Providing geographic location information on a telephone device

• US 9,270,818 B1
• Filed: 02/03/2014
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Nelissen, Marco, Tuttle, Thomas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Timothy
• Application Number:
  US14/171,415
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.5
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42357 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• 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 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold

Abstract

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method includes receiving, from a first telephone device and at a second telephone device, a request to accept a telephone call. The method further includes obtaining information that indicates a first current geographic location of the first telephone device or the associated first user based on the second telephone device or an associated second user being a member of a group of call recipients that are permitted to receive the information that indicates the first current geographic location. The method additionally includes, using the obtained information, providing a representation of the first current geographic location of the first telephone device on the second telephone device in association with the telephone call from the first telephone device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, from a first telephone device having an associated first user, and at a second telephone device having an associated second user, a request to accept a telephone call;

receiving an indication that the second user is a member of a group of call recipients that are permitted to receive a current geographic location associated with the first telephone device based on contact information for the second user and whether the first user and the second user have a particular relationship defined in a social network;

in response to receiving the indication that the second user is a member of the group, obtaining, from a server system corresponding to the social network, information that indicates the current geographic location associated with the first user, wherein the information is based on one or more recent location-based updates that were received in association with the social network and the first associated user, wherein the information is obtained by identifying a social network identifier for the associated first user based on a telephone number for the first telephone device received with the request to accept a telephone call; and

using the obtained information to provide a representation of the current geographic location of the first telephone device on the second telephone device in association with the telephone call from the first telephone device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the information comprises receiving the information from the first telephone device through a network in conjunction with the telephone call request.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the information comprises:

requesting, by the second telephone device, the information from a server system that is remote from the first and second telephone devices; and

receiving the information from the server system.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the server system comprises a mobile telephone server system that is configured to maintain and provide information that indicates geographic locations of mobile telephone devices.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the server system hosts a social network that is configured to receive updates from users regarding activities;

wherein requesting the information from the server system includes providing, by the second telephone device, the server system with a social network identifier for a first user associated with the first telephone device; and

wherein the information that indicates the current geographic location of the first telephone device is identified from activity updates received by the server system in association with the first user.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein providing the representation of the current geographic location of the first telephone device comprises displaying a map that depicts, at least, the current geographic location of the first telephone device on a display of the second telephone device.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

identifying a current geographic location of the second telephone device or a second user associated with the second telephone device; and

determining a level of zoom at which to display the map based on a distance between the current geographic location of the first telephone device and the current geographic location of the second telephone device;

wherein the representation of the current geographic location of the first telephone device is provided on the second telephone device using the determined level of zoom.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the map is displayed on the display of the second telephone device with information that indicates an identity of the first telephone device or the associated first user and with information that prompts the associated second user to accept the telephone call request.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the group of callers is based on a telephone contact list stored by the second telephone device, or stored remotely in association with the second telephone device or the associated second user.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the group of callers is based on information that identifies one or more acquaintances of the associated second user on a social network.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the first telephone device or the associated first user is a member of a group of callers for whom the second telephone device is configured to display a geographic location;

wherein the information indicating the current geographic location is obtained in response to determining that the first telephone device or the associated first user is a member of the group of callers.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

in response to determining that the first telephone device or the associated first user is not a member of the group of callers, identifying a geographic location associated with a telephone number from which the telephone call request is received by the second telephone device;

providing a representation of the identified geographic location on the second telephone device in association with the telephone call from the first telephone device.

13. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at a first mobile telephone device, a request from a first user of the first mobile telephone device to initiate a telephone call with a second mobile telephone device;

determining whether a second user associated with the second mobile device is a member of a group of call recipients that are permitted to receive a current geographic location associated with the first mobile telephone device, by determining with the first mobile device and using contact information for the second user, whether the first user and the second user have a particular relationship defined in a social network system;

in response to determining that the second user is a member of the group, providing information that indicates the current geographic location for display on the second mobile telephone device over a network, wherein the provided information is based on one or more recent location-based updates that were received in association with the social network and the first user, and wherein the provided information is obtained by identifying a social network identifier for the first user based on a telephone number for the first mobile telephone device received with the request to accept a telephone call.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising causing, by the first mobile telephone device, a telephone call to be initiated with the second mobile telephone device;

and

wherein the information that indicates the current geographic location is provided in association with the telephone call.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising identifying the current geographic location associated with the first mobile telephone device or the first user.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the group of call recipients is based on a telephone contact list stored by the first telephone device, or stored remotely from the first telephone device in association with the first telephone device or the first user.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the group of call recipients is based on information that identifies one or more members of the social network who are related in the social network to the first user.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising providing information on a display of the first mobile telephone device that indicates that the telephone call is being initiated and that indicates that the current geographic location is being provided to the second mobile telephone device.

19. A system for providing information that indicates a current geographic location in association with a telephone call, wherein the system comprises:

a first mobile telephone device that is associated with a first user;

a second mobile telephone device that is associated with a second user;

a server system that is operating in conjunction with a social network and is in communication with the first mobile telephone device and the second mobile telephone device over one or more communication networks;

a geographic location tracking module of the server system that is configured to maintain information that indicates a current geographic location for the first user, wherein the information that indicates the current geographic location for the first user is based on one or more location-based updates that were received over the one or more communication networks in association with the social network and the first user; and

a geographic permission module of the server system that is configured to identify a social network identifier for the first user based on a telephone number for the first mobile telephone device in order to determine whether the second user is permitted to receive information identifying the current geographic location associated with the first mobile telephone device, the determining comprising identifying a presence of a particular defined relationship between the first user and the second user in the social network, and wherein permission for the second mobile telephone device or the second user to receive the information is granted based on identifying the presence of the particular defined relationship; and

a network interface of the server system that is configured to provide information that indicates the current geographic location for the first user over the one or more networks to the second mobile telephone device based on the determination made by the geographic permission module.