Method for performing an inquiry in a telecommunications network

• US 20040097247A1
• Filed: 03/26/2003
• Published: 05/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Johansson, Sami, Vilkuna, Kirsti
• Granted Patent: US 7,289,762 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• 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

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for performing an inquiry in a telecommunications network, in which the inquiry is carried out in the following steps: —creating a database of persons, —forming and recording the questions, —selecting from the database a set satisfying desired conditions, —sending the inquiry in the form of text messages (SMS, Short Message Service) to the persons included in the set, —receiving text message replies for a predetermined length of time, —storing and interpreting each reply, so that, according to each set criterion, the question arranged to be the next one is sent to the same person, —generating a report.

Claims

1. Method for performing an inquiry wirelessly in a telecommunications network, in which the inquiry is carried out in the following steps:

creating a database of persons with demographic data,

forming and storing the questions,

transcribing the questions into SMS messages according to the specifications of a telecommunications network applicable in SMS (Short Message Service) communication,

selecting from the database a set satisfying desired demographic conditions,

sending the formed SMS message via the telecommunications network to the persons included in the set,

receiving replies via the SMS message service for a predetermined length of time,

storing and interpreting each reply,

generating a report

characterized in that

each reply is interpreted and, according to a each set criterion the question arranged to be the next one is sent to the same person.

2. Method as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the replies received are converted into an unambiguous form.

3. Method as defined in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, according to a set second criterion, the question is retransmitted.

4. Method as defined in one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the replies received and the actions provoked by them are handled by software in a server adapted for this purpose.

5. Method as defined in claim 4, characterized in that the server maintaining the system is operated by remote control from a workstation.

6. Method as defined in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the replies are processed statistically.

7. Method as defined in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the results of the inquiry are produced and updated on a display lo device in real time.

8. Method as defined in any of the claims 1-7, characterized in that the SMS messages are sent to a chosen IP address (IP=Internet Protocol) on the Internet, this IP address being on the mentioned server, on which the received SMS messages will be transferred to the database with a special application.

9. Method as defined in any of the claims 1-8, characterized in that the results are transferred to an updatable HTML page, so that the HTML page with its new result values is saved on the HTTP server at fixed intervals.