Place-specific buddy list services

• US 9,554,250 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2015
• Issued: 01/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: De Vries, Jean Pierre
• Primary Examiner(s): Vuong, Quochien B
• Application Number:
  US14/925,677
• Publication Number:
  US 20160255476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 454 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/422.1, 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.4, 455/456.6, 455/457, 455/466, 455/518, 455/566, 340/993
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 2001/085 Partner search devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• 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 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/14 between corresponding nodes

Abstract

An information service provides search and notifications to inform when certain people (e.g., friends, family, business contacts, etc.) are nearby so as to facilitate communications with those people. Users may define lists of people whose locations may be tracked by positioning equipment based on personal communications/computing devices carried by the people. The information service processes this people and place data to identify those of the listed people that are in the user'"'"'s vicinity, and provide notifications and user-initiated search results informing the user such as via the user'"'"'s personal communications/computing device.

Claims

1. A method for providing a location information service, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first mobile computing device, one or more reports of a location of the first mobile computing device;

determining, based at least in part on the one or more reports of the location of the first mobile computing device, one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device;

showing on a visual display the one or more places near the location of the first mobile device to the first mobile computing device; and

upon a selection of one of the one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device, providing a prompt to share the selection to a second mobile computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at least one additional report of a location of the first mobile computing device when the first mobile computing device is no longer at the selected one of the one or more places; and

updating the location of the first mobile computing device.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising transmitting the updated location to the second mobile computing device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more places comprises a role of the at least one of the one or more places.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a role of the at least one or more places comprises one of work and home.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a user of the first mobile computing device has an established relationship with a user of the second mobile computing device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the user of the second mobile computing device is a contact of the user of the first mobile computing device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the selection of the one of the one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device.

9. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media encoding computer executable instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, performs a method for providing a location information service, the method comprising:

inferring a location of a first mobile computing device;

determining, based at least in part on the inferred location of the first mobile computing device, one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device;

receiving a selection of one of the one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device; and

providing a prompt to share the selection of the one of the one or more places to a second mobile computing device.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 9, further comprising instructions for:

receiving at least one additional report of a location of the first mobile computing device when the first mobile computing device is no longer at the selected one of the one or more places; and

updating the location of the first mobile computing device.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 10, further comprising instructions for initiating transmission of the updated location to the second mobile computing device.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more places comprises a role of the at least one of the one or more places.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 12, wherein a role of the at least one or more places comprises one of work and home.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 9, wherein a user of the first mobile computing device has an established relationship with a user of the second mobile computing device.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein the user of the second mobile computing device is a contact of the user of the first mobile computing device.

16. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory for storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method for providing a location information service, the method comprising;

receiving, from a first mobile computing device, one or more reports of a location of the first mobile computing device;

determining, based at least in part on the one or more reports of the location of the first mobile computing device, one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device;

showing on a visual display the one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device to the first mobile computing device, wherein user selection of one of the one or more places near the location of the first mobile computing device results in providing a prompt to share the selection of the one of the one or more places to a second mobile computing device.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising instructions for:

receiving at least one additional report of a location of the first mobile computing device when the first mobile computing device is no longer at the selected one of the one or more places; and

updating the location of the first mobile computing device.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein at least one of the one or more places comprises a role of the at least one of the one or more places.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein a role of the at least one or more places comprises one of work and home.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein a user of the first mobile computing device has an established relationship with a user of the second mobile computing device.