Method and apparatus for creating and sending invitations for a meeting, and computer program product for carrying out the method

Abstract

Method by which invitations for a meeting of persons are created by an inviter and the invitations are sent to at least one invitee by remote data transmission, preferably as a form letter / message, wherein the at least one invitee is selected from a group of contact persons. the procedure includes procedural steps in which - the current geographical position of the inviter is determined and temporarily stored using a mobile phone geolocation method, - the current geographical positions of the contacts are determined and temporarily stored using a mobile phone geolocation method or are formed from stored positions, - a distance between the position of the inviter and the respective position of the contact person is calculated from the cached positions, whereby the distance is calculated for all contact persons with a determinable position, - a selection of at least one invitee from the group of contacts is automatically made according to the criterion that the distance between the inviter and the respective contact person lies within a defined, geographically limited area in the vicinity of the inviter, and - Invitations are sent to at least one invitee, characterized by the fact that the geographically limited area, a town, a district, or a circle with an adjustable radius around the inviter, and the mobile phone geolocation method includes a process step in which the geographic position is falsified by specifying as the approximate position the position of the town center of the place where the mobile device is located, or wherein the geographic position is rounded to a predetermined distance unit, preferably by less than 10 km.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method by which invitations for a meeting of persons are created by an inviter and sent to at least one invitee by remote data transmission, preferably as a mail merge or mass message, wherein the invitees are selected from a group of contacts. The invention also relates to a computer program for carrying out the method.

[0002] The current state of the art includes a number of programs and methods for sending and receiving electronic mail merges and messages. It also encompasses a wide variety of applications that allow users of mobile communication devices to find other people in their vicinity, with all these applications essentially focusing on making new acquaintances or automatically finding interest groups.

[0003] DE 10 2013 101 259 A1 discloses a system with a server and several connected smartphones, in which the smartphones transmit their geolocation to the server. The server identifies whether users are in close physical proximity to each other. If so, the server enables the users to establish relationships, for example, by sending calendar invitations. With regard to data protection, DE 10 2013 101 259 A1 only describes content-related restrictions on the shared data.

[0004] US 2008 / 0132251A1 describes a mobile communication network for creating and sharing journal entries with location-based information. The use of location-aware mobile devices connected to a large number of other users via a communication network enables the creation and transmission of user-generated content, along with so-called geotags, to specific network members who are, for example, near a user or at a particular location. This reveals a so-called "pull" model, in which the user searches for the stored, user-generated location via the website. Alternatively, the information can be provided to the user in a "push" model, where the server sends relevant POI (Point of Interest) information to the user when the user, for example, approaches a POI. Furthermore, a so-called...The "location sharing" function allows messages to be sent to people in a predefined group, such as school friends, who are within a certain radius of the user, depending on an adjustable radius. However, the user must make the selection manually. It is recognized that the social networking system is intended to provide data protection features, but these are implemented inadequately.

[0005] German patent DE 10 2012 208 616 A1 discloses an app called "Find My Friends." The app allows users to share location data with friends, but also to disable this sharing, for example, with the push of a button or for a specific period of time. Friends can be listed according to their distance. Messages can also be sent to friends in groups; however, there is no mention of automatic filtering based on criteria such as radius, nor of creating a general invitation to all friends within a certain radius. Furthermore, data privacy is not addressed.

[0006] Surprisingly, there is no app that allows you to easily, simply, securely, and quickly identify and contact your friends and acquaintances—friends and acquaintances with whom you could arrange a get-together—using a computer program (application of the modern one-click philosophy). This invention now makes it possible to organize such meetings with the utmost respect for the privacy of both the inviter and the potential invitee, without revealing exact locations or randomly inviting people who are currently unable to meet. The combination of these relevant criteria and the application of these technical possibilities is unprecedented.Either constant monitoring was necessary, or the inviter and invitee had to permanently reveal their exact worldwide location, or one only found strangers whom one didn't know at all.

[0007] In the business world, meetings and other gatherings are regularly organized using computers. Company-wide access to employee calendars makes it easy to identify available time slots and send invitations to participants as a mail merge. This method works quite well in a company where employee presence is the norm.

[0008] In other areas, organizing actual meetings between people is more difficult, for example, spontaneous, real-life private get-togethers between friends. Potential participants in a meeting to be organized often live far apart, making a spontaneous meeting objectively impossible. A meeting cannot therefore simply be organized by sending invitations to all friends. This could justifiably be perceived as burdensome by those who subjectively cannot attend the proposed meeting.While methods for tracking individuals exist, such as mobile phone tracking or continuous Facebook monitoring, these methods are limited in availability, regularly raise security concerns because few people are comfortable revealing their personal location worldwide at all times, and generally have low acceptance. Some social networks also offer the functionality to determine the current locations of friends. However, this information is of limited value because the number of friends on a social network is too large. This group of people is not suitable for invitations due to the insufficient intensity of the friendships. Furthermore, these friends are scattered across the globe, making spontaneous, geographically close meetings impossible without incurring time and expense.

[0009] Contact persons who are suitable for a personal meeting, on the other hand, are close friends or acquaintances, relatives (such as children) or business partners, of whom at least a mobile phone number is known.

[0010] The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method for organizing meetings of contacts that can also be used in non-business contexts and in which, in particular, those contacts who are themselves interested in the meeting are invited. The method should enable spontaneous meetings with contacts who are geographically close to the initiator, while respecting privacy. These contacts not only share similar interests but are also close friends, acquaintances, relatives, or business partners.

[0011] The problem is solved by a method having the features of claim 1 and by a device having the features of claim 11. Advantageous further developments are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0012] The method according to the invention is characterized in that the method comprises process steps in which the current geographic position of the inviter is determined and temporarily stored using a mobile phone geolocation method, the geographic positions of the contact persons are determined and temporarily stored using a mobile phone geolocation method or are generated from stored positions, a distance between the position of the inviter and the respective position of the contact person is calculated from the temporarily stored positions, wherein the distance is calculated for all contact persons with a determinable position of the group, and a selection of at least one invitee is automatically made according to the criterion that the distance between the inviter and the respective contact person lies within a defined geographically limited area in the vicinity of the inviter.and invitations can be sent to at least one invitee.

[0013] In this method, invitations via telecommunication services, such as telephone, email, SMS, or the like, are not sent to all of the inviter's contacts, but only to the contact person or contacts who are currently in the inviter's vicinity. The vicinity, or defined local area, can be, for example, a geographical area. The size of this area typically spans several tens of kilometers. However, the area can be expanded depending on the specific circumstances. A functional enhancement of the method allows the area to be iteratively enlarged and reduced within predefined limits. Furthermore, it can be combined with a defined time window and linked to an activity suggestion.

[0014] Invitations can preferably be sent to either one invitee or to multiple invitees. Messages are also considered invitations. The sender and invitee refer to the respective mobile station, with each mobile station representing a specific person.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the contact persons are private acquaintances or friends, relatives, and / or business partners of the inviter, who are entered into the address book of the inviter's mobile electronic device, including their mobile phone number. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the invitation is a truly spontaneous invitation / request to a meeting; for example, after work, it is easy and spontaneous to meet up with anyone who is nearby and online, simply by sending an invitation / message. Similarly, if one participates in a sport such as skiing, one can find out which other friends and acquaintances are skiing at the same time and, if necessary, arrange to meet up with them.The applications are manifold – wherever you are, you can now find out which of your acquaintances, for whom you have at least one mobile number, are within a reasonable distance and therefore reasonably able to meet up spontaneously or arrange a meeting in the future. This information can be transmitted via a simple messaging system or, of course, by phone call, since you now know that the person you're calling is online and nearby, and may have indicated their availability via their status.

[0016] The inventive method preferably selects only those individuals who are actually located within a sufficiently short distance of the planned meeting point, ensuring that all invitees can logistically participate. The radius should be appropriate for spontaneous physical meetings, depending on the circumstances. Participation therefore depends solely on the invitee's subjective decision. Contact persons who are physically located outside the designated area and who objectively cannot participate in the meeting are simply unable to meet spontaneously within a reasonable timeframe.This important nuance ensures high acceptance of the invention, as it only addresses a group of people who can reasonably meet and doesn't "bother" friends who can't possibly get together. This eliminates pointless meeting requests and the associated negative social nuisance. The invention achieves a high degree of automation in organizing planned meetings by using the mobile phone geolocation data of the inviter and invitees, and calculating distances and selecting participants based on this data. In a preferred embodiment, a single click on a mobile device, such as a smartphone, is sufficient to organize a spontaneous meeting between friends.By switching off the transmission of position information and / or by leaving groups, each contact person can determine at any time whether or not they are available as an invitation recipient in the inventive method.

[0017] The method according to the invention is made possible by synergies of technical innovations from recent years, in particular the possibility of automated access to a list of contact persons, the implementation of mobile phone geolocation methods and the possibility of inexpensive or free messaging between mobile devices via the Internet.

[0018] In advantageous embodiments of the method according to the invention, the geographic positions of the inviter and / or the invitee(s) are determined by means of a satellite-based positioning system, for example, the GPS or GLONASS system, and / or by means of a mobile cell positioning method. In mobile networks, it is possible to determine in which radio cell a mobile device, for example, a mobile phone or a tablet PC, is located. With overlapping radio cells and signal propagation time analyses for the mobile device, positioning of even the simplest mobile devices is possible in mobile networks. In other embodiments of the method, various positioning methods are combined, for example, the GPS method and the mobile cell positioning method to form the assisted GPS (A-GPS) method.In further variants of the method according to the invention, other positioning methods are used, for example the location of a WLAN hotspot.

[0019] According to the invention, the mobile phone geolocation method includes a process step in which the actual geographic position is falsified by preferably less than 10 km. In this case, the owner of the mobile device does not disclose their exact location, but only their approximate location. The approximate location is, for example, the position of the town center of the place where the mobile device is located. By being able to limit the accuracy of the location transmission, the privacy of the mobile device owner is protected, and the willingness to share location data with friends increases.

[0020] A further development of the privacy-protecting method consists in the fact that the determination of the geographic position of the invitees using the mobile phone geolocation method can be deactivated. The user of a mobile device can configure whether or not their device sends location data upon request. They can thus determine whether and when they can be located by the method according to the invention, and they can also determine whether one or more people can be permanently or temporarily prevented from locating them, even though they remain visible to others.

[0021] According to an advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, it comprises a process step in which the inviter makes a pre-selection of contact persons and / or a process step in which the selection of invitees is restricted or expanded by a subsequent selection. In these variants, slightly more actions than just a click are required to organize a meeting, but the inviter has more influence over the process. In the pre-selection, specific contact persons can be selected from all known contact persons, for example, the members of a club, who are identified by the fact that at least one mobile phone number or a corresponding identifier of the mobile device is available for them. In the process, only club members are initially listed in the generated list of invitees. In variants of the method, flags are assigned to the contact persons, e.g.The flag "Volleyball" is selected, and a pre-selection is made based on this flag. The lists are stored on a mobile device or in the cloud in various versions of the process and are accessible to one or more people. In an advantageous implementation of the process, the automatically generated list of invitees can be manually edited afterward; that is, people can be added to or removed from the list. In various versions of the process, the list can be edited with or without knowledge of the current location of the added individuals.

[0022] Advanced configuration options allow the process to be set so that the current geographic location of the invited individuals is not queried at all. Instead, a saved location, such as a home address, is stored in a buffer to serve as a substitute for the current location used for distance calculation. This variant of the process is intended, for example, for situations where the sender returns to their university town after many years and wants to invite old classmates to a spontaneous get-together. Since the sender is unlikely to have access to the current geographic locations of these former classmates, their known addresses serve as a temporary substitute or supplement to their current geographic positions.Since such an invitation is sent very rarely, it is unlikely that an old college friend, even if currently not residing at their place of residence, would feel bothered by the invitation. Because access to saved locations, such as home or business addresses, is rarely needed, the procedure should ideally include a setting to determine whether these saved locations should be used to establish the geographic position. This function is preferably disabled by default.

[0023] The object of the present invention is further achieved by a computer program product configured to carry out the method according to the invention, preferably as an app for a mobile device. In principle, the method according to the invention can run on both central and mobile computers. Preferably, however, the method runs essentially in applications (apps) on mobile devices. An app can be easily and flexibly installed and activated at the discretion of the owner of a smart mobile device, so that the method according to the invention can be established gradually without problems. In part, the method uses available positioning methods that run at least partially outside the mobile device, e.g., on computers of the mobile network operator.In one variant, the method according to the invention is provided by a mobile network operator within the mobile network, so that the method also works with simple mobile devices, e.g. conventional non-programmable mobile phones.

[0024] The present invention will now be explained in more detail using a preferred embodiment. The inviter owns an iPhone on which the computer program product according to the invention is installed in the form of the app "WhosApp". The inviter's friends also have the app "WhosApp" installed on their mobile devices. The inviter then opens the app's main function and receives a list of all friends who are within a relevant radius. The list also displays a customizable status for each friend, such as "at work" or "up for party", or another preset or customized message. The inviter can then select one or more contacts from this list and send a message or invitation.He can send this message either via broadcast or group mode (broadcast means the recipient cannot see who else has received the same message). An invitation text could be, for example: "Fancy a volleyball game today at 7 pm by the river?" or "Who wants to grab a drink in…?" Or, if he's at an airport and has missed a flight, for example: "Great to see you here too. Shall we meet in the lounge?" With one click, he instructs the app to send the invitation to relevant friends. In the next step, all selected friends within the specified area receive a corresponding invitation / message, which they can either reply to or ignore. In this example, the inviter has sent invitations to relevant friends with a single click, thus organizing a spontaneous get-together for the recipient(s).

[0025] The various aspects of the invention can be implemented wholly or partially in a single device, which may be a computer, server, or the like. The device comprises a processor, e.g., a microcontroller, for executing an application program; memory for storing one or more files, for example, a hard drive, flash memory, or RAM (random access memory); and a communication module for transmitting and receiving data, which is connected to the memory and the processor. The device is configured to process a mobile phone geolocation method.

[0026] The communication module can be designed, for example, as a mobile communication unit that operates according to one or more standards, such as mobile communication standards GSM, GPRS, UMTS, LTE, CDMA2000, EV-DO, or even a WLAN standard, Ethernet, or the like, and is formed in the form of one or more integrated circuits. The computer program of the device, and also in cooperation with corresponding mobile stations, is capable of the following: - to determine and temporarily store the current geographic position of an inviter who creates invitations for a meeting of people using a mobile phone geolocation tool, - to determine and store the current geographic position of a group of contacts using a mobile phone geolocation device, or to create a new position from stored positions, - to calculate a distance between the position of the inviter and the respective position of the contact person from the cached positions, whereby the distance is calculated for all contact persons with a determinable position of the group, - to automatically select at least one invitee from the group of contacts based on the criterion that the distance between the inviter and the respective contact person lies within a defined, geographically limited area in the vicinity of the inviter, and - To send invitations to at least one of the invited guests.

[0027] The device is designed to send invitations to one or more invitees.

[0028] The device is designed such that the mobile communication geolocation means includes a GPS method, an A-GPS method or a mobile communication cell evaluation method, and to falsify the geographic position or to round it to a predetermined distance unit, preferably by less than 10 km.

[0029] The device, in cooperation with a mobile station, is equipped with a control option by which the inviter can switch off their current geographical position.

[0030] The device can communicate with a mobile station of at least one invitee, the mobile station being configured to display data determined by the device on its own display, and giving the device a specification as to how far it makes the invitee visible to other participants in this process.

[0031] The device can communicate with a mobile station of the inviter, the mobile station being configured to display data determined by the device on its own display, and giving the device a specification as to how far it makes the inviter visible to other participants in this process.

[0032] The mobile station can be implemented as a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, tablet computer and the like, and may include the following: a display, processor, memory, input unit, mobile communication unit, wherein the mobile station is configured in such a way that it can exchange and display corresponding data with a device as described above.

[0033] The features, variants, and options of the present invention are in any case exemplary and are by no means limited to the embodiments given. All variants and options are linked to each other and to parameters not explicitly mentioned in different permutations of the invention and are therefore also disclosed to a person skilled in the art in the field of the invention.

Claims

[1] Method by which invitations for a meeting of persons are created by an inviter and the invitations are sent to at least one invitee by remote data transmission, preferably as a form letter / message, wherein the at least one invitee is selected from a group of contact persons, the procedure includes procedural steps in which - the current geographical position of the inviter is determined and temporarily stored using a mobile phone geolocation method, - the current geographical positions of the contacts are determined and temporarily stored using a mobile phone geolocation method or are formed from stored positions, - a distance between the position of the inviter and the respective position of the contact person is calculated from the cached positions, whereby the distance is calculated for all contact persons with a determinable position, - a selection of at least one invitee from the group of contacts is automatically made according to the criterion that the distance between the inviter and the respective contact person lies within a defined, geographically limited area in the vicinity of the inviter, and - Invitations are sent to at least one invitee, characterized by , that the geographically limited area, a town, a district, or a circle with an adjustable radius around the inviter, and the mobile phone geolocation method includes a process step in which the geographic position is falsified by specifying as the approximate position the position of the town center of the place where the mobile device is located, or wherein the geographic position is rounded to a predetermined distance unit, preferably by less than 10 km. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that the invitations are sent to one invitee or a plurality of invitees. [3] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that the size of the geographically limited area is iteratively increased or decreased so that a number of invitees is brought closer to a target range for the number, or the inviter can adjust their own visibility accordingly to protect their privacy. [4] Method according to claim 1, characterized bythat mobile phone geolocation methods include a GPS method, an A-GPS method, or a mobile phone cell evaluation method. [5] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that the determination of the current geographical positions of the invitees using a mobile phone geolocation method can be switched off. [6] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that the procedure additionally includes a procedural step in which the inviter makes a pre-selection of contact persons and / or a procedural step in which the selection of invitees is restricted or expanded by a subsequent selection. [7] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that the stored location is a residential address or a business address. [8] Method according to claim 7, characterized by , that the procedure allows you to configure whether the stored position is evaluated to determine the geographic position. [9] Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the area can be combined with a defined time window and / or linked to an activity suggestion. [10] Computer program product configured to carry out the method according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 9, preferably as an app for a mobile device. [11] Device comprising the following: a storage device for storing one or more files, a processor to run an application program, a communication module for sending and receiving data, which is connected to the memory and the processor, wherein the device is configured to perform a mobile phone geolocation procedure, the device is further configured to: - to determine and temporarily store the current geographical position of an inviter who creates invitations for a meeting of people using a mobile phone geolocation device, - to determine and temporarily store a current geographic position of a group of contacts using a mobile phone geolocation device, or to create one from stored positions, - to calculate a distance between the position of the inviter and the respective position of the contact person from the cached positions, whereby the distance is calculated for all contact persons with a determinable position of the group, - to automatically select at least one invitee from the group of contacts based on the criterion that the distance between the inviter and the respective contact person lies within a defined, geographically limited area in the vicinity of the inviter, and - To send invitations to a mobile station of at least one invitee, characterized by , that the geographically limited area, a town, a district, or a circle with an adjustable radius around the inviter, and the mobile phone geolocation method includes a process step in which the geographic position is falsified by specifying as the approximate position the position of the town center of the place where the mobile device is located, or wherein the geographic position is rounded to a predetermined distance unit, preferably by less than 10 km. [12] Device according to claim 11, configured to send the invitations to one or more invitees. [13] Device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized by that the mobile phone geolocation device is designed in such a way as to falsify the geographical position or round it to a predetermined distance unit. [14] Device according to one of claims 11 to 13, comprising an input option by which the inviter can switch off his current geographic position. [15] Device according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized by , that the mobile station of at least one invitee is designed in such a way that it can communicate with the device and display data determined by the device on its own display, and gives the device a specification as to how far it makes the invitee visible to other participants in this procedure. [16] Device according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized by that the inviter's mobile station is designed in such a way that it can communicate with the device and display data determined by the device on its own display, and gives the device a specification as to how far it makes the inviter visible to other participants in this process. [17] Mobile station comprising a display, processor, memory, input unit, mobile communication unit, wherein the mobile station is configured to exchange and display corresponding data with a device according to one of claims 11 to 16. [18] Device according to one of claims 11 to 16, which is suitable for carrying out the method according to the features of one of the preceding claims 1 to 9.