Messages augmented with structured entities

• US 10,142,268 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Khan, Sadi, Al-Rashid, Kazi, Bong, Jeremy, Tyebkhan, Arwa
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang-Hurst, Kathy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Elnoubi, Said M
• Application Number:
  US15/349,159
• Publication Number:
  US 20170063752A1
• Time in Patent Office: 746 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

Messages containing structured entities may be sent between devices in a way that leverages the existing Short Message Service (SMS) protocol. On the message sender'"'"'s device, the sender may author a message indicating specific entities such as people, places, dates, or times. When the message is to be sent, an SMS representation of the message is sent to the recipient, and a full representation of the message, including the included entities, is sent to a server. If the SMS message is received at a device that is equipped with software that can retrieve and render the rich representation, then the device queries the server to determine whether there is a rich message that corresponds to the SMS message. If such a message exists, then the message is communicated to the recipient'"'"'s device and is rendered in place of the SMS message.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, via a computer system, a first message that is sent using a text communication protocol;

sending, via the computer system, indicia of the first message to a server;

sending, via the computer system, a request for the server to make a determination, based on the indicia, whether the server has a second message that corresponds to the first message, with the requested determination to be made based on a finding that a time at which the first message was received is within a range of a timestamp that the server associated with the second message;

receiving, via the computer system, the second message from the server, the second message comprising text and an entity, the first message comprising the text and a text representation of the entity; and

displaying, via the computer system, the text and the entity to a user without displaying the first message.

2. The method of claim 1, with the text communication protocol being a Short Message Service (SMS) protocol.

3. The method of claim 1, with the indicia comprising a digest of the first message.

4. The method of claim 3, with the indicia comprising a first phone number of a sender of the first message, a second phone number of a recipient of the first message, and a time at which the first message was received.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the timestamp that the server associated with the second message was associated with the second message at a time at which the second message was received by the server from the sender.

6. The method of claim 1, with the entity comprising a date and time, the displaying comprising displaying the date and the time separate from the text.

7. The method of claim 1, with the entity comprising a person, the displaying comprising displaying contact information for the person separate from the text.

8. The method of claim 1, with the entity comprising a place, the displaying comprising displaying a place page of the place, or a map of a location of the place, separate from the text.

9. A computer system comprising:

memory;

one or more processors;

a display; and

a component stored in the memory, that when executed with the one or more processors, performs acts comprising;

receiving a first message that is sent using a text communication protocol;

sending indicia of the first message to a server;

requesting that the server make a determination, based on the indicia, whether the server has a second message that corresponds to the first message, with the requested determination to be made based on a finding that a time at which the first message was received is within a range of a timestamp that the server associated with the second message;

receiving the second message from the server, the second message comprising text and an entity, the first message comprising the text and a text representation of the entity; and

displaying, on the display, the text and the entity to a user without displaying the first message.

10. The system of claim 9, with the text communication protocol being a Short Message Service (SMS) protocol.

11. The system of claim 9, with the indicia comprising a digest of the first message, a first phone number of a sender of the first message, a second phone number of a recipient of the first message, and a time at which the first message was received, the determination being made based on a finding that the time at which the first message was received is within a range of a timestamp that the server associated with the second message at a time at which the second message was received by the server from the sender.

12. The system of claim 9, with the entity comprising a date and time, the displaying comprising displaying the date and the time separate from the text.

13. The system of claim 9, with the entity comprising a person, the displaying comprising displaying contact information for the person separate from the text.

14. The system of claim 9, with the entity comprising a place, the displaying comprising displaying a place page of the place, or a map of a location of the place, separate from the text.

15. One or more computer-readable memory having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause at least one processor to perform acts comprising:

receiving, via a computer system, a first message that is sent using a text communication protocol;

sending, via the computer system, indicia of the first message to a server;

sending, via the computer system, a request for the server to make a determination, based on the indicia, whether the server has a second message that corresponds to the first message, with the requested determination to be made based on a finding that a time at which the first message was received is within a range of a timestamp that the server associated with the second message;

receiving, via the computer system, the second message from the server, the second message comprising text and an entity, the first message comprising the text and a text representation of the entity; and

displaying, via the computer system, the text and the entity to a user without displaying the first message.

16. The one or more computer-readable memory of claim 15, with the text communication protocol being a Short Message Service (SMS) protocol.

17. The one or more computer-readable memory of claim 15, with the indicia comprising a digest of the first message.

18. The one or more computer-readable memory of claim 17, with the indicia comprising a first phone number of a sender of the first message, a second phone number of a recipient of the first message, and a time at which the first message was received.

19. The one or more computer-readable memory of claim 18, wherein the timestamp that the server associated with the second message was associated with the second message at a time at which the second message was received by the server from the sender.

20. The one or more computer-readable memory of claim 15, with the entity comprising a date and time, the displaying comprising displaying the date and the time separate from the text.