Automated arrival notifications

• US 9,445,230 B1
• Filed: 03/27/2014
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pinger Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Pinger Incorporated
• Inventors: Cret, Silvia, Sipher, Joseph, Shukla, Anjini, Rodrigues, Derek
• Primary Examiner(s): Agosta, Steve D
• Application Number:
  US14/228,008
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/456.1, 455/0.2, 455/0.3, 455/0.4, 455/0.5, 455/0.6, 455/457, 370/310.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

A device'"'"'s arrival at a destination location is automatically detected, and notification of such arrival is automatically generated, without any need for a user to specify the destination location in advance. A perimeter, or geofence, is continually or periodically defined around the device'"'"'s current location. A timer is automatically set, with some pre-specified duration. If the device exits the geofence before the timer expires, the new location of the device is determined, a new geofence around that location is defined, and the timer is reset. If the timer expires before the device exits the geofence, the device is considered to have arrived at a destination; an “arrives” event is generated. Notification of such an event can be output at the device and/or transmitted to one or more subscribers. Various exceptions, conditions, and preferences can be taken into account so as to avoid false positives.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for automatically determining arrival of a mobile communications device at a non-predefined destination, comprising:

repeatedly performing the steps of;

a) at a processor, automatically determining a current location of the mobile communications device;

b) at the processor, automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined current location of the mobile communications device; and

c) at the processor, automatically initiating a countdown timer for the defined geofence, based on a predefined time period;

at the processor, automatically determining whether any of the countdown timers has reached zero prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence; and

at the processor, responsive to any of the countdown timers reaching zero prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence;

automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination; and

at an output device, automatically outputting a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at the destination;

wherein;

repeatedly performing steps a) through c) comprises, responsive to the mobile communications device exiting one of the defined geofences prior to the corresponding countdown timer reaching zero, repeating steps a) through c).

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically transmitting, to at least one subscriber, a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein automatically transmitting a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device comprises automatically transmitting, to the at least one subscriber, at least one of a current location of the mobile communications device and a time of arrival.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein automatically transmitting a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device comprises automatically transmitting the notification to at least one remotely located subscriber over a wireless communication network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile communications device is carried by a human user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile communications device is affixed to at least one of an item, a package, a cargo item, a vehicle, and a shipping container.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined time period is user-configurable, the method further comprising:

receiving user input to specify the predefined time period;

and wherein automatically initiating a countdown timer for a defined geofence comprises automatically initiating a countdown timer according to the user-specified time period.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically defining a geofence comprises automatically defining a circular region of predefined radius, having the determined current location of the mobile communications device at its center.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising, subsequent to automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination:

at the processor, automatically determining a current location of the mobile communications device;

at the processor, automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined location of the mobile communications device;

at the processor, determining whether the mobile communications device has exited the defined geofence; and

at the processor, responsive to the mobile communications device exiting the defined geofence, generating an event indicating departure of the mobile communications device from the destination.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the geofence size is user-configurable, the method further comprising:

receiving user input to specify the geofence size;

and wherein automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined current location of the mobile communications device comprises defining the geofence according to the user-specified size.

11. A computer-implemented method for automatically determining arrival of a mobile communications device at a non-predefined destination, comprising:

repeatedly performing the steps of;

a) at a processor, automatically determining a current location of the mobile communications device;

b) at the processor, automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined current location of the mobile communications device; and

c) at the processor, automatically initiating an elapsed-time timer for the defined geofence;

at the processor, automatically determining whether any of the elapsed-time timers has reached a predefined time period prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence; and

at the processor, responsive to any of the elapsed-time timers reaching the predefined time period prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence;

automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination; and

at an output device, automatically outputting a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at the destination;

wherein;

repeatedly performing steps a) through c) comprises, responsive to the mobile communications device exiting one of the defined geofences prior to the corresponding elapsed-time timer reaching the predefined time period, repeating steps a) through c).

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising automatically transmitting, to at least one subscriber, a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising, subsequent to automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination:

at the processor, automatically determining a current location of the mobile communications device;

at the processor, automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined location of the mobile communications device;

at the processor, determining whether the mobile communications device has exited the defined geofence; and

at the processor, responsive to the mobile communications device exiting the defined geofence, generating an event indicating departure of the mobile communications device from the destination.

14. A computer program product for automatically determining arrival of a mobile communications device at a non-predefined destination, comprising:

a non-transitory storage medium; and

computer program code, encoded on the medium, configured to cause at least one processor to repeatedly perform the steps of;

a) automatically determining a current location of the mobile communications device;

b) automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined current location of the mobile communications device; and

c) automatically initiating a countdown timer for the defined geofence, based on a predefined time period;

computer program code, encoded on the medium, configured to cause at least one processor to perform the steps of;

automatically determining whether any of the countdown timers has reached zero prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence; and

responsive to any of the countdown timers reaching zero prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence;

automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination; and

causing an output device to automatically output a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at the destination;

wherein;

repeatedly performing steps a) through c) comprises, responsive to the mobile communications device exiting one of the defined geofences prior to the corresponding countdown timer reaching zero, repeating steps a) through c).

15. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising computer program code configured to cause at least one processor to automatically transmit, to at least one subscriber, a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer program code configured to cause at least one processor to automatically transmit a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device comprises computer program code configured to cause at least one processor to automatically transmit, to the at least one subscriber, at least one of a current location of the mobile communications device and a time of arrival.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer program code configured to cause at least one processor to automatically transmit a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device comprises computer program code configured to cause at least one processor to automatically transmit the notification to at least one remotely located subscriber over a wireless communication network.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the mobile communications device is carried by a human user.

19. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the mobile communications device is affixed to at least one of an item, a package, a cargo item, a vehicle, and a shipping container.

20. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer program code configured to cause at least one processor to automatically define a geofence comprises computer program code configured to cause at least one processor to automatically define a circular region of predefined radius, having the determined current location of the mobile communications device at its center.

21. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising computer program code configured to cause at least one processor to, subsequent to automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination, perform the steps of:

automatically determining a current location of the mobile communications device;

automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined location of the mobile communications device;

determining whether the mobile communications device has exited the defined geofence; and

responsive to the mobile communications device exiting the defined geofence, generating an event indicating departure of the mobile communications device from the destination.

22. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the geofence size is user-configurable, the computer program product further comprising computer program code, encoded on the medium, configured to cause at least one processor to perform the step of:

causing a user input device to receive user input specifying the geofence size;

and wherein automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined current location of the mobile communications device comprises defining the geofence according to the user-specified size.

23. A system, comprising:

a location determination module;

at least one countdown timer;

at least one processor, communicatively coupled to the location determination module and to the timer, configured to repeatedly perform the steps of;

a) causing the location determination module to automatically determine a current location of a mobile communications device;

b) automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined current location of the mobile communications device; and

c) automatically initiating a countdown timer for the defined geofence, based on a predefined time period; and

an output device, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor;

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform the steps of;

determining whether any of the countdown timers has reached zero prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence; and

responsive to any of the countdown timers reaching zero prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence;

automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination; and

causing the output device to automatically output a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at the destination;

wherein;

repeatedly performing steps a) through c) comprises, responsive to the mobile communications device exiting one of the defined geofences prior to the corresponding countdown timer reaching zero, repeating steps a) through c).

24. The system of claim 23, further comprising a network communication module, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, configured to automatically transmit, to at least one subscriber, a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the network communication module is configured to automatically transmit the notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device by automatically transmitting, to the at least one subscriber, at least one of a current location of the mobile communications device and a time of arrival.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the network communication module is configured to automatically transmit the notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device by automatically transmitting the notification to at least one remotely located subscriber over a wireless communication network.

27. The system of claim 23, wherein the mobile communications device comprises a mobile communications device.

28. The system of claim 23, wherein the mobile communications device is carried by a human user.

29. The system of claim 23, wherein the mobile communications device is affixed to at least one of an item, a package, a cargo item, a vehicle, and a shipping container.

30. The system of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor is configured to automatically define the geofence by automatically defining a circular region of predefined radius, having the determined current location of the mobile communications device at its center.

31. The system of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, subsequent to automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination, perform the steps of:

automatically determining a current location of the mobile communications device;

automatically defining a geofence surrounding the determined location of the mobile communications device;

determining whether the mobile communications device has exited the defined geofence; and

responsive to the device exiting the defined geofence, generating an event indicating departure of the mobile communications device from the destination.

32. The system of claim 23, wherein the geofence size is user-configurable, the system further comprising:

a user input device, configured to receive user input to specify the geofence size;

and wherein automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined current location of the mobile communications device comprises defining the geofence according to the user-specified size.

33. A computer program product for automatically determining arrival of a mobile communications device at a non-predefined destination, comprising:

a non-transitory storage medium; and

computer program code, encoded on the medium, configured to cause at least one processor to repeatedly perform the steps of;

a) automatically determining a current location of the mobile communications device;

b) automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined current location of the mobile communications device; and

c) automatically initiating an elapsed-time timer for the defined geofence;

computer program code, encoded on the medium, configured to cause at least one processor to perform the steps of;

automatically determining whether any of the elapsed-time timers has reached a predefined time period prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence; and

responsive to any of the elapsed-time timers reaching the predefined time period prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence;

automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination; and

causing an output device to automatically output a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at the destination;

wherein;

repeatedly performing steps a) through c) comprises, responsive to the mobile communications device exiting one of the defined geofences prior to the corresponding elapsed-time timer reaching the predefined time period, repeating steps a) through c).

34. The computer program product of claim 33, further comprising computer program code configured to cause at least one processor to automatically transmit, to at least one subscriber, a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination.

35. The computer program product of claim 33, further comprising computer program code configured to cause at least one processor to, subsequent to automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination, perform the steps of:

automatically determining a current location of the mobile communications device;

automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined location of the mobile communications device;

determining whether the mobile communications device has exited the defined geofence; and

responsive to the mobile communications device exiting the defined geofence, generating an event indicating departure of the mobile communications device from the destination.

36. A system, comprising:

a location determination module;

at least one countdown timer;

at least one processor, communicatively coupled to the location determination module and to the timer, configured to repeatedly perform the steps of;

a) causing the location determination module to automatically determine a current location of a mobile communications device;

b) automatically defining a geofence comprising a perimeter surrounding the determined current location of the mobile communications device; and

c) automatically initiating an elapsed-time timer for the defined geofence; and

an output device, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor;

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform the steps of;

determining whether any of the elapsed-time timers has reached a predefined time period prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence; and

responsive to any of the elapsed-time timers reaching the predefined time period prior to the mobile communications device exiting the corresponding geofence;

automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination; and

causing the output device to automatically output a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at the destination;

wherein;

repeatedly performing steps a) through c) comprises, responsive to the mobile communications device exiting one of the defined geofences prior to the corresponding elapsed-time timer reaching the predefined time period, repeating steps a) through c).

37. The system of claim 36, further comprising a network communication module, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, configured to automatically transmit, to at least one subscriber, a notification of the event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, subsequent to automatically generating an event indicating arrival of the mobile communications device at a destination, perform the steps of:

automatically determining a current location of the mobile communications device;

automatically defining a geofence surrounding the determined location of the mobile communications device;

determining whether the mobile communications device has exited the defined geofence; and

responsive to the device exiting the defined geofence, generating an event indicating departure of the mobile communications device from the destination.