Logging communication events using location information

• US 9,544,377 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2010
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Skype S.Ã R.L. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: McLaughlin, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): AJIBADE AKONAI, OLUMIDE
• Application Number:
  US12/803,800
• Publication Number:
  US 20110201313A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,379 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.5, 455/456.6, 4554561-4563, 455/457
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A user terminal comprising: a positioning system arranged to detect a geographical location of the user terminal; a transceiver for communicating with other user terminals via a communication network; and a communication processing apparatus coupled to the transceiver and positioning system. The communication processing apparatus is arranged to detect communication events occurring via the transceiver and communication network in relation to other user terminals, and to maintain a log of the communication events. Further, the communication processing apparatus is configured to organize the log in dependence on a geographical location detected by the positioning system.

Claims

1. A user terminal comprising:

a positioning system arranged to detect a geographical location of said user terminal;

a transceiver for communicating with other user terminals via a communication network; and

a communication processing apparatus coupled to the transceiver and positioning system, arranged to detect communication events occurring via said transceiver and communication network in relation to other user terminals, and to maintain a log of said communication events;

wherein the communication processing apparatus is configured to perform operations including;

detecting a current geographical location of the user terminal based on geographical coordinates;

receiving user input at the user terminal defining a name for the current geographical location;

associating the user-defined name with the current geographical location to define the current geographical location as a user-defined location;

organizing said log in dependence on distances of the user terminal at the user-defined location from geographical locations for each of a plurality of the communication events; and

outputting a user interface that includes a visual identification of a respective distance between the user-defined location of the user terminal and the geographical location for each of the plurality of the communication events.

2. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the communication processing apparatus is configured to generate an organized set of controls enabling further communication events to be initiated based on the organized log.

3. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the communication processing apparatus is configured to organize said log in dependence on the current geographical location.

4. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the communication processing apparatus is configured to capture a geographical location of said user terminal from the positioning system at a respective time of each of said communication events, and to organize said log in dependence on the captured geographical locations.

5. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the communication processing apparatus is configured to capture a geographical location of said user terminal from the positioning system at a respective time of each of said communication events, and to organize said log in dependence on the captured geographical locations, and the communication processing apparatus is configured to organize said log in dependence on the current geographical location relative to the captured geographical locations.

6. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein said user terminal is a mobile user terminal.

7. The user terminal of claim of claim 1, wherein said communication events are in relation to other mobile user terminals.

8. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein said positioning system comprises a satellite-based positioning system.

9. The user terminal of claim 8, wherein said positioning system comprises a GPS receiver.

10. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein said transceiver is operable to communicate over a wireless cellular network comprising a plurality of cells each served by a corresponding base station, and the positioning system is configured to detect said current geographical location of the user terminal based on a location of at least one of said base stations.

11. The user terminal of claim 10, wherein the positioning system is configured to detect said current geographical location of the user terminal based on a triangulation performed using a plurality of said base stations.

12. The user terminal of claim 1 wherein said transceiver is operable to communicate over a packet-based network comprising a plurality of wireless access points, and the positioning system is configured to detect said current geographical location of the user terminal based on an identity of one of said wireless access points.

13. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the communication processing apparatus is configured to determine a respective distance between the current location of said user terminal and a captured location of each of said communication events, and to organize the log in dependence on said distances.

14. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the communication processing apparatus is configured to identify one of a plurality of predetermined sites based on said geographical location, and to organize the log in dependence on said identified site.

15. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate via the Internet, said communication events being via the Internet.

16. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein said communication events comprise at least one of a voice call, a video call, a missed call, a voicemail message, and an IM chat message.

17. A communication system comprising:

a user terminal comprising a transceiver for engaging in communication events over a communication network, wherein the user terminal is a mobile user terminal comprising a positioning system arranged to detect a geographical location of the user terminal, and the user terminal comprises a communication processing apparatus arranged to maintain a log of said communication events; and

wherein the communication processing apparatus is configured to perform operations including;

detecting a current geographical location of the user terminal based on geographical coordinates;

receiving user input at the user terminal defining a name for the current geographical location;

associating the user-defined name with the current geographical location to define the current geographical location as a user-defined location;

organizing said log in dependence on distances of the user terminal at the user-defined location from geographical locations for each of a plurality of the communication events; and

outputting a user interface that includes a visual identification of a respective distance between the user-defined location and the geographical location for each of the plurality of the communication events.

18. A method comprising:

detecting a current geographical location of a user terminal based on geographical coordinates;

receiving user input at the user terminal defining a name for the current geographical location;

associating the user-defined name with the current geographical location to define the current geographical location as a user-defined location;

detecting communication events occurring via the user terminal using a communication network;

maintaining a log of said communication events;

organizing said log in dependence on distances of the user terminal at the user-defined location from geographical locations for each of a plurality of the communication events; and

causing to be displayed a user interface that includes a visual identification of a respective distance between the user-defined location and the geographical location for each of the plurality of the communication events.

19. A computer program product comprising code embodied on a memory and configured so as to be executed on a user terminal to cause the user terminal to perform operations comprising:

detecting a current geographical location of said user terminal based on geographical coordinates;

receiving user input at the user terminal defining a name for the current geographical location;

storing the name for the current geographical location on the user terminal;

associating the user-defined name with the current geographical location to define the current geographical location as a user-defined location;

detecting communication events occurring via said user terminal at the user-defined location;

maintaining a log of said communication events;

organizing said log in dependence on distances of the user terminal at the user-defined location from geographical locations for each of a plurality of the communication events; and

outputting a user interface that includes a visual identification of a respective distance between the user-defined location and the geographical location for each of the plurality of communication events.

20. The computer-program product as recited in claim 19, wherein the user interface comprises one or more other user-defined locations, and lists one or more other communication events that occurred at the one or more other user-defined locations.