System and method for mobile device location tracking with a communication event trigger in a wireless network

• US 9,924,309 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2015
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo Holdings, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Lipman, Sol, Robinson, David, Bonforte, Jeffrey, Chen, Victor
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho, Huy C
• Application Number:
  US14/959,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20170164145A1
• Time in Patent Office: 837 Days
• Field of Search: 4554563
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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 4/025 using location based information parameters

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods for location tracking. In one embodiment, an apparatus receives a message sent to a user of a mobile device in a wireless network, and a processor determines at least one location parameter. Data is extracted from the message, and initiation of a computing function (e.g., transmission of a communication to the mobile device) is triggered by a match between the location and the data from the message.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, over a network, electronic communications sent to a user, each communication associated with a respective location;

extracting data from a first communication of the received communications, the communication associated with a first location, and the extracted data comprising tracking data associated with a physical object;

storing the extracted data from the first communication in a data repository;

after the storing of the extracted data, determining, by at least one processor, a location of a user device of the user;

determining, by the least one processor, that the location of the user device is within a geofence associated with the first location;

in response to determining that the location of the user device is within the geofence, transmitting a notification to the user device indicating availability of information associated with the first location, wherein a user interface of the user device presents an option for selection by the user;

in response to selection of the option by the user, generating, by the least one processor, a new communication, the generating comprising accessing the extracted data in the data repository and including the extracted data in the new communication; and

transmitting, over a network, by the least one processor, the new communication to cause a display in the user interface of the user device, wherein the display presents the tracking data extracted from the first communication.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to determining that the location of the user device is within the geofence, extracting data from each of the received communications, including the first communication.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication comprises metadata, and the extracting of the data from the first communication is performed using the metadata.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracting of the data comprises extracting the data from the first communication based on prior activity of the user device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating an expiration with the first communication, wherein the transmitting the new communication is subject to determining a status of the expiration.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving parameters from the user device, wherein the identifying is controlled by the parameters.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a profile for the user device, the profile comprising data collected from prior network interactions with the user device, wherein the display comprises information selected based on the profile.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a profile from the user interface, wherein the generating the new communication is subject to the profile.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically identifying computing devices of senders that meet relevancy criteria, wherein the transmitting the new communication is subject to a computing device of a sender of the first communication conforming to the relevancy criteria.

10. A system comprising:

a data repository to store electronic communications sent to a user of a user device, each communication associated with a respective location;

at least one processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for tangibly storing thereon program logic for execution by the processor, the program logic comprising;

communication logic executed by the processor for receiving, over a network, the electronic communications, and for transmitting, over the network, a new communication to cause a display in a user interface of the user device;

extraction logic executed by the processor for extracting data from a first communication of the received communications, the first communication associated with a first location, and the extracted data comprising tracking data associated with a physical object;

storage logic executed by the processor for storing the extracted data from the first communication in the data repository;

location logic executed by the processor for determining, after the storing of the extracted data, a location of the user device;

matching logic executed by the processor for determining that the location of the user device is within a geofence associated with the first location; and

generation logic executed by the processor for, in response to determining that the location of the user device is within the geofence, generating the new communication, the generating comprising accessing the extracted data in the data repository and including the tracking data extracted from the first communication in the new communication.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the first communication comprises metadata, and the data is extracted from the first communication using the metadata.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium tangibly encoded with computer-executable instructions, that when executed by at least one processor associated with a computing system, performs a method comprising:

receiving, over a network, electronic communications sent to a user of a user device, each communication associated with a respective location;

extracting data from a first communication of the received communications, the first communication associated with a first location, and the extracted data comprising tracking data;

storing the extracted data from the first communication in a data repository;

after the storing of the extracted data, determining a location of the user device;

determining that the location of the user device is within a geofence associated with the first location, the determining comprising accessing the data repository to obtain location data;

in response to determining that the location of the user device is within the geofence, generating a new communication, wherein the tracking data is included in the new communication; and

transmitting, over a network, the new communication to the user device to cause an event on the user device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises extracting data from each of the received communications, including the first communication.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the extracting of the data comprises extracting the data from the first communication based on prior activity of the user device, and the method further comprising generating a profile for the user device, the profile comprising data collected from at least one prior communication with the user device, wherein the event comprises display of data selected at least based on the profile.