Method and an apparatus for requesting a service in a network

• US 8,108,208 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2005
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Saimann Ipro Oy
• Original Assignee: Saimaan IPR OY
• Inventors: Mäkelä, Mikko
• Primary Examiner(s): RIDER, JUSTIN W
• Application Number:
  US10/590,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20070174043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,532 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 704/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus of requesting a service from a communications network. In the method the following steps are to performed: generating an objective statement in a user equipment; communicating the objective statement from the user equipment to a mediator unit; comparing the objective statement to a list of objective statements in the mediator unit; establishing the service based at least partly on the comparison; and providing the service to the user of the user equipment.

Claims

1. A method executed by a data processor of requesting a service in a network that supports multiple users, characterised by

maintaining a verb list comprising several verbs (3-2);

maintaining an object part list comprising several object parts (3-6);

maintaining a service list indicating several services (3-14);

maintaining a first association list comprising several first associations (3-10), each of which associates one verb in the verb list and one object part in the object part list;

maintaining a second association list comprising several second associations (3-18), each of which associates one service in the service list and one first association;

displaying at least one verb from the verb list to the user;

displaying at least one object part from the object part list to the user, which object part has an association with the verb in the first association list,

selecting services such that each selected service has an association with the combination formed by the verb and the object part, and displaying the selected services to the user;

in response to receiving an acceptance of a service from the user, requesting the user-accepted service via the network.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

in response to receiving a beginning of a user input, selecting verbs from said verb list, such that the selected verbs match said beginning of the user input, and displaying the selected verbs to the user.

3. A method according to claim 2, characterised by;

selecting object parts such that each selected object part has an association with the user-accepted verb in the first association list, and displaying the selected object parts to the user.

4. A method according to claim 3, characterised by;

selecting services such that each selected service has an association with the combination formed by the user-accepted verb and the user-accepted object part, and displaying the selected services to the user.

5. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

selecting the object parts in response to receiving an acceptance of the verb from the user.

6. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

selecting the object parts without receiving an acceptance of the verb from the user.

7. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

selecting the services in response to receiving an acceptance of the object part from the user.

8. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

selecting the services are selected without receiving an acceptance of the object part from the user.

9. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

comprising maintaining a first probability (3-4) for the verbs (3-2) in the verb list and displaying the selected verbs in order of decreasing first probability.

10. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

comprising maintaining a second probability (3-12) for the first associations (3-10) and displaying the selected object parts in order of decreasing second probability of first associations that contain the selected object parts.

11. A method according to claim 10, characterised by;

comprising maintaining a third probability (3-20) for the second associations (3-18) and displaying the selected services in order of decreasing third probability of second associations that contain the selected services.

12. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that there are one or more specifiers (6-6) associated with some of the object parts (6-4).

13. A method according to claim 9, characterised by;

comprising maintaining the first probability for the verbs (3-2) in the verb list from several terminals and distributing the first probability among the several terminals.

14. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

after displaying verbs or object parts, keeping one verb or object part highlighted according to the user selection and giving means to the user to accept the currently highlighted verb or object part.

15. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

in response to receiving a beginning of the user input of a verb, prior the user accepting a verb from said verb list, selecting object parts such that each selected object part has an association with the currently highlighted verb in the first association list, and displaying the selected object parts to the user.

16. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

in response to receiving an acceptance of a verb and beginning of the user input of an object part, prior the user accepting an object part, selecting object parts from said object part list, such that the selected object parts match said beginning of the user input of an object part, and selecting services such that each selected service has an association with the currently highlighted object part in the second association list, and displaying the selected services to the user.

17. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

in response to the user accepting the verb and the object part, delivering the first association to a second user via the network and in case the second user forming the second association, delivering information about said second association to a mediator for adding it into maintained a second associations list in the mediator and delivering information about said service to the first user.

18. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

prior to receiving a beginning of a user input displaying a verb from the verb list and an object part from the object part list such that the object part has an association with the verb in the first association list.

19. A method according to claim 18, characterised by;

selecting the object part according to the usage frequency and/or the use situation and/or the user equipment and/or the preferences of the user.

20. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

after the user accepting object part, forming one or more second association(s) by searching descriptions associated to services for words extracted from said object part.

21. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

displaying at least one selected verb from the verb list and at least two object parts from the object part list such that at least one object part of the at least two object parts has an association with the selected verb in the first association list.

22. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

forming multiple objective statements each being formed by the at least one verb and at least one object part and ordering some of the objective statements statically and some of the objective statements dynamically.

23. A method according to claim 22, characterised by displaying only different verbs in the statically ordered part of a display.

24. A method according to claim 1, characterised by accepting the combination of the verb and the object part in one phase.

25. A method according to claim 1, characterised by accepting the combination of the verb and the object part in two phases by first accepting the verb and then accepting the object part.

26. A method according to claim 1, characterised by;

prior to accepting the combination of the verb and the object part displaying to the user the service that has an association with the combination formed by the verb and the object part.

27. A method according to claim 22, characterised by;

the dynamically ordered objective statements changing in response to at least one of the following function;

the relevance for the user and the relevance for the situation.

28. A method according to claim 1, characterised by displaying to the user a predefined service in case the service list is empty.

29. An apparatus for requesting a service in a network that supports multiple users, characterised in that the apparatus comprises

a verb list comprising several verbs (3-2);

an object part list comprising several object parts (3-6);

a service list indicating several services (3-14);

a first association list comprising several first associations (3-10), each of which associates one verb in the verb list and one object part in the object part list;

a second association list comprising several second associations (3-18), each of which associates one service in the service list and one first association;

a routine for displaying at least one verb from the verb list to the user;

a routine for displaying at least one object part from the object part list to the user, which object part has an association with the verb in the first association list;

a routine for selecting services such that each selected service has an association with the combination formed by the verb and the object part, and displaying the selected services to the user;

a routine for requesting the user-accepted service via the network in response to receiving an acceptance of a service from the user.

30. An apparatus according to claim 29, characterised in that the apparatus comprises a routine for selecting verbs from said verb list in response to receiving a beginning of a user input, such that the selected verbs match said beginning of the user input, and displaying the selected verbs to the user.

31. An apparatus according to claim 30, characterised in that the apparatus comprises a routine for selecting object parts such that each selected object part has an association with the user-accepted verb in the first association list, and displaying the selected object parts to the user.

32. An apparatus according to claim 31, characterised in that the apparatus comprises a routine for selecting services such that each selected service has an association with the combination formed by the user-accepted verb and the user-accepted object part, and displaying the selected services to the user.

33. An apparatus according to claim 29, characterised in that the apparatus comprises a routine for displaying at least one selected verb from the verb list and at least two object parts from the object part list such that at least one object part of the at least two object parts has an association with the selected verb in the first association list.

34. An apparatus according to claim 29, characterised in that the apparatus comprises a routine for forming multiple objective statements each being formed by the at least one verb and at least one object part and ordering some of the objective statements statically and some of the objective statements dynamically.

35. An apparatus according to claim 29, characterised in that, the apparatus is provided in a user equipment.

36. An apparatus according to claim 29, characterised in that, the apparatus is provided in a network element.