Wireless chat automatic status tracking

• US 7,809,359 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2009
• Issued: 10/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Titus, Mark, Ung, Dara, Smith, Richard, Wilson, Johanna
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah; Charles N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peaches; Randy
• Application Number:
  US12/379,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20090280846A1
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412, 455/414.2, 455/414, 455/4, 455/509, 455/422, 455/456.5, 455/466
• US Class Current: 455/412.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• 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 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 with dynamic range variability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• 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 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/085 involving hierarchical organized mobility servers, e.g. hierarchical mobile IP [HMIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 : Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 : Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A technique and apparatus to provide status tracking of presence and/or location of a mobile, wireless device to a requesting entity even outside of a particular wireless system. This allows wireless service providers the ability to monitor and log changes in the status of mobile stations within and/or outside their networks. Embodiments are disclosed wherein presence and/or location information is provided to entities outside of a particular servicing wireless network using the mechanisms of call processing components of a mobile network (e.g., call setup procedures), and using standard mechanisms currently available to any appropriately conforming Mobile Switching Center (MSC) element. In one disclosed embodiment, a wireless chat tracking system is implemented which utilizes a change in mobile registration status to automatically notify a chat group system outside the wireless network of current status information activity regarding a relevant device, e.g., registration activity or inactivity timeout. In the wireless chat automatic status tracking system, a registration notification (REGNOT) message is either explicitly forwarded or copied to an external IP based application (e.g., to a mobile chat group system). The change in mobile registration is communicated via a suitable signaling link (e.g., SS7, TCP/IP, etc.) between a Home Location Register (HLR) and the chat group system. Therefore, instead of a conventionally closed system using SS7 messages, REGNOT messages are pushed out over TCP/IP connections to external applications (e.g., chat servers) to automatically notify the external system of the location of a particular user.

Claims

1. A method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device, comprising:

receiving an IS-41 conforming registration notification message from a mobile switching center; and

forwarding said IS-41 conforming registration notification message from a service control point over an Internet connection to an external device outside of a wireless network, a wireless chat room device corresponding to said forwarded IS-41 conforming registration notification message being added to a chat room based on said forwarded IS-41 conforming registration notification message.

2. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 1, wherein:

said registration notification message is a REGNOT message.

3. The method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to claim 1, wherein:

said Internet connection utilizes a TCP/IP protocol.

4. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 1, wherein:

said registration notification message is additionally forwarded by an SMSC.

5. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 1, further comprising:

adding a chat room device corresponding to said automatically forwarded registration notification message to a chat room session.

6. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 5, further comprising:

notifying other chat room devices regarding a presence of said added chat device.

7. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 5, further comprising:

sending a list of chat room devices to said wireless chat device.

8. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 1, wherein:

said registration notification message is signaling system #7 compliant and IS-41 compliant.

9. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 1, wherein:

said registration notification message is IS-41 compliant.

10. Apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device, comprising:

means for receiving an IS-41 conforming registration notification message from a mobile switching center; and

means for forwarding said IS-41 conforming registration notification message from a service control point over an Internet connection to an external device outside of a wireless network, a wireless chat room device corresponding to said forwarded IS-41 conforming registration notification message being added to a chat room based on said forwarded IS-41 conforming registration notification message.

11. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 10, wherein:

said registration notification message is a REGNOT message.

12. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 10, wherein:

said Internet connection utilizes a TCP/IP protocol.

13. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 10, further comprising:

means for forwarding said registration notification message by an SMSC to said means for forwarding.

14. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 10, further comprising:

means for adding a chat room device corresponding to said forwarded registration notification message to a chat room session.

15. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 14, further comprising:

means for notifying other chat room devices regarding a presence of said added chat room device.

16. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 14, further comprising:

means for sending a list of chat room devices to said wireless chat room device.

17. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 10, wherein:

said registration notification message is signaling system #7 compliant and IS-41 compliant.

18. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 10, wherein:

said registration notification message is IS-41 compliant.

19. A method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device, comprising:

receiving an IS-41 conforming MSInactivity notification message from a mobile switching center; and

forwarding said IS-41 conforming MSInactivity message from a service control point over an Internet outside of a wireless network, a wireless chat room device corresponding to said forwarded IS-41 conforming MSInactivity notification message being added to a chat room based on said forwarded IS-41 conforming MSInactivity notification message.