Internet appliance proxy protocol to support location-based services

• US 7,966,423 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2004
• Issued: 06/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
• Inventors: Liscano, Ramiro
• Primary Examiner(s): STRANGE, AARON N
• Application Number:
  US10/759,249
• Publication Number:
  US 20040148438A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,709 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 709/218, 709/246, 455/422.1
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• 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

Abstract

A method for providing location and contact information about a user to a location-based service includes sending a request containing substitutable variables via an Internet portal. The Internet portal replaces the variables, en-route to the message'"'"'s destination, thus eliminating the need for the location-based service to further query the Internet portal for the data, or for the data to be available to the sender when the message is sent.

Claims

1. A method of operating an Internet Appliance having a network portal configured to provide a local information of said Appliance to a destination server, said local information being an actual real value to identify said Appliance, comprising:

prior to receiving a request message, storing in a memory of said Appliance at least one value representative of said Appliance local information in association with a respective variable name;

receiving at said Appliance said request message containing a substitutable variable name and addressed to said destination server;

detecting said substitutable variable name in said request message;

matching said substitutable variable name with one of said value representations stored in said memory;

replacing said substitutable variable name in said request message with said matched value representation of said Appliance local information from said memory, thereby creating an amended message; and

sending said amended message to said destination server.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said message and said amended message are formatted to a text-based Internet protocol.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said text-based Internet protocol is Hypertext Transfer Protocol.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said text-based Internet protocol is Session Initiation Protocol.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said text-based Internet protocol is Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.

6. An Internet Appliance comprising a network portal configured to provide a local information of said Appliance to a destination server, said local information being an actual real value to identify said Appliance, comprising:

a memory comprising at least one value representative of said Appliance local information in association with a respective variable name and said value representative being stored prior to receipt of a request message;

a receiver for receiving said request message, said request message addressed to said destination server and consisting partly of a substitutable variable name;

means for identifying said substitutable variable name and matching said substitutable variable name with said value representation stored in said memory;

a processor for replacing said substitutable variable name in said request message with the value representative of said Appliance local information from said memory, thereby creating an amended message; and

a transmitter for sending said amended message to said destination server.

7. The network portal of claim 6 wherein said message and said amended message are formatted to a text-based Internet protocol.

8. The network portal of claim 7, wherein said text-based Internet protocol is Hypertext Transfer Protocol.

9. The network portal of claim 7, wherein said text-based Internet protocol is Session Initiation Protocol.

10. The network portal of claim 7, wherein said text-based Internet protocol is Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.