Granted Patent B2

US 12,548,038 · App. 18/211,936 · Granted Feb 10, 2026

Inventors: Frank Russo (Sunnyvale, CA); Luuk Van Dijk (Zürich, CH); Paul Donnelly (San Jose, CA); Quang Duong (San Francisco, CA); James Aspinall (San Francisco, CA); Finnegan Southey (San Francisco, CA); Steve Chien (San Carlos, CA)

Assignee: Google LLC

G06Q30/0201G06F16/2255

Abstract

Claims (79)

1 . A method, comprising:

receiving, at one or more processors, a request for information about a particular public place;

determining an aggregate amount of available real-time location information for the public place, comprising:

identifying values uniquely corresponding to users at the particular public place;

storing the values in a predetermined portion of a data structure for the particular public place;

measuring, using the one or more processors, an amount of time during which the predetermined portion of the data structure is filled; and

emptying the data structure after it is filled;

generating, with the one or more processors, real-time busyness information for the public place based on the amount of time during which the predetermined portion of the data structure is filled;

determining whether the real-time busyness information meets an accuracy qualification based on an accuracy of the real-time busyness information, comprising:

counting a first number of hours that real-time data differs from historical data of the public place beyond a first threshold;

counting a second number of hours that real-time data match historical data of the public place beyond a second threshold;

determining whether the first number of hours is less than a first predetermined percentage of total open hours in an evaluation period;

determining whether the second number of hours is greater than a second predetermined percentage of the total open hours in the evaluation period;

removing the particular public place from a database of candidate public places when the real-time busyness information does not meet the accuracy qualification, thereby avoiding unnecessary network traffic and minimizing network disruption; and

providing for display, when the real-time busyness information meets the accuracy qualification, the generated real-time busyness information for the particular public place in response to the request.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the real-time busyness information meets the accuracy qualification comprises comparing, over the evaluation period, the real-time busyness information for the public place to historical real-time busyness information for the public place for each hour that the public place was open during the evaluation period.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing for display historical busyness information for the public place, the historical information provided in relation to the real-time information.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

computing a hash of an identifier uniquely assigned to a user at the particular public place;

setting a threshold number of hash values to be stored in the predetermined portion of the data structure for the particular public place;

measuring, using the one or more processors, the aggregate amount of real-time location information available for the particular public place, the measuring comprising:

determining a number of unique hashes having location data that corresponds to the particular public place; and

storing the number of unique hashes corresponding to location data in the predetermined portion of the data structure.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein computing the real-time busyness information for the public place comprises:

aggregating the unique hashes within a second data structure; and

determining, with the one or more processors, a duration of time during which the unique hashes were aggregated.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

emptying the second data structure each time it is filled; and

counting a number of times the second data structure is emptied.

7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein determining the number of unique hashes comprises filling a predetermined portion of a first data structure.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the data structure is a first bit vector.

9 . A system, comprising:

a memory; and

one or more processors in communication with the memory, the one or more processors configured to:

receive a request for information about a particular public place;

determine an aggregate amount of available real-time location information for the public place, comprising:

identify values uniquely corresponding to users at the particular public place;

store the values in a predetermined portion of a data structure for the particular public place;

measure an amount of time during which the predetermined portion of the data structure is filled; and

empty the data structure after it is filled;

generate real-time busyness information for the public place based on the amount of time during which the predetermined portion of the data structure is filled;

determine whether the real-time busyness information meets an accuracy qualification based on an accuracy of the real-time busyness information by:

counting a first number of hours that real-time data differs from historical data of the public place beyond a first threshold;

counting a second number of hours that real-time data match historical data of the public place beyond a second threshold;

determining whether the first number of hours is less than a first predetermined percentage of total open hours in an evaluation period; and

determining whether the second number of hours is greater than a second predetermined percentage of the total open hours in the evaluation period;

remove the particular public place from a database of candidate public places when the real-time busyness information does not meet the accuracy qualification, thereby avoiding unnecessary network traffic and minimizing network disruption; and

provide for display, when the real-time busyness information meets the accuracy qualification, the generated real-time busyness information for the particular public place in response to the request.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein determining whether the real-time busyness information meets the accuracy qualification comprises comparing, over the evaluation period, the real-time busyness information for the public place to historical real-time busyness information for the public place for each hour that the public place was open during the evaluation period.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to provide for display historical busyness information for the public place, the historical information provided in relation to the real-time information.

12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

compute a hash of an identifier uniquely assigned to a user at the particular public place;

set a threshold number of hash values to be stored in the predetermined portion of the data structure for the particular public place;

measure the aggregate amount of real-time location information available for the particular public place, the measuring comprising:

determine a number of unique hashes having location data that corresponds to the particular public place; and

store the number of unique hashes corresponding to location data in the predetermined portion of the data structure.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein computing the real-time busyness information for the public place comprises:

aggregating the unique hashes within a second data structure; and

determining, with the one or more processors, a duration of time during which the unique hashes were aggregated.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

empty the second data structure each time it is filled; and

count a number of times the second data structure is emptied.

15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein determining the number of unique hashes comprises filling a predetermined portion of a first data structure.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the data structure is a first bit vector.

17 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors for performing a method, comprising:

receiving a request for information about a particular public place;

determining an aggregate amount of available real-time location information for the public place, comprising:

identifying values uniquely corresponding to users at the particular public place;

storing the values in a predetermined portion of a data structure for the particular public place;

measuring, using the one or more processors, an amount of time during which the predetermined portion of the data structure is filled; and

emptying the data structure after it is filled;

generating real-time busyness information for the public place based on the amount of time during which the predetermined portion of the data structure is filled;

determining whether the real-time busyness information meets an accuracy qualification based on an accuracy of the real-time busyness information, comprising:

counting a first number of hours that real-time data differs from historical data of the public place beyond a first threshold;

counting a second number of hours that real-time data match historical data of the public place beyond a second threshold;

determining whether the first number of hours is less than a first predetermined percentage of total open hours in an evaluation period; and

determining whether the second number of hours is greater than a second predetermined percentage of the total open hours in the evaluation period;

removing the particular public place from a database of candidate public places when the real-time busyness information does not meet the accuracy qualification, thereby avoiding unnecessary network traffic and minimizing network disruption; and

providing for display, when the real-time busyness information meets the accuracy qualification, the generated real-time busyness information for the particular public place in response to the request.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (90)