Systems and methods to determine the current popularity of physical business locations

• US 8,364,171 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2012
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Enhanced Geographic LLC
• Inventors: Busch, James David
• Primary Examiner(s): Batista, Marcos
• Application Number:
  US13/555,202
• Publication Number:
  US 20120302259A1
• Time in Patent Office: 190 Days
• Field of Search: 455/436, 455/456.1, 370/338
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0233 Method of redeeming a frequent usage reward
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0245 Surveys
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 4/025 : using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/30 : Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 : for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

In general, the invention relates to methods and systems that record the location of a user and transmit targeted content to a user based upon their current and past location information. A network includes a server programmed with a database of location information, a database of user information, and a wireless communication system capable of communicating with the user'"'"'s mobile device. The location of the mobile device is ascertained and recorded. The location information is analyzed to determine the businesses visited by the user, and other behaviors of the user. The system has access to the reported locations of a plurality of mobile devices. This aggregate location information is used in order to determine which business locations are currently popular, busy, or not busy.

Claims

1. A method, used by a location based service system including at least one server having at least one network interface, of identifying the current popularity of a physical named location to a user of a wireless device having a wireless communication interface and a geographic location sensor, comprising the acts of:

a) receiving, from the wireless device, geographic location information corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device based at least in part on information from the geographic location sensor of the wireless device;

b) transmitting, to the wireless device, the names of a plurality of physical named locations near the geographic location of the wireless device and a measure of the current popularity of at least one of the plurality of the physical named locations based on;

(i) a database including named locations and associated geographic location information describing physical named locations, and (ii) information relating to at least one other user of the system recently indicating that the other user is visiting at least one of the plurality of physical business locations;

c) receiving, from the wireless device, an indicated named location, selected from the plurality of named locations, corresponding to the physical named location visited by the user of the wireless device to verify the physical named location visited by the user of the wireless device; and

d) storing information indicating that the user of the wireless device visited the physical named location.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting information indicating that the user of the wireless device visited the physical named location to a social networking service using an Application Programming Interface (API) made available by the social networking service.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the act of:

e) transmitting, to the wireless device, the name of the at least one other user of the system registered to be visiting the at least one of the plurality of physical business locations.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the act of:

e) transmitting, to the wireless device, the name of the at least one other user of the system registered to be visiting business location corresponding to the indicated named location visited by the user of the wireless device.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the act of:

e) transmitting, to the wireless device, a name of the at least one other user of the system registered to be visiting business location corresponding to the indicated named location visited by the user of the wireless device only after receiving the indicated named location from the wireless device.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of physical named locations near the geographic location of the wireless device is included in the transmission from the system based on information relating to the hours of operation of the physical named location.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the measure of the current popularity of at least one of the plurality of named locations is further based on at least one of the following:

(i) a square footage, (ii) a business type, (iii) a maximum occupancy limit, or (iv) a measure of the number of people typically registered to be located at the at least one of the plurality of named locations.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the act of:

e) transmitting, to a payment processing system, information indicating that the user of the wireless device visited the physical named location.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the act of:

e) receiving, from a payment processing system, information relating to a purchase made by the user at the physical named location.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the geographic location sensor of the wireless device comprises at least one of:

a cellular radio, a wireless internet radio, or a Global Positioning System (“

GPS”

) radio.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the act of:

g) transmitting, to the second wireless device, the names of a plurality of users that were recently registered to be located at the physical business location.

11. A method, used by a location based service system including at least one server having at least one network interface, of identifying a physical named location visited by a user having a first wireless device with a wireless communication interface and a geographic location sensor, and of identifying the current popularity of the physical named location to a user of a second wireless device having a wireless communication interface and a geographic location sensor, comprising the acts of:

a) receiving, from the first wireless device, geographic location information corresponding to the geographic location of the first wireless device determined based at least in part on information from the geographic location sensor of the first wireless device;

b) transmitting, to the first wireless device, a plurality of named locations near the geographic location of the first wireless device based on a database including named locations and associated geographic location information;

c) receiving, from the first wireless device, a first indicated named location, selected based on the plurality of named locations, corresponding to the physical named location visited by the user of the first wireless device to register the physical named location the user of the first wireless device is currently visiting;

d) storing information indicating that the user of the first wireless device visited the physical named location at a time relating to the receipt of the first indicated named location from the first wireless device;

e) receiving, from the second wireless device, geographic location information corresponding to the geographic location of the second wireless device determined based at least in part on information from the geographic location sensor of the second wireless device;

f) transmitting, to the second wireless device, a second plurality of named locations near the geographic location of the second wireless device including the named location corresponding to the physical named location visited by the user of the first wireless device along with information indicating that at least one user of the system is visiting the indicated named location.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising the act of:

g) transmitting, to the second wireless device, the names of a plurality of users that were recently registered to be located at the physical business location only after receiving, from the second wireless device, a second indicated named location in order to register the physical named location the user of the second wireless device is currently visiting;

wherein the second indicated named location is received by the system from the wireless device as a result of a user'"'"'s selection based on the second plurality of named locations, and where the second indicated named location is associated with same physical named location as the first indicated named location.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting information indicating that the user of the wireless device visited the physical named location to a social networking service using an Application Programming Interface (API) made available by the social networking service.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising the act of:

g) transmitting, to a payment processing system, information indicating that the user of the wireless device visited the physical named location.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the geographic location sensors of the first or second wireless devices comprise at least one of:

a cellular radio, a wireless internet radio, or a Global Positioning System (“

GPS”

) radio.

17. A system, implemented by a location based services system, that identifies a physical named location visited by a user of a first wireless device, and communicates an indication of the current popularity of the physical named location visited by the user of the first wireless device to a user of a second wireless device, comprising:

a) a system including at least one server including a central processing unit, network interface, and memory;

b) a memory of the system containing the names and geographic location information of a plurality of named locations;

c) the system configured to use a network interface to receive data corresponding to the geographic location of the first wireless device based at least in part on information from a geographic location sensor of the first wireless device;

d) the system configured to use a central processing unit to generate data containing a plurality of named locations corresponding to physical named locations near the received geographic location of the first wireless device;

e) the system configured to use a network interface to transmit the plurality of named locations to the first wireless device;

f) the system configured to use a network interface to receive an indicated named location from the first wireless device based on the plurality of the named locations corresponding to the physical named location visited by the user of the first wireless device to register that the user of the first wireless device is visiting the physical named location; and

g) the system configured to store information in a memory of the system indicating that the user of the first wireless device visited the physical named location at a time relating to the receipt of the indicated named location from the first wireless device;

h) the system configured to use a network interface of the system to receive data corresponding to the geographic location of the second wireless device based at least in part on information from a geographic location sensor of the second wireless device;

i) the system configured to use a central processing unit to generate data containing a second plurality of named locations corresponding to physical named locations near the received geographic location of the second wireless device; and

j) the system configured to use a network interface to transmit the second plurality of named locations to the second wireless device including the named location corresponding to the physical named location visited by the user of the first wireless device and information indicating the current popularity of the indicated named location based on the stored information indicating that the user of the first wireless device visited the physical named location.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising transmitting information indicating that the user of the first wireless device visited the physical named location to a social networking service using an Application Programming Interface (API) made available by the social networking service.

19. The system of claim 17, further configured to transmitting, to a payment processing system, information indicating that the user of the first wireless device visited the physical named location.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the geographic location sensors of the first or second wireless devices comprise at least one of:

a cellular radio, a wireless internet radio, or a Global Positioning System (“

GPS”

) radio.