Mobile micro-band information distribution

• US 7,813,720 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2004
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services GmbH (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Doffman, Zak
• Primary Examiner(s): Corsaro; Nick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jama; Isaak R
• Application Number:
  US10/567,447
• Publication Number:
  US 20070191032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,244 Days
• Field of Search: 455/419, 455/414.1, 370/259, 379/157, 379/158
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/04 Protocols for data compression, e.g. ROHC
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2017/26 with real-time recharging of account/card, e.g. if limit is reached during connection user is asked if he wants to recharge or not
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/28 SMS billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/487 Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5322 for recording text messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing information to mass localized mobile users over a limited bandwidth are described. Short text messaging system messages, e.g., SMS, may be used to transmit coded data between mobile terminals and content providers, while a client application resident on each mobile terminal can decode the messages received from a content provider and display information in human-understandable formats on the display screen of the mobile terminal. The client application can also encode messages to send to the content provider to request specified information on demand. Users can also specify criteria that, when met, the content provider automatically sends an encoded SMS message to the user'"'"'s mobile terminal with the requested information, provided the user has prepaid to receive SMS messages.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal, comprising:

a display screen;

an input system for receiving user input;

a wireless communications subsystem;

a processor;

memory storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the mobile terminal to perform a method for retrieving data from a server, comprising;

(i) loading a first or second local client executable application for decoding a coded short text messaging system message;

(ii) receiving the coded short text messaging system message from a content provider via the wireless communications subsystem, wherein the coded short text messaging system message comprises compressed data

(iii) decoding, by the first or second local client executable application, the received short text messaging system message using a set of short codes that comprises short codes unique to the first or second application and instructing the first or second application to translate at least a portion of the received short text messaging system message into a human understandable format, and administrative short codes that are consistent liar the first and second applications and used to instruct the first or second application;

(iv) displaying information based on said received and decoded unique short codes; and

(v) instructing said first or second application based on said administrative short codes.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the received short text messaging system message comprises a plurality of short codes to identify individual fields of data.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the human understandable format comprises text in a native language of a user of the mobile terminal.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the human understandable format comprises graphics.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the first or second local client executable application comprises executable code.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the mobile terminal to perform the method comprising:

receiving a second coded short text messaging system message from the content provider via the wireless communications subsystem, wherein the second coded short text messaging system message contains new information updating information in the coded short text messaging system message received in step (ii);

decoding, by the first or second local client executable application, the second received short text messaging system message;

displaying information decoded from the second received short text messaging system message on the display screen; and

flushing from the memory of the mobile terminal information decoded from the coded short text messaging system messages received in step (ii).

7. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the short text messaging system comprises SMS.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein the executable code comprises Java.

9. A computer readable medium storing first and second client applications in the form of computer executable instructions that, when executed, cause a mobile terminal to perform a method for receiving information relating to a selected topic, comprising:

(i) querying a user of the mobile terminal to select one of a push or pull mode of operation;

(ii) when the user selects the push mode of operation;

a. displaying a plurality of menus to allow the user to identify desired information to remain updated, to identify one or more criteria specifying how often to receive updates, and to identify a number of prepaid messages;

b. generating a coded short text messaging system message based on the user'"'"'s selection of the push mode of operation, and further based on the user'"'"'s selections regarding desired information, criteria, and number of prepaid messages, wherein the generating of the coded short text messaging system message comprises translating a short text messaging system message that is in a human understandable format into a coded data format not understandable to the user of the mobile terminal; and

c. outputting the short text messaging system message for sending to a content provider associated with the first or second client applications via a wireless telecommunications network;

(iii) receiving a coded short text messaging system response message from the content provider via the wireless telecommunications network, wherein the coded short text messaging system response message comprises compressed data;

(iv) decoding, by the first or second client application, the received short text messaging system response message using a listing of a set of short codes that comprises short codes unique to the first or second application and used to instruct the first or second application to translate at least a portion of the received short text messaging system message into human understandable information, and administrative short codes that are consistent for the first and second applications and used to instruct the first or second application; and

(v) displaying the human understandable information on a display screen.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the mobile terminal to perform the method comprising:

(vi) when the user selects the pull mode of operation, displaying one or more hierarchically arranged menus navigable by the user to allow the user to drill-down through the one or more menus to identify desired information that the user would like to receive;

(vii) generating a coded short text messaging system request message containing the user'"'"'s identified desired information; and

(viii) outputting the coded short text messaging system request message for sending to the content provider via the wireless telecommunications network.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein at least one of the administrative short codes instructs the mobile terminal to flush data stored in memory for the first or second application.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein step (ii)(b) comprises referencing a table to identify appropriate short codes corresponding to the user'"'"'s selections.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein step (iv) comprises referencing a table to identify appropriate human-understandable descriptions corresponding to short codes received in the coded short text messaging system response message.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the human understandable information comprises text in a language native to a user of the mobile terminal.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the human understandable information comprises graphics.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the short text messaging system comprises SMS.

17. A method for distributing selected information to a user of a mobile terminal, comprising:

receiving a first message originating from the mobile terminal sent over an asynchronous connectionless-based channel, wherein the first message comprises coded data indicating information desired by the user;

(ii) querying a content provider database for the desired information;

(iii) generating, by a processor, a second message comprising coded data corresponding to the desired information, wherein the generating of the second message comprises translating data that is in a human understandable format into a coded data format that is not understandable to the user of the mobile terminal using a set of short codes that comprises short codes unique to the first or second application, and administrative short codes that are consistent for the first and second applications and the administrative short codes are used to instruct the first or second application; and

(iv) causing sending of the second message to the mobile terminal over the asynchronous connectionless-based channel.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first message further comprises one or more criteria indicating when to send the desired information to the user'"'"'s mobile terminal, and an indication of a number of prepaid messages.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

(v) when the one or more criteria are met;

a. performing steps (iii) and (iv); and

b. adjusting the number of prepaid messages remaining for the user based on the second message.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the first message and second message each comprise a SMS message.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

(vi) determining whether prepayment has been received for the response SMS message; and

(vii) reverse billing the SMS response message to the mobile terminal when prepayment has not been received.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the second message comprises a long SMS message.

23. A method of providing information via a channel to a mobile device, comprising:

advertising for sale a predetermined number of coded messages corresponding to a predetermined event;

receiving information indicating that payment from a first user for the predetermined number of messages has been received;

updating based on the predetermined number of messages for which payment was received;

translating data, by a processor, that is in a human understandable format into a coded data format that is not understandable to the user of the mobile terminal using a set of short codes that comprises short codes unique to the first or second application, and administrative short codes that are consistent for the first and second applications and the administrative short codes are used to instruct the first or second application;

sending a plurality of coded messages for decoding by executable code on a mobile device associated with the user from whom payment was received, until the predetermined number of messages has been fully utilized, wherein one of the coded messages comprises the translated data.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the predetermined number of messages comprises all messages corresponding to the predetermined event.

25. A method comprising:

loading a first or second local client executable application configured to code a coded text message provided by a content provider based on short codes and corresponding long identifiers, wherein the short codes and the long identifiers are customized to a topic of the content of the coded text message provided by the content provider;

receiving the coded text message from the content provider via a wireless communication system, wherein the coded text message comprises compressed data including instances of the short codes; and

decoding, by a processor executing the first or second local client executable application, the coded text message using a set of short codes that comprises short codes unique to the first or second application and used to instruct the first or second application to translate at least a portion of the coded text message into human understandable format, and administrative short codes that arc consistent for the first and second applications and used to instruct the first or second application, to identify and replace instances of the short codes in the coded text message with the long identifiers to generate a decoded text message.