System and method for providing location-relevant services using stored location information

• US 6,583,716 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2001
• Issued: 06/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gulati, Steve, Balasuriya, Senaka, Rangarajan, Jayanthi
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland, Donnie L.
• Application Number:
  US09/930,357
• Publication Number:
  US 20030034879A1
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• Field of Search: 340/7.52, 340/7.29, 340/7.56, 340/990, 340/995, 340/5.8, 340/5.86, 707/10, 707/104.1, 701/208, 701/209, 701/200, 701/210
• US Class Current: 340/7.56
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A method for storing geographic information at a communication node is provided. Geographic data is received and an authentication request to a geographic authentication database in communication with the communication node is transmitted. An authentication response is then received and the geographic data is stored in a storage database in communication with the communication node. Systems and programs for storing geographic information are also provided.

Claims

1. A method for storing geographic information at a communication node, comprising:

receiving geographic data;

transmitting an authentication request to a geographic authentication database in communication with the communication node;

receiving an authentication response regarding the geographic data; and

in response to receiving the authentication response, storing the geographic data in a storage database in communication with the communication node.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the geographic data is selected from the group consisting of:

a latitude and longitude measurement, a cell and sector identification, an address, an intersection, a combined city/state/country identification, a street name combined with a street number, a highway exit number, a highway road marker number, a landmark, and a point of interest.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the authentication request includes the geographic data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the authentication response confirms that the geographic data corresponds to an actual location.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein when the authentication response confirms that the geographic data does not correspond to an actual location, the method further comprising:

notifying a user in communication with the communication node that the geographic data does not correspond to the actual location.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

aborting communication between the user and the communication node.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the geographic data is associated with an identifier.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the authentication request includes the identifier.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

verifying that the identifier is unique.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the identifier is generated automatically.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the identifier is generated by a user.

12. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

storing the identifier in the storage database in communication with the communication node.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

receiving, at the communication node, the identifier;

forwarding the identifier to the storage database in communication with the communication node; and

retrieving the geographic data from the storage database using the identifier.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

forwarding the geographic data to a user in communication with the communication node.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

processing the geographic data.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

translating the geographic data to a latitude and longitude measurement.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

refining the geographic data based on the authentication response.

18. Computer readable medium storing a program for storing geographic information at a communication node, comprising:

computer readable program code that receives geographic data;

computer readable program code that transmits an authentication request including the geographic data to a geographic authentication database in communication with the communication node;

computer readable program code that generates an authentication response regarding the geographic data; and

computer readable program code that, in response to detecting the authentication response, stores the geographic data in a storage database in communication with the communication node.

19. The program of claim 18 further comprising:

computer readable program code that associates an identifier with the geographic data.

20. The program of claim 18 further comprising:

computer readable program code that processes the geographic data based on the authentication response.