Method and apparatus for finding people via a mobile device

• US 8,600,408 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2012
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brown, William A.
• Primary Examiner(s): MILLER, BRANDON J
• Application Number:
  US13/689,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20130086172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 369 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-4566, 455517-519, 455/457, 455/414.1, 455418-420, 455/459
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• 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: 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 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

A method, computer readable medium and apparatus for finding at least one person are disclosed. For example, the method receives a request from a subscriber to find at least one person having at least one characteristic predefined by the subscriber, receives a location of the subscriber and finds, via a processor, the at least one person having the at least one characteristic predefined by the subscriber near the location of the subscriber.

Claims

1. A method for finding a person, comprising:

receiving, via a processor, a request from a mobile endpoint device of a subscriber to find the person having a characteristic;

receiving, via the processor, a location of the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber;

finding, via the processor, a mobile endpoint device of the person having the characteristic within a range of the location of the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber only when the subscriber is in a list of friends predefined by the person; and

notifying, via the processor, the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber that the person was found only when the subscriber is in the list of friends predefined by the person.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the subscriber is received via a global positioning system transmitter on the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the location is received on a periodic basis.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the finding comprises:

identifying mobile endpoint devices of different subscribers within the range of the location;

receiving personal information from the mobile endpoint devices of the different subscribers within the range of the location; and

matching the characteristic with a characteristic of one of the different subscribers in the personal information that is received from the mobile endpoint devices of the different subscribers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the finding is performed within a predefined location.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the finding is performed continuously.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a visual display on the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber of where the mobile endpoint device of the person is located relative to the location of the subscriber.

8. A tangible computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for finding a person, the operations comprising:

receiving a request from a mobile endpoint device of a subscriber to find the person having a characteristic;

receiving a location of the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber;

finding a mobile endpoint device of the person having the characteristic within a range of the location of the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber only when the subscriber is in a list of friends predefined by the person; and

notifying the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber that the person was found only when the subscriber is in the list of friends predefined by the person.

9. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the location of the subscriber is received via a global positioning system transmitter on the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber.

10. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the location is received on a periodic basis.

11. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the finding comprises:

identifying mobile endpoint devices of different subscribers within the range of the location;

receiving personal information from the mobile endpoint devices of the different subscribers within the range of the location; and

matching the characteristic with a characteristic of one of the different subscribers in the personal information of that is received from the mobile endpoint devices of the different subscribers.

12. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the finding is performed within a predefined location.

13. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the finding is performed continuously.

14. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising:

providing a visual display on the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber of where the mobile endpoint device of the person is located relative to the location of the subscriber.

15. An apparatus for finding a person, comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

receiving a request from a mobile endpoint device of a subscriber to find the person having a characteristic;

receiving a location of the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber;

finding a mobile endpoint device of the person having the characteristic within a range of the location of the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber only when the subscriber is in a list of friends predefined by the person; and

notifying the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber that the person was found only when the subscriber is in the list of friends predefined by the person.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the location of the subscriber is received via a global positioning system transmitter on the mobile endpoint device of the subscriber.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the location is received on a periodic basis.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the finding comprises:

identifying mobile endpoint devices of different subscribers within the range of the location;

receiving personal information from the mobile endpoint devices of the different subscribers within the range of the location; and

matching the characteristic with a characteristic of one of the different subscribers in the personal information that is received from the mobile endpoint devices of the different subscribers.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the finding is performed within a predefined location.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the finding is performed continuously.