AUTOMATIC CONTACT RECOGNITION FROM SMS

• US 20090305730A1
• Filed: 09/09/2008
• Published: 12/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Herz, Scott, Os, Marcel Van
• Granted Patent: US 8,874,148 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

A first mobile device receives an input to send data via a text messaging protocol to a second mobile device. The data is marked up with one or more transparent text message characters to delimit fields in the data. The marked up data is transmitted via the text messaging protocol to the second mobile device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving at a first mobile device an indication to send data via a text messaging protocol to a second mobile device;

marking up the data with one or more transparent text message characters to delimit fields in the data; and

transmitting the marked up data via the text messaging protocol to the second mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprises contact information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transparent characters are one of Unicode characters or Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) characters.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transparent characters are selected from the group consisting of space characters and non-breaking space characters.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the contact information comprises data selected from the group consisting of address data, phone number data, fax number data, email address data, name data, employer data, and web address data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the text messaging protocol is Short Message Service (SMS).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a first instance of a pattern of one or more transparent characters constitutes a first field delimiter and a second instance of the pattern of one or more transparent characters constitutes a second field delimiter.

8. An article of manufacture, comprising a computer readable medium having content stored thereon to provide instructions to result in an electronic device performing operations including:

receiving at a first mobile device an indication to send data via a text messaging protocol to a second mobile device;

marking up the data with one or more transparent text message characters to delimit fields in the data; and

transmitting the marked up data via the text messaging protocol to the second mobile device.

9. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein the data comprises contact information.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein the transparent characters are one of Unicode characters or Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) characters.

11. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein the transparent characters are selected from the group consisting of space characters and non-breaking space characters.

12. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the contact information comprises data selected from the group consisting of address data, phone number data, fax number data, email address data, name data, employer data, and web address data.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein the text messaging protocol is Short Message Service (SMS).

14. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein a first instance of a pattern of one or more transparent characters constitutes a first field delimiter and a second instance of the pattern of one or more transparent characters constitutes a second field delimiter.

15. A mobile device, comprising:

a conversion engine to receive an indication to send data via a text messaging protocol to a second mobile device and to markup the data with one or more transparent text message characters to delimit fields in the data;

a transmitter to transmit the marked up data as a first text message via the text messaging protocol to the second mobile device; and

the conversion engine further to

receive a second text message,

recognize transparent text message characters as field delimiters for data in the text message, and

convert data in the text message into an electronic business card based at least in part on the field delimiters.

16. The mobile device of claim 15, further comprising a display screen to display an accentuated portion of the data with the data in the second text message, wherein a user-selection of the accentuated portion causes the electronic business card in the second text message to be displayed.

17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the accentuated portion is accentuated based on one or more of highlighting, displaying an image, or including an icon.

18. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the data comprises data selected from the group consisting of address data, phone number data, fax number data, email address data, name data, employer data, and web address data.

19. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the transparent text messaging characters are one of Unicode characters or Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) characters.

20. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the transparent text messaging characters are selected from the group consisting of space characters and non-breaking space characters.

21. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the text messaging protocol is Short Message Service (SMS).