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

• US 7,911,335 B1
• Filed: 03/10/2009
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• 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:
  US12/401,347
• Time in Patent Office: 742 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/505, 340/10.1, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 340/988, 340/990, 340/991, 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 method of notifying a user of a mobile device about persons having attributes that match explicit preferences of the user and who are within a specified proximity, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a user location for the mobile device;

querying a database containing information describing explicit favorite people preferences of the user, the user location, stated favorite people preferences of a plurality of persons, and person locations for respective ones of the plurality of persons;

determining, for each of the plurality of persons, that a dual preference match exists when the stated favorite people preference of that person matches one of the explicit favorite people preferences of the user, and a geographic location of that person is within a specified distance of the user location;

notifying the user when at least one dual preference matching person exists; and

using a transmitter to send a profile of the at least one of the dual preference matching person on the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the notifying step further comprises displaying, on the mobile device, a map indicating a person location of at least one dual preference matching person.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein a dual preference match also requires that a current time is within a time period interest explicitly specified by the user.

4. A location-based and preference-based matching system for notifying a user about people having attributes that match preferences of the user and are within a specified vicinity of a location associated with the user, the system comprising:

a device including;

input means for user input of the user preferences, and

means for determining the location of the user;

means for creating a plurality of people profiles based on people attributes;

storage means for storing the user preferences and the profiles of the people;

means for querying the stored user preferences and people profiles to determine when a people profile has a people attribute that matches a user-specified one of the user preferences and the corresponding person is within the specified vicinity;

output means for displaying information about any matched people profiles; and

means for downloading the matched people profiles.

5. The system of claim 4 further comprising means for varying the specified vicinity by a user tap on the output means, the output means including a touch screen.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein the output means includes means for communicating with one of the corresponding people within the specified vicinity.

7. The system of claim 4 wherein the storage means includes a computer memory device for storing the user preferences.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the computer memory device is random-access memory.

9. The system of claim 4 further comprising:

means for the user inputting an explicit time period of non-interest; and

means for disabling displaying of information during the period of non-interest.

10. The system of claim 4 wherein the means for downloading operates in real time.

11. A method for operating a location based dual preference matching server in communication with a plurality of users each having a mobile device, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a plurality of user information from respective ones of the plurality of mobile devices, wherein the user information of each device includes a current location of the device and at least one explicit favorite people preference;

storing, in a database, the current location of each device, and the at least one explicit favorite-people preference for each device;

querying the database for at least one location-based mutually-desired match, wherein each location-based mutually-desired match exists when a first explicit favorite-people preference of a first device matches a second explicit favorite-people preference of a second device, and a first current location of the first device is within a specified distance of a second current location of the second device; and

for each location-based mutually-desired match, using a transmitter to send person information describing the second current location to the first device.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of receiving updated information on the current location for at least one of the first and second devices.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein at least one of the first and second devices is a GPS-enabled, location-aware cellular phone.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein at least one location-based mutually-desired match further requires that a current time is within a first explicit time period of interest of the first device.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the database includes a first location-based mutually-desired match, and the method further comprising the steps of:

receiving an update of the second current location; and

repeating the querying step, so that when the first current location is more than the specified distance away from the updated second current location, the location based mutually-desired match does not exist between the first and second devices.