Method and system for transmission and display of rich-media alerts

• US 8,073,475 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2007
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Inventors: Weinrib, Jeremy A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kirk, Lameka J.
• Application Number:
  US11/888,412
• Publication Number:
  US 20080188251A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,589 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.4, 455/466, 709206-207
• US Class Current: 455/466
• 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 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/181 Transcoding devices; Rate adaptation devices

Abstract

There is provided a method and system of generating a rich-media message using a short message service (SMS) message. In one aspect, the method comprises encoding data and rich-media content information to generate an encoded rich-media message, and formatting the encoded rich-media message into a rich-media SMS message. In one aspect, the method includes transmitting the rich-media SMS over a network. In another aspect, the method includes receiving the rich-media SMS by a mobile device, decoding the SMS, and displaying the message. The method may include obtaining rich-media content from a server. In one embodiment, a system for communicating a rich-media message to a mobile device comprises an alerts generator configured to encode a rich-media message and format the message into a rich-media SMS, a content server configured to provide rich-media content to a mobile device configured to decode and display the rich-media SMS.

Claims

1. A method of processing a rich-media short message service (SMS) message including a plurality of characters by a mobile device, said method comprising:

receiving said rich-media SMS message over a network by said mobile device;

depacketizing said rich-media SMS message by said mobile device to retrieve an encoded rich-media message and a number of addressing characters in said rich-media SMS message; and

routing said encoded rich-media message to a rich-media software application on said mobile device, according to said number of addressing characters addressing said rich-media software application on said mobile device;

decoding said encoded rich-media message by said rich-media software application to generate a first message and rich-media content information;

displaying said rich-media content information on said mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said rich-media SMS message comprises a rich-media alert.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said rich-media alert includes a sports alert, a weather alert, a news alert, or a medical alert.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said mobile device is a device capable of displaying a rich-media external asset previously stored, without obtaining said rich-media external asset from a content server, including a mobile telephone or a PDA.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining rich-media content from a content server, based on said rich-media content information within said encoded rich-media message.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said rich-media content includes at least one element including a video clip, an audio clip, or an inline graphic.