Location-based services

• US 8,909,248 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2012
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Phillips, Alan, Schroth, Frank, Palmer, Geoffrey M., Zielinski, Stefan G., Smith, Allen P., Cunningham, Colin M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly, Nghi H
• Application Number:
  US13/361,113
• Publication Number:
  US 20120126974A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.3, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/404.2
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0236 Threshold setting
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0261 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0269 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0272 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect exact location of child or item using triangulation other than GPS
• 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 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/14 between corresponding nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/08 between user and terminal device

Abstract

Provided herein are methods and systems relating to location-based services such as providing a geofencing, outputting location-based information on a mobile device, varying transmissions to and from a mobile device, and providing location-based alerts. More specifically, a method can include receiving a task on a mobile device, associating the task with a location, generating a geofence around the location associated with the task, tracking a current location of a the mobile device, and generating an alert associated with the task when the current location is within the geofence.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a task on a mobile device;

associating, using the mobile device, the task with a physical location;

generating, automatically on the mobile device, a geofence around the physical location associated with the task;

tracking a current location of the mobile device relative to the geofence; and

generating an alert associated with the task when the current location is within the geofence.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the associating the task with the physical location includes receiving an address representative of the physical location on the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the associating the task with the physical location includes receiving a selection, from a map displayed on the mobile device, of a point representative of the physical location.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the geofence includes generating a circle with a pre-defined radius around the physical location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the alert includes sending a message from the mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking the current location includes periodically transmitting, from the mobile device, data representative of the current location of the mobile device to a service provider.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the generating the alert includes sending, from the service provider, a message to the mobile device.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the generating the alert includes sending, from the service provider, a message to a second mobile device.

9. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed on a machine, cause the machine to:

receive data defining a task;

associate the task with a physical location;

generate, automatically, a geofence around the physical location associated with the task;

track a current location of a mobile device relative to the geofence; and

generate an alert associated with the task when the current location is within the geofence.

10. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the associating the task with the physical location includes receiving an address representative of the physical location on the mobile device.

11. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the associating the task with the physical location includes receiving a selection, from a map displayed on the mobile device, of a point representative of the physical location.

12. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the generating the geofence includes generating a circle with a pre-defined radius around the physical location.

13. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the generating the alert includes sending a message from the mobile device.

14. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the tracking the current location includes periodically transmitting, from the mobile device, data representative of the current location of the mobile device to a service provider.

15. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the generating the alert includes sending, from the service provider, a message to the mobile device.

16. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the generating the alert includes sending, from the service provider, a message to a second mobile device.

17. A mobile device comprising:

an input facility to receive a task;

a geolocation facility to track a current location associated with the mobile device; and

a central processing unit to;

associate the task with a physical location;

generate, automatically, a geofence around the physical location associated with the task;

generate an alert associated with the task when the current location is within the geofence.

18. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein the input facility is also to receive an address representative of the physical location associated with the task.

19. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein the input facility is also to:

display a map on the mobile device; and

receive a selection from the displayed map of a point representative of the physical location associated with the task.

20. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein the mobile device further includes a data communication facility;

wherein the geolocation facility communicates the current location to the data communication facility; and

wherein the data communication facility periodically transmits the current location to a service provider.