Wireless chat automatic status tracking

• US 20010031641A1
• Filed: 03/23/2001
• Published: 10/18/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Titus, Mark, Ung, Dara, Smith, Richard, Wilson, Johanna
• Granted Patent: US 7,522,911 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 with dynamic range variability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• 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 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/085 involving hierarchical organized mobility servers, e.g. hierarchical mobile IP [HMIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 : Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 : Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A technique and apparatus to provide status tracking of presence and/or location of a mobile, wireless device to a requesting entity even outside of a particular wireless system. This allows wireless service providers the ability to monitor and log changes in the status of mobile stations within and/or outside their networks. Embodiments are disclosed wherein presence and/or location information is provided to entities outside of a particular servicing wireless network using the mechanisms of call processing components of a mobile network (e.g., call setup procedures), and using standard mechanisms currently available to any appropriately conforming Mobile Switching Center (MSC) element. In one disclosed embodiment, a wireless chat tracking system is implemented which utilizes a change in mobile registration status to automatically notify a chat group system outside the wireless network of current status information activity regarding a relevant device, e.g., registration activity or inactivity timeout. In the wireless chat automatic status tracking system, a registration notification (REGNOT) message is either explicitly forwarded or copied to an external IP based application (e.g., to a mobile chat group system). The change in mobile registration is communicated via a suitable signaling link (e.g., SS7, TCP/IP, etc.) between a Home Location Register (HLR) and the chat group system. Therefore, instead of a conventionally closed system using SS7 messages, REGNOT messages are pushed out over TCP/IP connections to external applications (e.g., chat servers) to automatically notify the external system of the location of a particular user.

Claims

1. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a message handler comprising:

a registration notification message receiver; and

a registration notification message forwarder to forward a registration notification message received by a mobile switching center over an Internet connection.

2. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a handler according to

claim 1

, wherein:

said internet connection utilizes a TCP/IP protocol.

3. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a handler according to

claim 1

, wherein:

said registration notification message forwarder copies all registration notification messages received by said mobile switching center.

4. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a handler according to

claim 1

, further comprising:

a wireless Internet gateway to transmit said forwarded notification message over said Internet connection.

5. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a handler according to

claim 4

, wherein:

said registration notification message handler communicates with said wireless Internet gateway using a Signaling System #7 communications protocol.

6. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a handler according to

claim 1

, wherein:

said registration notification message is previously forwarded by a Home Location Register (HLR).

7. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a message handler comprising:

an MSInactivity message receiver; and

an MSInactivity message forwarder to forward an MSInactivity message received by a mobile switching center over an Internet connection.

8. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a handler according to

claim 7

, wherein:

said internet connection utilizes a TCP/IP protocol.

9. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a handler according to

claim 7

, wherein:

said MSInactivity message forwarder copies all MSInactivity messages received by said mobile switching center.

10. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a handler according to

claim 7

, further comprising:

a wireless Internet gateway to transmit said forwarded MSInactivity message over said Internet connection.

11. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a handler according to

claim 10

, wherein:

said MSInactivity message handler communicates with said wireless Internet gateway using a Signaling System #7 communications protocol.

12. In a short message service center, a module for permitting automatic status tracking of a wireless chat participant by an application external to a service provider including said short message service center, a handler according to

claim 7

, wherein:

said MSInactivity message is previously forwarded by a Home Location Register (HLR).

13. A method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant, comprising:

receiving an IS-41 conforming registration notification message from a mobile switching center; and

automatically forwarding said IS-41 conforming registration notification message over an Internet connection to an external chat server.

14. The method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 13

, wherein:

said registration notification message is a REGNOT message.

15. The method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 13

, wherein:

said Internet connection utilizes a TCP/IP protocol.

16. The method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 13

, wherein:

said registration notification message is additionally forwarded by an SMSC.

17. The method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 13

, further comprising:

automatically adding a user corresponding to said automatically forwarded registration notification message to a chat session.

18. The method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 17

, further comprising:

automatically notifying other chat participants regarding a presence of the automatically added user.

19. The method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 17

, further comprising:

automatically sending a list of chat participants to said user.

20. The method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 13

, wherein:

said registration notification message is signaling system #7 and IS-41 compliant.

21. The method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 13

, wherein:

said registration notification message is IS-41 compliant.

22. Apparatus for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant, comprising:

means for receiving an IS-41 conforming registration notification message from a mobile switching center; and

means for automatically forwarding said IS-41 conforming registration notification message over an Internet connection to an external chat server.

23. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 22

, wherein:

said registration notification message is a REGNOT message.

24. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 22

, wherein:

said Internet connection utilizes a TCP/IP protocol.

25. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 22

, further comprising:

means for forwarding said registration notification message by an SMSC to said means for automatically forwarding.

26. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 22

, further comprising:

means for automatically adding a user corresponding to said automatically forwarded registration notification message to a chat session.

27. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 26

, further comprising:

means for automatically notifying other chat participants regarding a presence of the automatically added user.

28. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 26

, further comprising:

means for automatically sending a list of chat participants to said user.

29. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 22

, wherein:

said registration notification message is signaling system #7 and IS-41 compliant.

30. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to

claim 22

, wherein:

said registration notification message is IS-41 compliant.

31. A method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant, comprising:

receiving an IS-41 conforming MSInactivity notification message from a mobile switching center; and

automatically forwarding said IS-41 conforming MSInactivity message over an Internet connection to an external chat server.