Device, system and method for recording personal encounter history

• US 8,566,602 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2006
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Aaron, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): LEWIS, LISA C
• Application Number:
  US11/611,475
• Publication Number:
  US 20080146157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,503 Days
• Field of Search: 713/182, 713/183, 713/187, 713/155, 726/2, 726/5, 726/16, 726/21, 705/72
• US Class Current: 713/183
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0414 during transmission, i.e. party's identity is protected against eavesdropping, e.g. by using temporary identifiers, but is known to the other party or parties involved in the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User 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: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72451 according to schedules, e.g. using calendar applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• 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: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs logging of telephone numbers H04M1/56, H04M1/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

Provided are exemplary embodiments including a method for creating and using a personal encounter history using a communication device. The method involves the communication device receiving the transmission of a pseudo identifier from a proximal communication device where the pseudo identifier is associated with the user of the proximal communication device. Once received, the method continues with the wireless communication device requesting and receiving the actual identification of the user of the proximal communication device that is correlated with the pseudo identifier. The communication device includes a transceiver capable of communicating wirelessly with a mobile telecommunications network, a memory device and a processor. To ensure privacy, the processor is capable of receiving a pseudo identifier from a proximate communication device and then requesting an actual identification correlated with the pseudo identifier of the proximate communication device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a mobile communication device, a proximal pseudo identifier from a proximal communication device, wherein the proximal pseudo identifier is unique to a particular user of the proximal communication device and wherein the proximal pseudo identifier is received as a result of a broadcast by the proximal communication device;

requesting, by the mobile communication device, an actual identification of the particular user of the proximal communication device correlated with the proximal pseudo identifier that is unique to the particular user of the proximal communication device, wherein requesting an actual identification includes the mobile communication device querying an intermediary computing device; and

receiving, from the intermediary computing device, the actual identification of the particular user of the proximal communication device correlated with the proximal pseudo identifier that is unique to the particular user of the proximal communication device at the mobile communication device upon a determination by the intermediary computing device that consent rules for providing the actual identification of the particular user are met.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximal pseudo identifier includes a hash, and the actual identification includes contact information for the particular user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

logging the receipt of the proximal pseudo identifier into a personal encounter history log file stored at the communication device, wherein the personal encounter history log file includes a history of encounters between a user of the mobile communication device and the particular user of the proximal communication device;

recording location data for the proximal communication device at the time of receiving at the mobile communication device, wherein the location may be one of an actual location and a pseudo location; and

searching the personal encounter history log file for the proximal pseudo identifier of the particular user of the proximal communication device, wherein searching the personal encounter history log file includes grouping proximal pseudo identifiers by location according to a set of search rules.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating the proximal pseudo identifier with an environmental circumstance in which the request for the proximal pseudo identifier occurs.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximal pseudo identifier includes a user created moniker.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximal pseudo identifier is a particular one of a plurality of proximal pseudo identifiers that are unique to the particular user of the proximal communication device, each of the plurality of proximal pseudo identifiers being used for a different purpose.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the consent rules provide for a phased disclosure of the actual identification of the particular user by the intermediary computing device to the mobile communication device, and wherein the consent rules require that information identifying a user of the mobile communication and contact information of the user of the mobile communication device be provided to the intermediary computing device before the actual identification of the particular user is disclosed by the intermediary computing device to the mobile communication device.

8. A mobile wireless communication device comprising:

a transceiver capable of communicating wirelessly with a mobile telecommunication network;

a memory device; and

a processor, in communication with the transceiver and the memory device, capable of receiving a proximal pseudo identifier from a proximal communication device, wherein the proximal pseudo identifier is unique to a particular user of the proximal communication device and wherein the proximal pseudo identifier is received as a result of a broadcast by the proximal communication device, requesting an actual identification of the particular user of the proximal communication device correlated with the proximal pseudo identifier that is unique to the particular user of the proximal communication device, wherein requesting an actual identification includes causing the mobile wireless communication device to query an intermediary computing device, and receiving, at the mobile wireless communication device, the actual identification of the particular user of the proximal communication device correlated with the proximal pseudo identifier that is unique to the particular user of the proximal communication device upon a determination by the intermediary computing device that consent rules for providing the actual identification of the particular user are met.

9. The mobile wireless communication device of claim 8, wherein the proximal pseudo identifier includes a hash, and the actual identification includes contact information for the particular user.

10. The mobile wireless communication device of claim 8, wherein the processor is capable of:

logging the receipt of the proximal pseudo identifier into a personal encounter history log file stored at the mobile wireless communication device, wherein the personal encounter history log file includes a history of encounters between a user of the mobile wireless communication device and the particular user of the proximal communication device;

recording location data for the proximal communication device at the time of receiving at the mobile wireless communication device, wherein the location may be one of an actual location and a pseudo location; and

searching the personal encounter history log file for the proximal pseudo identifier of the particular user of the proximal communication device, wherein searching the personal encounter history log file includes grouping proximal pseudo identifiers by location according to a set of search rules

11. The mobile wireless communication device of claim 8, further including a sensor suite, wherein the sensor suite contains at least one of an optical sensor, a motion sensor, an audio sensor, and a weather sensor, and the processor is capable of associating the proximal pseudo identifier with an output of the at least one sensor that occurs during the request for the proximal pseudo identifier.

17. The mobile wireless communication device of claim 8, wherein the proximal pseudo identifier includes a user created moniker.

12. A computer readable storage device within a mobile communication device containing instructions which when executed by a processor within the mobile communication device, cause the processor to:

receive a proximal pseudo identifier from a proximal communication device, wherein the proximal pseudo identifier is unique to a particular user of the proximal communication device and wherein the proximal pseudo identifier is received as a result of a broadcast by the proximal communication device;

request an actual identification of the particular user of the proximal communication device correlated with the proximal pseudo identifier that is unique to the particular user of the proximal communication device by causing the mobile communication device to query an intermediary computing device; and

receive, at the mobile communication device, the actual identification of the particular user of the proximal communication device corresponding with the proximal pseudo identifier that is unique to the particular user of the proximal communication device upon a determination by the intermediary computing device that consent rules for providing the actual identification of the particular user are met.

13. The computer readable storage device within the mobile communication device of claim 12 further containing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

record a location associated with the proximal pseudo identifier at the time of receiving the proximal pseudo identifier.

14. The computer readable storage device within the mobile communication device of claim 12 wherein the proximal pseudo identifier includes a hash, and the actual identification includes contact information for the particular user.

15. The computer readable storage device within the mobile communication device of claim 12 further containing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

associate the proximal pseudo identifier with an environmental circumstance in which the request for the proximal pseudo identifier occurs.

16. The computer readable storage device within the mobile communication device of claim 12 further containing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

log the receipt of the proximal pseudo identifier into a personal encounter history log file stored at the communication device, wherein the personal encounter history log file includes a history of encounters between a user of the mobile communication device and the particular user of the proximal communication device; and

upload the personal encounter history file to a central server.

18. The computer readable storage device within the mobile communication device of claim 12, wherein the proximal pseudo identifier includes a user created moniker.