APPARATUS AND METHODS OF SHARING CONTACT INFORMATION BETWEEN MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICES USING SHORT MESSAGE SERVICE

• US 20080242322A1
• Filed: 03/26/2007
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Scott, Clifton Eugene, Vines, Michael Janacek, Baron, Jason C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,126,484 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

Methods and devices are presented for sharing contact information amongst wireless communication devices using Short Message Service (SMS) communication. SMS transfer of contact information occurs seamlessly, in that the sender automatically generates and sends a SMS message(s) that includes the contact information upon designating a contact file for sharing and supplying a recipient identifier, such as the recipient phone number. On the recipient device end, receiving the contact information also may occur seamlessly, such that the contact information can be automatically stored in the recipient'"'"'s phone book or, in some aspects, automatically stored in the recipient'"'"'s phone book based a user setting or response.

Claims

1. A method for communicating shared contact information between mobile communication devices, comprising:

generating one or more Short Message Service (SMS) contact information messages that each include at least a portion of a contact information file in a predetermined format operable to be recognizable as shared contact information by an SMS-receiving wireless communication device; and

communicating the one or more SMS contact information messages to one or more predetermined wireless communication devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving identification of a contact information file;

receiving indication to share the contact information file; and

receiving identification of the one or more wireless communication devices for sharing the identified contact information file.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a listing of user contact information files;

receiving a user selection of a contact information file; and

receiving a user selection for sharing the selected contact information file with one or more wireless communication devices; and

receiving a user selection of one or more wireless communication devices for sharing the selected contact information file.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a text input for a SMS text message that includes a contact information file entry;

recognizing the entry as being included with a stored contact information file;

generating a contact information share query based on recognition of the entry; and

receiving a user request for sharing the stored contact information file with one or more wireless communication devices.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising receiving an identification of a recipient of the SMS text message, wherein communicating the one or more SMS contact information messages further comprises communicating the one or more SMS contact information messages to the identified recipient of the SMS text message.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein receiving the text input further comprises receiving a text input for a SMS message that includes a contact file entry, wherein the entry is chosen from the group consisting of a contact name, a contact telephone number, a contact street address, and a contact email address.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein generating one or more SMS contact information messages further comprises automatically generating the one or more SMS contact information messages upon a received selection of the contact information file and the one or more wireless communications devices.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising identifying the SMS text message such that a wireless communication device that receives the SMS text message automatically recognizes that the SMS text message has an associated contact information file.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising identifying a portion of the text input that includes the contact information file entry such that a user of a wireless device receiving the SMS text message recognizes that the contact information file entry provides for acquiring the contact information file.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising embedding a link in the identified portion of the text input, wherein the link is operable to initiate execution to store the one or more SMS contact information messages in a contact listing database of the one or more predetermined wireless communication devices.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein generating one or more SMS contact information messages that each include at least a portion of a contact information file in a predetermined format operable further defines the predetermined format as a personal data exchange file format.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein generating one or more SMS contact information messages that each include at least a portion of a contact information file in a predetermined format operable further defines the predetermined format as a format executable by a wireless communication device-application development platform.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein generating one or more SMS contact information messages that include at least a portion of a contact information file further comprises generating two or more SMS contact information messages that each include a separate portion of a contact information file.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprises identifying each of the two or more SMS contact information messages to associate the two or more SMS contact messages and to allow for the contact information file to be assembled at the one or more predetermined wireless communication devices.

3. The method of 2, wherein generating one or more SMS contact information messages further comprises generating, automatically upon identification of the contact information file and the one or more wireless communication devices, one or more Short Message Service (SMS) contact information messages that include at least a portion of the contact information file, and further comprising formatting each of the SMS contact information messages to be recognizable as shared contact information by an SMS-receiving wireless communication device.

16. At least one processor configured for communicating shared contact information between mobile communication devices, comprising:

a first module for generating one or more Short Message Service (SMS) contact information messages that each include at least a portion of a contact information file in a predetermined format operable to be recognizable as shared contact information by an SMS-receiving wireless communication device; and

a second module for communicating the one or more SMS contact information messages to one or more predetermined wireless communication devices.

17. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

a first set of codes for causing a computer to generate one or more Short Message Service (SMS) contact information messages that each include at least a portion of a contact information file in a predetermined format operable to be recognizable as shared contact information by an SMS-receiving wireless communication device; and

a second set of codes for causing a computer to communicating the one or more SMS contact information messages to one or more predetermined wireless communication devices.

18. A wireless communication device, comprising:

means for generating one or more Short Message Service (SMS) contact information messages that each include at least a portion of a contact information file in a predetermined format operable to be recognizable as shared contact information by an SMS-receiving wireless communication device; and

means for communicating the one or more SMS contact information messages to one or more predetermined wireless communication devices.

19. A wireless communication device, comprising:

a computer platform including a processor and a memory;

a Short Message Service module stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein the SMS application is operable to generate one or more SMS contact information messages that each include at least a portion of a contact information file in a predetermined format operable to be recognizable as shared contact information by an SMS-receiving wireless communication device; and

a communication module operable to communicate the one or more SMS contact information messages to one or more predetermined wireless communication devices.

20. The wireless communication device of claim 19, further comprising a contact listing module operable to provide a listing of user contact information files, receive a user selection of a contact information file, receive a user selection for sharing the selected contact information file with one or more wireless communication devices and prompt the SMS application to automatically generate one or more SMS messages that include at least a portion of the selected contact information file.

21. The wireless communication device of claim 20, wherein the contact listing module is further operable to receive a user selection of one or more wireless communication devices for sharing the selected contact information file.

22. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the SMS module is further operable to receive a text input for a SMS text message that includes a contact information file entry, recognize the entry as being associated with a stored contact information file, generate a contact information share query based on recognition of the entry and receive a user request for sharing the stored contact information file with one or more wireless communication devices.

23. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the contact information file entry further comprises an entry chosen from the group consisting of a contact name, a contact telephone number, a contact street address, and a contact email address.

24. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the SMS module is further operable to automatically generate the one or more SMS contact information messages in response to receiving a user request for sharing the stored contact information file.

25. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the SMS module is further operable to identify a portion of the text input that includes the contact information file entry such that a user of a wireless device receiving the SMS text message recognizes that the entry provides for acquiring the contact information file.

26. The wireless communication device of claim 22, wherein the SMS module is further operable to identify the SMS text message such that a wireless communication device that receives the SMS text message automatically recognizes that the SMS text message has an associated contact information file.

27. The wireless communication device of claim 23, wherein the SMS module is further operable to embed a link in the identified portion of the text input, wherein the link is operable to initiate execution to store the one or more SMS contact information messages in a receiving wireless communication device contact listing database.

28. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the predetermined format is further defined as a personal data exchange file format.

29. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the predetermined format is further defined as a format executable by a wireless communication device-application development platform.

30. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the SMS module further comprises a contact file segmentor operable to segment the contact information file into two or more segments, wherein each segment is included in a corresponding SMS contact information message.

31. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the SMS module is further operable to identify each of the two or more SMS contact information messages to associate the two or more SMS contact messages and to allow for the contact information file to be assembled at the one or more predetermined wireless communication devices.

32. A method for receiving shared contact information at a wireless communication device, comprising:

receiving one or more Short Message Service (SMS) messages that include at least a portion of a contact information file;

recognizing, automatically, that the one or more SMS messages include at least a portion of a contact information file; and

storing the contact information file in a contact database.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising providing a user interface for requesting user-approval prior to storing the contact information file in the contact database.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein receiving one or more SMS contact information messages further comprises receiving two or more SMS contact information messages that each include a separate portion of a contact information file.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising aggregating the separate portions of the contact information file to form the contact information file prior to storing the contact information file in the database.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein recognizing, automatically, that the one or more SMS contact information messages include at least a portion of a contact information file further comprises recognizing that the one or more SMS contact information messages are in personal data exchange file format.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein recognizing, automatically, that the one or more SMS contact information messages include at least a portion of a contact information file further comprises recognizing a contact information identifier associated with a wireless communication device-application development platform executing on the wireless device.

38. At least one processor configured to receive shared contact information at a wireless communication device, comprising:

a first module for receiving one or more Short Message Service (SMS) contact information messages that include at least a portion of a contact information file;

a second module for recognizing, automatically, that the one or more SMS contact information messages include at least a portion of a contact information file; and

a third module for storing the contact information file in a contact database.

39. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

a first set of codes for causing a computer to receive one or more Short Message Service (SMS) contact information messages that include at least a portion of a contact information file;

a second set of codes for causing a computer to recognize, automatically, that the one or more SMS contact information messages include at least a portion of a contact information file; and

a third set of codes for causing a computer to store the contact information file in a contact database.

40. A wireless communication device, comprising:

means for receiving one or more Short Message Service (SMS) contact information messages that include at least a portion of a contact information file;

means for recognizing, automatically, that the one or more SMS contact information messages include at least a portion of a contact information file; and

means for storing the contact information file in a contact database.

41. A wireless communication device, comprising:

a computer platform including a processor and a memory;

a communication module operable to receive one or more Short Message Service (SMS) contact information messages that include at least a portion of a contact information file; and

an SMS module stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein the SMS module is operable to recognize, automatically, that the one or more SMS contact information messages include at least a portion of a contact information file and to store the contact information file in a contact database.

42. The wireless communication device of claim 41, wherein the SMS module includes a user interface for requesting user-approval prior to storing the contact information file in the contact database.

43. The wireless communication device of claim 41, wherein the SMS module further comprises a contact information aggregator operable for aggregating two or more SMS messages that each include at least a portion of a contact information file.

44. The wireless communication device of claim 41, wherein the SMS module is further operable to recognize that the one or more SMS messages are in personal data exchange file format.

45. The wireless communication device of claim 41, wherein the SMS module is further operable to recognize a contact information identifier associated with a wireless communication device-application development platform executing on the wireless device.