location may be determined by determining the location of a device, such as the user'"'"'s mobile device. Several different wireless communication protocols and/or wireless networks (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Cellular, and/or GPS) may be used in a hierarchical manner to determine the user'"'"'s location. When the user'"'"'s location is determined, one or more actions may be performed based on the user'"'"'s location and/or profile. For example, an instruction may be sent to a display device or set-top box located in the same room as the user to turn on the display device or set-top box or to display a content recommendation for the user. As another example, an instruction may be sent to the user'"'"'s home to deactivate a home security system when the user is within a predetermined distance from the home.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

in response to a determination that a location of a user device cannot be determined using a first wireless protocol, attempting to determine the location of the user device using a second wireless protocol; and

in response to a determination of the location of the user device, using a profile of a user associated with the user device to determine an action corresponding to the location of the user device and sending, to a computing device, an instruction to perform the action.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises at least one of a display device and a set-top box, and wherein the action comprises generating a content recommendation for the user associated with the user device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a determination that the location of the user device cannot be determined using the second wireless protocol, attempting to determine the location of the user device using a third wireless protocol.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first wireless protocol comprises a short-range wireless protocol, wherein the second wireless protocol comprises a medium-range wireless protocol, and wherein the third wireless protocol comprises a long-range wireless protocol.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the first wireless protocol comprises Bluetooth, wherein the second wireless protocol comprises Wi-Fi, and wherein the third wireless protocol comprises at least one of a Global Positioning System (GPS) protocol and a cellular protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless protocol comprises Bluetooth, the method further comprising:

in response to a determination that the location of the user device cannot be determined using Bluetooth, determining that the user associated with the user device is not at home.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second wireless protocol comprises Wi-Fi, the method further comprising:

in response to a determination of the location of the user device using a Wi-Fi network at a premises of the user, determining that the user device is within a predetermined distance from the premises.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the action comprises at least one of adjusting a thermostat at the premises, turning on a security system at the premises, and turning off a security system at the premises.

9. A method comprising:

determining a first signal strength of a first wireless transmission between a user device and a first device;

determining a second signal strength of a second wireless transmission between the user device and a second device;

determining a location of the user device based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength, wherein the location is within a premises; and

in response to determining the location of the user device, sending, to a computing device within the premises, an instruction to perform an action corresponding to the location of the user device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first wireless transmission and the second wireless transmission comprise Bluetooth transmissions.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the location of the user device based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength comprises:

in response to a determination that the first signal strength is greater than the second signal strength, determining that the location of the user device is a first room within the premises, wherein the first device is located in the first room.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the location within the premises comprises a room within the premises, and wherein the action comprises turning on at least one of a display device and a set-top box located in the room.

13. A method comprising:

in response to a determination that a location of a device cannot be determined using a first wireless network, attempting to determine the location of the device using a second wireless network; and

in response to a determination of the location of the device, permitting a user of the device to access a group of content items based on the location of the device.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

in response to permitting the user to access the group of content items based on the location of the device, permitting a plurality of other devices to access the group of content items.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of other devices are not located at the location of the device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

in response to a determination that the device is no longer at the location, preventing the plurality of other devices from accessing the group of content items.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the device comprises a first device, and wherein the group of content items comprises a first group of content items, the method further comprising:

in response to a determination that a second device in a same group as the first device is at the location of the first device, permitting the user of the first device and a user of the second device to access the first group of content items and a second group of content items.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

in response to a determination that a third device in the same group as the first and second devices is at the location of the first and second devices, permitting the user of the first device, the user of the second device, and a user of the third device to access the first group of content items, the second group of content items, and a third group of content items.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining whether the device is within a premises associated with the user of the device,

wherein permitting the user of the device to access the group of content items based on the location of the device comprises;

permitting the user of the device to access a first group of content items if the device is within the premises; and

permitting the user of the device to access a second group of content items if the device is not within the premises, wherein the second group of content items is smaller than the first group of content items.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein determining whether the device is within the premises comprises determining whether a Bluetooth signal can be transmitted between the device and a Bluetooth device located in the premises.