System and method for anonymous delivery of geographically specific rich media information

• US 9,226,109 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2013
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NRBY Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Ping4, Inc.
• Inventors: Makris, Anastasios, MacDonald, Rindress, Benvenuti, Dave, Menard, Kevin, Kingston, Paul, Sexton, Mark, Huske, Brannen, Amaral, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, PHUOC HUU
• Application Number:
  US14/145,391
• Publication Number:
  US 20150189473A1
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.3, 455/415, 455/416, 715/738
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/57 for mobile receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/59 for emergency or urgency
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/61 for local area broadcast, e.g. instore broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/51 of receiving stations
• 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 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

An alert system and method with a web based alert server configured with an alert creation portal allowing a customer to generate and store alert information specific to a location. An alert application for mobile devices is configured to upload to the alert server an anonymous token and mobile device location information. The alert server searches for anonymous tokens for mobile devices located within the alert location and serves stored alert information to the alert applications of the mobile devices located within the alert location.

Claims

1. An alert system comprising:

a web based alert server configured with an alert creation portal allowing a customer to generate and store an alert specific to a location; and

an alert application for mobile devices configured to upload to the alert server an anonymous token and mobile device location information for each mobile device;

the alert server further configured to;

search for anonymous tokens for mobile devices located within the alert location, and

serve a stored alert to the alert applications of said mobile devices located within the alert location,

wherein the alert server is configured to forward the anonymous tokens for mobile devices located within the alert location and an alert identifier to a location service which transmits an alert identifier to the alert applications of said mobile devices, and

wherein the alert server is configured to populate, update, and search a first data base including anonymous tokens corresponding to mobile device location information and to populate, update, and search an alert data base including alert identifiers corresponding to alert information.

2. The system of claim 1 in which the alert application is configured to register with a location service which assigns an anonymous token to the alert application of each mobile device.

3. The system of claim 2 in which the alert application is further configured to receive location information.

4. The system of claim 3 in which the alert application is further configured to upload said anonymous token and mobile device location information to the alert server.

5. The system of claim 1 in which the alert application is further configured to allow a user of the mobile device to request alert information from the alert server.

6. The system of claim 5 in which the alert server is configured, in response to a said request, to serve the alert application with alert information corresponding to the alert identifier.

7. A mobile device alert system comprising:

a web based alert server;

a location service configured to assign an anonymous token for each mobile device;

a downloadable alert application for each said mobile device configured to

transmit said anonymous token and location information to the web based alert server, and

request alert information in response to a received alert identifier;

the web based alert server configured;

with an alert creation portal allowing a customer to generate and store an alert specific to an alert location,

to store location data for said mobile devices represented by said anonymous tokens,

to search for anonymous tokens representing mobile devices located within an alert location, and

to serve a stored alert to the alert applications of said mobile devices located within the alert location,

wherein the web based alert server is configured to transmit an alert identifier and tokens representing mobile devices located within an alert location to the location service which is configured to transmit the alert identifier to mobile devices represented by the tokens.

8. The system of claim 7 in which the downloadable alert application is further configured to allow a user of the mobile device to request alert information from the alert server.

9. The system of claim 7 in which the alert server is configured, in response to a said request, to serve the alert application with alert information corresponding to the alert identifier.

10. An alert method comprising:

allowing a customer to generate and store alert information specific to an alert location;

keeping track of the location of mobile devices each represented by an anonymous token;

searching for anonymous tokens representing mobile devices located within a stored alert location;

receiving a request for an alert information from a mobile device; and

serving stored alert information to mobile devices located within the alert location, wherein serving a stored alert includes forwarding anonymous tokens representing mobile devices located within the alert location and a corresponding alert identifier to a location service which transmits the alert identifier to an alert application of said mobile devices.

11. The method of claim 10 further including the step of assigning an anonymous token to each mobile device.

12. An alert method comprising:

allowing a customer to generate and store alert information specific to an alert location represented by an alert identifier;

downloading an alert application to a user mobile device;

requesting, via the alert application, alert information from an alert server;

assigning to said mobile device an anonymous token;

transmitting said anonymous token and mobile device location information to an alert server;

searching for anonymous tokens for mobile devices located within the alert location;

serving an alert identifier to the location service along with the anonymous tokens for mobile devices located within the alert location; and

forwarding the alert identifier to the alert applications of user mobile devices having a matching anonymous token, the alert information corresponding to the alert identifier.