System and method for locating and notifying a mobile user of people having attributes or interests matching a stated preference

• US 7,847,684 B1
• Filed: 03/10/2009
• Issued: 12/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures II LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Earthcomber LLC
• Inventors: Brady, James V. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): POPE, DARYL C
• Application Number:
  US12/401,339
• Time in Patent Office: 637 Days
• Field of Search: 340/988, 340/990, 340/991, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/505, 340/10.1, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 701/200, 701/201, 701/211
• US Class Current: 340/539.11
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096838 where the user preferences are taken into account or the user selects one route out of a plurality
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 27/00 Combined visual and audible advertising or displaying, e.g. for public address
• 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: 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

Abstract

A location-based and preference-based system and method for matching information such as the attributes, interests and/or characteristics profiles of persons with the expressed preferences of mobile users to alert and direct such users to any persons having information matching the user'"'"'s express preferences. In particular, the system comprises a mobile device such as a GPS-capable PDA that stores the user'"'"'s preferences and communicates with a server that contains or accesses the profiles of the persons to compare the profiles and preferences. Comparison of the user'"'"'s preferences with the various profiles allows the user only to be informed of those persons that it is likely to be interested in. The system and method thus provides for a mobile real-time point of interest exchange network.

Claims

1. A system that provides a location-based service to a mobile user for alerting and directing the user to at least one person sharing a common interest, comprising:

an input device structured for the user to input user-changeable information into a computer, the user-changeable information including at least one interest;

a location determining system for obtaining user location information representing a location of a mobile wireless device of the user;

a memory for storing person information about the at least one person;

a computer data analysis system adapted for analyzing the person information based on criteria specified by the user, and outputting a person representation when the analyzing indicates that the person information contains data representing the at least one interest and meeting the specified criteria, the specified criteria including user-definable location-based information concerning a selected geographic area; and

,

a display device connected to the mobile wireless device for providing an indication when a person representation exists.

2. The system of claim 1, where the location determining system is a GPS.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising mapping software for displaying a map on the display device, the mapping software adapted to show a location of the at least one person on the displayed map.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a person device assigned to the at least one person, the mobile wireless device and the person device being adapted for initiating a communication connection between one another.

5. A location-based method for selectively alerting a mobile wireless device of a user about at least one person sharing at least one interest in common with the user, the method comprising the steps of:

collecting user-changeable information from a user, the user-changeable information representing the at least one interest;

collecting criteria specified by the user, the specified criteria including user-definable location-based information concerning a selected geographic area;

obtaining from the user'"'"'s mobile wireless device information on the wireless device'"'"'s location;

obtaining person information about the at least one person;

analyzing the person information and outputting a person representation when the analyzing indicates that the person information contains data representing the at least one interest and meeting the selected criteria; and

,

sending a notice to the mobile wireless device when a person representation exists.

6. The method of claim 5, where the person information is at least partially defined by the at least one person.

7. The method of claim 6, where the person information defined by the at least one person includes information about an upcoming event.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of displaying, on the mobile wireless device, a telephone number of the at least one person.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of transmitting and displaying a location of each of the at least one person(s) for whom a person representation is output by the analyzing.

10. The method of claim 9, where the criteria specified by the user include data fields for enabling a mobile real-time point of interest exchange network operable for selectively alerting the mobile wireless device when a person representation exists, based on a time known to the mobile wireless device.

11. The method of claim 5, where the at least one interest of the user-changeable information specifies at least one favorite person or desired type of people.

12. The method of claim 5, where the at least one person has access to a person device, the method further comprising the step of the user initiating a communication connection between the mobile wireless device and the person device.

13. The method of claim 5, where the at least one person has access to a person device, the person information comprising person device information that indicates a location of the person device.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of providing mapping information of the selected geographic area to the mobile wireless device.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising displaying, on the mobile wireless device, directions from a current location of the mobile wireless device to the location of the person device.

16. The method of claim 5, where the selected geographic area comprises at least one of a selected route and a specified vicinity with respect to the user'"'"'s mobile wireless device'"'"'s location information.

17. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of providing mapping information of the selected geographic area.

18. The method of claim 17, where the person information comprises person location information that indicates a location of the at least one person, and where the providing of mapping information comprises calculating latitude and longitude of the location of the at least one person.

19. The method of claim 5, where the person information comprises person location information that indicates a location of the at least one person, and where the selected geographic area is defined based on a distance between the mobile wireless device and the location indicated by the person location information.

20. The method of claim 5, where the person information comprises person location information that indicates a location of the at least one person, where the at least one interest of the user-changeable information comprises at least one favorite person or desired type of people.

21. The method of claim 5, where criteria specified by the user comprise a plurality of data fields.

22. The method of claim 5, where the user-definable location-based information is obtained from a GPS system.

23. The method of claim 5, where the analyzing step comprises querying a database of fields, the querying based on at least one of the criteria specified by the user and the person information.

24. The method of claim 23, where the querying is further based on the user location information relative to a location of the at least one person.

25. A location-based method for selectively alerting a mobile wireless device of a user about at least one person having a favorite people explicit preference corresponding to a favorite people stated preference of the user, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving preference information from the user'"'"'s mobile wireless device, the preference information representing the favorite people stated preference;

collecting criteria specified by the user, the specified criteria including location-based information concerning a selected geographic area;

obtaining from the user'"'"'s mobile wireless device location information representing a location of the mobile wireless device;

obtaining person information about the at least one person;

analyzing the person information and outputting a person representation when the analyzing indicates that the person information contains data representing at least one favorite people explicit preference corresponding to the favorite people stated preference of the user and meeting the specified criteria; and

,

sending a notice to the mobile wireless device when a person representation exists.

26. The method of claim 25, where the person information defined by the at least one person includes information about an upcoming event.

27. The method of claim 25, where the at least one person has access to a person device, the method further comprising the step of permitting a communication connection between the mobile wireless device and the person device.

28. A system that provides a location-based service to a mobile user for alerting the user to at least one person with a favorite people expressed preference that matches a favorite people explicit preference of the user, comprising:

an input device structured for the user to input user information into a computer, the user information representing the at least one favorite people expressed preference;

a location determining system for obtaining user location information representing a location of the mobile wireless device of the user;

a memory for storing person information about the at least one person;

a computer data analysis system adapted for analyzing the person information based on criteria specified by the user, and outputting a person representation when the analyzing indicates that the person information contains data representing expressed preference, the specified criteria including location-based information concerning a selected geographic area; and

,

a display device connected to the mobile wireless device for providing an indication when a person representation exists.