User intervention based on external data in a tracking device environment

• US 9,965,941 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2016
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TILE, INC. (Life360 Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: TILE, INC. (Life360 Incorporated)
• Inventors: de Barros Chapiewski, Guilherme, Quintana, Melody, Kumar, Mayank, Lettau, Tyler, Patterson, Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): Karikari, Kwasi
• Application Number:
  US15/339,750
• Publication Number:
  US 20170352252A1
• Time in Patent Office: 554 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063116 Schedule adjustment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/04 by breaking of glass
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/14 by lifting or attempted removal of hand-portable articles
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/24 Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• 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 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
• 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 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

A tracking system can provide intervention notifications to a user to notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or is in a predicted state. The tracking system may notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or in a predicted state based on a number of factors, including: a proximity of a tracking device to other tracking devices or a user'"'"'s mobile device, a movement of a tracking device to more than a threshold distance away from a mobile device or other tracking devices, a location of a tracking device relative to a geographic location or to geographic boundaries, a usage or movement behavior of the tracking device, a usage or movement behavior of a user or owner of a tracking device, information received from an external source, or information received from sensors within the tracking device or a user'"'"'s mobile.

Claims

1. A method for locating a tracking device, comprising:

determining, by a central tracking device system, a location of a tracking device of a user, the tracking device coupled to an object;

determining, by the central tracking device system, a location of the user; and

in response to the location of the tracking device being more than a threshold distance from the user;

accessing, by the central tracking device system, external data from an external data source associated with the object by transmitting a request to the external data source for the external data via an application programming interface associated with the external data source;

determining, by the central tracking device system, based on the accessed external data from the external data source, that possession of the object is likely to be useful to the user;

generating, by the central tracking device system, a notification identifying the tracking device and recommending that the user obtain the object; and

providing, by the central tracking device system, the generated notification to a mobile device of the user, the mobile device of the user configured to display the notification to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the external data is accessed in response to receiving a request from the mobile device of the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the external data is accessed in response to movement of the tracking device or movement of the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the external data is accessed in response to the tracking device connecting communicatively with a mobile device of a second user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the external data is accessed in response to determining the location of the tracking device or the location of the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the external data is received periodically from the external data source.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the external data comprises information about events on a schedule associated with the user.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the external data comprises at least one of messages associated with the user or calendar items from a calendar associated with the user.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the external data describes a school-related event on the schedule of the user, and the object is an object associated with school.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the school object is one of a textbook, a pencil case, a notebook, or a laptop.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein determining that possession of the object is likely to be useful to the user is based on a type of the school event on the schedule.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the external data describes a work-related event on the schedule of the user, and the object is an object associated with work.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the work-related object is one of a laptop, a tablet, a phone, an ID badge, headphones, or a briefcase.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the external data describes a trip on the schedule of the user, and the object is a travel object.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the travel object is one of luggage, a phone charger, a laptop charger, a toiletry bag, a passport, an eBook, a computer, a tablet, or a phone.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein determining that possession of the object is likely to be useful to the user is based on a destination of the trip.

17. The method of claim 7, wherein the external data is received from at least one of a calendaring system, a messaging system, a travel system, or a transport system.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the external data source is a weather service, and wherein the external data comprises weather information.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the object is one of a rain-gear object, a snow-gear object, or a warm-weather object.

20. A system for locating a tracking device, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer instructions that, when executed, perform steps comprising;

determining a location of a tracking device of a user, the tracking device coupled to an object;

determining a location of the user; and

in response to the location of the tracking device being more than a threshold distance from the user;

accessing external data from an external data source associated with the object by transmitting a request to the external data source for the external data via an application programming interface associated with the external data source;

determining based on the accessed external data from the external data source, that possession of the object is likely to be useful to the user;

generating a notification identifying the tracking device and recommending that the user obtain the object; and

providing the generated notification to a mobile device of the user, the mobile device of the user configured to display the notification to the user; and

a processor configured to execute the instructions.