Methods and systems for routing messages through a communications network based on message content

• US 7,487,262 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2002
• Issued: 02/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Heil, Kenneth Dale, Cardina, Donald M., Lewis, John Ervin
• Primary Examiner(s): Cardone, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, MINH CHAU
• Application Number:
  US10/299,330
• Publication Number:
  US 20030187996A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,269 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/224, 709/227, 709/246, 709/225
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/306 Route determination based on the nature of the carried application
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/248 Connectivity information update
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 : Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 : Inter-networking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/06 : between gateways and public network devices

Abstract

A method and system for routing messages through a communications network based on the content of the message. The method of the present invention comprises providing a method for retrieving information through a telecommunications network comprising receiving, in a message data structure, a request message comprising a command; sending a query message to a content provider based on the command; receiving a query response message from the content provider comprising response information; and sending a request response message based on the response information.

Claims

1. A method for processing a user request for data in a wireless telecommunications network comprising:

receiving, from a wireless communication device via a network transport bus, a request message, wherein the request message includes a user-inputted command and a user-inputted parameter for requesting information from one of a plurality of content providers, wherein at least two of the plurality of content providers operate under different technology protocols, wherein the network transport bus communicatively connects a plurality of network elements and utilizes a common messaging format for communication among and between the network elements and wherein the network elements comprise an adaptive routing concentrator, a routing and validation entity, network database, and a subscriber interface all communicatively connected to the network transport bus;

selecting an appropriate content provider to provide content that is associated with the user-inputted command and the user-inputted parameter;

creating a query message based on the user-inputted command in a format recognizable by the selected content provider;

sending the query message to the selected content provider;

receiving a query response message from the selected content provider comprising the requested information; and

sending a request response message that includes the requested information to the wireless communication device via the network transport bus.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a destination address of the query message based on the user-inputted command.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of determining the destination address of the query message further comprises associating an alias destination received in the request message with the destination address.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected content provider is at least one of an Intranet web site and an Internet web site.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a further information request to the wireless telecommunication device if the received request message does not contain a recognized command.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a query message to the selected content provider based on a default command if the received request does not contain a recognized command.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

parsing the received message request to identify at least one of a fragment of a command, a misspelled command, an aliased command, a command concatenated to a parameter, a command concatenated to an address, and an abbreviated command if the received request does not contain a recognized command;

associating the at least one of the fragment of a command, the misspelled command, the aliased command, the command concatenated to the parameter, the command concatenated to the address, and the abbreviated command with the recognized command as an associated command; and

sending the query message to the selected content provider based on the associated command.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the query message further comprises:

creating the query message based on the at least one parameter.

9. A system for processing an information request in a wireless communications network comprising:

a request message receiver for receiving from a wireless device a request message via a network transport bus, wherein the request message includes a user- inputted command and at least one user-inputted parameter for requesting information from one of a plurality of content providers, wherein at least two of the plurality of content providers operate under different technology protocols, wherein the network transport bus communicatively connects a plurality of network elements and utilizes a common messaging format for communication among and between the network elements, and wherein the network elements comprise an adaptive routing concentrator, a routing and validation entity, a network database, and a subscriber interface all communicatively connected to the network transport bus;

a query message sender communicatively connected to the network transport bus, wherein the query message sender selects an appropriate content provider to provide content that is associated with the user-inputted command and the user-inputted parameter, creates a query message based on the user-inputted command, the at least one parameter, and a protocol associated with the selected content provider, and sends the query message to the selected content provider;

a query response message receiver communicatively connected to the network transport bus, wherein the query response message receiver receives requested information from the selected content provider; and

a response message sender communicatively connected to the network transport bus, wherein the response message sender sends the requested information to the wireless device via the network transport bus.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the request message receiver and the response message sender is connected to the communications network via a multiplexer that is communicatively connected to the network transport bus.