US2016094971A1PendingUtilityA1

System for providing alerts to members of defined local geographical groups

42
Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: Mar 18, 2011Filed: Dec 8, 2015Published: Mar 31, 2016
Est. expiryMar 18, 2031(~4.6 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:Keith B. Duarte
G06Q 10/40H04W 4/021H04W 4/12H04W 4/14H04L 67/306H04W 4/02G08B 27/003H04W 4/029H04W 4/90H04W 4/22H04L 51/58
42
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Claims

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for creating groups associated with defined geographical neighborhoods for the purpose of providing and distributing information to members of the neighborhood groups, and soliciting assistance from members of the neighborhood groups. For example, an alert concerning a missing child may be sent from a user device (e.g., smart phone) to a server located on the Internet for distribution to user devices of members of a neighborhood groups. The notified members, in turn, using their respective user devices, may send notifications to the alert-originating user (as well as other members) of their participation in the search for the missing child. Additionally, the notified members may send notifications to the alert-originating user of the finding of the lost child. Such features may also apply to other alerts and/or notifications sent to members of a neighborhood group.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A user device, comprising:
 a network interface configured to interface with a wide area network (WAN) or cellular network;   a user input device; and   a processor configured to:
 receive a first instruction from a user to send a first notification to users of a neighborhood group by way of the user input device, wherein the neighborhood group is associated with a defined geographical neighborhood; and 
 transmit the first notification to a server by way of the network interface for distribution of information based on the first notification to users of the neighborhood group by the server. 
   
     
     
         2 . The user device of  claim 1 , wherein the first notification relates to an alert of a lost child. 
     
     
         3 . The user device of  claim 2 , wherein the first notification includes following:
 information related to an identity or physical characteristic of the lost child;   information related to a last known location of the lost child; and   an electronic picture or video of the lost child.   
     
     
         4 . The user device of  claim 3 , further comprising a display, wherein the processor is configured to generate a screen on the display with one or more data input objects to receive said information. 
     
     
         5 . The user device of  claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 receive a second instruction from the user to send a second notification to users of the neighborhood group by way of the user input device, wherein the second notification indicates a finding of the lost child; and   transmit the second notification to the server by way of the network interface for distribution of information based on the second notification to users of the neighborhood group by the server.   
     
     
         6 . The user device of  claim 2 , wherein the processor is configured to receive a second notification from the server via the network interface, wherein the second notification indicates a finding of the lost child. 
     
     
         7 . The user device of  claim 1 , wherein the first notification relates to an alert concerning a found child. 
     
     
         8 . The user device of  claim 7 , wherein the first notification includes the following:
 related information to an identity or physical characteristic of the found child;   information related to a known location where child was found; and   an electronic picture or video of the found child.   
     
     
         9 . A user device, comprising:
 a network interface configured to interface with a wide area network (WAN) or cellular network;   a user interface device; and   a processor configured to:
 receive a first notification originating from a user of a neighborhood group from a server via the network interface, wherein the neighborhood group is associated with a defined geographical neighborhood; and 
 provide information based on the first notification to a user via the user interface device. 
   
     
     
         10 . The user device of  claim 9 , wherein the first notification relates to an alert concerning a lost child. 
     
     
         11 . The user device of  claim 10 , wherein the first notification includes the following:
 information related to an identity or physical characteristic of the lost child;   information related to a last known location of the lost child; and   an electronic picture or video of the lost child.   
     
     
         12 . The user device of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 receive a second instruction by way of the user interface device to send a second notification to users of the defined neighborhood group, wherein the second notification indicates that the user has joined a search effort for the lost child; and   transmit the second notification to the server by way of the network interface for distribution of information based on the second notification to users of the neighborhood group by the server.   
     
     
         13 . The user device of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 receive a second instruction by way of the user interface device, to send a second notification to users of the defined neighborhood group, wherein the second notification indicates that the user found the lost child; and   transmit the second notification to the server by way of the network interface for distribution of information based on the second notification to users of the neighborhood group by the server.   
     
     
         14 . The user device of  claim 9 , wherein the first notification relates to an alert concerning a found child. 
     
     
         15 . The user device of  claim 14 , wherein the first notification includes the following:
 information related to an identity or physical characteristic of the found child;   information related to a known location where child was found; and   an electronic picture or video of the found child.   
     
     
         16 . The user device of  claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 receive a second instruction by way of the user interface device, to send a second notification to users of the defined neighborhood group, wherein the second notification indicates that the user is or knows someone associated with the found child; and   transmit the second notification to the server by way of the network interface for distribution of information based on the second notification to users of the neighborhood group by the server.   
     
     
         17 . A user device, comprising:
 a network interface configured to interface with a wide area network (WAN) or cellular network;   a user interface device; and   a processor configured to:   receive a first instruction to send a request to create a neighborhood group from a user via the user interface device, wherein the neighborhood group is associated with a defined geographical neighborhood; and   transmit the request to a server via the network interface.   
     
     
         18 . The user device of  claim 17 , wherein the request includes the following:
 information related to an identity of the neighborhood group;   information related to a geographical boundary of the neighborhood; and   information related to an identity of an administrator of the neighborhood group.   
     
     
         19 . The user device of  claim 18 , wherein the information related to the geographical boundary of the neighborhood comprises a plurality of coordinates identifying points along the geographical boundary. 
     
     
         20 . The user device of  claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 receive a request from the server via the network interface for another user to join the neighborhood group; and   transmit a response to the request to the server via the network interface, wherein the response is received from the user via the user interface device.

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