METHOD FOR PROXIMITY DETERMINATION BETWEEN MOBILE PEERS WHILE MAINTAINING PRIVACY
First Claim
1. A method of determining proximity between first and second networked devices without the first and second networked devices sharing location information, the method comprising:
- receiving, at a server system, from the first and second networked devices, identifications of an access point that both the first and second networked devices detect;
determining, at a proximity component of the server system for comparing the received identifications, that each of the first and second networked devices detect the access point; and
transmitting to at least one of the first or second networked devices, at the server system, a proximity indicator indicating that the first and second networked devices are proximal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for determining proximity between networked devices without requiring those devices to share location information either because of privacy or because such information cannot be obtained. To do this, access points for a plurality of networked devices are compared, and those devices detecting, or detected by, the same access points are deemed proximal to each other. Software, or features of software, can be initiated on those networked devices that are proximal to other networked devices and the proximal networked devices can be given information enabling them to identify and communicate with each other.
52 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of determining proximity between first and second networked devices without the first and second networked devices sharing location information, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a server system, from the first and second networked devices, identifications of an access point that both the first and second networked devices detect; determining, at a proximity component of the server system for comparing the received identifications, that each of the first and second networked devices detect the access point; and transmitting to at least one of the first or second networked devices, at the server system, a proximity indicator indicating that the first and second networked devices are proximal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A server system comprising:
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a server system configured to receive, from a first and second networked devices, identifications of an access point that both the first and second networked devices detect, and further configured to transmit a proximity indicator to at least one of the first or second networked devices, where the proximity indicator indicates that the first and second networked devices are proximal; and a proximity component configured to compare the received identifications and determined that each of the first and second networked devices detect the access point. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A networked device comprising:
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a means for identifying one or more other networked devices detected by the networked device; a means for transmitting to a server system, identification of the one or more other networked devices detected by the networked device; and a means for receiving an identification of a proximal networked device from the server system, where the proximal networked device detects one or more of the one or more other networked devices and is therefore proximal to the networked device.
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19. A non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, encoded with processor readable instructions to perform a method for determining proximity between at least first and second networked devices without knowledge of their location, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a server system, from the first and second networked devices, identifications of an access point that both the first and second networked devices detect; determining, at a proximity component of the server system for comparing the received identifications, that each of the first and second networked devices detect the access point; and transmitting to at least one of the first or second networked devices, at the server system, a proximity indicator indicating that the first and second networked devices are proximal. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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Specification