Application program and related techniques for organizing a meeting between people

• US 9,392,038 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2013
• Issued: 07/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: David R. Robinson
• Original Assignee: David R. Robinson
• Inventors: Robinson, David R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong, Hien
• Application Number:
  US13/958,016
• Publication Number:
  US 20140053083A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• 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 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A computer-implemented application program comprises various graphic user interfaces to facilitate the formation of a physical meeting between people. A computer-readable storage medium comprises instructions to implement the computer-implemented application program.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of generating a meeting among people, comprising:

selecting, by a first user, with a graphical user interface, a venue, wherein the venue comprises a place where events are held;

displaying, to the first user, a map in accordance with the venue on a first user computer display, wherein the map provides a view inside of a boundary of the venue;

selecting, by the first user, with a graphical user interface, a location of the meeting by moving, placing, and selecting a location of an icon on the map, in accordance with the venue, at the location of the meeting selected by the first user;

displaying, to the first user, the icon on the map at the location;

selecting, by the first user, with a graphical user interface, a time of the meeting;

selecting, by the first user, with a graphical user interface, two or more other users to invite to the meeting;

associating, with a processor, the selected time and the selected two or more other users with the icon on the map; and

communicating, with the processor, to the selected two or more other users, an invitation for the meeting, the invitation for the meeting comprising information identifying the map, the selected time, the selected location of the meeting, and the selected two or more other users;

selecting, by the selected two or more other users, acceptances or rejections of the invitation for the meeting;

communicating the acceptances to each one of the selected two or more other users and to the first user;

displaying, to the first user on the first user computer display, in accordance with the invitation, the information identifying the map, the selected time, the selected location of the meeting by displaying, to the first user, the icon on the map, in accordance with the venue, at the location of the meeting selected by the first user, the selected two or more other users, the first user, and the acceptances; and

displaying, to the selected two or more other users on a respective two or more other computer displays, in accordance with the invitation, the information identifying the map, the selected time, the selected location of the meeting by displaying, to the selected two or more other users, the icon on the map, in accordance with the venue, at the location of the meeting selected by the first user, the selected two or more other users, the first user, and the acceptances.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the venue comprises a city.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the venue comprises an organized event and the selected location comprises a location within the organized event.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first user computer display is upon a first user communication device and the two or more other computer displays are upon a respective two or more other communication devices.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the first user communication device comprises a smart cellular telephone and the two or more other communication devices comprise a respective two or more other smart cellular telephones.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the selecting the two or more other users comprises:

storing identifying information of the two or more other users as a stored group of information;

assigning an identifying name to the stored group of information; and

communicating, with the processor, to the two or more other users, the identified name.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

comparing a real time with the selected time of the meeting;

identifying, with a satellite location system, a geographic locations of the selected two or more other users and a geographic location of the first user if the real time is within a real time threshold of the selected time of the meeting;

viewing, on the first user computer display, the map, the icon, a location icon representative of the geographic location of the first user, and location icons representative of the geographic locations of the selected two or more other users; and

viewing, on the two or more other computer displays, the map, the icon, the location icon representative of the geographic location of the first user, and the location icons representative of the geographic locations of the selected two or more other users.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the first user computer display is upon a first user communication device and the two or more other computer displays are upon a respective two or more other communication devices.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the first user communication device comprises a smart cellular telephone and the two or more other communication devices comprise a respective two or more other smart cellular telephones.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

enlisting a member organization, the enlisting comprising paying a fee by the member organization;

comparing a location of the member organization with the location of the meeting; and

displaying, upon the first user computer display and upon at least one or the two or more other computer displays, a member icon representative of the member organization on the map at a position representative of the location of the member organization if the location of the member organization is within a threshold distance of the location of the meeting.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the first user computer display is upon a first user communication device and the two or more other computer displays are upon a respective two or more other communication devices.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the first user communication device comprises a smart cellular telephone and the two or more other communication devices comprise a respective two or more other smart cellular telephones.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the member organization comprises a concession associated with the venue.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the member organization comprises a restaurant.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the member organization comprises a bar.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

selecting, with a graphical user interface, the member organization; and

displaying data on the map in accordance with the selected member organization, the data describing a feature of the member organization.

33. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the venue comprises a theater, wherein the map comprises a map of seats within the theater, and wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a location within the theater.

34. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the venue comprises a sports park, wherein the map comprises a man of seats within the sports park, and wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a location within the sports park.

35. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

viewing, on the first user computer display, the map, the icon, a location icon representative of the geographic location of the first user, and location icons representative of the geographic locations of the selected two or more other users; and

viewing, on the two or more other computer displays, the map, the icon, the location icon representative of the geographic location of the first user, and the location icons representative of the geographic locations of the selected two or more other users.

36. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the selecting the two or more other users comprises:

identifying information about the two or more other users from within a social medium.

41. The computer-implemented method of claim 33, wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a selected seat within the map of seats.

42. The computer-implemented method of claim 34, wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a selected seat within the map of seats.

45. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the place of the event is attended by a crowd of people.

47. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the map comprises a map of seats within the place of the event, and wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a location within the place of the event.

48. The computer-implemented method of claim 47, wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a selected seat within the map of seats.

50. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 48, wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a selected seat within the map of seats.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable code stored thereon, the computer readable code comprising instructions for:

selecting, by a first user, with a graphical user interface, a venue, wherein the venue comprises a place where events are held;

displaying, to the first user, a map in accordance with the venue on a first computer computer display, wherein the map provides a view inside of a boundary of the venue;

selecting, by the first user, with a graphical user interface, a location of the meeting by moving, placing, and selecting a location of an icon on the map, in accordance with the venue, at the location of the meeting selected by the first user;

displaying, to the first user, the icon on the map at the location;

selecting, by a first user, with a graphical user interface, a time of the meeting;

selecting, by the first user, with a graphical user interface, two or more other users to invite to the meeting;

associating, with a processor, the selected time and the selected two or more other users with the icon on the map; and

communicating, with the processor, to the selected two or more other users, an invitation for the meeting, the information for the meeting comprising information identifying the map, the selected time, the selected location of the meeting, and the selected two or more other users

selecting, by the selected two or more other users, acceptances or rejections of the invitation for the meeting;

communicating the acceptances to each one of the selected two or more other users and to the first user;

displaying, to the first user on the first user computer display, in accordance with the invitation, the information identifying the map, the selected time, the selected location of the meeting by displaying, to the first user, the icon on the map, in accordance with the venue, at the location of the meeting selected by the first user, the selected two or more other users, the first user, and the acceptances; and

displaying, to the selected two or more other users on a respective two or more other computer displays, in accordance with the invitation, the information identifying the map, the selected time, the selected location of the meeting by displaying, to the selected two or more other users, the icon on the map, in accordance with the venue, at the location of the meeting selected by the first user, the selected two or more other users, the first user, and the acceptances.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the venue comprises a city.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the venue comprises an organized event, and the selected location comprises a location within the organized event.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the first user computer display is upon a first user communication device and the two or more other computer displays are upon a respective two or more other communication devices.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the first user communication device comprises a smart cellular telephone and the two or more other communication devices comprise a respective two or more other smart cellular telephones.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the selecting the two or more other users comprises:

storing identifying information of the two or more other users as a stored group of information;

assigning an identifying name to the stored group of information; and

communicating, with the processor, to the two or more other users, the identified name.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, further comprising:

comparing a real time with the selected time of the meeting;

identifying, with a satellite location system, geographic locations of the selected two or more other users and a geographic location of the first user if the real time is within a real time threshold of the selected time of the meeting; and

viewing, on the first user computer display, the map, the icon, a location icon representative of the geographic location of the first user, and location icons representative of the geographic locations of the selected two or more other users; and

viewing, on the two or more other computer displays, the map, the icon, the location icon representative of the geographic location of the first user, and the location icons representative of the geographic locations of the selected two or more other users.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein the first user computer display is upon a first user communication device and the two or more other computer displays are upon a respective two or more other communication devices.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the first user communication device comprises a smart cellular telephone and the two or more other communication devices comprise a respective two or more other smart cellular telephones.

26. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, further comprising:

enlisting a member organization, the enlisting comprising paying a fee by the member organization;

comparing a location of the member organization with the location of the meeting; and

displaying, upon the first user computer display and upon at least one or the two or more other computer displays, a member icon representative of the member organization on the map at a position representative of the location of the member organization if the location of the member organization is within a threshold distance of the location of the meeting.

27. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the first user computer display is upon a communication device and the two or more other computer displays are upon a respective two or more other communication devices.

28. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the first user communication device comprises a smart cellular telephone and the two or more other communication devices comprise a respective two or more other smart cellular telephones.

29. The computer-readable storage medium claim 26, wherein the member organization comprises a concession associated with the venue.

30. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the member organization comprises a restaurant.

31. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the member organization comprises a bar.

32. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, further comprising:

selecting, with a graphical user interface, the member organization; and

displaying data on the map in accordance with the selected member organization, the data describing a feature of the member organization.

37. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the venue comprises a theater, wherein the map comprises a man of seats within the theater, and wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a location within the theater.

38. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the venue comprises a sports park, wherein the map comprises a map of seats within the sports park, and wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a location within the sports park.

39. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions for:

viewing, on the first user computer display, the map, the icon, a location icon representative of the geographic location of the first user, and location icons representative of the geographic locations of the selected two or more other users; and

viewing, on the two or more other computer displays, the map, the icon, the location icon representative of the geographic location of the first user, and the location icons representative of the geographic locations of the selected two or more other users.

40. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions for selecting the two or more other users comprises:

instructions for identifying information about the two or more other users from within a social medium.

43. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 37, wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a selected seat within the map of seats.

44. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 38, wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a selected seat within the map of seats.

46. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the place of the event is attended by a crowd of people.

49. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the map comprises a map of seats within the place of the event, and wherein the selected location identified by the icon comprises a location within the place of the event.