Indicating location status

• US 9,720,933 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2016
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Imaizumi, Ryoichi, Ikeda, Daisuke, Smith, Kaleigh S., Maekawa, Keiji
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THU N
• Application Number:
  US15/254,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20160371302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 334 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• 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: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for indicating location status. A computing device can receive a query from a user device, a current time, and a location for the user device. The computing device identifies results responsive to the query, including one or more business results that are each associated with a business location and operating hours. The computing device can select a subset of the business results as open results based on the operating hours of the business results, the current time, and travel times from the device location to the respective business locations. Data can be provided for a search engine results page that designates the subset of the business results as open results.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving a query from a user device, a current time, and a location of the user device;

identifying results responsive to the query, the results including one or more business results that are each associated with a respective business location and respective operating hours;

selecting a subset of the one or more business results as open results based on the respective operating hours of the one or more business results, the current time, and travel times from the location of the user device to the respective business locations, wherein selecting the subset of the one or more business results as open

results comprises;

identifying, for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, a respective source of the respective operating hours associated with the respective business result;

determining a respective reliability score for each source of the respective operating hours;

generating, for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, a respective confidence measure that is based on the respective reliability score for the respective source of the respective operating hours; and

selecting, based on the respective confidence measures, the subset of the one or more business results; and

generating and providing data for a search engine results page that designates the subset of the one or more business results as open results, wherein generating and providing the data for the search engine results page that designates the subset of the one or more business results as open results comprises generating and providing data for a control on the search engine results page that toggles a display of the results based on whether or not the results are open results in response to user interaction with the control.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein selecting the subset of the one or more business results as the open results further comprises:

determining an arrival time to the respective business location for each business result responsive to the query by adding to the current time a travel time to the respective business location for each business result; and

determining that the respective arrival time to the respective business location for each business result occurs between a beginning and an end of the respective operating hours associated with the respective business result.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein providing the data for the search engine results page that designates the subset of the one or more business results as open results further comprises:

providing a label for display on the search engine results page designating at least a subset of the one or more business results as being open now results; and

designating the subset of the one or more business results that are open results for display beneath the label.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting the user interaction with the control; and

in response to detecting the user interaction with the control, providing data for a second search engine results page that only displays the subset of the one or more business results that are open results.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining that a number of open results in the subset of the one or more search results is above a predetermined threshold number of results, wherein providing the data for the control on the search engine results page is performed in response to determining that the number of open results in the subset of the one or more search results is above the predetermined threshold number of results.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein selecting the subset of the one or more business results as open results further comprises:

generating, for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, a confidence score indicating a likelihood that the respective business location for the respective business result is open; and

selecting each of the one or more business results for which the respective confidence score is above a threshold for inclusion in the subset of the one or more business results.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing data indicating check-in times of one or more users at a particular business location; and

determining operating hours for the particular business location based on the check-in times,

wherein selecting the subset of the one or more business results as open results comprises using the operating hours for the particular business location to determine whether to include in the subset a business result corresponding to the particular business location.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein selecting the subset of the one or more business results as open results further comprises:

generating, for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, a confidence score indicating a likelihood that the respective business location for the respective business result is open;

weighting each confidence score based on a distance between the location of the user device and the respective business location corresponding to the respective confidence score; and

selecting, based on the weighted confidence scores, the subset of the one or more business results.

9. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more processors having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

receive a query from a user device, a current time, and a location of the user device;

identify results responsive to the query, the results including one or more business results that are each associated with a respective business location and respective operating hours;

select a subset of the one or more business results as open results based on the respective operating hours of the one or more business results, the current time, and travel times from the location of the user device to the respective business locations, wherein selecting the subset of the one or more business results as open results comprises;

identifying, for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, a respective source of the respective operating hours associated with the respective business result;

determining a respective reliability score for each source of the respective operating hours;

generating, for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, a respective confidence measure that is based on the respective reliability score for the respective source of the respective operating hours; and

selecting, based on the respective confidence measures, the subset of the one or more business results; and

generate and provide data for a search engine results page that designates the subset of the one or more business results as open results, wherein generating and providing the data for the search engine results page that designates the subset of the one or more business results as open results comprises generating and providing data for a control on the search engine results page that toggles a display of the results based on whether or not the results are open results in response to user interaction with the control.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to select the subset of the one or more business results as the open results further cause the one or more processors to:

determine an arrival time to the business location for each business result responsive to the query by adding to the current time a travel time to the respective business location for each business result; and

determine that the respective arrival time to the respective business location for each business result occurs between a beginning and an end of the respective operating hours associated with the respective business result.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to provide the data for the search engine results page that designates the subset of the one or more business results as open results further cause the one or more processors to:

provide a label for display on the search engine results page designating at least a subset of the one or more business results as being open now results; and

designate the subset of the one or more business results that are open results for display beneath the label.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

detect the user interaction with the control; and

in response to detecting user interaction with the control, provide data for a second search engine results page that only displays the subset of the one or more business results that are open results.

13. The system of claim 9,

wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine that a number of open results in the subset of the one or more search results is above a predetermined threshold number of results, and

wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to provide the data for the control on the search engine results page in response to determining that the number of open results in the subset of the one or more search results is above the predetermined threshold number of results.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to select the subset of the business results as open results further cause the one or more processors to:

generate, for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, a confidence score indicating a likelihood that the respective business location for the respective business result is open; and

select each of the one or more business results for which the respective confidence score is above a threshold for inclusion in the subset of the one or more business results.

15. A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when, executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

receiving a query from a user device, a current time, and a location of the user device;

identifying results responsive to the query, the results including one or more business results that are each associated with a respective business location and respective operating hours;

selecting a subset of the one or more business results as open results based on the respective operating hours of the one or more business results, the current time, and travel times from the location of the user device to the respective business locations, wherein selecting the subset of the one or more business results as open results comprises;

identifying, for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, a respective source of the respective operating hours associated with the respective business result;

determining a respective reliability score for each source of the respective operating hours;

generating, for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, a respective confidence measure that is based on the respective reliability score for the respective source of the respective operating hours; and

selecting, based on the respective confidence measures, the subset of the one or more business results; and

generating and providing data for a search engine results page that designates the subset of the one or more business results as open results, wherein generating and providing the data for the search engine results page that designates the subset of the one or more business results as open results comprises generating and providing data for a control on the search engine results page that toggles a display of the results based on whether or not the results are open results in response to user interaction with the control.

16. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 15, wherein selecting the subset of the one or more business results as the open results further comprises:

determining an arrival time to the respective business location for each business result responsive to the query by adding to the current time a travel time to the respective business location for each business result; and

determining that the respective arrival time to the respective business location for each business result occurs between a beginning and an end of the respective operating hours associated with the respective business result.

17. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 15, wherein providing the data for the search engine results page that designates the subset of the one or more business results as open results further comprises:

providing a label for display on the search engine results page designating at least a subset of the one or more business results as being open now results; and

designating the subset of the one or more business results that are open results for display beneath the label.

18. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

detecting the user interaction with the control; and

in response to detecting the user interaction with the control, providing data for a second search engine results page that only displays the subset of the one or more business results that are open results.

19. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise determining that a number of open results in the subset of the one or more search results is above a predetermined threshold number of results, wherein providing the data for the control on the search engine results page is performed in response to determining that the number of open results in the subset of the one or more search results is above the predetermined threshold number of results.

20. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 15, wherein selecting the subset of the one or more business results as open results further comprises:

generating, for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, a confidence score indicating a likelihood that the respective business location for the respective business result is open; and

selecting each of the one or more business results for which the respective confidence score is above a threshold for inclusion in the subset of the one or more business results.