System and method for assigning contact information to an external device for communication purposes using a mobile device

• US 7,177,597 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2003
• Issued: 02/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Grignani, Raphael, Wikberg, Harri, Jung, Younghee, Piippo, Petri, Ichikawa, Fumiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson; Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): West; Lewis
• Application Number:
  US10/740,622
• Publication Number:
  US 20050136901A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/417, 455/415, 455/414.1, 455/466, 379/142.01, 379/142.15, 379/142.16, 379/142.17
• US Class Current: 455/41.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/006 Call diverting means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/541 based on information specified by the calling party

Abstract

A system enables a user to communicate with another person via an external device, e.g. an audio, video, display interface. The external device includes a short-range transceiver, a memory, and an output interface. The mobile device includes two network transceivers, typically a cellular transceiver and a short-range transceiver, typically Bluetooth. In operation, the user prepares and stores a list of external devices with assigned IDs. The user further stores a list of phone numbers (phone book information) of contacts on the cellular network associated with the external devices for delivery of messages to the selected external device(s). The mobile device scans the network, and detects messages from associated contact source(s). The messages are stored by the ID. When the mobile device is within the coverage area of the external device, the mobile device transmits the message(s). The external device interprets the message for output to the intended recipient.

Claims

1. A method for communicating between a mobile device and an external device, comprising:

a) storing in a mobile device an external device list including at least one external device ID wherein the external device provides audio, video and/or visual display outputs as a dynamic bulletin board;

b) maintaining in the mobile device contact information for associating at least one of the contacts with the at least one external device ID;

c) creating an association between the at least one contact and the at least one external device ID;

d) maintaining a network connection for receiving communications through the network;

e) scanning received communications for identifying messages related to the at least one contact associated with the external device ID;

f) detecting external devices providing IDs for short-range communication;

g) transmitting messages related to the at least one contact associated with the external device ID to said external device when detecting the presence of said external device and within the range of the external device; and

h) interpreting the message in the external device for appropriate audio video and/or visual display output.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising

i) distributing messages among multiple external devices linked together using assigned phone numbers.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising

j) providing programmable action in the external device in response to a received message.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising

k) changing a phone number assigned to a contact source associated with an external device.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising;

1) assigning at least two phone numbers to an external device.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the network is a cellular network.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the short range network is Bluetooth.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the external device is taken from the group consisting of:

a toy;

an animated character display, an electronic billboard, and serves as the dynamic bulletin board for keeping in touch with persons associated with the contact source.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein a character in the animated character displays is assigned to a specific telephone number.

10. A mobile terminal enabling communication with an external device, comprising:

a) a cellular network transceiver capable of communication within a cellular communications network;

b) a short-range transceiver capable of communicating with external devices in a short-range network wherein the external devices provide audio, video and/or visual display outputs;

c) a storage device;

d) a processor, and

e) software means operative on the processor for;

1) maintaining in the storage device a database identifying a contact party for stored contact information and at least one external device linked to at least one contact party;

2) scanning communications communicated via the cellular network transceiver for detecting communications relating to said identified contact party or parties; and

3) transmitting information relating to the communications with the identified contact party to the at least one external device via the short range transceiver for interpretation of the information for selecting among available outputs when detecting communication relating to said identified contact party.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 10 further comprising:

f) means for maintaining a list of phone numbers for assignment to contact sources.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 10 further comprising:

g) means for changing a phone number to an external device in response to a communication for the contact party.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 10 further comprising:

h) means in the external device for interpreting the communication for an appropriate display, wherein the display may be audio, video, visual as a dynamic bulletin board serving persons associated with contact sources.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 10 further comprising:

i) means for formatting the phone number in a short-range message format.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 10 further comprising:

j) means for detecting whether any of the external devices are within the coverage range of the short-range transceiver for purposes of transmitting at least one message to the external device from contact sources associated with the external device.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 10 further comprising:

k) means for assigning at least two phone numbers to an external device.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 10 further comprising:

l) means for receiving an ID of an external device.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 10 further comprising:

m) means for storing and matching in a first table an ID of an external device received in a message to an ID in a second table of the database for the external device wherein the message maybe associated with multiple external devices according to the matching of the first and second tables.

19. The mobile terminal of claim 10 further comprising:

n) means for monitoring the activities occurring on assigned phone number for the external device.

20. A system enabling a mobile terminal to assign a personal phone number to an external device for communication purposes, comprising:

a) a mobile terminal including a network transceiver;

a short-range transceiver;

a processor and a database for storing information;

b) an external device including a short-range transceiver, a processor for processing information received from the mobile device, and an output interface, wherein the external device provides audio, video and/or visual display outputs;

c) means for storing a list of IDs identifying external devices;

d) means for scanning the network and collecting information related to the IDs when within the range of an external device;

e) means storing the collected information by ID and assigned phone number; and

an external device associated with at least one ID having stored collected information for interpretation and display of the collected information as an output.

21. The system of claim 20 further comprising:

g) means for linking the mobile device to the external device within the short-range coverage area of the external device.

22. The system of claim 20 further comprising:

h) means for matching the ID of the external device to the ID of the stored information.

23. The system of claim 22 further comprising:

i) means for transmitting the stored information via the short-range network to the external device associated with the ID matching the ID of the stored information.

24. The system of claim 23 further comprising:

j) external device means processing the transmitted stored information for appropriate output as a dynamic bulletin board serving persons associated with the collected information stored by ID.

25. A medium, executable in a computer, for communicating between a mobile device and an external device, comprising:

program instructions storing information of contact sources on a network in a mobile device (MD);

program instructions creating an association between the contact sources and the Ids of external devices stored in the mobile device wherein the external devices provide audio and/or visual display outputs;

program instructions assigning and storing in the MD a phonebook containing phone numbers or Internet addresses of the contact sources;

program instructions scanning the network for messages from contact sources associated with Ids when within the coverage area of the MD; and

program instructions storing the messages in a table with the associated Id; and

program instructions transmitting the messages of the identified contact party to at least one external device via the short range transceiver for interpretation of the messages and selecting among available outputs.

26. The medium of claim 25 further comprising:

program instructions activating a short-range transmitter to discover associated external devices within the coverage area of the transmitter.

27. The medium of claim 25 further comprising:

program instructions establishing a short-range connection with an external device having an Id matching a stored message.

28. The medium of claim 25 further comprising:

program instructions transmitting messages related to the at least one contact source with the Id to the external device for interpretation by the external device and selection of output mode, as a dynamic bulletin boards serving person associated with the contact sources.

29. The medium of claim 25 further comprising:

program instructions collecting a message associated with an Id of an external device and preparing copies of the message for multiple copiees of the message.

30. The medium of claim 29 further comprising:

program instructions transmitting the message and copies to the external device associated with the Id for distribution to the copiees.