Method of configuring a personalized consumer rating area

• US 7,925,547 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2006
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Madurzak, David, Nesladek, Christopher David, Schirmacher, Jay, Goodyear, Todd Frey
• Primary Examiner(s): ALLEN, WILLIAM J
• Application Number:
  US11/489,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20080021950A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,727 Days
• Field of Search: 705 26- 27, 701201-213, 709/201
• US Class Current: 705/26.9
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 Item locations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A method of configuring a personalized geographical area for a user. An electronic system for providing a geographical-based service (e.g., a business directory, mapping, consumer opinions) obtains information regarding locations that can be associated with the user. Such locations may include his home address, the zip code in which he works, a business district he provides or reviews consumer opinions for, an address of an establishment for which he requests a map, etc. Using the various locations associated with the user, a personalized geographical area is configured for the user, to act as his default area when reviewing consumer opinions, requesting business locations and/or other purposes. His personalized area may change over time as the system obtains newer information regarding his activities. The personalized area may be of any size and shape, particularly non-circular, as it may be derived based on travel distances over terrain (i.e., instead of straight-line distance).

Claims

1. A method of defining and applying a geographical area personalized to a user by a computer system, the method comprising:

identifying a plurality of locations associated with the user by the computer system, wherein identifying the plurality of locations comprises;

identifying the plurality of places at which the first user has spent time, and

for each identified place, defining a corresponding location to include a limited geographical area encompassing the place, wherein each location includes an area of a size and shape, the size and shape determined based at least in part on an amount of time the user has spent in the identified place;

defining for the user an irregular personalized geographical area comprising the plurality of locations;

receiving from the user one of;

a request for consumer ratings of one or more establishments; and

a request to identify establishments matching one or more specified criteria; and

presenting the user with responses to the received request for one or more establishments within said personalized geographical area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said personalized geographical area comprises a union of the plurality of locations.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said personalized geographical area comprises a union of the plurality of locations and additional geographical area interconnecting the plurality of locations.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

substantially all points on a border of said personalized geographical area are of substantially equal distance from a logical center of said personalized geographical area; and

the substantially equal distance is measured to include terrain.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying the plurality of locations comprises:

receiving from the user a request for a rating of a specific establishment, wherein the specific establishment is situated within one of the plurality of locations.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying the plurality of locations comprises:

receiving from the user a previous request to identify an establishment, wherein one or more results of the previous request are situated within one or more of the plurality of locations.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying the plurality of locations comprises receiving at least part of a residential address of the user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying the plurality of locations comprises receiving at least part of a work address of the user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying the plurality of locations comprises receiving at least part of an address of an associate of the user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying the plurality of locations comprises receiving a network address of a computing device operated by the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying the plurality of locations comprises receiving geographical coordinates of device operated by the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the device comprises a Global Positioning Satellite receiver.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of defining and applying a geographical area personalized to a user, the method comprising:

identifying a plurality of locations associated with the user, which comprises;

identifying the plurality of places at which the user has spent time, and

for each identified place, defining a corresponding location to include a limited geographical area encompassing the place, wherein each location includes an area of a size and shape, the size and shape determined based at least in part on an amount of time the user has spent in the identified place;

defining for the user an irregular personalized geographical area comprising the plurality of locations;

receiving from the user one of;

a request for consumer ratings of one or more establishments; and

a request to identify establishments matching one or more specified criteria; and

presenting the user with responses to the received request for one or more establishments within said personalized geographical area.

14. A computer system for defining a user'"'"'s personalized geographical area, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled with the processor;

an identifying mechanism configured to identify a plurality of places at which the user has spent time;

a defining mechanism configured to define, for each identified place, a corresponding location to include a limited geographical area encompassing the place, wherein each location includes an are of a size and shape, the size and shape determined based at least in part on an amount of time the user has spent in the identified place; and

wherein the defining mechanism is further configured to define a personalized area of interest of the user that comprises the defined geographical areas; and

a communication module configured to serve to the user information customized to said personalized area of interest.

15. The computer system of claim 14, wherein said identifying mechanism is further configured to receive the locations from the user.

16. The computer system of claim 14, wherein said identifying mechanism is further configured to extract the locations from communications exchanged between the user and the computer system.

17. The computer system of claim 14, wherein each of the identified locations is one of:

an address;

a zip code;

an area code; and

a city.

18. The computer system of claim 14, wherein each of the defined geographical areas is one of:

a street block;

a zip code;

a postal delivery route; and

a city.

19. The computer system of claim 14, wherein said personalized area of interest is a union of the defined geographical areas.

20. The computer system of claim 14, wherein said personalized area of interest is a single geographical area comprising the defined geographical areas.

21. The computer system of claim 14, wherein said personalized area of interest is configured to include multiple points equidistant from a first point.

22. The computer system of claim 21, wherein the distance of the multiple points from the first point is measured by travel distance and not straight line distance.

23. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the served information comprises one or more of:

a consumer rating of an establishment; and

a location of an establishment matching one or more criteria specified by the user.