Patent ID: 7689202

Claim:
A communication system, comprising: a processor; a memory, communicatively coupled to the processor; a profile database, communicatively coupled to the processor and the memory, the profile database adapted to store a respective profile for each respective wireless communications device within a plurality of wireless communications devices, the respective profile for each wireless communications device comprising at least one respective individualized distance threshold for the respective wireless communications device; a proximity service handler adapted to: receive, from a requesting wireless communications device within the plurality of wireless communications devices, a wireless message proximity request; compute, in response to receiving the wireless message proximity request, distances between a location of the requesting wireless communications device and a respective location of each of a plurality of other wireless communications devices; compare each of the distances to the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile that is stored within the profile database for the requesting wireless communications device; identify, in response to comparing each of the distances, a set of wireless communications devices consisting of a plurality of wireless communications devices within the plurality of other wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold within the respective profile for the requesting wireless communications device; and a communications request handler adapted to send, in response to identifying the set of wireless communications devices, a wireless message proximity response to the requesting wireless communications device identifying thereto the set of wireless communications devices consisting of the plurality of wireless communications devices that satisfy the at least one individualized distance threshold.