Mutual interest location matching

• US 9,226,105 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2012
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Turgman, Ami, Yahalom, Saar
• Primary Examiner(s): Iqbal, Khawar
• Application Number:
  US13/570,248
• Publication Number:
  US 20140045516A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,237 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 4554561-4566, 455/457, 455/517, 701/300
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

Architecture that enables users to define user interests, and when two or more people with matching interests (mutual) are identified in the same geographical area, the architecture actively notifies either one or both of the users (e.g., based on a given scenario). After being notified, either or both users can decide how to act (e.g., the user that wants to buy the car can call the user that wants to sell the car and then set a meeting at a suitable time). The architecture automatically creates dynamic geo-fences in association with users to perform different location-based matching scenarios. The locations of the users are continuously identified as the users move in a geographical area. When a matching interest is identified, the architecture actively notifies the users of items that might be of interest and which are currently occurring in the user vicinity.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a geo-fence component configured to generate geo-fences, where the geo-fences can be of different sizes based on different interests;

generate a first geo-fence associated with a first user based on a first user profile of the first user and a current geographic location of the first user in a geographical area, the first geo-fence moves with the first user in the geographical area, the first geo-fence having a geometric shape that is determined based on an interest of the first user as specified in the first user profile; and

generate a second geo-fence associated with a second user based on a second user profile of the second user and a current geographic location of the second user in the geographical area, the second geo-fence moves with the second user in the geographical area, the second geo-fence having a geometric shape that is determined based on an interest of the second user as specified in the second user profile;

a matching component configured to identify a match in the interests of the first user and the second user moving in the geographical area when the first geo-fence and the second geo-fence intersect; and

a microprocessor that executes computer-executable instructions associated with at least one of the geo-fence component or the matching component.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a geolocation update component configured to continually update geographic locations of the first user and the second user to identify the geographic locations of the first user and the second user based on movement of first user and the second user in the geographical area.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the geolocation update component, matching component, and the geo-fence component are network-based, and the geolocation update component receives updates as background operations of mobile devices of the first user and the second user.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a notification component configured to notify at least one of the first user or the second user of matching interests in response to geo-fences that intersect.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the notification component suggests other items of interest to users having matched interests, the suggested items of interest presently occurring.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the geo-fence relates to a specific interest or a category of interests.

7. A method, comprising acts of:

identifying movement of users in a geographical area, the users associated with profile information related to interests of the users;

configuring and associating geo-fences with the users for performing location-based matching of interests as the users move in the geographical area, the geo-fence of a given user configured according to a dimension that relates to the interest of the given user;

detecting intersecting geo-fences within the geographical area of users having matching interests; and

configuring at least one processor to perform at least one of the acts of identifying, associating, configuring geo-fences, or detecting.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising matching interests common to the users as the users move in the geographical area.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising continuously identifying geographic location of the users with matching interests to compute intersections of the associated geo-fences.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising notifying a user and a second user, with a common interest and intersecting geo-fences, of presence of each other in the geographical area.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising continually matching profiles of the users to find the matching interests.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising notifying users of common interests of other items occurring and that might be of interest.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising automatically defining a dimension of the geo-fence for a given user.

19. The method of claim 7, further comprising updating existing profile information or creating new profile information of interests, uploading the updated profile information or the new profile information, and detecting intersecting geo-fences based on the updated profile information or the new profile information.

20. The method of claim 7, further comprising bounding the profile information of a user temporally and processing the profile information of the user for location-based matching based on a start time and a stop time.

14. A method, comprising acts of:

analyzing interests of users in a geographical area, the interests derived from users of a network;

associating geo-fences with the users in the geographical area;

identifying movement of users in the geographical area;

moving the geo-fences with the associated users as the users move in the geographical area;

detecting intersecting geo-fences of at least two users having matching interests;

notifying at least one of the two users of presence of the other user having the matching interest; and

configuring at least one processor to perform at least one of the acts of analyzing, associating, identifying, moving, detecting, or notifying.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising continuously updating geographic locations of the users with matching interests to detect the intersecting geo-fences.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising suggesting other items of interest to the users having matched interests, the suggested items of interest presently occurring.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising deriving the interests of the users from user information stored on the network as user profiles.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising creating and associating a new geo-fence of a different size with a user based on a correspondingly different interest.