Method and system for searching an information retrieval system according to user-specified location information

• US 8,626,759 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2008
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Anderson, David J., Busayapongchai, Senis
• Primary Examiner(s): Ehichioya, Fred
• Assistant Examiner(s): OWYANG, MICHELLE N
• Application Number:
  US12/123,836
• Publication Number:
  US 20080256044A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,058 Days
• Field of Search: 707705-780, 701400-453, 701468-469
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

A method and system for searching an information retrieval system for items of interest that are in proximity to geographical locations provided by the user. The information retrieval system can perform a search for specified types of businesses or items of interest that surround or are in close proximity to the user'"'"'s present geographical location, or a geographical location that the user has pre-configured in a database. The system receives geographical location information concerning the user'"'"'s position from the wireless network carrier, which tracks the location of the user'"'"'s mobile communications device. When the user desires to store a geographical location and geographical name for a future search, the information is entered into the pre-configured database. When conducting an information search at a later time, the user can narrow a search request to a geographical area in the vicinity of the stored geographical location.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

creating, by a processor, a database for storing geographical location information for each of a plurality of locations of interest, wherein creating the database comprises;

generating a prompt to request a mobile communications device to provide a location name, wherein the location name is associated with predetermined geographical location information for a geographical location that is remote from a first geographical location of the mobile communications device;

receiving geographical location information corresponding to a second geographical location of the mobile communications device;

comparing received geographical location information corresponding to the second geographical location of the mobile communications device with the predetermined geographical location information associated with the location name;

if the received geographical location information corresponding to the second geographical location of the mobile communications device is not different from the predetermined geographical location information associated with the location name, storing in the database the location name for subsequent access for searching the database; and

if the received geographical location information corresponding to the second geographical location of the mobile communications device is different from the predetermined geographical location information associated with the location name, confirming that the second geographical location of the mobile communications device is a desired geographical location corresponding to the location name, updating the predetermined geographical information associated with the location name with the received geographical location information corresponding to the second geographical location, and storing in the database the location name and the updated geographical location information associated with the location name for subsequent access for searching the database.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request to search the database for locations of interest in a vicinity of a user-specified geographical location; and

generating a search query for searching the database for locations of interest within a radial distance of the user-specified geographical location.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received geographical location information is determined by triangulation of control signal strength received at cell towers surrounding the mobile communications device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received geographical location information is determined by a global positioning system receiver within the mobile communications device.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising calculating the radial distance surrounding the user-specified geographical location and searching for locations of interest within the calculated radial distance.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the user-specified geographical location corresponds to the second geographical location of the mobile communications device or corresponds to a previous location of the mobile communications device.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

receiving a user-specified name for the user-specified geographical location;

storing the user-specified name and corresponding geographical location information as an entry in a locations table; and

upon receiving a request to search for locations of interest in the vicinity of a geographical location specified by name,

(i) searching the locations table for the specified name, and

(ii) providing the geographical location information corresponding to the specified name in a search query.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising digitally encoding an audio speech signal of the user-specified name, wherein the digitally encoded signal identifies a specific location and is stored in the locations table.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the locations table is pre-configured with geographical locations at which the user intends to search.

10. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

requesting a user identification before storing the user-specified name and corresponding geographical location information in the locations table; and

requesting a user identification before searching the locations table, wherein the user-specified name and corresponding geographical location information are stored according to the user identification.

11. The method according to claim 2, further comprising

(a) providing informative prompts to prompt the user to provide search criteria;

(b) detecting a request by the user to search for locations of interest in a vicinity of the second geographical location of the mobile communications device;

(c) requesting geographical location information from a communication network carrier, representing the second geographical location of the mobile communications device; and

(d) receiving geographical location information provided by the communication network carrier,

wherein the radial distance is determined by business density information stored according to zip code.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the geographical location information provided by the communication network carrier is a cellular site in which the mobile communications device is registered, and locations of interest are searched for in the cellular site and neighboring cellular sites.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the geographical location information provided by the communication network carrier comprises geocoded geographical coordinates of the mobile communications device.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the radial distance is determined such that a minimum number of search results will be identified by the search.

15. An information retrieval system, comprising:

a tangible geographical locations processor;

a tangible database records storage unit for storing geographical location information for each of a plurality of locations of interest; and

a tangible memory storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the tangible geographical locations processor cause the tangible processor to populate the tangible database records storage unit by performing operations comprising;

generating a prompt to request a mobile communications device to provide a location name, wherein the location name is associated with predetermined geographical location information for a geographical location that is remote from a first geographical location of the mobile communications device;

receiving geographical location information corresponding to a second location of the mobile communications device;

comparing received geographical location information corresponding to the second geographical location of the mobile communications device with the predetermined geographical location information associated with the location name;

if the received geographical location information corresponding to the second geographical location of the mobile communications device is not different from the predetermined geographical location information associated with the location name, storing in the tangible database records storage unit the location name for subsequent access for searching the database;

if the received geographical location information corresponding to the second geographical location of the mobile communications device is different from the predetermined geographical location information associated with the location name, confirming that the second geographical location of the mobile communications device is a desired geographical location corresponding to the location name, updating the predetermined geographical information associated with the location name with the received geographical location information corresponding to the second geographical location, and storing in the tangible database records storage unit the location name and the updated geographical location information associated with the location name for subsequent access.

16. The information retrieval system according to claim 15, further comprising:

a database index for generating a search query including a user-specified geographical location;

wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the tangible geographical location processor further cause the processor to receive the user-specified geographical location for searching the tangible database records storage unit and wherein the tangible geographic locations processor processes user-specified location information provided by the mobile communications device and provides location information to the database index for generating a search query for searching the tangible database records storage unit for locations of interest within a radial distance of the user-specified geographical location.

17. The information retrieval system according to claim 16, further comprising a question generator table for prompting a user to provide the user-specified geographical location for searching the tangible database records storage unit, wherein the question generator table provides digitized audio speech signals as prompts to the mobile communications device.

18. The information retrieval system according to claim 17, wherein the information retrieval system digitally encodes responses to the prompts to create the search query in the database index.