Location-aware instant messaging

• US 8,655,960 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2008
• Issued: 02/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Patel, Biren, Sivalingham, Sanjeevan, Lewis, Joseph Barry II
• Primary Examiner(s): Zele, Krista
• Assistant Examiner(s): FABBRI, ANTHONY E
• Application Number:
  US12/142,207
• Publication Number:
  US 20090319616A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,070 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/217, 709/250, 726/1, 726/26
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• 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 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A method includes receiving, at a carrier network provider, a request from a requestor'"'"'s mobile device to locate an instant messaging (IM) friend from the requestor'"'"'s IM friends list; authenticating the request for use of location-based services on the carrier network; receiving geographic location coordinates from the requestor'"'"'s mobile device; adding random error to the geographic location coordinates; sending the request to locate an IM friend and the geographic location coordinates with random error to an IM portal; receiving a list of the requestor'"'"'s IM friends within a particular region near the geographic location coordinates with random error; and sending to the requestor'"'"'s mobile device the list of IM friends within the particular region near the geographic location coordinates with random error.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by one or more servers, a request from a requestor mobile device to locate each instant messaging (IM) friend device from an IM friends list associated with the requestor mobile device;

authenticating, by the one or more servers, the request for use of location-based services;

receiving, by the one or more servers, geographic location coordinates from the requestor mobile device;

adding, by the one or more servers, random error coordinate information to the geographic location coordinates,

adding the random error coordinate information including altering the geographic location coordinates, based on an algorithm, to include an error vector comprising a sum of random error vectors associated with particular geographical points to determine a geographic location point of the requestor mobile device at the time of the request,

the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device being independent of a geographic location point of each IM friend device;

sending, by the one or more servers, the request to locate each IM friend device and the geographic location coordinates with the random error coordinate information;

determining, by the one or more servers, the geographic location point of each IM friend device by adding other random error coordinate information to geographic location coordinates of each IM friend device,

adding the other random error coordinate information including altering the geographic location coordinates of each IM friend device, based on the algorithm, to include another error vector comprising a sum of random error vectors associated with particular geographical points of each requested IM friend device,

the geographic location point of each IM friend device being independent of the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device;

generating, by the one or more servers and based on the location of the requestor mobile device and the geographic location point of each IM friend device, a list of IM friend devices associated with the requestor mobile device, at the time of the request from the requestor mobile device, within a particular region; and

sending, by the one or more servers and to the requestor mobile device, the list of IM friend devices within the particular region near the geographic location coordinates with the random error coordinate information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving cell site information from the requestor mobile device; and

sending ephemeris data to the requestor mobile device based on the cell site information.

3. The method of claim 1, where an IM portal stores location-based data associated with at least one of the requestor mobile device or each IM friend device.

4. The method of claim 1, where adding the random error coordinate information includes altering the geographic location coordinates to a default coordinate within a defined region based on a configurable maximum error limit.

5. The method of claim 1, where the particular region encompasses a radius from the location of the requestor mobile device that is selected by a requestor.

6. The method of claim 1, where the requestor mobile device defines a sub-group of IM friends based on the list of IM friend devices within the particular region near the geographic location coordinates with the random error coordinate information.

7. A device comprising:

a processor to

receive, from a requestor mobile device, a request to locate each instant messaging (IM) friend device from an IM friends list associated with the requestor mobile device,

receive geographic location coordinates from the requestor mobile device,

determine, at the time of the request, a geographic location point of the requestor mobile device, the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device being independent of a geographic location point of each IM friend device, by adding random error coordinate information to the geographic location coordinates, adding the random error coordinate information including altering the geographic location coordinates, based on an algorithm, to include an error vector comprising a sum of random error vectors associated with particular geographical points,

determine, at the time of the request from the requestor mobile device, the geographic location point of each IM friend device, the geographic location point of each requested IM friend device being independent of the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device, by adding other random error coordinate information to geographic location coordinates of each IM friend device, adding the other random error coordinate information including altering the geographic location coordinates of each IM friend device, based on the algorithm, to include another error vector comprising a sum of random error vectors associated with particular geographical points of each IM friend device, and

generate, based on the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device and the geographic location point of each requested IM friend device, a list of IM friend devices within a particular region within a particular distance from the geographic location coordinates with the random error coordinate information.

8. The device of claim 7, further comprising:

a location proxy server to authenticate a request for use of location-based services from the requestor mobile device; and

a position determining entity to receive cell site information from the requestor mobile device and send ephemeris data to the requestor mobile device based on the cell site information.

9. The device of claim 7, where an IM portal stores location-based data for each IM friend device.

10. The device of claim 7, where the random error coordinate information includes a configurable maximum error limit.

11. The device of claim 7, where the particular region includes a radius from the location of the requestor mobile device that is selected by a requestor.

12. The device of claim 7, where the list of IM friend devices within the particular region includes a map of a region that includes indications of a location of each IM friend device in the particular region.

13. The device of claim 7, where the requestor mobile device defines a sub-group of IM friends based on the list of IM friend devices within the particular region near the geographic location coordinates with the random error coordinate information.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to;

receive a request from a requestor mobile device to locate each instant messaging (IM) friend device from an IM friends list associated with the requestor mobile device;

send data to the requestor mobile device based on cell site information from the requestor mobile device;

receive geographic location coordinates from the requestor mobile device;

determine, at the time of the request, a geographic location point of the requestor mobile device, the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device being independent of a geographic location point of each IM friend device, by adding random error coordinate information to the geographic location coordinates, adding the random error coordinate information including altering the geographic location coordinates, based on an algorithm, to include an error vector comprising a sum of random error vectors associated with particular geographical points;

receive, at the time of the request from the requestor mobile device, a geographic location point of each IM friend device, the geographic location point of each IM friend device being independent of the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device, determined by adding other random error coordinate information to geographic location coordinates of each IM friend device, adding the other random error coordinate information including altering the geographic location coordinates of each requested IM friend device, based on the algorithm, to include another error vector comprising a sum of random error vectors associated with particular geographical points of each IM friend device;

generate, based on the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device and the geographic location point of each IM friend device a list of IM friends, associated with the requestor mobile device within a particular region near the geographic location coordinates with the random error coordinate information; and

send to the requestor mobile device the list of IM friend devices within the particular region near the geographic location coordinates with the random error coordinate information.

15. The medium of claim 14, further comprising:

one or more instructions to authenticate the request for use of location-based services.

16. The medium of claim 14, where the particular region encompasses a radius from the location of the requestor mobile device that is selected by a requestor.

17. The medium of claim 14, where the list of IM friend devices within the particular region includes a map of a region that includes indications of a location of each IM friend device in the particular region.

18. A system comprising:

one or more devices to;

receive a request from a requestor mobile device to locate each instant messaging (IM) friend device within a particular range of the mobile device;

receive geographic coordinates from the requestor mobile device;

determine, at the time of the request, a geographic location point of the requestor mobile device, the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device being independent of a geographic location point of each IM friend device, by adding random error coordinate information to the geographic coordinates, based on an algorithm, to include an error vector comprising a sum of random error vectors associated with particular geographical points;

determine, at the time of the request from the requestor mobile device, the geographic location point of each IM friend device, the geographic location point of each IM friend device being independent of the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device, by adding other random error coordinate information to geographic location coordinates of each IM friend device, adding the other random error coordinate information including altering the geographic location coordinates of each IM friend device, based on the algorithm, to include another error vector comprising a sum of random error vectors associated with particular geographical points of each IM friend device;

generate, based on the geographic location point of the requestor mobile device and the geographic location point of each IM friend device, a list of IM friend devices within the particular range of the requestor mobile device based on the geographic coordinates with the random error coordinate information; and

send to the requestor mobile device the list of IM friend devices within the particular range.

19. The system of claim 18, where the one or more devices are further to:

authenticate the request from the requestor mobile device to locate each IM friend device within a particular range of the requestor mobile device;

receive cell site information from the requestor mobile device; and

send data to the requestor mobile device based on the cell site information.

20. The system of claim 18, where the list of IM friend devices within the particular region includes a map of a region that includes indications of a location of each IM friend device in the particular region.