Geographically limited communications system and method

• US 8,984,073 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2011
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arthur P. Tan
• Original Assignee: Arthur P. Tan
• Inventors: Tan, Arthur P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Jimmy H
• Application Number:
  US13/271,433
• Publication Number:
  US 20120089689A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,252 Days
• Field of Search: 709/207, 709/206, 705/14.25, 705/14.1, 705/14.35, 455/456.3, 455/456.1, 455/414.2
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• 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: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging

Abstract

A geographically limited communications system comprises a server for receiving one or more posts or messages from one or more location-enabled portable devices. The server may store these posts and retrieve them based on location information stored along with the posts. This allows only posts left at a particular location to be viewed by users at that location. In addition, posts may only be left at a user'"'"'s current location in one or more embodiments. The server may notify a user when another user leaves a post near or at one of the user'"'"'s previous posts.

Claims

1. A geographically limited communications system comprising:

one or more communication devices configured to receive from one or more portable devices;

a new post comprising text, location information, and a user identifier identifying a first user;

one or more storage devices configured to store the new post;

a plurality of preexisting posts stored on the one or more storage devices, each of the plurality of preexisting posts comprising text, location information, and a user identifier identifying a second user;

one or more processors configured to;

identify a subset of the plurality of preexisting posts that geographically overlap the new post, wherein a preexisting post is determined to geographically overlap the new post by comparing location information of the new post to location information of the preexisting post and determining if the new post is within a predefined proximity around the preexisting post based on such comparison; and

for each preexisting post in the subset, send via the one or more communication devices a notification to an electronic device carried by the second user identified by the user identifier of;

wherein the electronic device being carried by the second user and the second user are at a current location that is remote from and outside the predefined proximity of each preexisting post in the subset when the notification is sent to alert the second user to new posting activity at one or more previous locations where the second user was previously located that are all geographically remote from the current location of the second user.

2. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the one or more storage devices are configured to store a category identifier for one or more of the plurality of preexisting posts and the new post.

3. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the one or more communications devices send the notification only when the category identifiers of the new post and each of the preexisting posts in the subset are the same.

4. A geographically limited communications system comprising:

one or more communication devices configured to receive, a plurality of posts from one or more portable devices, each of the plurality of posts comprising text, location information, and a user identifier, the location information identifying a particular geographic location and a predefined area surrounding the particular geographic location;

one or more storage devices configured to store the plurality of posts; and

one or more processors configured to;

identify a subset of the plurality of posts that geographically overlap a new post received via the one or more communication devices, wherein each of the plurality of posts is deemed to geographically overlap the new post by comparing location information of the new post to location information of each of the plurality of posts and determining if the new post is within the predefined area of each of the plurality of posts based on such comparison; and

generate a notification to one or more users indicating that a new overlapping post has been received by the communications system, the one or more users being only those identified by the user identifier in the one or more of the plurality of posts in the subset, wherein the one or more users do not include the user that made the new post and are remote from and outside the predefined area of each of the one or more of the plurality of posts in the subset when the notification is sent to alert the one or more users to new posting activity at one or more previous locations where the one or more users were previously located that are all geographically remote from the current location of the one or more users.

5. The communications system of claim 4, wherein the one or more communication devices are configured to receive one or more requests comprising the current location of the one or more users.

6. The communications system of claim 5, wherein the one or more processors are configured to retrieve one or more of the plurality of posts that are at the user'"'"'s current location using the location information of the plurality of posts, whereby the one or more of the plurality of posts that are retrieved are transmitted to a user at the user'"'"'s current location via the one or more communication devices.

7. A method of communicating in a geographically limited manner comprising:

providing a server configured to receive a plurality of posts comprising location information and a user identifier, wherein the location information identifies a particular geographic location and a predefined area surrounding the particular geographic location;

receiving a user'"'"'s current location from a portable device of the user;

transmitting to the user'"'"'s portable device only one or more of the plurality of posts that are located at the user'"'"'s current location to allow the user to only view the one or more of the plurality of posts that are at the user'"'"'s current location;

receiving a new post from the portable device of the user, the new post comprising location information identifying a particular geographic location;

identifying a subset of the plurality of posts having predefined areas that geographically overlap the particular geographic location of the new post;

sending a notification only to one or more users identified in the one or more of the plurality of posts in the subset, wherein the user making the new post is not notified and the one or more users that are notified are remote from and outside the predefined area of each of the plurality of posts in the subset when the notification is sent to alert the one or more users to new posting activity at one or more previous locations where the one or more users were previously located that are all geographically remote from the current location of the one or more users; and

transmitting the one or more posts having overlapping predefined areas to the one or more users to allow the one or more users to view the one or more posts having overlapping predefined areas.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising receiving a category identifier for one or more of the plurality of posts, and storing the category identifier along with the user identifier to catalog the one or more of the plurality of posts.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the notification to the one or more users is also sent when one or more of the plurality of posts are within a predefined geographic area, the one or more users being identified by the user identifier in one or more of the plurality of posts located within the predefined geographic area.