Wireless messaging address system and method

• US 10,117,291 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2003
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mantis Messaging, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MOBILE MESSENGER GLOBAL, INC. (Mobile Messenger Americas, Inc.)
• Inventors: Snyder, Randall, Hewes, Gerald, Hwang, Boon, Pirie, Michael, Priyadarshan, Eswar
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley, Steven
• Application Number:
  US10/521,520
• Publication Number:
  US 20080119210A1
• Time in Patent Office: 5,583 Days
• Field of Search: 455466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre

Abstract

Service Access Codes (SACs) are special codes that are part of the standard North American Numbering Plan (NANP). Presented herein is a solution for which these special SACs can be used as addresses to wireless data and messaging applications without precluding their traditional use for voice calls. Accordingly, provided herein is an exemplary messaging address system and method for facilitating interaction between mobile subscribers and message-based applications. The system comprises: a communications network; and a message center system coupled to said communications network. The message center system comprises a processor configured to: associate destination addresses with corresponding data network addresses; said destination addresses formatted in accordance with a standard non-geographic numbering and administration plan, receive a mobile-originated message generated by a subscriber wireless device; said mobile-originated message including a destination address, translate said mobile-originated message'"'"'s destination address into its corresponding data network address, and send said mobile-originated message to said corresponding data network address for receipt by a message-based application. In one embodiment of the invention, the destination address is formatted in accordance with the Numbering Plan (NANP) service access code (SAC) format.

Claims

1. A messaging address system for facilitating interaction between mobile subscribers and message-based applications servers, the system comprising:

a communications network; and

a message center system coupled to the communications network, the message center system comprising;

a processor configured to;

obtain from a separate party an entire range of entire destination addresses, and

associate each of the entire destination addresses from the entire range of destination addresses at more than one wireless carrier and with one or more corresponding data network addresses for a plurality of different message-based applications servers;

wherein each of the entire destination addresses are formatted in accordance with a standard non-geographic numbering plan,

wherein the data network addresses are formatted in accordance with an internet protocol address or a domain name service address,

wherein each entire destination address, from the range of entire destination addresses, is serviced by more than one wireless carrier, and

wherein each of the entire destination addresses provide mobile originated access to a value added application or value added service associated with the message-based applications servers,

receive a mobile-originated message generated by a subscriber of a wireless device comprising a destination address entered by the subscriber in a format of XXXXX, where each X is any number 0-9, and XXXXX is an entire unaltered destination address;

wherein the mobile-originated message includes the entire unaltered destination address falling within the entire range of entire destination addresses and associated, at more than one wireless carrier, with a particular message-based application server formatted in accordance with the standard non-geographic numbering plan for the message-based application server,

translate the mobile-originated message'"'"'s entire unaltered destination address, in the format of XXXXX, associated with the particular message-based application server into a corresponding data network address, and

route the mobile-originated message via a data network using at least the corresponding data network address for receipt by the message-based application server to provide the value added application or the value added service associated with the message-based application, wherein the data network address provides access by any mobile subscriber to the same value added application or value added service.

2. A system as in claim 1, wherein said message center system is further configured to store said mobile-originated message.

3. A system as in claim 1, wherein said communications network comprises a wireless network and a data network and said mobile-originated message having an associated transfer protocol and wherein said system further comprises a wireless-to-data network transfer protocol conversion component associated with said wireless network and said data network, said transfer protocol conversion component for converting said mobile-originated message transfer protocol from said wireless to said data and vice versa.

4. A system as in claim 3, wherein said data network is a network selected from the group consisting of a packet-switched network, circuit-switched network or any combination thereof.

5. A system as in claim 3, wherein said wireless network implements a protocol selected from the group consisting of the Global System for Mobile (“

GSM”

) protocol, Time Division Multiple Access (“

TDMA”

) protocol, Code Division Multiple Access (“

CDMA”

) protocol, other American National Standards Institute-41 (“

ANSI-41”

) protocols, or any combination thereof.

6. A system as in claim 3, wherein said data network implements a protocol selected from the group consisting of the Short Message Service (“

SMS”

) protocol, Enhanced Messaging Services (“

EMS”

) protocol, Multimedia Messaging Services (“

MMS”

) protocol, Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) based technologies using telephone number mapping (“

ENUM”

), or any combination thereof.

7. A messaging address system for facilitating interaction between mobile subscribers and message-based applications, the system comprising:

a wireless network,

a data network;

a plurality of message-based application servers coupled to the data network;

each message-based application server having a data network address associated therewith;

a subscriber wireless device coupled to the wireless network, the subscriber wireless device for generating a mobile-originated message comprising a destination address entered by a subscriber in a format of XXXXX, where each X is any number 0-9, and XXXXX is an entire unaltered destination address and associated with a particular mobile-based application server;

the entire destination address formatted in accordance with a standard non-geographic numbering plan, wherein the entire destination address, from a range of entire destination addresses, is serviced by more than one wireless carrier and wherein each of the entire destination addresses provide mobile originated access to a value added application or value added service associated with the message-based applications servers; and

a message center system coupled to the data network and the wireless network;

the message center system comprising;

a routing table including the range of entire destination addresses associated with one or more corresponding data network addresses, the data network addresses formatted in accordance with an internet protocol address or a domain name service address,

a processor configured to;

obtain from a separate party the entire range of entire destination addresses associated at more than one wireless carrier,

receive the mobile-originated message comprising the entire unaltered destination address falling within the range of entire destination addresses and associated, at more than one wireless carrier, with a particular message-based application server,

access the routing table to translate the mobile-originated message'"'"'s entire unaltered destination address, in the formal of XXXXX, into a corresponding data network address, and

route the mobile-originated message via the data network using at least the corresponding data network address for receipt by a message-based application server to provide a value added application or a value added service associated with the message-based application, wherein the data network address provides access by any mobile subscriber to the same value added application or value added service.

8. A system as in claim 7, wherein said message center system is further configured to store said mobile-originated message.

9. A system as in claim 7, wherein said data network is a network selected from the group consisting of a packet-switched network, circuit-switched network or any combination thereof.

10. A system as in claim 7, wherein said wireless network implements a protocol selected from the group consisting of the Global System for Mobile (“

GSM”

) protocol, Time Division Multiple Access (“

TDMA”

) protocol, Code Division Multiple Access (“

CDMA”

) protocol, other American National Standards Institute-41 (“

ANSI-41”

) protocols, or any combination thereof.

11. A system as in claim 7, wherein said data network implements a protocol selected from the group consisting of the Short Message Service (“

SMS”

) protocol, Enhanced Messaging Services (“

EMS”

) protocol, Multimedia Messaging Services (“

MMS”

) protocol, Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) based technologies using telephone number mapping (“

ENUM”

), or any combination thereof.

12. In a communication network, a method for facilitating interaction between mobile subscribers and message-based applications servers, the method comprising:

obtain an entire destination address from a separate party that associates at more than one wireless carrier, each of the entire destination addresses from a range of entire destination addresses with one or more corresponding data network addresses for a plurality of different message-based applications servers;

each of the entire destination addresses are formatted in accordance with a standard non-geographic numbering plan, and the data network addresses formatted in accordance with an internet protocol address or a domain name service address, wherein each entire destination address from the range of entire destination addresses is serviced by more than one wireless carrier and wherein each of the entire destination addresses provide mobile originated access to a value added application or value added service associated with the message-based applications servers;

receiving a mobile-originated message generated by a subscriber of a wireless device comprising a destination address entered by the subscriber in a format of XXXXX, where each X is any number 0-9, and XXXXX is an entire unaltered destination address falling within the range of the entire destination addresses obtained from the separate party, and associated, at more than one wireless carrier, with a particular message-based application server;

translating the mobile-originated message'"'"'s entire unaltered destination address, in the format of XXXXX, into a corresponding data network address; and

routing the mobile-originated message via a data network using at least the corresponding data network address for receipt by the message-based application server to provide a value added application or a value added service associated with the message-based application, wherein the data network address provides access by any mobile subscriber to the same value added application or value added service.

13. A method as in claim 12, further comprising the step of:

at said message center system, storing said mobile-originated message.

14. A method as in claim 12, wherein said communications network comprises a wireless network and a data network and said mobile-originated message having an associated transfer protocol and wherein said method further comprises the steps of:

providing a wireless-to-data network transfer protocol conversion component associated with said wireless network and said data network and converting said mobile-originated message transfer protocol from said wireless to said data and vice versa.

15. A method as in claim 14, wherein said data network is a network selected from the group consisting of a packet-switched network, circuit-switched network or any combination thereof.

16. A method as in claim 14, wherein said wireless network implements a protocol selected from the group consisting of the Global System for Mobile (“

GSM”

) protocol, Time Division Multiple Access (“

TDMA”

) protocol, Code Division Multiple Access (“

CDMA”

) protocol, other American National Standards Institute-41 (“

ANSI-41”

) protocols, or any combination thereof.

17. A method as in claim 14, wherein said data network implements a protocol selected from the group consisting of the Short Message Service (“

SMS”

) protocol, Enhanced Messaging Services (“

EMS”

) protocol, Multimedia Messaging Services (“

MMS”

) protocol, Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) based technologies using telephone number mapping (“

ENUM”

), or any combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the data network implements a Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) protocol.

19. In a communications network, a method for facilitating interaction between mobile subscribers and message-based applications servers, the method comprising:

generating a mobile-originated message using a mobile subscriber device, the mobile-originated message generated by a subscriber of the mobile subscriber device comprising a destination address entered by the subscriber in a format of XXXXX, where each X is any number 0-9, and XXXXX is an entire unaltered destination address;

the entire destination address formatted in accordance with a standard non-geographic numbering plan, and data network addresses formatted in accordance with an internet protocol address or a domain name service address, wherein the entire destination address, from a range of entire destination addresses, is serviced by more than one wireless carrier and wherein each of the entire destination addresses from the range of entire destination addresses provide mobile originated access to a value added application or value added service associated with the message-based applications servers; and

at a message center system;

obtaining from a separate party that associates at more than one wireless carrier, the range of entire destination addresses;

receiving the mobile-originated message having the entire unaltered destination address obtained from the separate party, and within the range of entire destination addresses stored at a routing table and arranged, at more than one wireless carrier, with one of a plurality of different message-based applications servers;

accessing the routing table including the range of entire destination addresses having associated data network addresses;

translating the mobile-originated message'"'"'s entire unaltered destination address, in the formal of XXXXX, into a corresponding data network address; and

routing the mobile-originated message via a data network using at least the corresponding data network address for receipt by a message-based application server to provide a value added application or value added service associated with the message-based application, wherein the data network address provides access by any mobile subscriber to the same value added application or value added service.

20. A method as in claim 19, further comprising the step of:

at said message center system, storing said mobile-originated message.

21. A method as in claim 19, wherein said communications network comprises a wireless network and a data network and said mobile-originated message having an associated transfer protocol and wherein said method further comprises the steps of:

providing a wireless-to-data network transfer protocol conversion component associated with said wireless network and said data network and converting said mobile-originated message transfer protocol from said wireless to said data and vice versa.

22. A method as in claim 21, wherein said data network is a network selected from the group consisting of a packet-switched network, circuit-switched network or any combination thereof.

23. A method as in claim 21, wherein said wireless network implements a protocol selected from the group consisting of the Global System for Mobile (“

GSM”

) protocol, Time Division Multiple Access (“

TDMA”

) protocol, Code Division Multiple Access (“

CDMA”

) protocol, other American National Standards Institute-41 (“

ANSI-41”

) protocols, or any combination thereof.

24. A method as in claim 21, wherein said data network implements a protocol selected from the group consisting of the Short Message Service (“

SMS”

) protocol, Enhanced Messaging Services (“

EMS”

) protocol, Multimedia Messaging Services (“

MMS”

) protocol, Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) based technologies using telephone number mapping (“

ENUM”

), or any combination thereof.

25. The method as in claim 19, wherein the data network address provides access by any mobile subscriber to the same value added application or value added service, regardless of a wireless carrier of the mobile subscriber.

26. The method as in claim 19, wherein the destination addresses provide concurrent mobile originated access by any wireless carrier to the same value added application or value added service.