Wireless ad-hoc social networking

• US 9,999,096 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bill, David S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mattis, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): HALL, TEISHA DANEA
• Application Number:
  US13/826,797
• Publication Number:
  US 20130194970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,916 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• 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 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/10 Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A first device may communicate by joining a wireless mesh network that includes at least one wireless device configured to operate a wireless routing protocol, discovering a group of other wireless devices configured to participate in the wireless mesh network, and accessing an interest metric for a second wireless device in the group of other wireless devices. The interest metric is based in part on a network topology from the wireless mesh network. The interest metric is related to an interest threshold and it is determined whether relating the interest metric to the interest threshold supports enabling messaging communications. If so, messaging communications may be enabled.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

discovering, by one or more processors of a first wireless device, a plurality of wireless devices in an ad-hoc network of wireless devices;

identifying, by the one or more processors, a social interest characteristic associated with the first wireless device;

identifying, by the one or more processors, wireless devices of the plurality of wireless devices that are within a predefined number of hops from the first wireless device; and

enabling communications to be exchanged between the first wireless device and the wireless devices that share, the social interest characteristic with the first wireless device within the predefined number of hops from the first wireless device by identifying a communications pathway from the first wireless device to each of the wireless devices that shares, the social interest characteristic with the first wireless device within the predefined number of hops from the first wireless device, each communications pathway being through one or more of the plurality of wireless devices in the ad-hoc network of wireless devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the social interest characteristic is a user-selected characteristic.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user-selected characteristic comprises a type of user associated with a wireless device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user-selected characteristic is based on profile information.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the user-selected characteristic is whether a user of a wireless device is included in a buddy list.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the wireless devices of the plurality of wireless devices further comprises identifying wireless devices that are within a specified geographic proximity of the first wireless device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein enabling communications to be exchanged between the first wireless device and the wireless devices within the predefined number of hops from the first wireless device comprises enabling communications to be exchanged between the first wireless and the wireless devices within the specified geographic proximity of the first wireless device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying the wireless devices that are within the specified geographic proximity of the first wireless device comprises using global positioning signals.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a user selection of the social interest characteristic through a graphical user interface (GUI) selection window, and wherein the social interest characteristic is whether a user of a wireless device is included in a co-user list.

9. A computer program product for use at a first wireless device,

the computer program product comprising one or more non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed at a processor, cause the first wireless device to:

discover a plurality of wireless devices in an ad-hoc network of wireless devices;

identify a social interest characteristic associated with the first wireless device;

identify wireless devices of the plurality of wireless devices that are within a predefined number of hops from the first wireless device; and

enable communications to be exchanged between the first wireless device and the wireless

devices that share the social interest characteristic with the first wireless device within the predefined number of hops from the first wireless device by identifying a communications pathway from the first wireless device to each of the wireless devices that shares the social interest characteristic with the first wireless device within the predefined number of hops from the first wireless device, each communications pathway being through one or more of the plurality of wireless devices in the ad-hoc network of wireless devices.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the social interest characteristic is whether a user of a wireless device is included in a co-user list.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the first wireless device to receive a user selection of the social interest characteristic through a Graphical User Interface (GUI) selection window.

12. A first wireless device comprising:

at least one processor;

a non-transitory storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first wireless device to perform steps comprising;

discovering a plurality of wireless devices within a predefined number of hops from first wireless device in an ad-hoc network of wireless devices;

identify a characteristic associated with the first wireless device wherein the characteristic is a social interest characteristic;

identify wireless devices of the plurality of wireless devices within the predefined number of hops from the first wireless device; and

enabling exchange of communications between the first wireless device and the wireless devices that share the social interest characteristic with the first wireless device within the predefined number of hops from the first wireless device and having the characteristic by identifying a communications pathway from the first wireless device to each of the wireless devices that shares, or has a user that shares, the social interest characteristic with the first wireless device or the first user of the first wireless device within the predefined number of hops from the first wireless device and having the characteristic, each communications pathway being through one or more of the plurality of wireless devices within the predefined number of hops from the first wireless device in the ad-hoc network of wireless devices.

13. The first wireless device of claim 12, wherein the characteristic further comprises a level of available bandwidth.

14. The first wireless device of claim 13, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first wireless device to configure a Graphical User Interface (GUI) including an icon representing a second wireless device in the ad-hoc network of wireless devices having the characteristic.

15. The first wireless device of claim 14, wherein enabling exchange of data comprises:

receiving a selection of the icon representing the second wireless device in the ad-hoc network of wireless devices having the characteristic; and

broadcasting a presence of the first wireless device to the second wireless device.

16. The first wireless device of claim 12, wherein the characteristic further comprises a geographic location.

17. The first wireless device of claim 16, wherein the geographic location comprises a geographic region.

18. The first wireless device of claim 12, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first wireless device to receive a user selection of the characteristic through a Graphical User Interface (GUI) selection window.

20. The first wireless device of claim 12, wherein the social interest characteristic is whether a user of a wireless device is included in a co-user list.