Method and system for the mass sending of messages

• US 10,637,987 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2019
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smartcom Labs OY
• Original Assignee: Bookit Oy
• Inventors: Salonen, Jukka Kalevi
• Primary Examiner(s): Woo, Stella L.
• Application Number:
  US16/242,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20190141188A1
• Time in Patent Office: 476 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A method and system for sending messages in a telecommunications network, in which digital messages which contain information on the desired reply address are mass sent, and messages, which are sent on the basis of the reply-address information are received. The reply-address information of each mass-sent message is converted to correspond to a predefined dialogue, in which the stage of the dialogue defines unequivocally the reply-address information, so that the transmission and reception of the messages are implemented in different parts of the telecommunications system.

Claims

1. A system for managing communications in a telecommunications system, the communications relating to a service, the system comprising:

a server coupled to the telecommunication system to transmit and receive a plurality of messages over a radio interface, the messages originating from and being transmitted from the server to a plurality of recipient wireless terminals, and the received messages being received from at least some of the plurality of recipient wireless terminals, wherein a first received message includes a first recipient identification and a second received message includes a second recipient identification, wherein the server sorts the messages based on the first and the second identification,

wherein the server further sorts the received messages based on an identification of the recipient from whose wireless terminal the message was received,

the plurality of messages are received over a telecommunication network,

wherein each received message includes a response that is selected from a first response alternative and a second response alternative, wherein each alternative corresponds to a particular booking relating to the service and wherein the first response alternative and the second response alternative was first transmitted to the plurality of recipient wireless terminals in the messages that originated from and where transmitted from the server to a plurality of recipient wireless terminals,

wherein the server makes each booking relating to the service based on a received response.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first recipient identification is linked to a first telephone subscriber number and the second recipient identification is linked to a second telephone subscriber number.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first telephone subscriber number and the second telephone subscriber number is a national telephone number.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the received messages are digital messages.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the received messages is transmitted over an IP connection.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the received messages is a Short Message System message.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the received messages is a Multimedia Message.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one message included in the received messages is an electronic-mail message.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein each received message corresponds to a predefined dialogue.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the server sends multiple messages to a recipient wireless terminal included in the plurality of recipient wireless terminals, wherein the multiple sent messages and any corresponding received response messages are included within a message session with the recipient wireless terminal.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the server differentiates received response messages within the message session with the recipient wireless terminal based on addresses at which the response messages are received.

12. A method for managing communications in a telecommunications system from a server coupled to the telecommunication system, the communications relating to a service, the method comprising:

transmitting from and receiving at a server a plurality of messages over a radio interface in a telecommunications network, the messages originating from and being transmitted from the server to a plurality of recipient wireless terminals, and the received messages being received from at least some of the plurality of recipient wireless terminals, wherein a first received message includes a first recipient identification and a second received message includes a second recipient identification,

sorting the received messages based on the first and the second identification,

further sorting the messages based on an identification of the recipient from whose wireless terminal the message was received,

including, in each received message, a response that is selected from a first response alternative and a second response alternative, wherein each alternative corresponds to a particular booking relating to the service, and wherein the first response alternative and the second response alternative was first transmitted to the plurality of recipient wireless terminals in the messages that originated from and where transmitted from the server to a plurality of recipient wireless terminals, and

making, by the server or another server also included in the telecommunications system, each booking relating to the service based on a received response.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first recipient identification is linked to a first telephone subscriber number and the second recipient identification is linked to a second telephone subscriber number.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first telephone subscriber number and the second telephone subscriber number is a national telephone number.

15. The method of claim 13, comprising

differentiating, by the server, received response messages within the message session with the recipient wireless terminal based on addresses at which the response messages are received.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the received messages are digital messages.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the received messages is transmitted over an IP connection.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the received messages is a Short Message System message.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the received messages is a Multimedia Message.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one message included in the received messages is an electronic-mail message.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein each received message corresponds to a predefined dialogue.

22. The method of claim 12, comprising

sending, by the server, multiple messages to a recipient wireless terminal included in the plurality of recipient wireless terminals, wherein the multiple sent messages and any corresponding received response messages are included within a message session with the recipient wireless terminal.