# US 2013/0154828 A1 · Apparatus And Method For Providing A Task Reminder Based On Travel History

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- Number: US 2013/0154828 A1
- Document ID: US20130154828A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/766,859
- Filed: 2013-02-14
- Published: 2013-06-20
- Earliest claimed: 2006-09-28
- Assignees: Ektimisi Semiotics Holdings, LLC
- Inventors: Munindar P. Singh; Mona Singh
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130154828A1

## CPC

- G08B 21/24: Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
- H04W 4/02: Services making use of location information
- G06Q 10/109: Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
- H04W 4/029: Location-based management or tracking services
- G08B: SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A method of providing a reminder of a task to be performed at a task location is disclosed herein. The method includes receiving first location information identifying a first location of a user via a mobile communication device and storing the first location information in association with historical travel information. The method includes storing task information that identifies the task and the task location. The method includes identifying a reminder position, wherein the reminder position is based on a comparison of an estimated probability of the user traveling in a trajectory leading toward the task location and an estimated probability of the user traveling in a trajectory leading away from the task location. The method includes receiving current location information identifying a current location and providing a reminder for the task based on a comparison of the current location information and the reminder position.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus for providing a reminder of a task to be performed at a task location, the apparatus comprising:
a monitoring module configured to receive first location information identifying a first location of a user via a mobile communication device associated with the user;
storing the first location information in association with historical travel information of the user;
a data store for storing information that includes a task and a task location;
a reminder module configured identify a reminder position, wherein the reminder position is based on a comparison of an estimated probability of the user traveling in a trajectory leading toward the task location and an estimated probability of the user traveling in a trajectory leading away from the task location;
the monitoring module further configured to receive current location information identifying a current location of the user via the mobile communication device; and
the reminder module configured to provide a reminder for the task based on a comparison of the current location information and the reminder position.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the task location is in a region that comprises a plurality of contiguous cells, and wherein the monitoring module is configured to identify in which cell of the plurality of cells the user is located at the predetermined time intervals.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the user's historical travel information includes transition information for each cell of the plurality of cells, wherein the transition information of a cell includes respective numbers of times the user transitions from the cell to other cells.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the reminder module is configured to identify a reminder position by identifying a target cell that is within a predetermined distance of a current position of the user, identifying one or more forward cells that are in a trajectory leading from the target cell to the task location in a task cell, and identifying one or more backward cells that are in a trajectory from the target cell leading away from the task cell.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein when the task cell and the target cell are aligned horizontally or vertically, the one or more forward cells are at least one of cells that lie on a horizontal or vertical line from the target cell to the task cell and cells that lie immediately adjacent to the horizontal line or the vertical line, and the one or more backward cells are reflections of the one or more forward cells.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the target cell is represented as an origin and each cell is represented by first and second cell coordinates and the task cell is represented by first and second task coordinates relative to the origin, and wherein the one or more forward cells are not the origin and at least one of:
cells where a sum of absolute values of the cell coordinates is greater than zero and less than a sum of absolute values of the task coordinates and whose cell coordinates have the same polarity as the task coordinates when the task cell and the target cell are not aligned horizontally or vertically;
cells where the first cell coordinate is at least equal to zero and at most equal to the first task coordinate and the second cell coordinate is at least equal to zero and at most equal to the second task coordinate when the first and second task coordinates are each at least equal to zero;
cells where the first cell coordinate is at least equal to zero and at most equal to the first task coordinate and the second cell coordinate is at least equal to the second task coordinate and at most equal to zero when the first task coordinate is at least equal to zero and the second task coordinate is less than zero;
cells where the first cell coordinate is at least equal to the first task coordinate and at most equal to zero and the second cell coordinate is at least equal to zero and at most equal to the second task coordinate when the first task coordinate is less than zero and the second task coordinate is at least equal to zero; and
cells where the first cell coordinate is at least equal to the first task coordinate and at most equal to zero and the second cell coordinate is at least equal to the second task coordinate and at most equal to zero when the first and second task coordinates are less than zero.

### Claim 7 (depends on 4)

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the reminder module is configured to calculate a forward probability of the user traveling from the target cell in a trajectory leading toward the task position and to calculate a backward probability of the user traveling from the target cell in a trajectory leading away from the task position based on the transition information for the target cell.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the reminder module is configured to calculate the forward probability by summing a number of times the user has transitioned from the target cell to any of the one or more forward cells and dividing the sum by a total number of transitions from the target cell, and to calculate the backward probability by summing a number of times the user has transitioned from the target cell to any of the one or more backward cells and dividing the sum by the total number of transitions from the target cell.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the reminder module is configured to calculate the forward probability based on the number of times the user has traveled from the target cell to any of the one or more forward cells via one or more cells, and to calculate the backward probability based on the number of times the user has traveled from the target cell to any of the one or more backward cells via one or more cells.

### Claim 10 (depends on 4)

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the reminder module is configured to determine the reminder position by identifying one or more target cells, wherein a target cell is within a predetermined distance of a current position of the user and a probability of the user traveling from the current position to the target cell exceeds a minimum probability threshold, and analyzing the one or more target cells in descending order of their probability.

### Claim 11 (depends on 4)

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the reminder module is further configured to transmit the reminder for the task to the user via the mobile communication device and to prevent a subsequent reminder for the task unless at least one of a predetermined time thereafter has expired, and a distance between the user and the task cell has not reduced to zero, but has exceeded a threshold distance that is greater than the predetermined distance.

### Claim 12 (depends on 4)

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the task is associated with a plurality of task locations and the reminder module is configured to identify the reminder position by identifying a target cell that is within a predetermined distance of a current position of the user, identifying one or more forward cells for each of the one or more task cells, wherein for each task cell, the one or more forward cells are in a trajectory leading from the target cell to the task cell, and identifying one or more backward cells for each of the one or more task cells, wherein for each task cell, the one or more backward cells are in a trajectory from the target cell leading away from the task cell.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the reminder module is further configured to identify for a first task cell of the one or more task cells one or more strong backward cells comprising backward cells associated with the first task cell that are not identified as forward cells for other of the one or more task cells, to calculate a forward probability of the user traveling from the target cell in a trajectory leading toward the first task cell by summing a number of times the user has transitioned from the target cell to any of the one or more forward cells associated with the first task cell and dividing the sum by a total number of transitions from the target cell, to calculate a backward probability of the user traveling from the target cell in a trajectory leading away from the first task cell by summing a number of times the user has transitioned from the target cell to any of the one or more strong backward cells and dividing the sum by the total number of transitions from the target cell, and to designate the target cell as a reminder position when the forward probability exceeds the backward probability by a threshold value.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the user specified task information includes a plurality of tasks and wherein the reminder module is configured to prioritize the plurality of tasks based on at least one of task importance and completion time, and to determine a reminder position for a task location associated with a task having a highest priority.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus is a mobile communication device comprising:
a communication interface coupled to a network; and
a position locator system configured to identify the location of the mobile communication device.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the monitoring module is configured to receive location information from the position locator system to identify the location of the mobile communication device at least one of at a fixed sampling interval and at a sampling interval proportional to at least one of a velocity and an expected velocity of the mobile communication device.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a server comprising:
a communication interface for communicating with the mobile communication device associated with the user over a network and configured to receive user specified task information and the location of the mobile communication device.

### Claim 18

A method of providing a reminder of a task to be performed at a task location, the method comprising:
receiving first location information identifying a first location of a user via a mobile communication device associated with the user;
storing the first location information in association with historical travel information of the user;
receiving information that identifies a task;
receiving information that identifies a task location;
storing task information that identifies the task and the task location;
identifying a reminder position, wherein the reminder position is based on a comparison of an estimated probability of the user traveling in a trajectory leading toward the task location and an estimated probability of the user traveling in a trajectory leading away from the task location;
receiving current location information identifying a current location of the user via the mobile communication device; and
providing a reminder for the task based on a comparison of the current location information and the reminder position.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The method of claim 18 wherein the task location is in a region that comprises a plurality of contiguous cells, and the method further comprises identifying in which cell of the plurality of cells the user is located at predetermined time intervals.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19 wherein receiving the first location information includes collecting transition information for each cell of the plurality of cells, wherein the transition information of a cell includes respective numbers of times the user transitions from the cell to other cells.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20 wherein identifying a reminder position includes:
identifying a target cell that is within a predetermined distance of a current position of the user;
identifying one or more forward cells that are in a trajectory leading from the target cell to the task location in a task cell; and
identifying one or more backward cells that are in a trajectory from the target cell leading away from the task cell.

### Claim 22 (depends on 21)

The method of claim 21 wherein when the task cell and the target cell are aligned horizontally or vertically, identifying the one or more forward cells includes identifying at least one of cells that lie on a horizontal or vertical line from the target cell to the task cell and cells that lie immediately adjacent to the horizontal line or the vertical line, and identifying the one or more backward cells includes identifying cells that are reflections of the one or more forward cells.

### Claim 23 (depends on 22)

The method of claim 22 wherein the target cell is represented as an origin and each cell is represented by first and second cell coordinates and the task cell is represented by first and second task coordinates relative to the origin, wherein the one or more forward cells are not the origin, and wherein identifying the one or more forward cells includes identifying at least one of:
cells where a sum of absolute values of the cell coordinates is greater than zero and less than a sum of absolute values of the task coordinates and whose cell coordinates have the same polarity as the task coordinates when the task cell and the target cell are not aligned horizontally or vertically;
cells where the first cell coordinate is at least equal to zero and at most equal to the first task coordinate and the second cell coordinate is at least equal to zero and at most equal to the second task coordinate when the first and second task coordinates are each at least equal to zero;
cells where the first cell coordinate is at least equal to zero and at most equal to the first task coordinate and the second cell coordinate is at least equal to the second task coordinate and at most equal to zero when the first task coordinate is at least equal to zero and the second task coordinate is less than zero;
cells where the first cell coordinate is at least equal to the first task coordinate and at most equal to zero and the second cell coordinate is at least equal to zero and at most equal to the second task coordinate when the first task coordinate is less than zero and the second task coordinate is at least equal to zero; and
cells where the first cell coordinate is at least equal to the first task coordinate and at most equal to zero and the second cell coordinate is at least equal to the second task coordinate and at most equal to zero when the first and second task coordinates are less than zero.

### Claim 24 (depends on 21)

The method of claim 21 wherein identifying the reminder position includes calculating a forward probability of the user traveling from the target cell in a trajectory leading toward the task position and calculating a backward probability of the user traveling from the target cell in a trajectory leading away from the task position based on the transition information for the target cell.

### Claim 25 (depends on 24)

The method of claim 24 wherein calculating the forward probability includes summing a number of times the user has transitioned from the target cell to any of the one or more forward cells and dividing the sum by a total number of transitions from the target cell, and calculating the backward probability includes summing a number of times the user has transitioned from the target cell to any of the one or more backward cells and dividing the sum by the total number of transitions from the target cell.

### Claim 26 (depends on 24)

The method of claim 24 wherein calculating the forward probability includes counting the number of times the user has traveled from the target cell to any of the one or more forward cells via one or more cells, and calculating the backward probability includes counting the number of times the user has traveled from the target cell to any of the one or more backward cells via one or more cells.

### Claim 27 (depends on 21)

The method of claim 21 wherein identifying the reminder position includes identifying one or more target cells, wherein a target cell is within a predetermined distance of a current position of the user and a probability of the user traveling from the current position to the target cell exceeds a minimum probability threshold, and analyzing the one or more target cells in descending order of their probability.

### Claim 28 (depends on 21)

The method of claim 21 wherein the task is associated with a plurality of task locations and identifying the reminder position includes:
identifying a target cell that is within a predetermined distance of a current position of the user;
identifying one or more forward cells for each of the one or more task cells, wherein for each task cell, the one or more forward cells are in a trajectory leading from the target cell to the task cell; and
identifying one or more backward cells for each of the one or more task cells, wherein for each task cell, the one or more backward cells are in a trajectory from the target cell leading away from the task cell.

### Claim 29 (depends on 18)

The method of claim 18 wherein the user specified task information includes a plurality of tasks and wherein the method further comprises prioritizing the plurality of tasks based on at least one of task importance and completion time.

### Claim 30 (depends on 29)

The method of claim 29 wherein the method further includes determining a reminder position for respective task locations associated with each of the plurality of tasks in order of decreasing priority.

### Claim 31

A computer readable medium having program instructions for providing a reminder of a task to be performed at a task location, the program instructions for performing a method comprising:
receiving first location information identifying a first location of a user via a mobile communication device associated with the user;
storing the first location information in association with historical travel information of the user;
receiving information that identifies a task;
receiving information that identifies a task location;
storing task information that identifies the task and the task location;
identifying a reminder position, wherein the reminder position is based on a comparison of an estimated probability of the user traveling in a trajectory leading toward the task location and an estimated probability of the user traveling in a trajectory leading away from the task location;
receiving current location information identifying a current location of the user via the mobile communication device; and
providing a reminder for the task based on a comparison of the current location information and the reminder position.