US007284033B2
`
`a2) United States Patent
`US 7,284,033 B2
`(0) Patent No.:
`Jhanji
`Oct. 16, 2007
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`(54)
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`(75)
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`(73)
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`(*)
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`(21)
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`(22)
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`(86)
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`(87)
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`(65)
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`(60)
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`(1)
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`(52)
`(58)
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`SYSTEMS FOR COMMUNICATING
`CURRENT AND FUTURE ACTIVITY
`INFORMATION AMONG MOBILE
`INTERNET USERS AND METHODS
`THEREFOR
`
`Inventor: Neeraj Jhanji, Tokyo (JP)
`
`Assignee:
`
`Imahima Inc., Tokyo (JP)
`
`Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`US.C. 154(b) by 863 days.
`
`Appl. No.:
`
`10/149,203
`
`PCTFiled:
`
`Dec. 13, 2000
`
`PCT No.:
`
`PCT/IB00/01995
`
`§ 371 (€)(),
`(2), (4) Date:
`
`Sep. 11, 2002
`
`PCT Pub. No.: WO01/44998
`
`PCT Pub. Date: Jun. 21, 2001
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2003/0126250 Al
`
`Jul. 3, 2003
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`Provisional application No. 60/170,844, filed on Dec.
`14, 1999.
`Int. Cl.
`
`(2006.01)
`GO6F 15/16
`(2006.01)
`GO6F 15/173
`US. C1. cece 709/206; 709/204; 709/223
`Field of Classification Search................ 709/203,
`709/206, 224, 225, 204, 223
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`1/2000 Zhang etal. we. 705/9
`6,016,478 A *
`6,327,533 BL* 12/2001 Chou... eee 701/207
`6,442,263 BL*
`8/2002 Beaton et al.
`......... 379/142.04
`.
`.. 340/506
`6,542,075 B2*
`4/2003 Barkeret al.
`
`7/2003 Treyz et al. we. 705/14
`6,587,835 BL*
`6,716,101 B1*
`4/2004 Meadowset al.
`........ 455/456.1
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner—Ario Etienne
`Assistant Examiner—Hussein A El-chanti
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Sughrue Mion, PLLC
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A computer-implemented method implemented via the
`Internet for coordinating a current or future event between a
`user of a mobile Internet device and other users communi-
`cating through the Internet. The method includes receiving
`the current or future activity information pertaining to the
`future event from the user via the mobile Internet device.
`The current activity pertains to an activity occurring at a
`current time relative to a time the future activity information
`is received. The future activity pertains to an activity occur-
`ring at a future time relative to a time the future activity
`information is received. The method further includes trans-
`
`mitting the current or future activity information to a back-
`end database coupled to the Internet, the backend database
`being remote from the mobile Internet device. The method
`further includes rendering the current or future activity
`information accessible to at
`least one recipient via the
`Internet. The recipient represents a subset of the users
`coupled to the Internet and having access privilege to
`information pertaining to the current or future event involv-
`ing the user.
`
`10 Claims, 10 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`as packet dal:
`
`© Query imaHima
`mates’ information
`
`
`imaHima Web Server
`Imatiima DB Servor
`(Application, Source code in HTML (Preferences DB,
`Subscription billing DB)
`({graphicitext), CHTML, WML)
`
`Google v. Mullen
`
`Google Exhibit 1060
`Google Exhibit 1060
`Google v. Mullen
`
`
`
` L-ModwE2wah Gateway
`
`
`
`
`
`& Imakiima Search
`
`as packet dala
`
`(Traffic biiling 08,
`Customer OB}
`
`\
`Seeker
`
`‘aver Inlamet
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 16, 2007
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`Sheet 1 of 10
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`US 7,284,033 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 16, 2007
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`Sheet 2 of 10
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`US 7,284,033 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 16, 2007
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`Sheet 3 of 10
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`US 7
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`2
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`284,033 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 16, 2007
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`Sheet 4 of 10
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`US 7,284,033 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 16, 2007
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`Sheet 5 of 10
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`US 7,284,033 B2
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`US 7,284,033 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 16, 2007
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`Sheet 7 of 10
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`US 7,284,033 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 16, 2007
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`Sheet 8 of 10
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`US 7,284,033 B2
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 16, 2007
`
`Sheet 9 of 10
`
`US 7,284,033 B2
`
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 16, 2007
`
`Sheet 10 of 10
`
`US 7,284,033 B2
`
`FIG. 10
`
`10% Off at Gaptill 7pm tonight
`
`Please come to our Shibuya store by
`
`7pm tonight and get 10% off on your Ne
`
`(imaHima user)
`
`Options
`
`

`

`US 7,284,033 B2
`
`1
`SYSTEMS FOR COMMUNICATING
`CURRENT AND FUTURE ACTIVITY
`INFORMATION AMONG MOBILE
`INTERNET USERS AND METHODS
`THEREFOR
`
`This is a National stage entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of
`PCT Application No. PCT/IB00/01995 filed Dec. 13, 2000;
`the above noted application is hereby incorporated byref-
`erence.
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`This application claims priority from an earlier filed
`provisional patent application entitled “Improved Systems
`for Communication among Mobile Internet Users” by the
`same inventor Jhanji, Application No. 60/170,844, filed on
`Dec. 14, 1999, which is incorporated herein by reference.
`Priority is also claimed from U.S. patent application Ser. No.
`09/589,684, filed Jun. 7, 2000 and Ser. No. 09/589,685, filed
`Jun. 7, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated herein
`by reference.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to systems and methods for
`facilitating communication between mobile Internet users
`and for facilitating electronic commercethat is tailored to
`the communicated information. More particularly,
`the
`present invention relates to techniques for allowing users of
`Internet-capable mobile devices to communicate in a man-
`ner that takes into account user identity and profile, user
`status, user present and future/intended activity, user present
`and future/intended location, and time duration and for
`allowing merchants to promote goodsandservices in a more
`effective manner based on the user’s communicated infor-
`
`mation and behaviorprofile.
`Asthe Internet becomes more accepted and useful, there
`has been a tremendous amount of interest
`in endowing
`mobile devices, such as cellular phones, laptop computers,
`personaldigital assistants (PDAs), pagers, and the like, with
`wireless Internet capability. Emails and access to web search
`engines are often cited as the two Internet applications that
`users wish to have access to while being away from their
`desktop Internet terminal. As manufacturers turn their atten-
`tion to the wireless Internet market, consortiums and stan-
`dards have evolved for bringing the powerof the Internet to
`the wireless and miniaturized world of mobile devices. By
`way of example, technical proposals such as the Wireless
`Application Protocol (WAP) and mobile Internet (mobile IP)
`have received muchattention in the press as oflate.
`As the wireless mobile Internet area is in its infancy and
`market penetration has been rather low, much of the current
`attention is directed toward issues involved in achieving an
`acceptable data transmission rate, data security, and reliabil-
`ity via the wireless medium andin bringing desktop-type
`applications, which the users have long enjoyed on their
`desktop terminals, to the small screen of the typical mobile
`device. However,
`there has been less attention to other
`important implications of wireless Internet access, particu-
`larly implicationsthat do not applyto stationary, desk-bound
`Internet users.
`
`It is reasoned by the inventor herein that one implication
`of wireless Internet computing is that the mobile user’s
`location may dynamically change with time as the mobile
`user moves about during his day. Since his Internet access is
`through a portable mobile device, the mobile user essentially
`carries the whole Internet with him from location to location.
`Accordingly, wireless mobile Internet access is capable of a
`whole range of applications vastly different from those
`
`2
`applicable to stationary, desktop Internet access. With con-
`venient mobile Internet access, the user may readily update
`his information to the Internet as well as utilize the Internet
`
`for
`to search for information pertaining to other users,
`example. For mobile Internet users,
`time and location
`become very important dimensions of the communication
`experience.
`Furthermore, it is expected that mobile users will utilize
`wireless Internet access in a mannerthat is more integrated
`with their daily routines than their deskbound counterparts.
`Because of the small size, convenience, and portability of
`the portable Internet access devices,
`it
`is expected that
`mobile users will integrate Internet technology into their
`daily activities in ways that are simply not possible before.
`By way of example, a user employing an Internet-capable
`cellular phone may have Internet access while shopping,
`commuting, dining, strolling about town, andthe like. It is
`expected that mobile Internet users will access-the Internet
`to receive information, to communicate, to engage in elec-
`tronic commerce, and the like while moving about handling
`their day-to-day chores.
`In contrast, deskbound users,
`because of the lack of mobility of their Internet access, are
`typically restricted to accessing the Internet only when at
`home,in the office, or at a location where Internet access
`through a desktop terminal may be found.
`Two of the most challenging but potentially useful areas
`in wireless mobile Internet access involve mobile user
`coordination and electronic commerce. Mobile user coordi-
`
`nation refers to time-dependent, activity-dependent and/or
`location-dependent coordination among individual mobile
`Internet users to enable them to coordinate in order to
`participate in a certain activity or accomplish a certain goal,
`either in the present time or at some future pointin time. By
`way of example, a mobile Internet user may wish to coor-
`dinate an impromptu gathering with selected friends and
`may wish to use the Internet to both gather information
`about the friends’ availability, current location, and/or cur-
`rent/planned activities and to invite the friends to meet at a
`specified location at a specified time. As another example, a
`mobile Internet user may indicate that he intends to be at
`someparticular place in the future and invite/instruct others
`to meet at the same place. As yet another example, a mobile
`Internet user may be interested in a certain activity (e.g.,
`shopping, playing tennis) at some specified location at some
`specified time (either in the immediate future or at some
`specified time in the future) and may employthe Internet to
`publish his intention to invite either selected others or
`anyone interested to participate.
`Electronic commerce based on user location and activity
`information is another area that merchants are highly inter-
`ested in. If the user past, current, and future activity and
`location are known, such information in conjunction with
`the user’s behavioral and/or purchasing profile may allow a
`merchant
`to more precisely tailor the offering of their
`products or services and communicate such offering to the
`user to maximize the chance of purchase.
`In the current art, users may attempt to employ emails to
`inform others of his coordination effort. However, even if
`emails become widely accessible by mobile Internet users,
`there are drawbacks to using emails for mobile user coor-
`dination purposes. For one, emails owes it popularity partly
`to the fact that it allows the user to attend to the emails only
`when convenient. The rest of the time, the received emails
`sit patiently in the receiver’s mailbox, waiting to be read.
`However, this manner of use is incompatible with mobile
`user coordination of events that are location-dependent and
`are perishable with the passage of time. By the time the
`
`

`

`US 7,284,033 B2
`
`3
`recipient gets around to reading his email, the time for the
`event may have already passed. Additionally, email is a
`“push” medium, which intrudes into the recipient’s daily
`routine. This is particularly disadvantageous to mobile
`phone users who may wish to be notified with an audible
`warning (such as a ring) as soon as an email arrives.
`Furthermore, email communication is intrusive in that it
`presumesthat the recipients wish to receive and review the
`information sent by the senders. In fact, most Internet users
`nowadays are deluged with emails, most of them may even
`be well-intentioned, all of which require an undue amountof
`time every day to review and respond. Users resent this and
`for manyusers, the response has beento filter emails, either
`manually or automatically, so that only the urgent emails
`(e.g., those from superiors, loved ones, or work-related) are
`attendedto right away andthe rest ignored until a convenient
`time (such as at the end of the day or on weekends). Again,
`this manner of use is also incompatible with the needs of
`mobile user coordination pertaining to events which may be
`location-specific and time-sensitive.
`Furthermore, unless a user sends out an email or responds
`to one, email communication does not allow others to query
`for one’s availability, current location, mood, intended activ-
`ity, location in the future, etc. without being intrusive. By
`way of example, a user cannot readily inquire about the
`current
`location or availability of another user without
`sending an email and requesting a reply or in some manner
`require a response from the other user, who may be busy or
`simply uninterested in the reason for the inquiry.
`Additionally, email content tends to be free-form andis
`thus difficult for merchants to easily utilize the information
`contained therein for the purpose of determining the user’s
`location, present and intended activity, and the like. Since
`such information is-of great interest to merchants, the dif-
`ficulty of ascertaining such information from free-form
`email communication is a drawback. Additionally, the free-
`form nature of email also renders it less convenient as a
`communication tool
`for mobile Internet users. This is
`because most mobile Internet users loath to enter free-form
`data on the miniaturized keyboard/handwriting recognition
`pad that are furnished with most mobile Internet devices
`today.
`With regard to the need to furnish time-relevant location
`information for mobile Internet users, it has been proposed
`that the user’s current location can be tracked using location-
`finding technologies such as Global Positioning System
`(GPS). In fact, it has been proposed that GPS circuitries be
`incorporated into mobile Internet devices in the future.
`However, there are drawbacks to such a proposal. For one,
`GPStracking seriously threatens the privacy of the user of
`the GPS-enabled mobile Internet device since it renders it
`
`possible to track the user at every instant. For most users,
`this is the equivalent of being followed throughout the day
`and is simply an unwelcomedintrusion. The integration of
`GPS technology into mobile Internet devices also involves
`additional power requirement, complex circuitries and costs,
`both for the mobile Internet devices and for the transmission
`
`networks that handle them. As the majority of mobile
`Internet devices, as well as their support infrastructures, are
`not GPS-enabled today,
`it
`is also not possible to offer
`services based on GPStechnology until a sufficient number
`of users and service providers have upgraded their equip-
`ment to work with GPS.
`
`Still furthermore, although location-finding technologies
`such as GPS can track a given user’s current location, no
`information is available about that user’s current activity,
`future activity, intended future location at a specified time,
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`4
`and/or availability/willingness to participate. Yet, these are
`some ofthe picces of information that may be very useful in
`a mobile user coordination application.
`Group calendar programs are another class of desktop
`application programs that may conceivably be used for
`coordinating mobile users. However, most group calendar
`products are directed toward small, closed groups, 1.e.,
`groups whose membersare known and/or formed in advance
`to further a particular goal such as employees of a business.
`The available group calendar products are, for the mostpart,
`ill adapted for use via the Internet wherein the number and
`identity of users may not be known in advance and wherein
`the range of activities proposed maybe infinite. By way of
`example, most group calendar programs are not well
`adapted for allowing previously unknown users to sign on
`and perform searches and for allowing the users to control
`the privacy settings for individual
`items of information
`about themselves. As another example, group calendars tend
`to work by posting information on calendars of others, a
`paradigm that is unsuitable when the size of the group that
`a user wishes to gain expose to may be as large as the
`Internet community itself. In fact, most group calendars
`become unmanageable when the size of the group become
`too large and the sheer volumeof calendared events over-
`whelm most users (giving rise to a problem not unlike the
`spam email problem). This paradigmalso tends not to work
`well on the miniaturized screens of most mobile Internet
`devices, which render it difficult to view a large amount of
`displayed data.
`Additionally, because calendar products tend to be
`employed by users to plan their day and activities,
`the
`majority of which involve private activities and typically do
`not
`include other users, most of the entries therein are
`inapplicable for use in mobile user coordination applications
`(which, by design, are directed toward sharing information
`among mobile users). Also, daily calendar information (ver-
`sus posted information designed to invite participation by
`others) is typically considered highly private by most users,
`and a user tend to be reluctant to disclose such information
`to others (which partly explains the relative lack of use of
`such products nowadays and wherethey are used, only for
`work-related purposes and work-related entries among
`small, known group of people). Because most people tend to
`associate a greater degree of privacy with their calendar
`entries, using calendar information for the purpose for
`promoting goods andservices by merchants may provoke an
`unduly negative reaction among users.
`A case can be made for maintaining multiple calendars,
`one of which could be designated for public/semi-public
`access so that other users can review the calendared infor-
`
`mation for the purpose of deciding whether they wish to
`participate. However, such a solution tends to be impractical
`as users typically do not want to have to keep track of which
`calendar to use for which purpose since the goal of using a
`calendar, afterall, is to centralize information in one location
`for the purpose of planning one’s day.
`Furthermore, most group calendar products are not well
`adapted to the needs of mobile Internet users, who inherent
`characteristics is constantly changing location. This is
`hardly surprising since group calendar products were devel-
`oped primarily for the desktop Internet users. Furthermore,
`mostgroup calendar products also involve unstructured data
`entry, which tends to be less attractive for mobile Internet
`users who, as mentioned earlier, have to contend with the
`limited screen space and keyboard/handwriting recognition
`pad of their mobile Internet devices. Still further, the group
`calendar products currently available, being developed for
`
`

`

`US 7,284,033 B2
`
`5
`tend to require a large amount of
`desktop computers,
`memory, permanent storage, and processing powerto run.
`Most of these programs exist as executable codes perma-
`nently stored on the desktop computers. Permanent and
`random access memory, as well as computing power and
`battery life, are of course limited resources on mobile
`Internet devices, thus rendering the current generation of
`group calendar products unsuitable for use on the mobile
`Internet devices. Instant messaging, which is a technology
`developed when Internet access was primarily accomplished
`via desktop terminals, also suffer many of the same defi-
`ciencies. Through instant messaging, it is now possible to
`inform other users of the user’s current activity and avail-
`ability. However, instant messagingasit is currently imple-
`mented does not account for the mobile nature ofusers (as
`would be the case when users access the Internet wirelessly
`via mobile Internet devices) or the time-dependent nature of
`the activities involved. For example, there is no established
`facility within instant messaging to allow users to invite
`others to a planned activity happening at some predefined
`time in the future at some predefined location (or allow
`others to search for the same). Instant messaging applica-
`tions also require downloading executable codes, a require-
`ment that is typically unwelcomed by users of the mobile
`Internet devices who are constantly challenged with doing
`more with less power consumption, and less computing and
`memory resources.
`Because of these shortcomings, these technologies, which
`were developed when desktop Internet access were the
`predominant mode of access, do not adequately serve the
`needs of the mobile Internet users. As front-ends for elec-
`tronic commerce applications, they also have many defi-
`ciencies.
`In view of the foregoing,
`there are desired
`improved techniques for allowing mobile Internet users to
`communicate for the purpose of coordinating activities and
`to allow merchants to employ user identity and behavior/
`shopping profile, user status, user present and future/in-
`tended activity, user present and future/intended location,
`and/or time duration in the promotion of goods andservices.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The invention relates, in one embodiment to a computer-
`implemented method implementedvia the Internet for coor-
`dinating an activity between a user of a mobile Internet
`device and other users communicating through the Internet.
`The method includes receiving activity information pertain-
`ing to the event from the user via the mobile Internet device.
`The activity pertains to an activity occurring during a time
`period that overlaps the time the activity information is
`received. The method further includes transmitting the activ-
`ity information to a backend database coupled to the Inter-
`net, the backend database being remote from the mobile
`Internet device. The method further includes rendering the
`activity information accessible to at least one recipient via
`the Internet. The recipient represents a subset of the users
`coupled to the Internet and having access privilege to
`information pertaining to the event involving the user.
`The invention also relates, in another embodiment, to a
`computer-implemented system for coordinating an activity
`between a user of a first mobile Internet device and other
`
`users communicating through the Internet. The computer-
`implemented system includes a server arrangement coupled
`to the Internet. The server arrangement includesfirst codes
`and second codes. The first codes is configured to implement
`a first application program using a web-based paradigm on
`the first mobile Internet device. The first application pro-
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`gram is implemented with the first codes transmitted from
`the server arrangement to the first mobile Internet device.
`Thefirst application program is configured to receive activ-
`ity information pertaining to the activity from the user. The
`activity pertains to an activity occurring during the time
`period overlapping the time the activity information is
`received. The computer-implemented system also includes a
`backend database coupled to the server arrangement. The
`backend database is configured to be in communication with
`the first application program via the Internet. The backend
`database is configured to receive the activity information
`from thefirst application program. The backend databaseis
`remote from the first mobile Internet device. The second
`codes is configured to implement a second application
`program using the web-based database on a second mobile
`Internet device. The second application program is imple-
`mented with the second codes transmitted from the server
`
`to the second mobile Internet device. The
`arrangement
`second application program is config