LOCATION-BASED AUDIO MESSAGING

• US 20150382138A1
• Filed: 06/26/2014
• Published: 12/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Bose, Raja, Lester, Jonathan, Bhargava, Ruchita, Koishida, Kazuhito, Horii, Hiroshi, Holtmann, Michelle L., Chen, Christina
• Granted Patent: US 10,721,594 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0259 based on store location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• 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 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72433 for voice messaging, e.g. dictaphones for answering incoming calls H04M1/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42357 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

Mobile devices provide a variety of techniques for presenting messages from sources to a user. However, when the message pertains to the presence of the user at a location, the available communications techniques may exhibit deficiencies, e.g., reliance on the memory of the source and/or user of the existence and content of a message between its initiation and the user'"'"'s visit to the location, or reliance on the communication accessibility of the user, the device, and/or the source during the user'"'"'s location visit. Presented herein are techniques for enabling a mobile device, at a first time, to receive a request to present an audio message during the presence of the user at a location; and, at a second time, detecting the presence of the user at the location, and presenting the audio message to the user, optionally without awaiting a request from the user to present the message.

Claims

1. A method of presenting an audio message to a user of a mobile device having a processor, the method comprising:

executing on the processor instructions that cause the mobile device to;

upon receiving a request to present an audio message from a source to the user during a presence of the user at a location, store the request; and

upon detecting a presence of the user at the location, present the audio message to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the request specifies the location as a location type; and

detecting the presence of the user at the location further comprises;

detecting the presence of the user at a location of the location type.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the request further specifies a condition; and

presenting the audio message further comprises;

upon detecting a presence of the user at the location;

evaluating the condition specified in the request; and

upon determining a condition fulfillment of the message, presenting the audio message to the user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the condition comprises a time range of the presence of the user at the location; and

determining the condition fulfillment further comprises;

upon detecting the presence of the user at the location during the time range, present the audio message to the user.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the condition comprises an event having a time range; and

determining the condition fulfillment further comprises;

upon detecting the presence of the user at the location during the time range of the event, present the audio message to the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the instructions further causes the mobile device to, upon presenting the audio message to the user, notify the source that the audio message has been presented to the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the audio message further comprises, upon detecting the presence of the user at the location:

notifying the source of the presence of the user at the location; and

upon receiving the audio message from the source, presenting the audio message to the user.

8. A mobile device that presents audio messages to a user, comprising:

a memory;

a speaker positionable near an ear of the user;

an audio message receiver that, upon receiving a request to present an audio message from a source to the user during a presence of the user at a location, stores the request in the memory;

a location monitor that compares a current location of the user with the location of the request; and

an audio message presenter that, upon the location monitor detecting a presence of the user at the location, presents the audio message to the user.

9. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein:

the request comprises a text message from the source to be presented as an audio message; and

the audio message presenter presents the audio message by translating the text message into a speech message.

10. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein:

the mobile device further comprises a whitelist comprising at least one authorized source; and

the audio message receiver stores the request only upon verifying that the source is an authorized source according to the whitelist.

11. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the audio message presenter presents the audio message to the user by:

determining whether the user is interacting with at least one individual at the location; and

upon determining that the user is not interacting with at least one individual at the location, presenting the audio message to the user.

12. The mobile device of claim 8, further comprising:

a response transmitter that, upon receiving from the user a response to the audio message, send the response to the source.

13. The mobile device of claim 12, wherein:

after the audio message presenter presents the audio message to the user, the response transmitter presents to the user an offer to accept a response to the audio message; and

the response transmitter, upon detecting an acceptance of the offer, receives the response to the audio message from the user.

14. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein:

the offer comprises at least one response option; and

the response transmitter, upon receiving from the user a selection of a selected response option, sends to the source a response according to the selected response option.

15. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein:

the respective response options are associated with an option gesture; and

the mobile device comprises a gesture detector that, upon detecting a selected option gesture performed by the user, informs the response transmitter of the selection response option that is associated with the selected option gesture.

16. A method of configuring a server having a processor to deliver audio messages to a user of a mobile device, the method comprising:

executing on the processor instructions that cause the server to;

register a mobile device associated with the user that is capable of presenting audio messages to the user; and

upon receiving from a request from a source to present to the user an audio message associated with a location, send the audio message to the mobile device for presentation during a presence of the user at the location.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the request specifies at least two users respectively having a mobile device; and

sending the audio message further comprises;

sending the audio message to the respective device of the at least two users.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein:

executing the instructions further causes the server to;

upon receiving from a user a request to subscribe to the audio messages of the source, store the user as a subscriber of the source; and

upon receiving from a subscriber a request to unsubscribe to the audio messages of the source, remove the user as a subscriber of the source; and

sending the audio message further comprises;

sending the request to the mobile device of the subscribers of the source.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein sending the audio message further comprises:

upon receiving the request, store the request;

monitor a current location of the mobile device of the user; and

upon detecting that the current location of the mobile device matches the location of the request, send the audio message to the mobile device for presentation to the user.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein executing the instructions further causes the server to, upon receiving from the user a response to the audio message, send the response to the source.