Confirming a venue of user location

• US 8,340,691 B1
• Filed: 05/09/2012
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Starenky, Victor, Nicolaou, Alex, Kennberg, Alex, Hsieh, Jen Chen-Chuan, Rideout, Joseph, Thomas, Neil Richard, Lider, Brett R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Magloire, Vladimir
• Application Number:
  US13/467,416
• Time in Patent Office: 230 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.3, 455/414.1, 455/404.2
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

In general, the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for verifying a venue associated with a user location. A mobile computing device determines an estimated geographic location of the mobile computing device. The mobile computing device wirelessly transmits the estimated geographic location to a server system. The mobile computing device receives from the server system an identification of a suggested venue. An interface element that indicates that the mobile computing device may be located at the suggested venue is provided on a display of the mobile computing device. User input that confirms that the user is at the suggested venue is received. In response to receiving the user input, the suggested venue is identified as a confirmed venue. A wireless communication that identifies that the user is at the confirmed venue is provided from the mobile computing device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to verify a venue of user location, the method comprising:

transmitting, by a mobile computing device and for receipt by a computerized system that is remote from the mobile computing device, information that identifies an estimated geographic location of the mobile computing device or that can be used to identify the estimated geographic location of the mobile computing device;

receiving, by the mobile computing device and as having been sent by the computerized system in response to the transmitting, an identification of a first suggested venue at which the mobile computing device may be located;

presenting, by the mobile computing device, a user interface that concurrently displays (i) an indication of the first suggested venue, and (ii) a first user interface element with which a user of the mobile computing device is able to confirm that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue,

wherein the first user interface does not concurrently display, concurrent with the display of the indication of the first suggested venue and the first user interface element, (i) an indication of another suggested venue, and (ii) another user interface element with which the user would be able to confirm that the mobile computing device is located at the another suggested venue;

receiving, by the mobile computing device, confirmation that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue as a result of user interaction with the first user interface element, and in response, identifying the first suggested venue as a confirmed venue at which the mobile computing device is confirmed to be located; and

providing, by the mobile computing, a communication that identifies that the mobile computing device is located at the confirmed venue.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the user interface displays, concurrent with the display of the indication of the first suggested venue and the first user interface element, a second user interface element whose selection results in the mobile computing device concurrently displaying (i) an indication of a second suggested venue, and (ii) a second user interface element with which the user is able to confirm that the mobile computing device is located at the second suggested venue.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computerized system selected the first suggested venue from a plurality of suggested venues based, at least in part, on the estimated geographic location.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the first suggested venue is not one of the plurality of suggested venues that is closest in geographic distance to the estimated geographic location.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first user interface element displays the indication of the first suggested venue.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying, by the mobile computing device and in response to receiving the confirmation that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue, an indication that the first suggested venue has been identified as the confirmed venue.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the mobile computing device had never displayed the indication of the first suggested venue before the presentation of the user interface.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the information includes data identified based on signals that the mobile computing device received from one or more satellites in a global satellite-based geographic location identification system.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the user interface displays, concurrent with the display of the indication of the first suggested venue and the first user interface element, a prompt that requests that the user confirm whether the mobile computing device is located at the suggested venue.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:

removing the prompt from the user interface, by the mobile computing device and in response to receiving the confirmation that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue, so that the user interface identifies the suggested venue as the confirmed venue.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the user interface is displayed by a touchscreen display device; and

receiving the confirmation that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue includes identifying that the user physically contacted a region of the touchscreen display at which the touchscreen display displays the first user interface element.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the communication includes a user-submitted post that is broadcast to a group of people who have agreed to subscribe to posts authored by the user, and wherein the user-submitted post includes a user-defined textual post and an indication of the confirmed location.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the first suggested venue includes a name of a business.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the user interface displays, concurrent with the display of the indication of the first suggested venue and the first user interface element, an indication of the estimated geographic location;

and

further comprising, in response to receiving the confirmation that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue;

(i) removing the display of the indication of the estimated geographic location from the user interface, and (ii) displaying on the user interface an indication that the first suggested venue is a confirmed venue at which the mobile computing device has been confirmed to be located.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining, by the computing system and based on the estimated geographic location of the computing device, multiple additional suggested venues at which the computing device may be located;

transmitting, by the computing system and for receipt by the computing device, identifications of the multiple additional suggested venues; and

wherein the user interface displays a second user interface element concurrently with the indication of the first suggested venue and the first user interface element, the second interface element, when selected, resulting in the mobile computing device displaying an additional user interface element with which the user is able to confirm that the mobile computing device is located at an additional suggested venue of the multiple additional suggested venues.

15. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a computing system and as having been sent by a computing device that is remote from the computing system, information from which an estimated geographic location of the computing device is able to be determined;

determining, by the computing system and based on the estimated geographic location of the computing device, a first suggested venue at which the computing device may be located; and

transmitting, by the computing system and for receipt by the computing device, an identification of the suggested venue, so as to cause the computing device to present a user interface that concurrently displays (i) an indication of the first suggested venue, and (ii) a first user interface element with which a user of the mobile computing device is able to confirm that the mobile computing device is located at the first suggested venue,

wherein the user interface does not concurrently display, concurrent with the display of the indication of the first suggested venue and the first user interface element, (i) an indication of another suggested venue, and (ii) another user interface element with which the user would be able to confirm that the mobile computing device is located at the another suggested venue.

17. A computing device, comprising:

a touchscreen display device;

one or more computer processors; and

one or more tangible computer readable media including instructions that, when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause the computing device to;

identify a first suggested venue at which the computing device may be located;

display, with the touchscreen display device, a first user interface element that, when selected by a user, causes the computing device to identify the first suggested venue as a confirmed venue at which the computing device is located;

display, with the touchscreen display device and concurrent with the display of the first user interface element, a second user interface element that, when selected by the user, causes the computing device to display at least one other user interface element that, when selected, causes the computing device to identify another suggested venue as the confirmed venue,

wherein the computing device is not configured to display, concurrent with the display of the first user interface element and before the selection by the user of the second user interface element, the at least one other user interface element.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the first user interface element displays an indication of the first suggested venue.

19. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the first user interface element is configured so that the user is able to confirm, with a single user input action that interacts with the first user interface element, that the first suggested venue is the confirmed venue.

20. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more computer processors, further cause the computing device to:

display, with the touchscreen display device and concurrent with the display of the first user interface element and the second user interface element and before the selection by the user of the second user interface element, a text box with which the user of the computing device is able to author a text post for communication to users of a social networking system that subscribe to the user, the communicated text post being accompanied with an identification of the confirmed venue due selection by the user of the first user interface element.