Intelligent presence detection messaging

• US 9,456,317 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2015
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HeyWire, Inc. (Salesforce.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: HeyWire, Inc. (Salesforce.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kornafeld, Adam
• Primary Examiner(s): Gelin, Jean
• Application Number:
  US14/637,660
• Publication Number:
  US 20150256985A1
• Time in Patent Office: 573 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/421, 455/422, 455/456.1, 455/418, 455/419, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/457
• 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
• 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 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A social messaging hub provides communication services including intelligent presence detection messaging for a data enabled device having Internet network access capabilities. In one embodiment, a user is given a registered phone number and has multiple devices with unique IP addressable identifications which serve as a source and destination identifiers of the associated data enabled devices. The hub receives device and default location information, sets geofence boundaries, receives a notification of device positions and then delivers messages based on the proximity of devices to each other and user preferences.

Claims

1. A method for electronic message delivery comprising:

obtaining a plurality of unique identifiers;

assigning to a user of a data enabled device a unique user identifier from the plurality of unique identifiers;

associating the unique user identifier with a plurality of data enabled device identifiers, each one of plurality of data enabled device identifiers corresponding to one of a plurality of data enabled devices;

registering the unique user identifier to data enabled device identifier associations in a database;

receiving device and default location information from at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices;

setting geofence boundaries;

receiving a notification of device position from at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices;

receiving a message for delivery to the user; and

providing the message to a different one of the plurality of data enabled devices associated with the unique user identifier based on proximity of the different one of the plurality of data enabled devices to the at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices and a predetermined user preference.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined user preference includes delivering the message to the different one of the plurality of data enabled devices based on a cost of message delivery to the at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices and the different one of the plurality of data enabled devices.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined user preference includes delivering the message to the different one of the plurality of data enabled devices based on message delivery security.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined user preference includes delivering the message to the different one of the plurality of data enabled devices based on user display preferences.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein setting geofence boundaries comprises operating a location monitoring application on at least one of the data enabled devices.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein in response to user preferences and to determining that the message has not been read by the user on the different one of the plurality of data enabled devices and that a second different one of the plurality of data enabled devices is within a geofence boundary of the at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices, and delivering the message to the second different one of the plurality of data enabled devices.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising marking the delivered message read on the at least one device of the plurality of data enabled devices in response to determining that the message was read by the user on the second different one of the plurality of data enabled devices.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein setting geofence boundaries includes proximity monitoring.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising using Bluetooth low energy monitors, reporters and proximity profiles.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is a Short Message Service/Multimedia Messaging Service/Enhanced Messaging Service (SMS/MMS/EMS).

11. The method of claim 1, wherein an application on one of plurality of data enabled devices allows the user to specify:

to which ones of the plurality of data enabled devices a message directed to the associated unique user identifier should be delivered when combinations of the plurality of data enabled devices having registered device identifier associated with the unique user identifier to data enabled device are within range of each other; and

a size of the geofence boundaries.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices is a mobile device set up to act as a beacon.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium for storing thereon computer readable instructions for a method for electronic message delivery comprising:

obtaining a plurality of unique identifiers;

assigning to a user of a data enabled device a unique user identifier from the plurality of unique identifiers;

associating the unique user identifier with a plurality of data enabled device identifiers, each one of plurality of data enabled device identifiers corresponding to one of a plurality of data enabled devices;

registering the unique user identifier to data enabled device identifier associations in a database;

receiving device and default location information from at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices;

setting geofence boundaries;

receiving a notification of device position from at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices;

receiving a message for delivery to the user;

providing the message to a different one of the plurality of data enabled devices associated with the unique user identifier based on proximity of the different one of the plurality of data enabled devices to the at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices and a predetermined user preference.

14. A social messaging hub for electronic message delivery comprising:

a database for storing associations between a registered unique user identifier and data enabled device identifiers, user preferences and location information;

a location processing engine coupled to the database;

a hub application coupled to the location processing engine;

an SMS provider coupled to the location processing engine; and

wherein the SMS provider uses the user preferences and location information provided by the location processing engine to deliver SMS/EMS/MMS messages to different ones of a plurality of data enabled devices corresponding to a data enabled device identifier based on one of;

a cost of message delivery to different ones of the plurality of data enabled devices;

message delivery security to different ones of the plurality of data enabled devices; and

a determination that a message has not been read by a user on one of the plurality of data enabled devices.

15. A method for electronic message delivery comprising:

obtaining a plurality of unique identifiers;

assigning to a user of a data enabled device a unique user identifier from the plurality of unique identifiers;

associating the unique user identifier with a plurality of data enabled device identifiers, each one of plurality of data enabled device identifiers corresponding to one of a plurality of data enabled devices;

registering the unique user identifier to data enabled device identifier associations in a database;

receiving device and default location information from at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices;

setting geofence boundaries;

receiving a notification of device position from at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices;

receiving a message for delivery to the user;

providing the message to a first one of the plurality of data enabled devices associated with the unique user identifier based on proximity of the first one of the plurality of data enabled devices to the at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices; and

wherein in response to user preferences and to determining that the message has not been read by the user and that a different second one of the plurality of data enabled devices is within a geofence boundary of the at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices, delivering the message to the different second one of the plurality of data enabled devices.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising marking the delivered message read on the at least one device of the plurality of data enabled devices in response to determining that the message was read by the user on the different second one of the plurality of data enabled devices.