System and method for timely whereabouts determination by a mobile data processing system

• US 8,886,226 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2013
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BillJCo LLC
• Original Assignee: William J. Johnson
• Inventors: Johnson, William J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Batista, Marcos
• Application Number:
  US14/033,543
• Publication Number:
  US 20140024397A1
• Time in Patent Office: 414 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.3, 370/338
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• 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 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Provided is a distributed system and method for enabling new and useful location dependent features and functionality to mobile data processing systems. Mobile data processing systems interact with each other as peers in communications and interoperability. A mobile data processing system may dynamically take on roles, depending on the environment and capabilities available at a particular time. Reference whereabouts data is appropriately shared between mobile data processing systems to carry out automatic location techniques ensuring mobile data processing systems are kept up to date with their own whereabouts and whereabouts of others, regardless of the freely moving travels of any of the mobile data processing systems involved, and the location technologies that may or may not be available when needed. A confidence is associated to whereabouts data shared for facilitating selection of the best candidate data used in determining new whereabouts information.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining, by a mobile data processing system, a plurality of locations of the mobile data processing system, each location of the plurality of locations determined by at least one of a plurality of distinctly different whereabouts determination methods implemented by the mobile data processing system;

storing, by the mobile data processing system, to a historical collection a plurality of whereabouts data records for the mobile data processing system wherein each record of the plurality of whereabouts data records for the mobile data processing system includes a particular location of the plurality of locations determined by the at least one of the plurality of distinctly different whereabouts determination methods implemented by the mobile data processing system;

storing, by the mobile data processing system, to the historical collection a plurality of whereabouts data records for a plurality of remote data processing systems wherein each record of the plurality of whereabouts data records for the plurality of remote data processing systems includes a particular location of a particular remote data processing system of the plurality of remote data processing systems;

periodically searching, by the mobile data processing system, the historical collection for at least one whereabouts data record the mobile data processing system determines includes a current location of the mobile data processing system;

determining, by the mobile data processing system, the historical collection does not contain the at least one whereabouts data record the mobile data processing system determines includes the current location of the mobile data processing system, upon the searching;

initiating, by the mobile data processing system, whereabouts determination by at least one of the plurality of distinctly different whereabouts determination methods implemented by the mobile data processing system, upon the determining, by the mobile data processing system, the historical collection does not contain the at least one whereabouts data record the mobile data processing system determines includes the current location of the mobile data processing system;

determining, by the mobile data processing system, the current location of the mobile data processing system using the at least one of the plurality of distinctly different whereabouts determination methods implemented by the mobile data processing system, upon the initiating; and

storing, by the mobile data processing system, to the historical collection a current whereabouts data record for the mobile data processing system wherein the current whereabouts data record includes the current location of the mobile data processing system.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining, by the mobile data processing system, the current location of the mobile data processing system includes determining the current location of the mobile data processing system using Missing Part Triangulation processing with access to the historical collection.

3. The method of claim 1 including the mobile data processing system transmitting outbound the current location of the mobile data processing system for receipt by at least one receiving data processing system in the wireless vicinity of the mobile data processing system.

4. The method of claim 1 including presenting information of the historical collection to a user interface for a user to manage the information of the historical collection by at least one of:

view the information of the historical collection, delete the information of the historical collection, modify the information of the historical collection, or add to the information of the historical collection.

5. The method of claim 1 including providing an alert for who is nearby.

6. The method of claim 1 including maintaining the plurality of whereabouts data records for the plurality of remote data processing systems according to a permission configured by a particular user.

7. A method, comprising:

maintaining whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by a mobile data processing system;

storing first data to the whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of the at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by the mobile data processing system;

determining whereabouts of the mobile data processing system according to the first data of the whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of the at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by the mobile data processing system;

determining with Application Programming Interface processing at the mobile data processing system a most demanding requirement of whereabouts determination for a plurality of applications executing at the mobile data processing system, wherein each application of the plurality of applications invokes the Application Programming Interface with a particular requirement for the whereabouts determination timeliness, the most demanding requirement of whereabouts determination corresponding to the particular requirement which is most timely for the plurality of applications;

adjusting the whereabouts timeliness information, upon the determining with Application Programming Interface processing at the mobile data processing system the most demanding requirement of whereabouts determination for the plurality of applications executing at the mobile data processing system, by storing the most demanding requirement of whereabouts determination as second data to the whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of the at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by the mobile data processing system; and

determining whereabouts of the mobile data processing system according to the second data of the whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of the at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by the mobile data processing system.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the determining whereabouts of the mobile data processing system according to the second data includes determining the whereabouts of the mobile data processing system using Missing Part Triangulation processing.

9. The method of claim 7 including the mobile data processing system transmitting outbound the whereabouts of the mobile data processing system for receipt by at least one receiving data processing system in the wireless vicinity of the mobile data processing system.

10. A method, comprising:

maintaining whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by a mobile data processing system;

storing first data to the whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of the at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by the mobile data processing system;

determining whereabouts of the mobile data processing system according to the first data of the whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of the at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by the mobile data processing system;

determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system when to perform an adjustment to the whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of the at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by the mobile data processing system;

adjusting the whereabouts timeliness information, upon the determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system when to perform the adjustment, by storing second data to the whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of the at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by the mobile data processing system; and

determining whereabouts of the mobile data processing system according to the second data of the whereabouts timeliness information for controlling whereabouts determination timeliness of the at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by the mobile data processing system.

11. The method of claim 10 including:

storing, by the mobile data processing system, the whereabouts of the mobile data processing system to a historical collection containing a plurality of whereabouts data records wherein each record of the plurality of whereabouts data records includes a location of the mobile data processing system determined by at least one of a plurality of distinctly different whereabouts determination methods implemented by the mobile data processing system; and

determining whereabouts of the mobile data processing system using Missing Part Triangulation processing on at least one data field from each of the plurality of whereabouts data records that include the location of the mobile data processing system.

12. The method of claim 10 including:

storing, by the mobile data processing system, a plurality of whereabouts data records for a plurality of remote data processing systems to a historical collection wherein each record of the plurality of whereabouts data records for the plurality of remote data processing systems includes a particular location of a particular remote data processing system of the plurality of remote data processing systems; and

determining whereabouts of the mobile data processing system using Missing Part Triangulation processing on at least one data field from each of the plurality of whereabouts data records for the plurality of remote data processing systems.

13. The method of claim 10 including:

storing, by the mobile data processing system, the whereabouts of the mobile data processing system to a historical collection containing a plurality of whereabouts data records wherein each record of the plurality of whereabouts data records includes a location of the mobile data processing system determined by at least one of a plurality of distinctly different whereabouts determination methods implemented by the mobile data processing system;

storing, by the mobile data processing system, a plurality of whereabouts data records for a plurality of remote data processing systems to the historical collection wherein each record of the plurality of whereabouts data records for the plurality of remote data processing systems includes a particular location of a particular remote data processing system of the plurality of remote data processing systems; and

determining whereabouts of the mobile data processing system using Missing Part Triangulation processing on at least one data field from each of;

at least one data record of the plurality of whereabouts data records that include the location of the mobile data processing system, and

at least one data record of the plurality of whereabouts data records for the plurality of remote data processing systems.

14. The method of claim 10 including the mobile data processing system transmitting outbound the whereabouts of the mobile data processing system for receipt by at least one receiving data processing system in the wireless vicinity of the mobile data processing system.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system when to perform the adjustment includes determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system that the most recently determined whereabouts of the mobile data processing system is stale or may become stale.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system when to perform the adjustment includes determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system when a statistic maintained for the mobile data processing system substantiates performing the adjustment.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein the determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system when to perform the adjustment includes determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system for one or more mobile data processing system threads of execution at least one of:

success, failure, or progress.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein the determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system when to perform the adjustment includes determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system that there is excessive processing being performed for the at least one whereabouts determination method implemented by the mobile data processing system.

19. The method of claim 10 wherein the determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system when to perform the adjustment includes determining with background processing of the mobile data processing system a time describing when the mobile data processing system most recently significantly moved.