Booking method and system

• US 8,856,017 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2013
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Smartcom Labs OY
• Original Assignee: Bookit Oy Ajanvarauspalvelu
• Inventors: Salonen, Jukka
• Primary Examiner(s): CAMPBELL, SHANNON S
• Application Number:
  US13/868,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20130238735A1
• Time in Patent Office: 532 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1.1, 705/5
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3221 Access to banking information through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3255 using mobile network messaging services for payment, e.g. SMS
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4014 Identity check for transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/207 with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/37 E-mail addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 : Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 : Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 : Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/72 : Subscriber identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 : Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• 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 4/40 : for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 : Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

A method and system for communicating over a telecommunications network between a service provider and one or more users, wherein the service provider can have access to multiple distinct addresses in the telecommunications network and each user is identified by an address, more specifically, where a first message can be sent over at least a portion of the telecommunications network to a user'"'"'s address and based on a response from the user determining the message to which the response is a reply.

Claims

1. A communications system comprising:

a mediator coupled to a telecommunications system and providing an interface between at least one mobile device and at least one application provided on at least one network server coupled to the telecommunications system,

wherein the mediator includes a network server coupled to the telecommunications system,

wherein the mediator sends messages and receives messages at a plurality of reply addresses, the mediator sending a message to a mobile device by selecting a reply address for the message from the plurality of reply addresses,

wherein the mediator prepares a message comprising the selected reply address as a sender'"'"'s address and sends the prepared message to the mobile device via the telecommunications system, wherein the mediator sends a first message to the mobile device, the first message comprising a first reply address as a sender'"'"'s address, and the mediator sends a second message to the mobile device, the second message comprising a second reply address as a sender'"'"'s address that is different than the first reply address, and

wherein the mediator receives at least one reply message from the mobile device via the telecommunications system at the selected address and identifies at least one of the first and second sent messages to which the received reply message corresponds based on the selected reply address at which the reply message is received and also based on the mobile device'"'"'s address contained in the received reply message.

2. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the message prepared and sent by the mediator includes an inquiry based on information received by the mediator from the at least one application.

3. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the message prepared and sent by the mediator is part of a dialogue.

4. The communications system of claim 3, wherein the dialogue includes an inquiry to another entity in the communication system.

5. The communications system of claim 3, wherein the dialogue includes at least one message that informs a user of the mobile device receiving the mediator prepared and sent message of information.

6. The communications system of claim 3, wherein the dialogue includes an inquiry directed to a user of the mobile device receiving the mediator prepared and sent message.

7. The communications system of claim 6, wherein the inquiry pertains to a choice to be made by the user of the mobile device receiving the mediator prepared and sent message.

8. The communications system of claim 7, wherein the choice is based on information received by the mediator from the at least one application.

9. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the mediator stores received reply messages in a matrix with a relationship between the mobile device address of the mobile device sending a reply message and the selected reply address at which the reply message is received.

10. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of reply addresses are a plurality of predetermined addresses that are compatible with at least one mobile device.

11. The communications system of claim 10, wherein a reply address included the plurality of reply addresses is available for selection as a reply address for a message to be sent to a user if the reply address was not previously selected as a reply address for a message previously sent to that user.

12. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the mediator selects the one of the reply addresses at random.

13. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the mediator sends a plurality of messages to a mobile device and selects a different one of the plurality of reply addresses for each of the plurality of sent messages.

14. The communications system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the messages sent by the mediator is a SMS short message.

15. The communications system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the messages received by the mediator is a SMS short message.

16. The communications system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the messages sent by the mediator is a short message.

17. The communications system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the messages received by the mediator is a short messages.

18. The communications system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the messages sent by the mediator is an electronic mail messages.

19. The communications system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the messages received by the mediator is an electronic mail message.

20. The communications system of claim 1, wherein messages sent and received by the mediator are sent and received via a plurality of communication channels.

21. The communications system of claim 20, wherein the plurality of communication channels includes Internet, electronic mail, and short messaging.

22. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the mobile device address includes an identifier chosen from the group consisting of an A-subscriber'"'"'s number, Calling Line Identity (CLI), electronic mail address, a symbol telephone number, an address and an IP address.