Obtaining user assistance

• US 20100309011A1
• Filed: 04/02/2010
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Rinaldo, John D. JR., Jung, Edward K.Y., Levien, Royce A., Malamud, Mark A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,704,675 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/686.6
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

An apparatus, device, method, computer program product, and system that detects a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device; and obtains an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a) detecting a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device; and

b) obtaining an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device includes detecting an operative local coupling between a first electronic device and a second electronic device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device includes optically detecting a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device includes querying at least one of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device includes querying both the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device includes detecting a signal indicative of a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting a first electronic device in a local proximity to a second electronic device further includes detecting the at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the detecting the at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device includes detecting an at least substantially common characteristic emitted by a first electronic device and a second electronic device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting a first electronic device in local proximity to a second electronic device includes detecting a first electronic device and a second electronic device within a geographic locale.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the detecting a first electronic device and the second electronic device within a geographic locale includes detecting a first electronic device and a second electronic device within a premises.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the detecting a first electronic device and the second electronic device within a geographic locale includes detecting a first electronic device and a second electronic device within a residential premises.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the detecting a first electronic device and the second electronic device within a geographic locale includes detecting a first electronic device and a second electronic device within a business premises.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining an end user assistance corresponding at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device includes obtaining an end user assistance corresponding an at least substantially common operability of the first electronic device and the second electronic device that saves a user information.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect includes obtaining a user information corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device includes obtaining a user instruction corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device includes obtaining a user education corresponding to a substantially common state of the electronic device of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device includes obtaining an operational information corresponding to a substantially common state of the electronic device of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device includes obtaining an end user assistance from a portion of another end user assistance.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

c) providing the end user assistance.

13. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

22. A computer program product encoding a computer program for executing on a computing device a computer process, the computer process comprising:

a) detecting a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device; and

b) obtaining an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, the computer process further comprises:

c) providing the end user assistance.

24. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the computer program product includes a computer-readable medium.

25. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein the computer-readable medium includes a computer-readable medium carried by a computer-readable carrier.

26. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the computer program product includes a communications medium.

27. A system comprising:

a) a computing device; and

b) instructions that when executed on the computing device cause the computing device to;

(i) detect a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device; and

(ii) obtain an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the instruction further comprise:

c) provide the end user assistance.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the first electronic device includes the computing device.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein the computing device includes the first electronic device.

31. A device comprising:

a) a monitoring module operable to detect a first electronic device in a proximity to a second electronic device; and

b) an acquisition module operable to obtain an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

32. The device of claim 31, further comprising:

c) a broadcast module operable to provide the end user assistance.

33. A method comprising:

a) querying a first electronic device for its GPS coordinates;

b) querying a second electronic device for its GPS coordinates;

c) obtaining an end user assistance corresponding to an at least substantially common aspect of the first electronic device and the second electronic device in response to a proximity of the first electronic device and the second electronic device determined from the GPS coordinates of the first electronic device and the GPS coordinates of the second electronic device.