Method and apparatus for conveying messages and simple patterns in communications network

• US 20050195927A1
• Filed: 04/25/2003
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Solonen, Juha
• Application Number:
  US10/513,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20050195927A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/346
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating simple patterns on a terminal and conveying them in a communications network. In the method, an element of a pattern (201, 301) comprising elements is specified and it is assigned a code by which it is identified. The codes of the elements in a pattern are used in compiling a set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) which describes identified elements of the pattern. The set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) is sent into a communications network in addition to the message. The receiving device receives, in addition to the message, the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) containing the codes of the elements in the pattern (201, 301), which set of codes is analyzed (406) and identified. Element codes included in the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) are used to identify elements used to generate a pattern (201, 301).

Claims

1. A method for conveying a message including a pattern, comprising the steps of:

specifying an element (403) of a pattern (201, 301) comprising elements,

assigning a code for the element (403) specified to identify the element (403),

compiling a set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) containing codes of pattern elements (403), and

conveying the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) to a communications network in addition to the message, wherein image and sound elements are identified by means of codes.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) of a pattern comprising elements (403) is specified as a response to commands given manually by the user.

3. A method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of, in response to a command directed to an element in a menu (404) of a device and given manually by the user, reading the code of the element in question from a table stored in memory, which table maps elements of the menu (404) to the respective codes.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of producing a digital image by a camera (401), specifying an element (403) in the digital image by matching a feature in the image detected by an image recognition algorithm (402) against elements in a menu (404) containing elements, and fetching a code of the element specified from a table which maps elements to respective codes.

5. A method according to claim 4, comprising the steps of matching a feature in an image detected by an image recognition algorithm (402) against certain mutually alternative elements in the menu (404) containing elements, and from alternative elements in the menu (404) selecting an element which best matches the feature detected in the image produced by the camera (401).

6. A method according to claim 3, wherein the menu (404) containing elements is fetched from a communications network.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) compiled on the basis of element (403) codes is stored on the device.

8. A method for receiving a message including a pattern, comprising the steps of:

receiving in addition to the message, a set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) containing codes of pattern (201, 301) elements (403),

analyzing the set of codes received (406),

identifying a certain element by means of an element (403) code included in the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c), and

generating a pattern (201, 301) on the basis of identified elements, wherein image and sound elements are identified by means of codes.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) and an element (403) associated with a certain code are identified by means of a menu (404) containing elements.

10. A method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of receiving in addition to the message and the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c), also a menu (404) containing elements.

11. A method according to claim 8, wherein the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) is received on a communications network terminal, where the set of codes is analyzed (406), elements are identified on the basis of codes in a menu (404) that belong to the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c), and a pattern (407, 409) is generated using the identified elements.

12. A method according to claim 8, wherein the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) is received on a communications network server, where the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) is used to generate a pattern (201, 301) which can be observed on a terminal connected to the server.

13. A method according to claim 8, wherein the received set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) is referred to in a received message, and a pattern is generated on the basis of the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) at a point in the message which refers to the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c).

14. A device for conveying a message including a pattern, the device comprising:

means for specifying elements of a pattern (201, 301) comprising elements (403);

means for assigning a code to each pattern (201, 301) element (403) specified;

means for compiling (405) a set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) containing the codes of the pattern elements (403); and

means for conveying the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) to a communications network in addition to the message, wherein the pattern includes image and sound elements.

15. A device according to claim 14, further comprising means for specifying pattern (201, 301) elements manually.

16. A device according to claim 14, further comprising means for generating an image with a camera (401).

17. A device according to claim 16, further comprising means for specifying pattern elements (403) by means of an image recognition algorithm (402).

18. A device according to claim 17, further comprising means for matching specified elements against mutually alternative elements in a menu (404) in the device in order to find the menu (404) element that best matches a specified element.

19. A device according to claim 14, further comprising means for receiving and saving a menu (404) containing elements of a pattern.

20. A device according to claim 14, further comprising means for saving the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) compiled.

21. A device according to claim 14, wherein the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) includes a code which refers to a certain menu (404) element.

22. A device according to claim 14, wherein the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) includes recognizable elements (403) of a pattern (201, 301) defined through codes.

23. A device for receiving a message including a pattern, the device, comprising:

means for receiving, in addition to the message, a set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) containing codes of pattern (201, 301) elements;

means for analyzing (406) and identifying the set of codes (303a, 303b, 330c);

means for identifying an element on the basis of an element code included in the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c); and

means for generating (407) a pattern by means of identified elements, wherein the pattern includes image and sound elements.

24. A device according to claim 23, further comprising a menu (404) which contains elements of a pattern.

25. A device according to claim 24, further comprising means for generating a pattern (201, 301) on the basis of codes in a set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) and corresponding menu (404) elements.

26. A device according to claim 23, further comprising means for producing a pattern (201, 301) according to a set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c) as a response to the activation of a message part which refers to the set of codes (303a, 303b, 303c).