Facility mapping and interactive tracking

• US 9,712,980 B1
• Filed: 02/12/2015
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alexey Filatoff
• Original Assignee: Alexey Filatoff
• Inventors: Filatoff, Alexey
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bassett, Daniel G
• Application Number:
  US14/621,217
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/02 Indoor
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02 using radio waves using satellite radio beacon systems for determining position G01S19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0295 Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

A portable electronic device configured to function as an electronic identifier in a facility and to display an interactive graphical facility map of the facility, a facility mapping and visitor tracking system, and a set of facility mapping and visitor tracking processes are disclosed.

Claims

1. A facility mapping and visitor tracking system that tracks a location of a visitor within a facility to generate a facility map and deliver targeted area-specific advertising to a visitor based on the location of the visitor, said facility mapping and visitor tracking system comprising:

a database management system that stores advertising data associated with a plurality of businesses within the facility;

a first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility, wherein each area in the first plurality of contiguous areas is defined by a perimeter that surrounds the area, wherein each area in the first plurality of contiguous areas includes a set of businesses that are located within the perimeter that surrounds the area, wherein the set of businesses located within the perimeter that surrounds each area in the first plurality of contiguous areas is different from the businesses located within the perimeters of the other areas in the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility;

a first plurality of wireless communication devices, wherein each wireless communication device in the first plurality of wireless communication devices is located within one area of the first plurality of contiguous areas that is different from the area in which each other wireless communication device is located, wherein each wireless communication device in the first plurality of wireless communication devices defines a wireless communication range associated with an area in the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility, wherein each wireless communication range exceeds the defined perimeter that surrounds the associated area;

a portable electronic device dispenser that is physically positioned at an entry point of the facility to dispense portable electronic devices to visitors entering the facility and receive returned portable electronic devices from visitors leaving the facility;

a particular portable electronic device dispensed, from the portable electronic device dispenser, to the visitor to provide facility map views of the facility and deliver targeted advertising to the visitor, wherein the particular portable electronic device is configured to connect wirelessly to a particular wireless communication device located in a particular area in the first plurality of contiguous areas when the visitor is located within a wireless communication range associated with the particular area, wherein the particular portable electronic device is configured to receive a particular facility map view from the particular wireless communication device and to display the particular facility map view on a screen of the portable electronic device while the visitor is located within the wireless communication range associated with the particular area, wherein the particular portable electronic device is configured to update the facility map view displayed on the screen in real-time as the location of the visitor changes from the wireless communication range associated with the particular area to a different wireless communication range associated with a different wireless communication device that is located in an area that is contiguous with the particular area in the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility; and

a central server that generates a unique identifier (UID) to associate with identifying information about the visitor and a unique hardware identifier of the particular portable electronic device dispensed to the visitor, wherein the central server is configured to transmit facility map views to the particular portable electronic device based on the location of the visitor.

2. The facility mapping and visitor tracking system of claim 1, wherein the facility is a building facility with a set of building facility entry points, wherein each visitor is a consumer who enters the building facility at a building facility entry point, wherein the portable electronic device dispenser is a building facility portable electronic device dispenser in a set of building facility portable electronic device dispensers, wherein each building facility entry point has a building facility portable electronic device dispenser, wherein targeted advertisements are displayed on the portable electronic device dispensed to each visitor.

3. The facility mapping and visitor tracking system of claim 2, wherein the database management system that stores advertising data associated with a plurality of businesses within the building facility further stores area location data for each business that indicates the area in which the business is located within the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility.

4. The facility mapping and visitor tracking system of claim 3, wherein the central server further identifies each visitor by a set of user credentials the visitor inputs into the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is dispensed to the visitor, wherein the identifying information about the visitor comprises the set of user credentials, wherein the central server transmits the targeted advertisements based on the identified visitor using the portable electronic device, wherein the targeted advertisements comprise at least one of a textual advertisement of a first nearby business which is located within an area in the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility associated in which a wireless communication device is located and which is associated with a wireless communication range in which the identified visitor is located, a video advertisement of a second nearby business which is located within an area in the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility associated in which a wireless communication device is located and which is associated with a wireless communication range in which the identified visitor is located, a computer graphics image (CGI) advertisement of a third nearby business which is located within an area in the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility associated in which a wireless communication device is located and which is associated with a wireless communication range in which the identified visitor is located, and a set of advertisements of nearby businesses located within another different area of the facility that is different from the area in the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility associated in which a wireless communication device is located and which is associated with a wireless communication range in which the identified visitor is located.

5. The facility mapping and visitor tracking system of claim 4, wherein the different area of the facility is a nearby area that is contiguous to the area in the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility, wherein the identified visitor is located in both the wireless communication range associated with the wireless communication device located in the area and a different wireless communication range associated with a different wireless communication device located in the different area of the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility.

6. The facility mapping and visitor tracking system of claim 4 further comprising a second plurality of contiguous areas of the facility that are separated from the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility by a middle walking area, wherein each area in the second plurality of contiguous areas of the facility is defined by a perimeter that surrounds the area, wherein each area in the second plurality of contiguous areas of the facility includes a set of businesses that are located within the perimeter that surrounds the area, wherein the set of businesses located within the perimeter that surrounds each area in the second plurality of contiguous areas of the facility is different from the businesses located within the perimeters of the other areas in the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility and in the second plurality of contiguous areas of the facility.

7. The facility mapping and visitor tracking system of claim 6, wherein the different area of the facility is a separated area in the second plurality of contiguous areas of the facility, wherein the identified visitor is located in both the wireless communication range associated with the wireless communication device located in the area in the first plurality of contiguous areas of the facility and an overlapping wireless communication range associated with a separate wireless communication device located in the separated area of the second plurality of contiguous areas of the facility.