Location-based communication with mobile devices

• US 9,473,888 B1
• Filed: 05/26/2015
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Agarwal, Kanak B., Bohrer, Patrick J., Gheith, Ahmed, Kistler, Michael D., Rajamony, Ramakrishnan, White Eagle, Brian L., Xenidis, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Ted
• Application Number:
  US14/721,665
• Time in Patent Office: 511 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

For location-based communication with mobile devices, an instruction for making a telecommunication call to a location is received at a device associated with a caller. the location is a place where different callees with different mobile devices are present at different times, and a callee is present with a mobile device at the place at a specified time therefore the call is made to the mobile device of the callee in order to call the location. A set of potential callees is identified such that each mobile device associated with each callee in set of callees is present at the location at the given time. From the device associated with the caller, the telecommunication call is initiated to mobile devices associated with a subset of potential callees, including the callee.

Claims

1. A computer usable program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage device including computer usable code for location-based communication with mobile devices, the computer usable code comprising:

computer usable code for receiving, at a device associated with a caller, an instruction for making a telecommunication call to a location, the location being a place where different callees with different mobile devices are present at different times, and a callee is present with a mobile device at the place at a specified time therefore the call is made to the mobile device of the callee in order to call the location

computer usable code for identifying a set of potential callees, wherein each mobile device associated with each callee in set of callees is present at the location at the given time; and

computer usable code for initiating, using a processor and a memory in the device associated with the caller, the telecommunication call to mobile devices associated with a subset of potential callees, the subset of potential callees including the callee.

2. The computer usable program product of claim 1, further comprising:

computer usable code for receiving the set of potential callees at the device of the caller; and

computer usable code for selecting, at the device of the caller, the subset of potential callees according to a preference.

3. The computer usable program product of claim 1, wherein an identifying information of any potential callee in the subset of potential callees is unknown to the caller, and wherein an identifier of any mobile device of any potential callee in the subset of potential callees is also unknown to the caller.

4. The computer usable program product of claim 1, wherein an identifier of a particular mobile device of a particular potential callee in the subset of potential callees is identified only by using a present location of the particular mobile device.

5. The computer usable program product of claim 1, wherein the mobile device has an associated identifier, and wherein the callee, the mobile device, and the identifier change at the location at a second time.

6. The computer usable program product of claim 1, further comprising:

computer usable code for determining, responsive to the instruction including a criterion that must be satisfied by the callee, whether the criterion specifies the location; and

computer usable code for resolving, responsive to the criterion not specifying the location, the criterion to the location.

7. The computer usable program product of claim 1, wherein the computer usable code is stored in a computer readable storage device in a data processing system, and wherein the computer usable code is transferred over a network from a remote data processing system.

8. The computer usable program product of claim 1, wherein the computer usable code is stored in a computer readable storage device in a server data processing system, and wherein the computer usable code is downloaded over a network to a remote data processing system for use in a computer readable storage device associated with the remote data processing system.

9. A data processing system for location-based communication with mobile devices, the data processing system comprising:

a storage device, wherein the storage device stores computer usable program code; and

a processor, wherein the processor executes the computer usable program code, and wherein the computer usable program code comprises;

computer usable code for receiving, at a device associated with a caller, an instruction for making a telecommunication call to a location, the location being a place where different callees with different mobile devices are present at different times, and a callee is present with a mobile device at the place at a specified time therefore the call is made to the mobile device of the callee in order to call the location;

computer usable code for identifying a set of potential callees, wherein each mobile device associated with each callee in set of callees is present at the location at the given time; and

computer usable code for initiating, using a processor and a memory in the device associated with the caller, the telecommunication call to mobile devices associated with a subset of potential callees, the subset of potential callees including the callee.

10. The data processing system of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable code for receiving the set of potential callees at the device of the caller; and

computer usable code for selecting, at the device of the caller, the subset of potential callees according to a preference.

11. The data processing system of claim 9, wherein an identifying information of any potential callee in the subset of potential callees is unknown to the caller, and wherein an identifier of any mobile device of any potential callee in the subset of potential callees is also unknown to the caller.

12. The data processing system of claim 9, wherein an identifier of a particular mobile device of a particular potential callee in the subset of potential callees is identified only by using a present location of the particular mobile device.

13. The data processing system of claim 9, wherein the mobile device has an associated identifier, and wherein the callee, the mobile device, and the identifier change at the location at a second time.

14. The data processing system of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable code for determining, responsive to the instruction including a criterion that must be satisfied by the callee, whether the criterion specifies the location; and

computer usable code for resolving, responsive to the criterion not specifying the location, the criterion to the location.

15. The data processing system of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable code for determining, responsive to the instruction including a criterion that must be satisfied by the callee, whether the criterion specifies an event;

computer usable code for determining, responsive to the criterion specifying the event, a location of the event at the given time; and

computer usable code for using the location of the event as the location.

16. The data processing system of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable code for obtaining a set of present locations of a set of mobile devices;

computer usable code for determining that a subset of the mobile devices will move from their respective present locations to the location by the given time; and

computer usable code for selecting callees associated with the subset of the mobile devices as the set of potential callees.

17. The data processing system of claim 16, wherein a present location in the set of present locations is configured to be correctly determinable.

18. The data processing system of claim 16, wherein a present location of an obfuscated mobile device is configured to be determinable incorrectly as a second present location, further comprising:

computer usable code for omitting the obfuscated mobile device from inclusion in the subset of mobile devices.

19. The data processing system of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable code for determining, upon receiving the telecommunication call, that the telecommunication call is to be avoided; and

computer usable code for changing a location of the mobile device of the callee to appear as a second location, the changing the location to the second location causing the telecommunication call to fail.

20. The data processing system of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable code for configuring, at the mobile device of the callee, a location of the mobile device of the callee to appear as a second location; and

computer usable code for transmitting the second location to a service provider of the mobile device of the callee, wherein the second location causes the callee to be excluded from the subset of potential callees.

21. The data processing system of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable code for configuring, at the device of the caller, a threshold number such that the telecommunication call has to be accepted by the threshold number of potential callees; and

computer usable code for configuring, at the device of the caller, a timeout period, wherein the threshold number of potential callees have to accept the telecommunication call within the timeout period.

22. The data processing system of claim 21, further comprising:

computer usable code for receiving, from a first potential callee in the subset of potential callees, an acceptance of the telecommunication call; and

computer usable code for continuing to wait, responsive to determining that a threshold number of potential callees have not accepted the telecommunication call and that the timeout period has not elapsed, for a second potential callee to accept the telecommunication call, wherein the first and the second potential callees are any members of the subset of potential callees.

23. The data processing system of claim 22, further comprising:

computer usable code for evaluating whether to continue the telecommunication call with the first and the second potential callees when the first and the second potential callees are fewer than the threshold number of potential callees; and

computer usable code for disconnecting, responsive to the evaluating being negative, the telecommunication call from the first and the second potential callees.

24. The data processing system of claim 22, further comprising:

computer usable code for evaluating whether to continue the telecommunication call with the first and the second potential callees when the first and the second potential callees are fewer than the threshold number of potential callees; and

computer usable code for sending, responsive to the evaluating being affirmative, an instruction to begin the telecommunication call with the first and the second potential callees.