Location Information Management

• US 20070260531A1
• Filed: 05/01/2007
• Published: 11/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emodo Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: 1020, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Bezancon, Anne
• Granted Patent: US 7,942,319 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

A method of managing product-location specific information is provided. Product-location specific information is collected from multiple users at a centralized network hub and transformed into location-harmonized data with one or more attached attributes including product data. The location-harmonized product-location specific data and/or content derived therefrom is distributed, and/or other content is distributed based on the location-harmonized product-location specific data and/or on the location harmonized data, to the same or different users. One or more efficient customer access methods is/are also provided.

Claims

1. A method of managing product-location specific information, comprising:

(a) collecting product-location specific information from multiple users at a centralized network hub;

(b) transforming said information including harmonizing location data to generate location-harmonized data;

(c) attaching one or more attributes to the location-harmonized data at least including product data to generate location-harmonized product-location specific data; and

(d) distributing said location-harmonized product-location specific data, or content derived therefrom, or distributing other content based thereon or based on said location-harmonized data, or combinations thereof, to the same or different users, including providing one or more efficient user access methods.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the harmonizing of the location data comprises converting collected location information to latitude-longitude coordinates.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the harmonizing of the location data comprises geocoding.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the geocoding comprises converting collected location information to latitude-longitude coordinates.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the geocoding comprises providing an electronic map and determining latitude-longitude coordinates of a specific location on the map indicated by a user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the harmonizing of the location data comprises assigning a same location identifier to at least two location data corresponding to a same geographic location

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising translating the location-harmonized product-location specific data to one or more specific customer access formats.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising translating the location-harmonized product-location specific data to one or more specific customer access typologies or languages or both.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising translating the location-harmonized data to one or more specific customer access formats.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising translating the location-harmonized data to one or more specific customer access typologies or languages or both.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more attributes further comprise vendor data.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more attributes further comprise time data.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the distributing comprises determining that a location of an on-line user is within a geographic region that is sufficiently proximate to the location corresponding to an instance of the location-harmonized product-location specific data.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising visualizing the location-harmonized information for the customer by providing a geographical map identifying locations of products.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said map comprises an interactive component that permits a customer to retrieve product, vendor, time, or other attribute, or combinations thereof, relating to a location identified on the map.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the location comprises an area on the map.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising reporting activity relating to the handling of the product-location specific information or data generated therefrom, or combinations thereof.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein said users from whom said information is collected comprise vendors of said products.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein said users from whom said information is collected comprise customers of said centralized network hub.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the users to whom said data is distributed comprise on-line users.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the users to whom said data is distributed comprise real or potential customers, or vendors, of said products, or combinations thereof.

22. One or more computer readable media encoded with a computer program for programming one or more processors to perform a method of managing product-location specific information, wherein the method comprises:

(a) collecting product-location specific information from multiple users at a centralized network hub;

(b) transforming said information including harmonizing location data to generate location-harmonized data;

(c) attaching one or more attributes to the location-harmonized data at least including product data to generate location-harmonized product-location specific data; and

(d) distributing said location-harmonized product-location specific data or content derived therefrom, or distributing other content based thereon or based on said location-harmonized data, or combinations thereof, to the same or different users, including providing one or more efficient customer access methods.

23. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the harmonizing of the location data comprises converting collected location information to latitude-longitude coordinates.

24. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the harmonizing of the location data comprises geocoding.

25. The one or more computer readable media of claim 24, wherein the geocoding comprises converting collected location information to latitude-longitude coordinates.

26. The one or more computer readable media of claim 24, wherein the geocoding comprises providing an electronic map and determining latitude-longitude coordinates of a specific location on the map indicated by a user.

27. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the harmonizing of the location data comprises assigning a same location identifier to at least two location data corresponding to a same geographic location

28. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the method further comprises translating the location-harmonized product-location specific data to one or more specific customer access formats.

29. The one or more computer readable media of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises translating the location-harmonized product-location specific data to one or more specific customer access typologies or languages or both.

30. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the method further comprises translating the location-harmonized data to one or more specific customer access formats.

31. The one or more computer readable media of claim 30, wherein the method further comprises translating the location-harmonized data to one or more specific customer access typologies or languages or both.

32. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the one or more attributes further comprise vendor data.

33. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the one or more attributes further comprise time data.

34. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the distributing comprises determining that a location of an on-line user is within a geographic region that is sufficiently proximate to the location corresponding to an instance of the location-harmonized product-location specific data.

35. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the method further comprises visualizing the location-harmonized information for the customer by providing a geographical map identifying locations of products.

36. The one or more computer readable media of claim 35, wherein said map comprises an interactive component that permits a customer to retrieve product, vendor, time, or other attribute, or combinations thereof, relating to a location identified on the map.

37. The one or more computer readable media of claim 36, wherein the location comprises an area on the map.

38. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the method further comprises reporting activity relating to the handling of the product-location specific information or data generated therefrom, or combinations thereof.

39. A system of networked computing devices including a centralized network hub and multiple vendor clients each configured for communicative coupling with said hub, wherein the hub comprises said one or more computer readable media of claim 22, and wherein said product-location specific information is collected at said hub from said clients in a hub-and-spokes configuration.

40. one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein said users from whom said information is collected comprise vendors of said products.

41. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein said users from whom said information is collected comprise customers of said centralized network hub.

42. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the users to whom said data is distributed comprise on-line users.

43. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the users to whom said data is distributed comprise real or potential customers, or vendors, of said products, or combinations thereof.