Location-triggered reminder for mobile user devices
AssigneeAvaya Technology Corp.
InventorBryan J. Welch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mobile user device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA 100), a wireless telephone, a car phone, or any other programmable device that the user generally has with him or her, is equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) receiver (101) and is programmable (102) by the user to alert the user to when he or she arrives with the device at a predetermined location (252), as well as to disclose (101) to the user whatever information (263) the user chose to associate with that location (e.g., a “to-do” list). The user can program in the geographical coordinates (253) of locations and location names (252), and thereafter refer to the locations by name. The user can also program in a range (254) around each location, so that his or her arrival within that range will trigger the alert for the location.
Claims9
An apparatus comprising:
- a mobile device for accompanying a user of the mobile device and including an information input facility and an information output facility;
- a position receiver for indicating a geographical location of the mobile device;
- a matcher cooperative with the information input facility and the receiver, responsive to information received from the user via the input facility specifying a geographical location and a geographical range around the geographical location in association with a name corresponding to the geographical location, and separately specifying the name in association with user information that the user wants to associate with the geographical location, for repeatedly determining whether a presently indicated said geographical location of the mobile device matches within a specified said geographical range a specified said geographic location that is associated with a specified said name that has specified said user information associated therewith;
- and
- a notifier cooperative with the matcher and the information output facility, responsive only to a determination of said match, for generating an alert for alerting the user and disclosing said specified user information to the user via the output facility.
A method comprising:
- receiving, in a mobile device for accompanying a user of the mobile device, information indicating a present geographical location of the mobile device;
- receiving from the user, in the mobile device, information specifying a geographical location and a geographical range around the geographical location in association with a name corresponding to the geographical location;
- receiving from the user, in the mobile device, information specifying the name in association with user information that the user wants to associate with the geographical location;
- in response, repeatedly determining whether a presently-indicated said present geographical location of the mobile device matches within a specified said geographical range a specified said geographical location that is associated with a specified said name that has specified said user information associated therewith;
- in response to a determination of a match, generating an alert for alerting the user;
- and
- further in response to the determination of the match, disclosing said specified user information to the user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.