Method of establishing a cell phone network of participants with a common interest

• US 8,126,441 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2006
• Issued: 02/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AGIS Software Development LLC (AGIS Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Advanced Ground Information Systems, Inc. (AGIS Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Beyer, JR., Malcolm K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): Obayanju, Omoniyi
• Application Number:
  US11/615,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20080076418A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,894 Days
• Field of Search: 455/403, 455/420, 455/414.2
• US Class Current: 455/414.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27475 using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72466 with selection means, e.g. keys, having functions defined by the mode or the status of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/62 user interface aspects of conference calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A method, a combined cellular, PDA communication device and system having specialized software applications for allowing a plurality of combined cellular phone/PDA device users to monitor each others'"'"' locations and status, to initiate cellular phone calls by touching a symbol on the touch screen display with a stylus which can also include point to call conferencing calling. Each participant'"'"'s cellular phone/PDA device includes a GPS navigation receiver with application software for point to call cellular phone initiation to participants and geographical entities including vehicles, persons or events, conference calls and video transfers. The method, device and system also includes several features that allow each individual cell phone to poll the network participants to create a network of participants who have symbols displayed on each user'"'"'s PDA display screen and providing application software in each cell phone with a server to allow individual users to create, by polling the network, a group of network participants having a common interest, or a network of friends and family for a network of all active participants. The method, device and system employed herein can also be used to establish an anonymous dating service that allows individual participants using their cell phones to identify and contact others for dating or social interaction without giving away their actual name and phone number.

Claims

1. A method of communicating among a group of participants each having a communication device that includes a touch display screen, a global positioning system, and advanced communications software, comprising the steps of:

a. establishing, over a private remote server excluding a website or a web browser, a communications network among the communication devices whereby the participants are capable of exchanging and displaying identity data, location data, status data, and personal data through the advanced communications software;

b. providing, over the communications network, at least one of the participants with the identity data of at least one of the other participants;

c. establishing a polling network comprising at least one of the participants by selecting, through the advanced communications software, the identity data that includes a phone number corresponding to that participant;

d. sending, through the advanced communications software, a SMS polling message to each of the participants of the polling network;

e. in response to receiving the SMS polling message, the polled unit continuously and automatically transmitting according to a set time interval, distance traveled, or sensor input, at least its identity and location data to the private remote server using IP communications to the pre-stored server address contained in the ACS software;

f. each time the polled participant'"'"'s data is received, the private remote server transmitting to each of the other participant devices in IP communications with the server, at least the identity data and the location data of each of the participants, on the polling network, without any selection criteria or manual input of relationship data; and

g. displaying, on the touch display screen of each communication device, at least the identity data and the location data of each of the participants of the polling network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location data of the participant is generated by the global positioning system of the participant'"'"'s communication device and is used to automatically report according to a set time interval and/or distance traveled.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the location data of each of the participants of the polling network is displayed on the touch display screen as a geo-referenced symbol on a map.

4. A method of communicating among a group of participants each having a communication device that includes a touch display screen, a global positioning system, and advanced communications software, comprising the steps of:

a. establishing, over a private remote server excluding a website or a web browser, a communications network among the communication devices whereby only the network participants with a common interest are capable of exchanging and displaying identity data, location data, status data using IP communications to the address contained in the ACS software ;

b. each network participant automatically transmitting according to a set time interval, distance traveled, or sensor input, at least its identity and location data to the private remote server using IP communications and having a pre-stored address contained in the ACS software;

c. establishing, on the private remote server, a common interest network comprising every participant having common interest data matching the common interest data of the requesting participant;

d. each time network participant data is received the private remote server automatically transmitting to each of the other devices in IP communications with the server with the same common interest, at least the identity and, location data of each of the participants, in the common interest network without any selection criteria or manual input of relationship data; and

e. displaying, on the touch display screen of each communication device of each participant in the common interest network, at least the identity data and the location data of each participant in the common interest network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the location data of the participant is generated by the global positioning system of the participant'"'"'s communication device and is used to automatically report to the private remote server according to a set time interval and/or distance traveled.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the location data of each of the participants of the common interest network is displayed on the touch display screen as a geo-referenced symbol on a map.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the common interest data identifies a group of friends.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the common interest data identifies a group of family members.