System and method of wireless proximity awareness

• US 8,335,521 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2012
• Issued: 12/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Schnurr, Jeffrey R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): SCHWARTZ, JOSHUA L
• Application Number:
  US13/535,697
• Publication Number:
  US 20120270569A1
• Time in Patent Office: 173 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.2, 4554561-4566, 455/457, 701/519
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• 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 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

The present application provides a system for proximity awareness for mobile data communication on an electronic communication device comprising a client application on an electronic communication device communicating across a wireless network, and an awareness server that includes a plurality of server objects that monitor multiple devices on a wireless communication network. In addition, the client application on the electronic communication device comprises a plurality of software objects. The client application periodically broadcasts the current wireless tower that the device is communicating on to the awareness server. The awareness server tracks the location of other Tower IDs of other users in the individual'"'"'s contact list. If there is a match in Tower IDs, an alert is sent to both users that they are in proximity to each other.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

monitoring, for each mobile communication device of a plurality of mobile communication devices, which wireless tower the respective mobile communication device is communicating through;

performing a comparison of the wireless towers to each other;

determining, through the comparison, that first and second mobile communication devices, from among the mobile communication devices, are communicating through a same wireless tower; and

triggered by the determination that the first and second mobile communication devices are communicating through the same wireless tower, transmitting a notification to the first mobile communication device indicating the second mobile communication device is nearby.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the notification is a first notification, and the transmitting includes transmitting a second notification to the second mobile communication device indicating the first mobile communication device is nearby.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the comparison is only between mobile communication devices of a common Buddy list.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring, performing, determining and transmitting are performed by an awareness server.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring includes receiving communications, from at least one of the mobile communication devices, indicating which wireless tower the respective mobile communication device is communicating through.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the communications are received from the at least one of the mobile communication devices at a predetermined time interval.

7. A method comprising:

monitoring, for each mobile communication device of a plurality of mobile communication devices, which wireless tower or wireless towers the respective mobile communication device hears, including a wireless tower or wireless towers that the respective mobile device does not connect to;

performing a comparison of the wireless towers to each other;

determining, through the comparison, that first and second mobile communication devices, from among the mobile communication devices, hear a same wireless tower; and

triggered by the determination that the first and second mobile communication devices hear the same wireless tower, transmitting a notification to the first mobile communication device indicating the second mobile communication device is nearby.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the notification is a first notification, and the transmitting includes transmitting a second notification to the second mobile communication device indicating the first mobile communication device is nearby.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the comparison is only between mobile communication devices of a common Buddy list.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the monitoring, performing, determining and transmitting are performed by an awareness server.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the monitoring includes receiving communications, from at least one of the mobile communication devices, indicating which wireless tower or towers the respective mobile communication device hears.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the communications are received from the at least one of the mobile communication devices at a predetermined time interval.

13. The method of claim 7 wherein the notification includes an indication of a maximum distance, expressed in terms of travel time, of the second mobile communication device from the first mobile communication device.

14. The method of claim 7 wherein the wireless towers the respective mobile communication device hears but does not connect to include wireless towers that the mobile communication device hears but cannot connect to.

15. A method comprising:

monitoring, for each mobile communication device of a plurality of mobile communication devices, which wireless tower the mobile communication device is communicating through and which wireless tower or towers the mobile communication device hears, including wireless towers the respective mobile device hears but does not connect to;

performing a comparison of the wireless towers to each other;

determining, through the comparison, that a first mobile communication device, of the mobile communication devices, is communicating through a same wireless tower that a second mobile communication device, of the mobile communication devices, hears; and

triggered by the determination, transmitting a notification to one of the first and second mobile communication devices indicating the other of the first and second mobile communication devices is nearby.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the notification is a first notification to the first communication device indicating the second communication device is nearby, and the transmitting further includes transmitting a second notification to the second mobile communication device indicating the first mobile communication device is nearby.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the comparison is only between mobile communication devices of a common Buddy list.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the monitoring, performing, determining and transmitting are performed by an awareness server.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the monitoring includes receiving communications, from at least one of the mobile communication devices, indicating which wireless towers the respective mobile communication device hears.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the wireless towers the respective mobile communication device hears but does not connect to includes wireless towers that the mobile communication device hears but cannot connect to.