Systems and methods to determine the name of a physical business location visited by a user of a wireless device based on location information and the time of day

• US 8,892,126 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2014
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Enhanced Geographic LLC
• Inventors: Busch, James David
• Primary Examiner(s): Batista, Marcos
• Application Number:
  US14/257,829
• Publication Number:
  US 20140228056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 211 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 370/338
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0233 Method of redeeming a frequent usage reward
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0245 Surveys
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• 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: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• 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 4/025 : using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/30 : Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 : for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Methods and systems that ascertain and record the specific named location of a user of a wireless device. A geographic location of a mobile device based on a geographic location sensor is received. A selection of the likely locations that may have been visited is provided to the wireless device based on location data produced at similar days (e.g., only Saturday, only every other week, monthly), and/or at similar times (e.g., only around 5:00 PM, between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM, after sunset, before high-noon, before a particular stock market opens in the time zone of the user, etc.), or any combination. A verification of the specific named location of the user is received from the wireless device based on the provided selection of locations. The location history is updated with, for example, the location of the wireless device, the specific named location visited, and time of day information.

Claims

1. A method, used by a location based service system including at least one server having at least one network interface, of identifying a physical named location visited by a user of a wireless device having a wireless communication interface and a geographic location sensor, comprising the acts of:

at a first time of day, receiving, from the wireless device, geographic location information corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device determined using the geographic location sensor of the wireless device;

selecting a plurality of named locations near the geographic location of the wireless device at which the user may be located from a database including named locations and associated geographic location information, and wherein the selecting of the plurality of named locations is performed using information representative of the first time of day;

communicating, to the wireless device, the plurality of named locations;

receiving, from the wireless device, an indicated physical named location, chosen from the plurality of named locations, corresponding to the physical named location visited by the user of the wireless device to verify that the physical named location has been visited by the user of the wireless device; and

storing information in a location history associated with the user indicating;

(i) that the user of the wireless device visited the indicated physical named location, and (ii) a time of the user'"'"'s visit to the indicated physical named location.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

at a second time of day, receiving from the wireless device, updated geographic location information corresponding to an updated location of the wireless device;

selecting an updated plurality of named locations near the updated geographic location of the wireless device at which the user may be located from the database and wherein the selecting of the updated plurality of named locations is performed using information representative of the second time of day;

communicating, to the wireless device, the updated plurality of named locations;

receiving from the wireless device, an additional indicated physical named location chosen from the updated plurality of named locations, corresponding to an additional physical named location visited by the user of the wireless device to verify the additional physical named location visited by the user of the wireless device; and

storing information in the location history associated with the user indicating;

(i) that the user of the wireless device visited the additional indicated physical named location, and (ii) a time of the user'"'"'s visit to the additional indicated physical named location.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the selecting of the updated plurality of named locations is further performed using information representative of the first time of day, in addition to the second time of day.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising communicating, via the at least one network interface, at least a portion of the location history including the indicated physical named location and the additional indicated physical named location.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the location based services system determining an approximate time of day period when a particular named locations is most visited.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising the location based services system determining a time of day period when the additional physical named locations is most visited.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the database including named locations and associated geographic location information further includes information corresponding to business hours of the named locations.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the selecting of the plurality of named locations is performed using the information corresponding to business hours of the named locations.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of named locations, selected from the database, is open at the first time of day.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of named locations, selected from the database, excludes at least one named location that is not open at the first time of day.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the geographic location sensor of the wireless device comprises at least one of:

a cellular radio (e.g., “

Cell Tower Triangulation”

), a wireless internet radio (e.g., “

Wi-Fi”

or 802.11), or a Global Positioning System (“

GPS”

) radio.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating, via the at least one network interface to a third party, information indicating that the indicated physical named location has been visited.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating, via the at least one network interface to a third party, information indicating that the user of the wireless device visited the indicated physical named location.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating information indicating that the user of the wireless device visited the indicated physical named location to a social networking service using an Application Programming Interface (API) made available by the social networking service.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a list of contacts from a social networking service with a link established with the social networking service through an Application Programming Interface (API) made available by the social networking service.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving information relating to a purchase associated with the user at the physical named location.

17. A method, used by a location based service system including at least one server having at least one network interface, of identifying a physical named location visited by a user of a wireless device having a wireless communication interface and a geographic location sensor, comprising the acts of:

at a first time of day, receiving, from the wireless device, a geographic location coordinate corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device determined using the geographic location sensor of the wireless device;

selecting a plurality of named locations, near the geographic location coordinate of the wireless device, at which the user may be located from a database including named locations and associated geographic location information, and wherein the selecting of the plurality of named locations is performed using information representative of the first time of day;

communicating, to the wireless device, the plurality of named locations;

receiving, from the wireless device, an indicated physical named location, chosen from the plurality of named locations, corresponding to the physical named location visited by the user of the wireless device to verify that the physical named location has been visited by the user of the wireless device; and

storing information in a location history associated with the user indicating;

(i) the geographic location coordinate, (ii) that the user of the wireless device visited the indicated physical named location, and (iii) a time of the user'"'"'s visit to the indicated physical named location.

18. A location based service system comprising:

a first network interface configured to receive, at a first time of day from a wireless device, geographic location information corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device determined using a geographic location sensor of the wireless device;

a processor configured to select a plurality of named locations near the geographic location of the wireless device at which a user of the wireless device may be located from a database including named locations and associated geographic location information, and wherein the processor is further configured to use information representative of the first time of day to select the plurality of named locations;

a second network interface, that is the same or different from the first network interface, configured to cause communication, to the wireless device, of the plurality of named locations;

a third network interface, that is the same or different from the first and second network interfaces, configured to receive from the wireless device, an indicated physical named location, chosen from the plurality of named locations, corresponding to the physical named location visited by the user of the wireless device to verify that the physical named location has been visited by the user of the wireless device; and

a data storage device configured to store information in a location history associated with the user indicating;

(i) that the user of the wireless device visited the indicated physical named location, and (ii) a time of the user'"'"'s visit to the indicated physical named location.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the first network interface, the second network interface, and the third network interface are three separate network interfaces.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the second network interface and the third network interface are the same network interface.

21. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

the system configured to receive, at a second time of day from the wireless device, updated geographic location information corresponding to an updated location of the wireless device;

the system configured to select an updated plurality of named locations near the updated geographic location of the wireless device at which the user may be located from the database and wherein the selecting of the updated plurality of named locations is performed using information representative of the second time of day;

the system configured to cause communication, to the wireless device, of the updated plurality of named locations;

the system configured to receive from the wireless device, an additional indicated physical named location chosen from the updated plurality of named locations, corresponding to an additional physical named location visited by the user of the wireless device to verify that the additional physical named location has been visited by the user of the wireless device; and

the system configured to store information in the location history associated with the user indicating;

(i) that the user of the wireless device visited the additional indicated physical named location, and (ii) a time of the user'"'"'s visit to the additional indicated physical named location.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the system is configured to select the updated plurality of named locations using information representative of the first time of day, in addition to the second time of day.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the system is further configured to communicate at least a portion of the location history including the indicated physical named location and the additional indicated physical named location.