Searching and route mapping based on a social network, location, and time

• US 8,108,501 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2006
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Birnie, Paul Robert, Fortescue, Murray Blake
• Primary Examiner(s): JACOBS, LASHONDA T
• Application Number:
  US11/555,672
• Publication Number:
  US 20080104227A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,917 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/224, 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 455/456
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A device, system, and method are directed towards providing location information from a social network. A GPS coordinate and a search criterion are received from a client device associated with a member of a social network. The social network is searched for another member associated with a location name based on the GPS coordinate and the search criterion. The location name may be a sponsored advertisement. The location name is provided to the client device. A communication may be enabled between the member and the other member. Moreover, a start and end location may also be received. The GPS coordinate and/or search criterion may be associated with either the start or end location. The searched location name is used to determine a location of interest. A route is determined between the start and end location and through the location of interest. The route is provided to the client device.

Claims

1. A method for providing location description over a network, comprising:

receiving, by a processor, from a client device associated with a member of a social network, a start location, an end location, a Geo Positioning System (GPS) coordinate and search criteria;

searching, by the processor, the social network for another member associated with a location name that is relevant to the GPS coordinate and the search criteria;

determining, by the processor, a location of interest based on the location name;

ordering, by the processor, each search that provides a plurality of location name results based at least in part on a degree of separation between the member and the other members associated with the plurality of location name results; and

providing, by the processor, the ordered plurality of location name results to the member associated with the client device and providing a route between the start location and the end location generated to include the location of interest.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein searching the social network further comprises:

determining whether another GPS coordinate associated with the location name is within a proximity to the GPS coordinate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein searching further comprises:

determining a local time based on the GPS coordinate and on a time of receiving the GPS coordinate and the search criteria; and

determining whether the local time is within a range of a time associated with the location name.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein searching the social network comprises;

providing the location name and location description associated with the location name as part of a search result in a plurality of search results;

filtering at least one search result from the plurality of search results if the at least one search result fails to match at least a part of the search criteria;

ordering the plurality of search results based on at least one of a degree of separation between the member and the other member associated with the at least one search result, an amount of match of the search criteria, a relevancy score, a status of the at least one search result as a sponsored advertisement, an origin of the at least one search result, or a rating associated with the at least one search result.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from the other member a payment for associating another GPS coordinate with the location name in the social network, wherein the other GPS coordinate is within a proximity to the GPS coordinate; and

indicating the location name as a sponsored advertisement in a plurality of search results.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein either the start location or the end location is associated with the GPS coordinate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the route between the start location and the end location is generated after the location of interest has been determined.

8. A method for providing location description over a network, comprising:

receiving, by the processor, from a client device associated with a member of a social network, a start location and an end location;

determining, by the processor, a GPS coordinate based on the start location or the end location;

determining, by the processor, a search criterion based on a location description associated with the start location or the end location;

searching, by the processor, the social network for at least one of a plurality of members and at least one of a plurality of locations of interest based on the GPS coordinate and the search criterion, wherein the at least one location of interest has been identified in the social network as relevant to another member, and wherein searching that provides a plurality of location of interest results that is ordered based at least in part on a degree of separation between the member and the at least one of the plurality of members; and

determining, by the processor, a route between the start location and the end location and through the location of interest based at least on the ordered plurality of location of interest results; and

providing, by the processor, the route to the client device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein providing a location name associated with the GPS coordinate comprises pushing to the client device, the location name, or pulling by the client device, the location name.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the search criterion includes a query string, a search distance, a search time, a rating level, a community filter for the social network, or a time of last update of the location name or of the location description.

11. A network device for providing location description over a network, comprising:

a transceiver to send and receive data over the network; and

a processor that is operative to perform actions, comprising;

receiving, from a client device associated with a member of a social network, a start location, an end location, and a geographical coordinate, wherein the geographical coordinate identifies a geographical location of the client device;

searching the social network for at least one other of a plurality of social network members associated with a location name based in part on a determination of whether the geographical coordinate is within a proximity to another geographical coordinate associated with the location name, and wherein searching that provides a plurality of location name results that is ordered based at least in part on a degree of separation between the member and the at least one other of the plurality of members;

determining a location of interest based on the location name;

determining a route between the start location and the end location that includes the location of interest

providing the location name and the route to the client device; and

receiving from the at least one other member a payment for associating the other geographical coordinate and the location name with the other member in the social network, wherein the geographical coordinate is within a proximity to the other geographical coordinate.

12. The network device of claim 11, wherein searching the social network for the other member associated with the location name comprises;

providing the location name and location description associated with the location name as part of a search result in the plurality of ordered search results; and

modifying the plurality of ordered search results based in part on a match of at least one search result of the plurality of ordered search results with a search criterion received form the client device, and further based on relevancy information associated with the at least one search result.

13. The network device of claim 11, wherein the processor is further operative to perform actions comprising identifying the location name as a sponsored advertisement in the plurality of ordered search results.

14. The network device of claim 11, wherein searching the social network comprises performing a depth-first search, a breadth first search or an A* search of the social network for the other member.

15. A system for providing location description over a network, comprising:

a geo-location search component (GSC) operable to perform actions comprising;

receiving, from a mobile device associated with a member of a social network, a start location, and end location, a geographical coordinate and search criteria;

requesting a social networking manager (SNM) to search the social network based on the geographical coordinate and search criteria, for a community comprising the member and another member, wherein the other member or the community is related to a location name in the social network;

requesting from a geo-location tracking (GLT) component, an address associated with the geographical coordinate as the location name, if the location name is absent from the social network;

determining a location of interest based on the location name;

determining a route between the start location and the end location that includes the location of interest;

providing an ordered result of a search for the location name and associated addresses to the mobile device based at least in part on a degree of separation between the member and the at least other member of the social network;

providing the route to the mobile device; and

a geo-location tracking (GLT) component operable to perform actions comprising;

providing at least one address associated with a received geographical coordinate; and

a messenger component in communication with the GSC and operable to perform actions comprising;

forwarding a message between the mobile device and a client device associated with the other member based in part on a preference of the other member, if a geographical location of the client device is determined to be within a proximity with the geographical coordinate.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein forwarding the message further comprises:

forwarding the message based in part on a preference of the other member, wherein the preference includes at least one of a mode of communication, a geographical area to receive the communication, a time to receive the communication, a the required minimal degree of separation between the member and the other member for communication to be allowed before communication is enabled, a block list of members for whom no communication is allowed, or a complete block of communication.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising a route mapper in communication with the GSC and operable to perform actions comprising:

determining a route between the start location and the end location and through the location of interest defined by the location name and the GPS coordinate, using at least one of a Moore algorithm, a shortest path algorithm, a lowest traffic time algorithm, a Frank-Wolfe algorithm, or a Wardrop equilibrium algorithm.

18. A processor readable storage medium having processor executable instructions for providing location description over a network, the processor executable instructions configured to enable a processor to perform actions, comprising:

requesting a search of a social network based on a Geo Positioning System (GPS) start coordinate identifying a geographical location of the client device, a GPS end coordinate, search criteria and on an identity of a user of the client device, wherein the user is a member of the social network;

receiving a plurality of ordered location information based on the requested search criteria and a degree of separation between the user and at least one of a plurality of other members of the social network, and a route between the GPS start coordinate and the GPS end coordinate through the plurality of ordered location information, wherein each of the plurality of ordered location information is associated with at least another of the plurality of members of the social network; and

displaying the plurality of ordered location information as a map of ordered points, wherein each of the ordered points is associated with different one of the plurality of ordered location information.

19. The processor readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the actions further comprises:

sending an update of information associated with one of the ordered points, wherein the update is configured to enable refining another search of the social network for other location information.

20. The processor readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the actions further comprises:

sending a request to add the at least one other member of the social network to a community of the user within the social network, wherein the added other member is configured to enable refining another search of the social network for other location information.