Place specific buddy list services
First Claim
1. In a data communications network having a plurality of mobile personal information devices, a computer-implemented method of providing a place-and-people based information service, the method comprising:
- receiving reports of locations of mobile personal information devices operated by a user and by people identified on a list for the user, wherein identifying information for each identified person on the list is accessible by the user prior to receiving the reports of locations, and wherein the presence of each identified person on the list indicates previous consent by the respective identified person to share information with the user via the place-and-people based information service; and
using an inference engine to determine based at least in part on the reported locations which of the identified people on the list are within a specified proximity of the user, wherein the specified proximity is independent of geographic distance between the user and the identified peopletransmitting information indicating which of the identified people are within the specified proximity of the user to the user'"'"'s mobile personal information device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An information service provides search and notifications to inform when certain people (e.g., friends, family, business contacts, etc.) are nearby so as to facilitate communications with those people. Users may define lists of people whose locations may be tracked by positioning equipment based on personal communications/computing devices carried by the people. The information service processes this people and place data to identify those of the listed people that are in the user'"'"'s vicinity, and provide notifications and user-initiated search results informing the user such as via the user'"'"'s personal communications/computing device.
359 Citations
29 Claims
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1. In a data communications network having a plurality of mobile personal information devices, a computer-implemented method of providing a place-and-people based information service, the method comprising:
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receiving reports of locations of mobile personal information devices operated by a user and by people identified on a list for the user, wherein identifying information for each identified person on the list is accessible by the user prior to receiving the reports of locations, and wherein the presence of each identified person on the list indicates previous consent by the respective identified person to share information with the user via the place-and-people based information service; and using an inference engine to determine based at least in part on the reported locations which of the identified people on the list are within a specified proximity of the user, wherein the specified proximity is independent of geographic distance between the user and the identified people transmitting information indicating which of the identified people are within the specified proximity of the user to the user'"'"'s mobile personal information device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A place-specific buddy list service system operated on server computers of a distributed data communications network for access from personal data communications computers, the system comprising:
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a database maintaining a people/place state for a user of the service, the people/place state enumerating at least one group of people also using the service and locations of such people, wherein identifying information for each person in the at least one group is accessible by the user prior to receiving reports of the locations of the people in the at least one group, and wherein the presence of each person in the at least one group indicates previous consent by the respective person to share information with the user; a people location tracker operating responsive to reports of the locations of the people to update the people/place state; and an inference engine operating to process the people/place state to infer which of the people in the at least one group are in the user'"'"'s proximity, and to generate a notification for the user having information identifying the people in the at least one group inferred to be in the user'"'"'s proximity, wherein the inference engine infers which people are in the user'"'"'s proximity based at least in part on at least one place context of the user, the at least one place context comprising; the location of the user; and information indicating a current task of the user. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. In a data communications network having a plurality of mobile personal information devices and at least one server computer, a computer-implemented method of providing a resource information service run on the at least one server computer to users operating the mobile personal information devices, comprising:
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defining for a user of the information service a list of resources; receiving reports of locations of the listed resources and a mobile personal information device operated by the user; determining based at least in part on the reported locations which of the listed resources are within a specified proximity of the user, wherein the determining is performed by an inference engine using a place context of the user; and transmitting information identifying which of the listed resources are within the specified proximity of the user to the user'"'"'s mobile personal information device; wherein the place context comprises the location of the user and a current status of the user; wherein the resources are resources other than people; and wherein the determining comprises excluding one or more of the resources from the specified proximity or including one or more of the resources in the specified proximity based on the current status of the user. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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28. In a data communications network having a plurality of mobile personal information devices, a computer-implemented method comprising:
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receiving reports of locations of mobile personal information devices operated by a user and by people identified on a list for the user, wherein identifying information for each identified person on the list is accessible by the user prior to receiving the reports of the locations of the people identified on the list for the user, and wherein the presence of each identified person on the list indicates previous consent by the respective identified person to share information with the user; and determining which of the identified people on the list are within a specified proximity of the user based at least in part on the reported locations, wherein the specified proximity is independent of geographic distance between the user and the listed people; wherein the determining comprises excluding from or including in the specified proximity one or more of the people identified on the list based on a current status of the user. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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Specification