Composite application for group-based activity reservations

• US 8,270,995 B1
• Filed: 04/26/2007
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nextel Communications (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Nextel Communications (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Manroa, Arun, Choksi, Ojas T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu, Jinsong
• Assistant Examiner(s): Taylor, Nathan
• Application Number:
  US11/740,796
• Time in Patent Office: 1,972 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-4563, 455/457, 455/456, 455/404.2, 4554141-4143, 370/322
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• 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 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

A reservation is made over a wireless network for a group-based activity, such as golf, using a network-independent composite application. The composite application registers with a geo-fencing application, and receives notifications from the geo-fencing application when certain triggering criteria have been satisfied. In certain embodiments, the triggering criteria relate to the presence of target subscriber within a predetermined area. The availability of certain target subscribers is also determined and, if available, such target subscribers are provided with the opportunity to opt-in to the group-based activity. A reservation may be automatically made for the group-based activity using an online reservation application for target subscribers who chose to participate.

Claims

1. A method for making a reservation over a wireless network for a group-based activity using a network-independent composite application, the method comprising the acts of:

receiving group reservation information for a reservation from an initiating subscriber over the wireless network;

registering the composite application with a subscriber location network application to provide triggering criteria including at least one target subscriber, a group name, a predetermined area, and a minimum number of participants to the subscriber location network application;

receiving at the composite application a notification from the subscriber location network application indicating that a target subscriber is within the predetermined area;

invoking a persona network application by the composite application automatically based on said notification to check network presence status information of the target subscriber to determine an availability of said target subscriber;

invoking an opt-in network application by the composite application to provide, if available, said target subscriber with an option to participate in said group-based activity;

invoking a network reservation application by the composite application to make a reservation for the target subscriber to participate in said group-based activity in response to the target subscriber opting to participate;

locating a destination using an entertainment directory service for the group-based activity using a navigation application; and

transmitting, to the target subscriber, navigation information provided by the navigation application for said destination,

wherein at least one of the subscriber location network application, the persona network application, the opt-in network application, the network reservation application, the entertainment directory service and the navigation application is selected by the composite application according to a profile of the target subscriber provided to the composite application by a profile base application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the act of initiating an electronic payment transaction for said reservation using an electronic payment application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber location network application is a network-independent geo-fencing application.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the group-based activity is golf and the reservation is for a golf tee time.

5. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory processor readable medium having processor executable code embodied therein to making a reservation over a wireless network for a group-based activity using a network-independent composite application, the processor readable medium having;

processor executable program code to receive group reservation information for a reservation from an initiating subscriber over the wireless network;

processor executable program code to register the composite application with a subscriber location network application to provide triggering criteria including at least one target subscriber, a group name, a predetermined area, and a minimum number of participants to the subscriber location network application;

processor executable program code to receive at the composite application a notification from the subscriber location network application indicating that a target subscriber is within the predetermined area;

processor executable program code to determine, automatically based on said notification, an availability of said target subscriber by invoking a persona network application by the composite application to check network presence status information of the target subscriber;

processor executable program code to invoke an opt-in network application by the composite application to provide, if available, said target subscriber with an option to participate in the group-based activity;

processor executable program code to invoke a network reservation application by the composite application to make a reservation for the target subscriber to participate in said group-based activity in response to the target subscriber opting to participate;

processor executable program code to locate a destination using an entertainment directory service for the group-based activity using a navigation application; and

processor executable program code to transmit, to the target subscriber, navigation information provided by the navigation application for said destination,

wherein at least one of the subscriber location network application, the persona network application, the opt-in network application, the network reservation application, the entertainment directory service and the navigation application comprises a network-independent application accessed by the composite application and selected by the composite application according to a profile of the target subscriber provided to the composite application by a profile base application.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the processor readable medium further includes processor executable program code to initiate an electronic payment transaction for said reservation using an electronic payment application.

7. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the subscriber location network application is a network-independent geo-fencing application.

8. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the processor readable medium further includes processor executable program code to receive, prior to the processor executable program code to register, group reservation information for said reservation from an initiating subscriber over the wireless network.

9. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the processor readable medium further includes:

processor executable program code to locate a destination using an entertainment directory service for the group-based activity using a navigation application; and

processor executable program code to transmit, to the target subscriber, navigation information provided by the navigation application for said destination,

wherein at least one of the entertainment directory service and the navigation application are selected according to a profile of the target subscriber provided by the profile base application.

10. A method for making a reservation over a wireless network for a group-based activity using a network-independent composite application, the method comprising the acts of:

receiving group reservation information for a reservation from an initiating subscriber over the wireless network;

registering the composite application with a subscriber location network application to provide triggering criteria including at least one target subscriber, a group name, a predetermined area, and a minimum number of participants to the subscriber location network application;

receiving a notification from the subscriber location network application indicating that a target subscriber is within the predetermined area;

accessing a subscriber availability application, in response to said notification, to check network presence status information of the target subscriber to determine to determine an availability of said target subscriber;

accessing an opt-in application to provide the target subscriber with an option to participate in said group-based activity;

accessing an online reservation application to make a reservation for the target subscriber to participate in said group-based activity using an online reservation application in response to the target subscriber opting to participate;

locating a destination using an entertainment directory service for the group-based activity using a navigation application; and

transmitting, to the target subscriber, navigation information provided by the navigation application for said destination,

wherein at least one of the subscriber location network application, the subscriber availability application, the opt-in application, and the online reservation application is a network-independent application in communication with the composite application, and

wherein at least one of the subscriber location network application, the persona network application, the opt-in network application, the network reservation application, the entertainment directory service and the navigation application is selected by the composite application according to a profile of the target subscriber provided by a profile base application to the composite application.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising accessing an electronic payment application to initiate an electronic payment transaction for said reservation.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the subscriber location network application is a network-independent geo-fencing application.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising, prior to said registering, receiving group reservation information for said reservation from an initiating subscriber over the wireless network.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein said subscriber availability application is a persona network application which is based on a user-preference service and a network presence service.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising the acts of:

accessing an entertainment directory service to locate a destination for the group-based activity; and

accessing a messaging application to transmit, to the target subscriber, navigation information provided by said entertainment directory service for said destination,

wherein at least one of the entertainment directory service and the messaging application are selected according to a profile of the target subscriber provided by the profile base application.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the group-based activity is golf and the reservation is for a golf tee time.