Wireless chat automatic status tracking

• US 20090280846A1
• Filed: 02/24/2009
• Published: 11/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Tittus, Mark, Ung, Dara, Smith, Richard, Wilson, Johanna
• Granted Patent: US 7,809,359 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 with dynamic range variability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• 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 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/085 involving hierarchical organized mobility servers, e.g. hierarchical mobile IP [HMIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 : Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 : Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A technique and apparatus to provide status tracking of presence and/or location of a mobile, wireless device to a requesting entity even outside of a particular wireless system. This allows wireless service providers the ability to monitor and log changes in the status of mobile stations within and/or outside their networks. Embodiments are disclosed wherein presence and/or location information is provided to entities outside of a particular servicing wireless network using the mechanisms of call processing components of a mobile network (e.g., call setup procedures), and using standard mechanisms currently available to any appropriately conforming Mobile Switching Center (MSC) element. In one disclosed embodiment, a wireless chat tracking system is implemented which utilizes a change in mobile registration status to automatically notify a chat group system outside the wireless network of current status information activity regarding a relevant device, e.g., registration activity or inactivity timeout. In the wireless chat automatic status tracking system, a registration notification (REGNOT) message is either explicitly forwarded or copied to an external IP based application (e.g., to a mobile chat group system). The change in mobile registration is communicated via a suitable signaling link (e.g., SS7, TCP/IP, etc.) between a Home Location Register (HLR) and the chat group system. Therefore, instead of a conventionally closed system using SS7 messages, REGNOT messages are pushed out over TCP/IP connections to external applications (e.g., chat servers) to automatically notify the external system of the location of a particular user.

Claims

1-31. -31. (canceled)

32. A method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device, comprising:

receiving an IS-41 conforming registration notification message from a mobile switching center; and

automatically forwarding said IS-41 conforming registration notification message from a service control point over an Internet connection to external device outside of a wireless network, a wireless chat participant corresponding to said forwarded IS-41 conforming registration notification message being added to a chat room based on said forwarded IS-41 conforming registration notification message.

33. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 32, wherein:

said registration notification message is a REGNOT message.

34. The method for automatically notifying an external chat server of a presence of a chat session participant according to claim 32, wherein:

said Internet connection utilizes a TCP/IP protocol.

35. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 32, wherein:

said registration notification message is additionally forwarded by an SMSC.

36. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 32, further comprising:

automatically adding a user corresponding to said automatically forwarded registration notification message to a chat session.

37. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 36, further comprising:

automatically notifying chat participants regarding a presence of the automatically added user.

38. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 36, further comprising:

automatically sending a list of chat participants to said user.

39. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 32, wherein:

said registration notification message is signaling system #7 and IS-41 compliant.

40. The method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 32, wherein:

said registration notification message is IS-41 compliant.

41. Apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device, comprising:

means for receiving an IS-41 conforming registration notification message from a mobile switching center; and

means for automatically forwarding said IS-41 conforming registration notification message from a service control point over an Internet connection to said external device outside of a wireless network, a wireless chat participant corresponding to said forwarded IS-41 conforming registration notification message being added to a chat room based on said forwarded IS-41 conforming registration notification message.

42. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 41, wherein:

said registration notification message is a REGNOT message.

43. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 41, wherein:

said Internet connection utilizes a TCP/IP protocol.

44. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 41, further comprising:

means for forwarding said registration notification message by an SMSC to said means for automatically forwarding.

45. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 41, further comprising:

means for automatically adding a user corresponding to said automatically forwarded registration notification message to a chat session.

46. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 45, further comprising:

means for automatically notifying other chat participants regarding a presence of said automatically added user.

47. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 45, further comprising:

means for automatically sending a list of chat participants to said user.

48. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 41, wherein:

said registration notification message is signaling system #7 and IS-41 compliant.

49. The apparatus for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device according to claim 41, wherein:

said registration notification message is IS-41 compliant.

50. A method for automatically notifying an external device of a presence of a wireless device, comprising:

receiving an IS-41 conforming MSInactivity notification message from a mobile switching center; and

automatically forwarding said IS-41 conforming MSInactivity message from a service control point over an Internet outside of a wireless network, a wireless chat participant corresponding to said forwarded IS-41 conforming MSInactivity notification message being removed from a chat room based on said forwarded IS-41 conforming MSInactivity notification message.