Apparatus, and associated method, for notifying a user in a radio communication system of a commercially-related transaction

• US 20040203612A1
• Filed: 05/31/2002
• Published: 10/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Yum, Sheung-Yin
• Granted Patent: US 7,509,117 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3221 Access to banking information through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• 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

Apparatus, and an associated method, for facilitating notification of a user of a mobile station of a commercially-related transaction associated with the user. When a commercially-related transaction is effectuated, a report or other message indicative thereof, is generated and routed to a message generating center, such as a short message service center. Upon detection of the report, or other message, delivered thereto, a radio communication system message generator generates, and sends, a message to the mobile station. Apparatus at the mobile station detects delivery of the message thereto. And, a notifier notifies the user of the mobile station of indicia associated with the report of the occurrence of the commercially-related transaction.

Claims

1. In a radio communication system having a network part to which at least a first commercially-related transaction station is coupled and the radio communication system further having a mobile station operable by a user at least to receive data communicated thereto, an improvement of network apparatus for facilitating electronic notification to the user of a commercially related transaction identified by the first commercially-related transaction station, said apparatus comprising:

a message-center detector coupled to the network part, said message-center detector for detecting a transaction-station-generated message generated by the commercially-related transaction station regarding a commercially-related transaction associated with the user; and

a message-center message generator coupled to said message-center detector, said message-center message generator for generating a transaction-related message for communication to the mobile station.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the radio communication system comprises a cellular radio communication system operable pursuant to a selected operating protocol that defines a messaging service and wherein the transaction-related message generated by said message-center message generator conforms to the messaging service defined by the selected operating protocol.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the messaging service defined by the selected operating protocol comprises a short message service and wherein the transaction-related message generated by said message-center message generator comprises a short message service-formatted message.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the commercially-related transaction comprises a third-party payment transaction made by a third party on behalf of a transaction account of the user, wherein the commercially-related transaction station comprises a third-party transaction reporting station, and wherein the transaction-station-generated message that said message-center detector detects comprises a message reporting on a transaction associated with the transaction account of the user.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the transaction account of the user comprises a charge account of the user and wherein the transaction-station-generated message that said message center detector detects comprises a message reporting on a charge-account transaction associated with the charge account of the user.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the charge account of the user comprises a credit account and wherein the transaction-station-generated message that said message-center detector detects comprises a message reporting on a credit-account transaction associated with the credit account associated with the user.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the charge account of the user comprises a debit account and wherein the transaction-station-generated message that said message-center detector detects comprises a message reporting on a debit account transaction associated with the debit account associated with the user.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the message generated by the commercially-related transaction station is generated within a first selected time subsequent to occurrence of the commercially-related transaction and wherein said message-center message generator generates the transaction-related message within a second selected time period subsequent to detection by said message-center detector of the transaction-station-generated message.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the message-center message generator comprises a push message generator and wherein the transaction-related message comprises a push message.

10. In the radio communication system of claim 1, a further improvement of mobile-station apparatus also for facilitating electronic notification to the user of the commercially-related transaction, said mobile-station apparatus comprising:

a transaction-related message detector for detecting reception at the mobile station of the transaction-related message generated by said message-center message generator; and

a notifier coupled to said transaction-related message detector, said notifier for generating a notification to notify the user of the transaction-related message, and thereby for notifying the user of the commercially-related transaction.

11. The mobile station apparatus of claim 10 wherein the commercially-related transaction comprises a third-party payment transaction made by a third party on behalf of a transaction account of the user, and wherein the notification generated by said notifier notifies the user with indicia associated with the third-party payment transaction.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the commercially-related transaction comprises a merchant transaction, wherein the commercially-related transaction station comprises a merchant station and wherein the transaction-station generated message that said message-center detector detects comprises a message reporting on the merchant transaction.

13. In the radio communication system of claim 12, a further improvement of mobile-station apparatus also for facilitating electronic notification to the user of the merchant transaction, said mobile-station apparatus comprising:

a transaction-related message detector for detecting reception at the mobile station of the transaction-related message generated by said message-center message generator; and

a notifier coupled to said transaction-related message detector, said notifier for generating a notification to notify the user of the transaction-related message, and thereby for notifying the user of the merchant transaction.

14. The mobile-station apparatus of claim 13 wherein the notification generated by said notifier comprises a merchant transaction receipt evidencing the merchant transaction.

15. The mobile-station apparatus of claim 14 wherein the merchant transaction receipt forming the notification generated by said notifier is formatted pursuant to a selected standardized format.

16. In a method of communicating in a radio communication system having a network part to which at least a first commercially-related transaction station is coupled and the radio communication system further having a mobile station operable by a user at least to receive data communicated thereto, an improvement of a method for facilitating electronic notification to the user of a commercially-related transaction identified by the commercially-related transaction station, said method comprising:

detecting a transaction-station-generated message generated by the commercially-related transaction station regarding a commercially-related transaction associated with the user; and

generating a transaction related message for communication to another mobile station responsive to detection during said operation of detecting of the transaction-station-generated message.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the operations of:

delivering the transaction-related message to the mobile station;

detecting delivery of the transaction-related message at the mobile station; and

generating a notification to notify the user of the transaction-related message, thereby to notify the user therewith of the commercially-related transaction.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the commercially-related transaction comprises a third-party payment transaction made by a third-party on behalf of a transaction account of the user, wherein the commercially-related transaction station comprises a third-party transaction reporting station, and wherein the transaction-station generated message that is detected during said operation of detecting comprises a message reporting on a transaction associated with the transaction account of the user.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the commercially-related transaction comprises a merchant transaction, wherein the commercially-related transaction station comprises a merchant station and wherein the transaction-station-generated message generated during said operation of detecting comprises a message reporting on the merchant transaction.

20. In a radio communication system having a network port to which at least a first commercially-related transaction station is coupled, and the radio communication system further operable by a user at least to receive data communicated thereto, an improvement of mobile-station apparatus for facilitating electronic notification to the user of a commercially-related transaction identified by the commercially-related transaction station, said mobile-station apparatus comprising:

a transaction-related message detector for detecting reception at the mobile station of a transaction-related message generated at the network part of the radio communication system; and

a notifier coupled to said transaction-related message detector, said notifier for generating a notification to notify the user of the transaction-related message, and thereby for notifying the user of the commercially-related transaction.