Communication system and method of generating geographic social networks in virtual space

• US 9,507,749 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2013
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jong W. Lee
• Original Assignee: Jong W. Lee
• Inventors: Lee, Jong W.
• Primary Examiner(s): DINH, KHANH Q
• Application Number:
  US13/896,533
• Publication Number:
  US 20130311567A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,292 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/228, 707/784
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/163 Interprocessor communication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

A system and related method are disclosed for location-sensitive social networking. A server has access to a map and a list of points of interest with location data by which they may be located on the map. The server establishes a virtual area around a point of interest based on a certain distance or time from the point of interest, a physical or legal parameter, or some combination of those techniques. Users whose devices are located within the virtual area are published to users of the system, and identified distinctly for social networking and communication. Users may also form groups.

Claims

1. A method for location-sensitive social networking, comprising:

selecting, by the server, at least one point of interest maintained in memory accessible to the server;

determining, by the server, at least one virtual area around the at least one point of interest;

detecting, by the server, devices in use within the at least one virtual area; and

determining, by the server, the user of a device in the at least one virtual area;

determining, by the server, a user group in which the user is a member;

determining the members of the user group;

publishing the location of the device only to members of the user group; and

wherein determining the at least one virtual area further comprises establishing a maximum time such that all persons capable of arriving at one point of interest within the maximum time are in the virtual are in the virtual area.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein selecting the at least one point of interest comprises:

transmitting, by the server, a set of all points of interest belonging to a particular geographical area to a client device operated by a user; and

receiving, by the server and from the client device, user inputs selecting at least one point of interest from the set.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein selecting a point of interest comprises:

receiving, by the server, a user-input query; and

finding, by the server, at least one point of interest matching the query.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining the at least one virtual area comprises establishing a maximum distance from one point of interest such that all points closer to the point of interest than the maximum distance are in the virtual area.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining the at least one virtual area comprises determining the physical boundaries of a property containing one point of interest.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining the at least one virtual area further comprises combining at least two virtual areas into a new virtual area containing their union.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining the at least one virtual area further comprises combining at least two virtual areas into a new virtual area containing their intersection.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining the at least one virtual area further comprises:

determining, by the server, a category to which one point of interest belongs; and

determining, by the server, the size of the at least one virtual area based on the category.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein detecting devices in use within the at least one virtual area comprises identifying a device having a fixed location known to be in the at least one virtual area.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein detecting devices in use within the at least one virtual area comprises:

receiving, from a device, location data;

determining that the location data falls within the at least one virtual area; and

identifying the device as located within the at least one virtual area.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein detecting devices in use within the at least one virtual area comprises:

detecting at least one local wireless transmitter;

measuring the strength of signal of the at least one transmitter to calculate an approximate distance from the transmitter; and

using the approximate distance and the location data to determine the vertical location of the device.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein determining that the location data falls within the at least one virtual area comprises:

computing the distance from the location data to the point of interest; and

determining that a point within the computed distance of the point of interest is in the virtual area.

13. A method according to claim 10, wherein determining that the location data falls within the at least one virtual area comprises:

deriving a collection of coordinates that fall on the boundaries of the virtual area; and

comparing the location data to the coordinates in the collection.

14. A method according to claim 10, wherein determining that the location data falls within the at least one virtual area comprises:

determining a display resolution;

mapping the coordinates corresponding to each pixel within the virtual area at the determined resolution; and

matching the location data to the coordinates corresponding to a pixel in the virtual area at the determined resolution.

15. A method according to claim 1, further comprising providing, by the server, communication services between users.

16. A method according to claim 1, further comprising restricting at least one of the communication services to members of a user group.

17. A method according to claim 1, further comprising restricting at least one of the communication services to devices located in the at least one virtual area.

18. A system for location-sensitive social networking, comprising:

at least one server having a processor and a memory;

a map component, executing on the server, selecting at least one point of interest maintained in memory accessible to the server, and determining at least one virtual area around the at least one point of interest;

a device location component, executing on the server and detecting devices in use within the at least one virtual area; and

a social network component, executing on the server, determining the user of a device in the at least one virtual area, determining a user group in which the user is a member, determining the members of the user group, and publishing the location of the device only to members of the user group, and publishing the results of that detection to at least one client device;

wherein determining the at least one virtual area further comprises establishing a maximum time such that all persons capable of arriving at one point of interest within the maximum time are in the virtual are in the virtual area.