Generating unexpected location notifications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11228864-B2
Application number	US-202016845297-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 10, 2020
Priority date	May 6, 2019
Publication date	Jan 18, 2022
Grant date	Jan 18, 2022

Abstract

In some implementations, a first computing device can send notifications at times that the first computing device is not in an expected location. A user of a second computing device can remotely configure an expected location for the first computing device, which may be a particular location for a certain period of time. During that time, the first computing device can monitor its own location and check whether it is within the expected location. If the first computing device unexpectedly leaves or fails to enter the expected location, the first computing device may transmit a notification to the second computing device. Similarly, if the first computing device loses connectivity with other devices, a server device may notify the second computing device that the location of the first computing device cannot be determined.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving, by a first device associated with a first user, a message including an expected location configuration from a second device, the expected location configuration defined by a second user of the second device and specifying an expected location for the first device during a time period;
determining, by the first device, that a first current time is within the time period defined by the expected location configuration;
determining, by the first device, that the first device is at a first location;
detecting, by the first device, that the first device has moved to a second location;
determining, by the first device, that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a threshold distance; and
in response to the determination that the distance exceeds the threshold distance, comparing the second location of the first device to the expected location;
based on the comparing, determining, by the first device, that the second location of the first device does not correspond to the expected location; and
in response to the determination that the second location of the first device does not correspond to the expected location, automatically sending a first notification to the second device that the first device is not at the expected location.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first device is associated with a first account identifier, the second device is associated with a second account identifier, and the first account identifier and the second account identifier are members of a trusted group of account identifiers, further comprising:
determining, based on the message, the second account identifier associated with the second device;
determining that the second account identifier is a member of the trusted group; and
automatically configuring the first device to enable the expected location configuration on the first device for the time period.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the first device, that a second current time is within the time period defined by the expected location configuration;
determining, by the first device, that a third location of the first device corresponds to the expected location; and
based on the determination that the third location corresponds to the expected location, abstaining from sending a second notification to the second device.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating, by the first device, a third notification configured to inform the second user of the second device that the first device has unexpectedly exited the expected location;
determining, by the first device at a third current time, that the first device cannot establish a connection with the second device;
storing the third notification on the first device;
determining, by the first device at a fourth current time, that the first device has established a connection with the second device; and
sending, by the first device, the stored third notification to the second device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first notification includes an identifier for the expected location and a message describing the second location of the first device relative to the expected location identified by the identifier.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the first device, that a fifth current time is within the time period defined by the first expected location configuration;
determining, by the first device, that a third location of the first device corresponds to the expected location; and
based on the determination that the third location corresponds to the expected location, sending to the second device a fourth notification indicating that the first device has arrived at the expected location.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the expected location configuration defines the first location as an expected location during the time period, further comprising:
determining, by the first device, that:
the first device is at the first location; and
the current time is after the time period; and

based on the determination, sending a fifth notification to the second device configured to inform the second user of the second device that the first device has unexpectedly remained at the expected location beyond the time period.

8. A system, comprising:
one or more processors; and
a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving, by a first device associated with a first user, a message including an expected location configuration from a second device, the expected location configuration defined by a second user of the second device and specifying an expected location for the first device during a time period;
determining, by the first device, that a first current time is within the time period defined by the expected location configuration;
determining, by the first device, that the first device is at a first location;
detecting, by the first device, that the first device has moved to a second location;
determining, by the first device, that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a threshold distance; and
in response to the determination that the distance exceeds the threshold distance, comparing the second location of the first device to the expected location;
based on the comparing, determining, by the first device, that the second location of the first device does not correspond to the expected location; and
in response to the determination that the second location of the first device does not correspond to the expected location, automatically sending a first notification to the second device that the first device is not at the expected location.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first device is associated with a first account identifier, the second device is associated with a second account identifier, and the first account identifier and the second account identifier are members of a trusted group of account identifiers, wherein the instructions cause the processors to perform operations comprising:
determining, based on the message, the second account identifier associated with the second device;
determining that the second account identifier is a member of the trusted group; and
automatically configuring the first device to enable the expected location configuration on the first device for the time period.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions cause the processors to perform operations comprising:
determining, by the first device, that a second current time is within the time period defined by the expected location configuration;
determining, by the first device, that a third location of the first device corresponds to the expected location; and
based on the determination that the third location corresponds to the expected location, abstaining from sending a second notification to the second device.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions cause the processors to perform operations comprising:
generating, by the first device, a third notification configured to inform the second user of the second device that the first device has unexpectedly exited the expected location;
determining, by the first device at a third current time, that the first device cannot establish a connection with the second device;
storing the third notification on the first device;
determining, by the first device at a fourth current time, that the first device has established a connection with the second device;

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Schobel Andreas E
• Jayaraman Swaminathan
• Salzman Paul W
• Lynch Kevin M
• Rochette Tommy
• Howard Albert R
• Movva Siva Ganesh
• CHATHOTH ABRAHAM Thomas
• De Jong Frank
• Needle Rachel F
• Williams David John
• Pai Raghunandan K
• Bhattacharya Swadesh

Classifications

• H04W4/029 Primary

  Location-based management or tracking services · CPC title

• H04W4/023

  using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds · CPC title

• H04W4/021 Primary

  Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences · CPC title

• G08B21/0283

  via a telephone network, e.g. cellular GSM · CPC title

• G08B21/0277

  Communication between units on a local network, e.g. Bluetooth®, piconet, Zigbee®, Wireless Personal Area Networks [WPAN] · CPC title