Integrated geospatial activity reporting

• US 9,743,236 B1
• Filed: 06/06/2017
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cars.com LLC (Cars.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cars.com LLC (Cars.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pecard, Jennifer Lou Chae, Bloomfield, Guy Jeffrey, Cohen, Benjamin Mitchell, Jankampet, Ramesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Hua, Quan M
• Application Number:
  US15/615,071
• Time in Patent Office: 77 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

Systems and methods for distinguishing between user mobile device location data indicating user locations within an area of interest or merely near an area of interest are disclosed. User geospatial location data is obtained at user mobile devices (e.g., smartphones) upon the triggering event of a user action (e.g., visiting a web site or using an application on the user mobile device). The location data is stored and compared against polygonal map data accurately and precisely defining a map area of the area of interest. A map view may be generated by generating markers having different styles for user location data within or near the area of interest, which markers may then be overlaid on a map including a polygon representation of the area of interest. Such map view may be augmented by additional data and presented as a report including location and additional data for a plurality of users.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for generating a report regarding user location information, comprising:

receiving, at a server via a communication network from a requesting computing device, a request to generate the report, wherein the request includes report parameters for generating the report;

identifying, by one or more processors of the server, a vehicle dealer lot based upon the report parameters;

accessing, from a memory associated with the server, map data associated with the vehicle dealer lot, the map data including a set of data defining a lot area of the vehicle dealer lot as one or more polygons within a map area including the vehicle dealer lot;

identifying, by one or more processors of the server, a data set including a plurality of data entries selected based upon the report parameters, wherein (i) each data entry in the data set is associated with a user action and with a geospatial location identifier and (ii) the user action is associated with the vehicle dealer lot or the geospatial location identifier indicates a geospatial location within the lot area;

identifying, by the one or more processors of the server, additional vehicle dealer lots based upon the report parameters and identified data set;

generating, by the one or more processors of the server, a report including an indication of a geospatial location of each of the additional vehicle dealer lots; and

transmitting, from the server via the communication network to the requesting computing device, the generated report for presentation to an operator of the requesting computing device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying the additional vehicle dealer lots includes:

identifying a plurality of users associated with the plurality of data entries;

identifying a plurality of additional data entries based upon the report parameters, wherein the additional data entries are associated with the identified users;

generating an extended data set including both the plurality of data entries and the plurality of additional data entries; and

identifying the additional vehicle dealer lots as vehicle dealer lots associated with at least one user action or at least one geospatial location identifier associated with at least one data entry or additional data entry of the extended data set.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the report includes map view data representing the geospatial locations of the additional vehicle dealer lots; and

generating the report further includes;

accessing additional map data representing a geographic region containing the additional vehicle dealer lots;

generating a location marker for each of the additional vehicle dealer lots, the location marker indicating the geospatial location of the respective additional vehicle dealer lot; and

generating the map view data by overlaying each of the location markers on a representation of the geographic region.

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

obtaining, by geolocation units of a plurality of user mobile devices associated with a plurality of users, the geospatial location identifiers of the user mobile devices identifying the geospatial locations of the user mobile devices at times associated with the user actions;

transmitting, from the plurality of user mobile devices to the server via the communication network, the geospatial location identifiers and indicators of the associated user actions; and

storing, in the memory associated with the server, the data entries, each data entry including the respective geospatial location identifier and the respective indicator of the associated user action.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein:

each data entry further includes an indicator of the corresponding user associated with the corresponding user mobile device; and

generating the report includes determining a number of unique users associated with each of the additional vehicle dealer lots based upon the indicators of the users included in the plurality of data entries.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying each of the plurality of data entries includes selecting the respective data entry based upon the associated user action of the data entry indicating an interaction with at least one of the vehicle dealer lot or the additional vehicle dealer lots.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein identifying at least one of the plurality of data entries includes selecting data entries for which:

the indicated interaction includes viewing a vehicle detail page associated with at least one of the additional vehicle dealer lots; and

the geospatial location identifier of the data entry indicates position within the lot area of the vehicle dealer lot.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein identifying at least one of the plurality of data entries includes selecting data entries for which:

the indicated interaction includes viewing a vehicle detail page associated with the vehicle dealer lot; and

the geospatial location identifier of the data entry indicates position within a lot area of one of the additional vehicle dealer lots.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the report parameters include indications limiting the report based upon a geographic area and a time period.

10. A computer system for generating a report regarding user location information, comprising:

one or more processors;

a communication module adapted to communicate data via a network;

a program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computer system to;

receive a request to generate the report from a requesting computing device via the communication module, wherein the request includes report parameters for generating the report;

identify a vehicle dealer lot based upon the report parameters;

access map data associated with the vehicle dealer lot from a memory associated with the computer system, the map data including a set of data defining a lot area of the vehicle dealer lot as one or more polygons within a map area including the vehicle dealer lot;

identify a data set including a plurality of data entries selected based upon the report parameters, wherein (i) each data entry in the data set is associated with a user action and with a geospatial location identifier and (ii) the user action is associated with the vehicle dealer lot or the geospatial location identifier indicates a geospatial location within the lot area;

identify additional vehicle dealer lots based upon the report parameters and identified data set;

generate a report including an indication of a geo spatial location of each of the additional vehicle dealer lots; and

transmit the generated report via the communication network to the requesting computing device for presentation to an operator of the requesting computing device.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system to identify the additional vehicle dealer lots include executable instructions that cause the computer system to:

identify a plurality of users associated with the plurality of data entries;

identify a plurality of additional data entries based upon the report parameters, wherein the additional data entries are associated with the identified users;

generate an extended data set including both the plurality of data entries and the plurality of additional data entries; and

identify the additional vehicle dealer lots as vehicle dealer lots associated with at least one user action or at least one geospatial location identifier associated with at least one data entry or additional data entry of the extended data set.

12. The computer system of claim 10, wherein:

the report includes map view data representing the geospatial locations of the additional vehicle dealer lots; and

the executable instructions that cause the computer system to generate the report include executable instructions that cause the computer system to;

access additional map data representing a geographic region containing the additional vehicle dealer lots;

generate a location marker for each of the additional vehicle dealer lots, the location marker indicating the geospatial location of the respective additional vehicle dealer lot; and

generate the map view data by overlaying each of the location markers on a representation of the geographic region.

13. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer system to:

obtain the geospatial location identifiers of a plurality of user mobile devices identifying the geospatial locations of the user mobile devices at times associated with the user actions using geolocation units of the plurality of user mobile devices associated with a plurality of users;

transmit the geospatial location identifiers and indicators of the associated user actions from the plurality of user mobile devices to the computer system via the communication network; and

store the data entries in the memory associated with the computer system, each data entry including the respective geospatial location identifier and the respective indicator of the associated user action.

14. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system to identify each of the plurality of data entries include executable instructions that cause the computer system to select the respective data entry based upon the associated user action of the data entry indicating an interaction with at least one of the vehicle dealer lot or the additional vehicle dealer lots.

15. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions for generating a map displaying user location information that, when executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to:

receive a request to generate the report from a requesting computing device via a communication network, wherein the request includes report parameters for generating the report;

identify a vehicle dealer lot based upon the report parameters;

access map data associated with the vehicle dealer lot from a memory associated with the computer system, the map data including a set of data defining a lot area of the vehicle dealer lot as one or more polygons within a map area including the vehicle dealer lot;

identify a data set including a plurality of data entries selected based upon the report parameters, wherein (i) each data entry in the data set is associated with a user action and with a geospatial location identifier and (ii) the user action is associated with the vehicle dealer lot or the geospatial location identifier indicates a geospatial location within the lot area;

identify additional vehicle dealer lots based upon the report parameters and identified data set;

generate a report including an indication of a geo spatial location of each of the additional vehicle dealer lots; and

transmit the generated report via the communication network to the requesting computing device for presentation to an operator of the requesting computing device.

16. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system to identify the additional vehicle dealer lots include executable instructions that cause the computer system to:

identify a plurality of users associated with the plurality of data entries;

identify a plurality of additional data entries based upon the report parameters, wherein the additional data entries are associated with the identified users;

generate an extended data set including both the plurality of data entries and the plurality of additional data entries; and

identify the additional vehicle dealer lots as vehicle dealer lots associated with at least one user action or at least one geospatial location identifier associated with at least one data entry or additional data entry of the extended data set.

17. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein:

the report includes map view data representing the geospatial locations of the additional vehicle dealer lots; and

the executable instructions that cause the computer system to generate the report include executable instructions that cause the computer system to;

access additional map data representing a geographic region containing the additional vehicle dealer lots;

generate a location marker for each of the additional vehicle dealer lots, the location marker indicating the geospatial location of the respective additional vehicle dealer lot; and

generate the map view data by overlaying each of the location markers on a representation of the geographic region.

18. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer system to:

obtain the geospatial location identifiers of a plurality of user mobile devices identifying the geospatial locations of the user mobile devices at times associated with the user actions using geolocation units of the plurality of user mobile devices associated with a plurality of users;

transmit the geospatial location identifiers and indicators of the associated user actions from the plurality of user mobile devices to the computer system via the communication network; and

store the data entries in the memory associated with the computer system, each data entry including the respective geospatial location identifier and the respective indicator of the associated user action.

19. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein:

each data entry further includes an indicator of the corresponding user associated with the corresponding user mobile device; and

generating the report includes determining a number of unique users associated with each of the additional vehicle dealer lots based upon the indicators of the users included in the plurality of data entries.

20. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system to identify each of the plurality of data entries include executable instructions that cause the computer system to select the respective data entry based upon the associated user action of the data entry indicating an interaction with at least one of the vehicle dealer lot or the additional vehicle dealer lots.