Automatically populating a database of wireless access point locations

• US 8,787,960 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2011
• Issued: 07/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chemtron Research LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Behemoth Development Company LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Stewart, Brett B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ferguson, Keith
• Application Number:
  US13/028,962
• Publication Number:
  US 20110136505A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,252 Days
• Field of Search: 455/518, 455/517, 455/500, 4554141-4144, 4554561-457, 455/560, 455/561, 455/550.1, 455/412.1, 455/412.2, 455/426.1, 455/426.2, 709/203, 709/204, 709/218, 709/219, 709/224, 370/310, 370/328, 370/329, 370/343
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

Systems, methods, apparatus and software have been discovered for use by individual users to monitor the geographic location of other people or assets with some relationship to the user. Once some manner of location information is determined, users have the ability to describe that location in various ways and control how that information is shared with other users.

Claims

1. A computer accessible non-transitory memory medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

determining an identity of a private wireless access point, wherein the identity comprises a social network alias associated with the private wireless access point;

determining a location of the computing device in communication with the private wireless access point based at least in part on at least one of receiving geographic location coordinates of the computing device, strength of a signal received from the computing device, bearing of the signal received from the computing device, or at least one time stamp associated with the signal received from the computing device;

comparing the identity of the private wireless access point with the location of the computing device to determine if the private wireless access point is an unknown access point;

generating a user inquiry to determine if a user would like to associate the location of the computing device with the social network alias of the private wireless access point;

storing an association between the location of the computing device and the social network alias of the private wireless access point; and

notifying at least another computing device of the location of the computing device using the social network alias based, at least in part, on the association.

2. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1, wherein the geographic location coordinates of the computing device comprises GPS coordinates.

3. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1, wherein the social network alias comprises a custom label added by an owner of the private wireless access point for identifying the location of the computing device to other users of a social network.

4. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 3, wherein the operations further comprise storing the label.

5. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 4, wherein the label comprises a business name where the private wireless access point is located.

6. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1, wherein the association is stored in a management information base (MIB).

7. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 6, wherein the MIB is configured to store location information for a plurality of wireless access points.

8. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1, wherein the operations of notifying at least another computing device comprise providing the social network alias and the location of the computing device to a social network service provider, and wherein the social network service provider is configured to provide the social network alias to a plurality of other computing devices associated with the social network service provider.

9. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 8, wherein the user of the computing device is a member of the social network service provider.

10. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 8, wherein the social network service provider is configured to select the plurality of other users based on one or more rules.

11. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 8, wherein the social network service provider is configured to select the plurality of other users based on information provided by the user.

12. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving user input configuring one or more parameters regarding when, to whom, or to what degree the location of the computing device is provided.

13. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a processing device, information regarding an identity of a wireless access point, wherein the identity comprises a social network alias associated with the wireless access point;

determining, by the processing device, location information of a communication device coupled to the wireless access point;

comparing, by the processing device, the identity of the wireless access point with the location information of the processing device to determine if the wireless access point is an unknown access point;

generating, by the processing device, a user inquiry to determine if a user would like to associate the location information of the computing device with the social network alias of the wireless access point;

storing, by the processing device, an association between the location information of the communication device and the social network alias of the wireless access point; and

notifying, by the processing device, at least another computing device of the location information of the computing device using the social network alias.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the location information comprises a physical address corresponding to a location of the wireless access point.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the geographic location coordinates comprise GPS coordinates of the location of the communication device.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the social network alias comprises a user-generated label added by an owner of the wireless access point for identifying a location of the wireless access point.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the label comprises a business name corresponding to a location of the wireless access point.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the association is stored in a database configured to store location information for a plurality of wireless access points.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein notifying at least another computing device comprises providing the social network alias and the location information of the communication device to a social network service provider, wherein the social network service provider is configured to provide the social network alias to at least one other user of the at least another communication device.

20. An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining an identity of a private wireless access point, wherein the identity comprises a social network alias associated with the private wireless access point;

means for determining a location of a computing device in communication with the private wireless access point;

means for comparing the identity of the private wireless access point with the location of the computing device to determine if the private wireless access point is an unknown access point;

means for generating a user inquiry to determine if a user would like to associate the location of the computing device with the social network alias of the private wireless access point;

means for storing an association between the location of the computing device and the social network alias of the private wireless access point; and

means for notifying at least another computing device of the location of the computing device using the social network alias.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the social network alias comprises a user-generated label added by an owner of the private wireless access point for identifying the location of the private wireless access point.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the means for notifying comprises means for providing the social network alias and the location information of the computing device to a social network service provider, and wherein the social network service provider is configured to provide the social network alias to the at least another computing device.