SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PLACING VIRTUAL GEOGRAPHIC ZONE MARKERS

• US 20170018184A1
• Filed: 09/27/2016
• Published: 01/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zonal Systems, LLC
• Original Assignee: Robert L. Pierce II
• Inventors: Northrup, James L., Pierce, Robert L. II
• Granted Patent: US 9,786,176 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3225 Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3237 about the players, e.g. profiling, responsible gaming, strategy/behavior of players, location of players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/326 Game play aspects of gaming systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/144 on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• 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 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 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]

Abstract

A system and method for user interaction includes a network, a server connected to the network, a supervisor device receiving information from a global positioning system and connected to the network, a user device receiving information from the global positioning system and connected to the network. The supervisor, having the supervisor device, defines a set of virtual geographic zones and sub-zones in which the user device is tracked, and saves the set of virtual geographic zones and sub-zones to a supervisor account on the server. The user downloads a user application, sets-up a user account, and downloads the set of virtual geographic zones and sub-zones. As the user, having the user device, moves through the virtual geographic zones and sub-zones the location of the user device is determined and a set of supervisor-defined actions are executed on the user device based on the location of the user device.

Claims

1. A method of using virtual geographic zones, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, by a server, a zone profile from the supervisor device;

sending, by the server, the zone profile and a place profile to a map admin server for approval;

receiving, by the server, a first notification from the map admin server that indicates whether the zone profile was approved;

sending, by the server, a second notification that is to the supervisor device, based on the first notification, and in response to receiving the first notification;

receiving, by the server, a zone profile request from a user device that has entered a zone associated with the zone profile and the place profile;

sending, by the server, zone website information to the user device based on and in response to the zone profile request; and

,

receiving, by the server, a request based on the zone website information and in response to the zone website information being displayed on the user device.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

receiving, by the server from the supervisor device, link information to be included in a map associated with the map admin server.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of:

receiving, by the server from the user device, the zone profile request via the link information for the zone profile information.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

receiving, by the server from the supervisor device, link information that is to be included in a map associated with the map admin server and is to be displayed with a graphical indicator that is a generic marker.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of:

receiving, by the server from the user device, the zone profile request via the link information for the zone profile information in response to a selection of the generic marker.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

receiving, by the server from the supervisor device, link information that is to be included in a map associated with the map admin server and is to be displayed with a graphical indicator that is an active marker.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the marker indicates that the zone that is served by a geo-located Wi-Fi access point device.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of:

receiving, by the server from the user device, the zone profile request via the link information for the zone profile information in response to a selection of the active marker.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of receiving the zone profile comprises:

receiving an inner zone that is associated with an outer zone; and

,

receiving the outer zone.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the zone profile describes a social zone and the method further comprises the steps of:

receiving, by the server and from the user device, an identification of a type that is associated with the user device; and

,

sending, by the server and to the user device, location information of one or more other user devices that are also associated with the type and are within the social zone.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

preventing a navigation system of the user device from planning routes through one of the group of inside and outside an exclusion zone that is described by the zone profile.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

preventing a navigation and routing program of the user device from planning routes through one of the group of inside and outside an exclusion zone that is described by the zone website information.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

displaying a location of an open parking space in a parking garage on a user device;

recording an entry and an exit from the parking lot; and

,

charging an account based on the entry and the exit.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

opening a first toll gate and recording an entrance event to a toll road;

opening a second toll gate and recording an exit event upon exiting the toll road;

recording evidence of the entrance event, the exit event, and a distance traveled event to bill a toll for the use of the toll road; and

,

tracking the user device through one or more zones on a road to monitor a speed of a vehicle associated with the user device.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

communicating, by the user device, with a drone;

preventing the drone from flying within an exclusion zone when the zone website information comprises the exclusion zone; and

,

permitting the drone to fly within an inclusion zone when the zone website information comprises the inclusion zone.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

communicating, by the user device, with an aircraft;

tracking a location of the aircraft through one or more contiguous polyhedral place zones;

controlling, by one or more of the user device and the server, a flight path of the aircraft through the contiguous polyhedral place zones when the aircraft is a drone.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

determining, by the user device, the location of a movable zone based on location information received by the user device from a fixed wireless device identified by the movable zone of the zone profile.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the zone profile comprises an alarm zone and the zone website information comprises an alarm button, and further comprising the steps of:

receiving, by the server, an alarm request sent in response to an alarm signal;

sending the alarm signal from the user device upon activation of an alarm button.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the zone profile is based on the zone information, and further comprising the steps of:

receiving, by the server, a satellite image;

determining, by the server, zone information from the satellite image comprising one or more of a polygon and a polyhedron; and

,

sending, by the server, the zone information to the supervisor device.

20. A system comprising server, a supervisor device, a user device, and a map administrator that are each connected to a network, wherein the server comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the processor cause the server to perform the steps of:

receiving, by the server, a request from the supervisor device to designate a marker of a zone as an active marker of the zone for a geographic area;

sending, by the server, the request to designate a marker as an active marker to the map administrator;

when the request is granted, receiving, by the server, a notification from the map administrator that the active marker will be displayed on a map provided by the map administrator to the user device;

receiving, by the server, a request from the user device based on a selection of the active marker by the user device;

wherein the active marker includes a link to access one or more actions available via the server when the user device is within the geographic area of the zone associated with the active marker.

21. An apparatus that provides wireless network access and location information, the apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a wireless local area network transceiver connected to the processor;

a satellite navigation receiver connected to the processor;

a fixed beacon navigation receiver connected to the processor;

a memory connected to the processor;

wherein the memory stores instructions that when executed by the processor cause the apparatus to;

determine a location of the apparatus;

register the location in a database;

operate as an access point via the wireless local area network transceiver;

connect with a user device via the wireless local area network transceiver;

generate a message that comprises the location of the apparatus, an identifier of the apparatus, and an identifier of the application that generated the message;

encrypt the message so that only an application running on the user device can decrypt the message;

transmit the message to the user device;

wherein the application running on the user device updates the location of a zone based on the decrypted message.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the apparatus is a first apparatus that is part of a system that comprises a second apparatus that provides wireless network access and location information.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the first apparatus is attached to a first fixed point at a first location on a mobile vehicle.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the second apparatus is attached to a second fixed point at a second location on the mobile vehicle.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to:

publish latitude and longitude coordinates of the first location to the user device.

26. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein the first fixed point is associated with a moveable zone for the mobile vehicle.

27. The apparatus of claim 21 further comprising:

a satellite navigation receiver;

an inertial measurement module;

wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to;

determine the location of the apparatus based on information from the satellite navigation receiver and from the inertial measurement module.

28. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to register the location of the apparatus in the database.

29. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to:

publish latitude and longitude coordinates of the location to the user device, which uses the latitude and longitude coordinates to determine a position of the user device regardless of whether the user device is indoors or outdoors.

30. The apparatus of claim 21 further comprising:

an ultra wide band module;

wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to;

send and receive one or more ranging signals via the ultra wide band module to determine a location of a user device.