Methods for providing enhanced telecommunication services

• US 8,886,224 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2011
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Van Erlach, Julian
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DANH C
• Application Number:
  US13/025,200
• Publication Number:
  US 20110136477A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,369 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.3, 455/456, 455/2, 455/456.1, 709/203
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A first method for facilitating personal contacts among a plurality of subscribers to a location-based person contact service provided by a service provider; and a second method for real-time monitoring of vital signs of a living being. In the first method, personal profiles are transmitted to subscribers. In the second method, information relating to a violated vital sign parameter determined from the monitoring is communicated to a local communication node.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating personal contacts among a plurality of subscribers to a location-based person contact service provided by a service provider having a database that comprises a personal profile of each subscriber and filter criteria for accepting the personal profiles of the other subscribers, said method comprising:

receiving, by the service provider, a first message from a first wireless device possessed by a first subscriber of the plurality of subscribers, wherein the first message includes data from which a region may be determined by the service provider, and wherein the message further includes a request for the first wireless device to receive those personal profiles of all subscribers whose wireless devices are determined to be within the region satisfying filter criteria specified by the first subscriber;

extracting from the database, by the service provider, said those personal profiles;

transmitting, by the service provider to the first wireless device after said receiving the first message, said those personal profiles;

receiving, by the service provider after said transmitting, a second message from the first wireless device, wherein the second message instructs the service provider to forward the personal profile of the first subscriber to a second wireless device possessed by a second subscriber of said all subscribers whose wireless devices are determined to be within the region who satisfy the filter criteria specified by the first subscriber; and

sending, by the service provider to the second wireless device after said receiving the second message, the personal profile of the first subscriber.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprises an explicit identification of the region on a geocoded digital map domain.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the data comprises an identification of a geographic position of the first wireless device and a specified distance from the geographic position, and wherein the region is within the specified distance from the geographic position.

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

receiving, by the service provider prior to said transmitting, the identification of the geographic position from a global positioning system (GPS).

5. A system comprising a providing entity adapted to perform the method of claim 1, said providing entity being the service provider.

6. A method comprising:

receiving, from a first wireless device, by a computing device associated with a service provider of a service including a plurality of subscribers, information from which a region may be determined and an indication of a filter criterion for accepting personal profiles of the subscribers, wherein the information indicates a geographic position at which the first wireless device is indicated to be currently located; and

in response to receiving the information, sending, by the computing device associated with the service provider, to the first wireless device, one or more personal profiles of one or more respective subscribers whose wireless devices are determined to be within the region and whose personal profiles satisfy the filter criterion.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining, prior to the sending, that the wireless devices of the one or more respective subscribers currently are within the region; and

based at least in part on the determining, extracting the one or more personal profiles from data maintained by the service provider.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the sending further comprises maintaining, at least in part, anonymity of the one or more respective subscribers.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the receiving the information further includes receiving information indicating that a current location of the first wireless device is within the region.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving the information further includes receiving the indication of the filter criterion with the information indicating that the current location of the first wireless device is within the region.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the receiving the information comprises receiving an explicit identification of the region on a geocoded digital map domain.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the receiving the information further comprises receiving a specified distance from the geographic position, the method further comprising determining the region based at least in part on the specified distance from the geographic position.

13. The method of claim 6, further comprising receiving, by the computing device associated with the service provider, from the first wireless device, an instruction to forward a personal profile of a first subscriber associated with the first wireless device, to a second wireless device associated with a second subscriber of the one or more respective subscribers.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising sending, by the computing device associated with the service provider, to the second wireless device, at least partially in response to receiving the instruction, the personal profile of the first subscriber.

15. A system comprising:

one or more computing devices configured to provide a service to a plurality of subscribers, the service comprising;

receiving, from a first wireless device, information indicating;

a region in which the first wireless device is currently located; and

a filter criterion for accepting, by the first wireless device, personal profiles of the subscribers; and

in response to receiving at least the information indicating the region in which the first wireless device is currently located, sending, to the first wireless device, one or more personal profiles of one or more respective subscribers whose wireless devices are determined to be currently within the region and whose personal profiles satisfy the filter criterion.

16. The system of claim 15, the service further comprising:

determining, prior to the sending, that the wireless devices of the one or more respective subscribers are currently within the region; and

based at least in part on the determining, extracting the one or more personal profiles from data maintained by the service provider.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the receiving the information comprises receiving a specified distance from a geographic position of the first wireless device, the service further comprising determining the region based at least in part on the specified distance from the geographic position.

18. The system of claim 15, the service further comprising receiving, from the first wireless device, an instruction to forward a personal profile of a first subscriber associated with the first wireless device, to a second wireless device associated with a second subscriber of the one or more respective subscribers.

19. The system of claim 18, the service further comprising sending, to the second wireless device, at least partially in response to receiving the instruction, the personal profile of the first subscriber.