Wireless user based notification system
View Patent ↗A group of wireless device users are notified of an event. A location data determination algorithm is provided to a wireless device, where the algorithm determines a frequency at which the device interacts with network elements to determine its location. The location data is stored in a notification server and used to identify a user at a specific location. When a governmental or commercial entity wishes to issue a notification, a message is provided to those users whose location is identified as being in an area defined by the entity.
1. A method for notifying a group of wireless device users of an event, the method comprising:
providing an algorithm from a notification server to each of a plurality of wireless devices for controlling a location updating process to obtain location data for the wireless device;
receiving the location data from the wireless device at the notification server;
storing the location data in a spatial database, wherein the spatial database associates the location data with a geographic region;
receiving a request and a description of a geographic area in which a notification message associated with the request is to be distributed, wherein the geographic area comprises at least a portion of at least one geographic region;
mapping the description of the geographic area to the plurality of wireless devices using the location data stored in the spatial database, wherein the mapping identifies the location of the wireless devices relative to the geographic area, at least one of the wireless devices being identified as being located within the geographic area;
issuing the notification message to each wireless device identified as being located within the geographic area;
receiving a subsequent request and a corresponding description of a geographic area; and
updating the algorithm based on the subsequent request.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
periodically receiving updated location data for the wireless device at the notification server; and
storing the updated location data in the spatial database, wherein the updated location data replaces the previously stored location data.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
tracking the location of the wireless device based on the updated location data.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
defining the description of a geographic area in which the notification message is to be distributed.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
issuing the notification message to each wireless device located proximate to but not within the geographic area.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
issuing a different notification message to each wireless device located proximate to but not within the geographic area.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein issuing the notification message comprises sending an SMS message.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
authenticating the request.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein issuing the notification message to each wireless device comprises sending the notification message to the wireless devices identified as having priority over other wireless devices.
10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
issuing the notification message to a wireless device regardless of the location of the wireless device, wherein the wireless device is identified to always receive the notification message.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein issuing the notification message to each wireless device comprises issuing the notification messages based on the size of the geographic area and the number of wireless devices to receive the notification message.
12. The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to user activation, providing the location of the user's mobile device as identified by the notification server to the mobile device.
13. A notification server configured to:
receive a request and a description of a geographic area in which a notification message associated with the request is to be distributed, wherein the geographic area comprises at least a portion of at least one geographic region;
compare the description of the geographic area to a plurality of mobile devices using location data associated with each mobile device, wherein the comparison identifies the location of the mobile devices relative to the geographic area, at least one mobile device being identified as being located within the geographic area;
issue the notification message to each mobile device identified as being located within the geographic area;
provide an algorithm for controlling a location updating process to each mobile device; and
receive a subsequent request and a corresponding description of a geographic area and update the algorithm based on the subsequent request.
14. The notification server of claim 13 further configured to:
receive the location data from each mobile device, wherein the location data is obtained in accordance with the algorithm.
15. The notification server of claim 13 further configured to:
store the location data in a database, wherein the database associates the location data with a geographic region.
16. The notification server of claim 15 further configured to:
periodically receive updated location data for the mobile device; and
store the updated location data in the database, wherein the updated location data replaces the previously stored location data.
17. The notification server of claim 16 further configured to:
track the location of the mobile device based on the updated location data.
18. The notification server of claim 13 further configured to:
update the algorithm.
19. The notification server of claim 13 further configured to:
authenticate the request.
20. A system for notifying a group of wireless device users of an event, the system comprising:
means for providing an algorithm from a notification server to each of a plurality of wireless devices for controlling a location updating process to obtain location data for the wireless device;
means for receiving a request and a description of a geographic area in which a notification message associated with the request is to be distributed, wherein the geographic area comprises at least a portion of at least one geographic region;
means for mapping the description of the geographic area to a plurality of wireless devices using the location data associated with each wireless device, wherein the mapping identifies the location of each wireless device relative to the geographic area, at least one of the wireless devices being identified as being located within the geographic area;
means for issuing the notification message to each wireless device identified as being located within the geographic area; and
means for receiving a subsequent request and a corresponding description of a geographic area and updating the algorithm based on the subsequent request.
21. A method for notifying a group of wireless device users of an event, the method comprising:
providing an algorithm from a notification server to each of a plurality of wireless devices for controlling a location updating process to obtain location data for the wireless device;
receiving the location data from the wireless device at the notification server;
storing the location data in a spatial database, wherein the spatial database associates the location data with a geographic region;
receiving a request and a description of a geographic area in which a notification message associated with the request is to be distributed, wherein the geographic area comprises at least a portion of at least one geographic region;
mapping the description of the geographic area to the plurality of wireless devices using the location data stored in the spatial database, wherein the mapping identifies the location of the wireless devices relative to the geographic area, at least one of the wireless devices being identified as being located within the geographic area; and
issuing the notification message to each wireless device identified as being located within the geographic area, wherein issuing the notification message to each wireless device comprises issuing the notification messages based on the size of the geographic area and the number of wireless devices to receive the notification message.
22. A notification server configured to:
receive a request and a description of a geographic area in which a notification message associated with the request is to be distributed, wherein the geographic area comprises at least a portion of at least one geographic region;
compare the description of the geographic area to a plurality of mobile devices using location data associated with each mobile device, wherein the comparison identifies the location of the mobile devices relative to the geographic area, at least one mobile device being identified as being located within the geographic area;
issue the notification message to each mobile device identified as being located within the geographic area based on the size of the geographic area and the number of wireless devices to receive the notification message; and
provide an algorithm for controlling a location updating process to each mobile device.
23. A system for notifying a group of wireless device users of an event, the system comprising:
means for providing an algorithm from a notification server to each of a plurality of wireless devices for controlling a location updating process to obtain location data for the wireless device;
means for receiving a request and a description of a geographic area in which a notification message associated with the request is to be distributed, wherein the geographic area comprises at least a portion of at least one geographic region;
means for mapping the description of the geographic area to a plurality of wireless devices using the location data associated with each wireless device, wherein the mapping identifies the location of each wireless device relative to the geographic area, at least one of the wireless devices being identified as being located within the geographic area; and
means for issuing the notification message to each wireless device identified as being located within the geographic area based on the size of the geographic area and the number of wireless devices to receive the notification message.