LOCATION INFORMATION SHARING METHOD AND APPARATUS

• US 20160277885A1
• Filed: 05/31/2016
• Published: 09/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tencent Technology Company Limited (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Original Assignee: Tencent Technology Company Limited (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Inventors: SHAN, YI, ZHUO, DACHENG, WU, LIANG, WANG, JUN, CHEN, PINLIN, LI, LING
• Granted Patent: US 9,686,645 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 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

The present disclosure discloses a location information sharing method. The method includes: initiating by a first terminal a location sharing session; waiting for a second terminal to join the location sharing session; receiving previous location information of the second terminal after the second terminal joins the location sharing session, and displaying the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using the previous location information of the second terminal; receiving current location information of a second terminal; updating on the location display area of the first terminal, the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using previous location information of the second terminal to a current location of the second terminal that is marked by using the current location information; and displaying on the location display area of the first terminal a voice communication interface for providing voice communication simultaneously within the location sharing session.

Claims

1. A location information sharing method, comprising:

initiating, by a first terminal, a location sharing session;

waiting, by the first terminal, for a second terminal to join the location sharing session;

receiving, by the first terminal, previous location information of the second terminal after the second terminal joins the location sharing session, and displaying, on a location display area of the first terminal, the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using the previous location information of the second terminal;

receiving, by a first terminal, current location information of a second terminal;

updating, by the first terminal and on the location display area of the first terminal, the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using previous location information of the second terminal to a current location of the second terminal that is marked by using the current location information, wherein the previous location information is received by the first terminal before receiving the current location information; and

displaying, by the first terminal, on the location display area of the first terminal a voice communication interface for providing voice communication simultaneously within the location sharing session.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

sending, by the first terminal, current location information of the first terminal to the second terminal, so that the second terminal updates, on a location display area of the second terminal, a previous location of the first terminal that is marked by using previous location information of the first terminal to a current location of the first terminal that is marked by using the current location information of the first terminal, wherein the previous location information of the first terminal is received by the second terminal previously.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein when the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using the previous location information of the second terminal is displayed on the location display area of the first terminal, the method further comprises:

displaying the current location or the previous location of the first terminal on the location display area of the first terminal;

or

displaying the current location or the previous location of the first terminal and a current location or a previous location of a third terminal on another location display area of the first terminal different from the location display area of the first terminal, wherein the third terminal joins, in advance of the second terminal, the location sharing session initiated by the first terminal.

4. The method according to claim 1, before the receiving, by a first terminal, current location information of a second terminal, further comprising:

joining, by the first terminal, a location sharing session initiated by the second terminal; and

receiving, by the first terminal, the previous location information of the second terminal after joining the location sharing session, and displaying, on the location display area of the first terminal, the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using the previous location information of the second terminal.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein when the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using the previous location information of the second terminal is displayed on the location display area of the first terminal, the method further comprises:

displaying the current location or the previous location of the first terminal on the location display area of the first terminal.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving and playing, by the first terminal, voice information sent by the second terminal; and

/or

sending, by the first terminal, voice information to the second terminal, so that the second terminal receives and plays the voice information sent by the first terminal.

7. The method according to claim 6, before the receiving and playing, by the first terminal, voice information sent by the second terminal, further comprising:

identifying on the first terminal that the voice information comes from the second terminal.

8. The method according to claim 6, before the sending, by the first terminal, voice information to the second terminal, further comprising:

identifying a failure on the first terminal when the first terminal fails in sending the voice information to the second terminal.

9. A location information sharing apparatus, comprising:

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more units stored in the memory and to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more units comprising;

a receiving unit, configured to receive current location information of a second terminal;

an updating unit, configured to update, on a location display area of the first terminal, a previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using previous location information of the second terminal to a current location of the second terminal that is marked by using the current location information, wherein the previous location information is received by the first terminal before receiving the current location information;

an initiation unit, configured to initiate a location sharing session before the first terminal receives the current location information of the second terminal;

a waiting unit, configured to wait for the second terminal to join the location sharing session;

a first receiving unit, configured to receive the previous location information of the second terminal after the second terminal joins the location sharing session; and

a first displaying unit, configured to display, on the location display area of the first terminal, the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using the previous location information of the second terminal,

wherein the first terminal displays on the location display area of the first terminal a voice communication interface for providing voice communication simultaneously within the location sharing session.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

a first sending unit, configured to send current location information of the first terminal to the second terminal, so that the second terminal updates, on a location display area of the second terminal, a previous location of the first terminal that is marked by using previous location information of the first terminal to a current location of the first terminal that is marked by using the current location information of the first terminal, wherein the previous location information of the first terminal is received by the second terminal previously.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a second displaying unit, configured to display the current location or the previous location of the first terminal on the location display area of the first terminal when the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using the previous location information of the second terminal is displayed on the location display area of the first terminal;

or

a third displaying unit, configured to display the current location or the previous location of the first terminal and a current location or a previous location of a third terminal on another location display area of the first terminal different from the location display area of the first terminal, wherein the third terminal joins, in advance of the second terminal, the location sharing session initiated by the first terminal.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

a joining unit, configured to join, before the first terminal receives the current location information of the second terminal, a location sharing session initiated by the second terminal;

a second receiving unit, configured to receive the previous location information of the second terminal after the first terminal joins the location sharing session; and

a fourth displaying unit, configured to display, on the location display area of the first terminal, the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using the previous location information of the second terminal.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

a fifth displaying unit, configured to display the current location or the previous location of the first terminal on the location display area of the first terminal when the previous location of the second terminal that is marked by using the previous location information of the second terminal is displayed on the location display area of the first terminal.

14. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

a receiving and playing unit, configured to receive and play voice information sent by the second terminal;

a second sending unit, configured to send voice information to the second terminal, so that the second terminal receives and plays the voice information sent by the first terminal.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a first identifying unit, configured to;

identify, when the first terminal receives and plays the voice information sent by the second terminal, on the first terminal that the voice information comes from the second terminal.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a second identifying unit, configured to identify a failure on the first terminal when the first terminal fails in sending the voice information to the second terminal.