Transmitting notifications to users in a venue based on locations of users within the venue

• US 9,807,186 B1
• Filed: 08/12/2016
• Issued: 10/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VenueNext, Inc. (Shift4 Payments, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VenueNext, Inc. (Shift4 Payments, Inc.)
• Inventors: Paul, John M., Jhalani, Deepak, Yang, Dean
• Primary Examiner(s): Ajayi, Joel
• Application Number:
  US15/236,098
• Time in Patent Office: 445 Days
• Field of Search: 4554563
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• 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 4/30 Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes

Abstract

To improve communication with users, a venue management system is associated with the venue and allows an administrator to configure notifications to send to users at or near the venue. To configure a notification, the administrator provides to the venue management system notification information for presentation to users, criteria describing conditions need to be satisfied for the notification to be transmitted to users, and user targeting information identifying characteristics of users to receive the notification. Based on information gathered by the venue management system, the venue management system determines whether at least a threshold amount of the criteria of the notification are satisfied. If at least the threshold amount of the criteria of the notification are satisfied, the venue management system sends the notification to users having characteristics matching at least a threshold amount of the user targeting information.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a venue management system associated with a venue, a notification including notification information for presentation to users of the venue management system and user targeting information identifying an area within the venue;

storing, by the venue management system, criteria to be satisfied for the venue management system to provide the notification to users;

receiving, by the venue management system from a vendor system, vendor information indicating an amount of inventory remaining for a product offered by a vendor or a number of sales of the product by the vendor;

determining, by the venue management system, whether at least a threshold amount of the stored criteria are satisfied based on the vendor information;

responsive to determining that at least the threshold amount of the stored criteria are satisfied;

determining, by the venue management system, one or more users assigned to locations within the area by the venue management system, wherein the one or more users are assigned to the locations within the area based on the one or more users obtaining one or more tickets to enter the venue;

determining, by the venue management system, one or more additional users associated with current locations within the area, the current locations received from client devices associated with the one or more additional users; and

sending, by the venue management system, the notification to client devices associated with the one or more users and to the client devices associated with the one or more additional users, the notification including a promotion associated with the vendor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the current locations are received through a third party system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the third party system is a social networking system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification includes alternative notification information for presentation to users of the venue management system and alternative user targeting information, and sending, by the venue management system, the notification to client devices associated with the one or more users and to the client devices associated with the one or more additional users comprises:

sending the notification information to client devices associated with the one or more users; and

sending the alternative notification information to client device associated with the one or more additional users.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the area within the venue is a region of the venue.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the vendor system processes transactions for the vendor.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored criteria is related to one or more selected from a group consisting of:

an event hosted at the venue, the product offered at the venue, transactions of the vendor located at the venue, weather at the venue, a user, safety conditions at the venue, and any combination thereof.

8. A venue management system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable code that when executed by the one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform steps comprising;

receiving a notification including notification information for presentation to users of the venue management system and user targeting information identifying an area within the venue;

storing criteria to be satisfied for the venue management system to provide the notification to users;

receiving, from a vendor system, vendor information indicating an amount of inventory remaining for a product offered by a vendor or a number of sales of the product by the vendor;

determining whether at least a threshold amount of the stored criteria are satisfied based on the vendor information;

responsive to determining that at least the threshold amount of the stored criteria are satisfied;

determining one or more users assigned to locations within the area by the venue management system, wherein the one or more users are assigned to the locations within the area based on the one or more users obtaining one or more tickets to enter the venue;

determining one or more additional users associated with current locations within the area, the current locations received from client devices associated with the one or more additional users; and

sending the notification to client devices associated with the one or more users and to the client devices associated with the one or more additional users, the notification including a promotion associated with the vendor.

9. The venue management system of claim 8, wherein the area is a region within the venue.

11. The venue management system of claim 8, wherein the current locations are received through a third party system.

12. The venue management system of claim 11, wherein the third party system is a social networking system.

13. The venue management system of claim 8, wherein the notification includes alternative notification information for presentation to users of the venue management system and alternative user targeting information, and sending, by the venue management system, the notification to client devices associated with the one or more users and to the client devices associated with the one or more additional users comprises:

sending the notification information to client devices associated with the one or more users; and

sending the alternative notification information to client device associated with the one or more additional users.

14. The venue management system of claim 8, wherein the vendor system processes transactions for the vendor.

15. The venue management system of claim 8, wherein the stored criteria is related to one or more selected from a group consisting of:

an event hosted at the venue, the product offered at the venue, transactions of the vendor located at the venue, weather at the venue, a user, safety conditions at the venue, and any combination thereof.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer program code which when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform steps comprising:

receiving, by a venue management system associated with a venue, a notification including notification information for presentation to users of the venue management system and user targeting information identifying an area within the venue;

storing, by the venue management system, criteria to be satisfied for the venue management system to provide the notification to users;

receiving, by the venue management system from a vendor system, vendor information indicating an amount of inventory remaining for a product offered by a vendor or a number of sales of the product by the vendor;

determining, by the venue management system, whether at least a threshold amount of the stored criteria are satisfied based on the vendor information;

responsive to determining that at least the threshold amount of the stored criteria are satisfied;

determining, by the venue management system, one or more users assigned to locations within the area by the venue management system, wherein the one or more users are assigned to the locations within the area based on the one or more users obtaining one or more tickets to enter the venue;

determining, by the venue management system, one or more additional users associated with current locations within the area, the current locations received from client devices associated with the one or more additional users; and

sending, by the venue management system, the notification to client devices associated with the one or more users and to the client devices associated with the one or more additional users, the notification including a promotion associated with the vendor.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the current locations are received through a third party system.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the third party system is a social networking system.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the notification includes alternative notification information for presentation to users of the venue management system and alternative user targeting information, and sending, by the venue management system, the notification to client devices associated with the one or more users and to the client devices associated with the one or more additional users comprises:

sending the notification information to client devices associated with the one or more users; and

sending the alternative notification information to client device associated with the one or more additional users.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the vendor system processes transactions for the vendor.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the criteria is related to one or more selected from a group consisting of:

an event hosted at the venue, the product offered at the venue, transactions of the vendor located at the venue, weather at the venue, a user, safety conditions at the venue, and any combination thereof.