SE518175C3 - Server and method for providing information to a subscriber's terminal - Google Patents

Description

518175 2 tabas comprising a list of registered subscribers and at least one subscriber terminal for each subscriber and comprises or is connected to memory means including at least one message which can be provided to the first communication terminal, which server comprises: receiving means for receiving a notification of a call from an initiating terminal connected to the communication network, - terminal selecting means for selecting from the database at least one first subscriber terminal as receiving terminal, to which a message is to be sent in dependence on said notification, - message selecting means for selecting a suitable message, transmitting means for transmitting the message to the at least first receiving terminal in response to the call from the initiating terminal.

The object is also achieved by a method for providing information to at least one first receiving terminal, from a memory means in a grain communication network, comprising at least one message which can be provided to the first receiving terminal, comprising the following steps: - a call from a initiating terminal in a communication network is received, - a server connected to the communication network receives a notification of the call, - the server selects at least one first receiving terminal to receive a message depending on an identification of the initiating terminal, - the server selects at least one message to sent to the at least first receiving terminal, - the message is sent to the at least first receiving terminal in response to the call from the initiating terminal.

With the solution according to the invention, a subscriber can have information in any form delivered to any terminal to which the subscriber has access. In addition, in contrast to the fax solution described above, telephone calls can be connected while the information is requested. In this way, the subscriber can request 15 15 v25 30 518175 3 and receive written information, e.g. from a store, while talking to a person in the same store.

A message having a suitable format can be selected by the message selector means depending on at least one property of the at least second terminal, which is determined e.g. based on the address format of the at least the second terminal. The message selector can also be arranged to select a message with a certain content.

This enables the selection of the most appropriate message format resp. the content, depending on the user's needs and the characteristics of the terminal to receive the message.

According to a preferred embodiment, the database is updated dynamically when the status of the at least one receiving terminal changes. It can then be ensured that a message is not sent to a terminal that is rejected, disconnected or for some other reason cannot receive a message.

A communication network is also described, which network comprises a server according to the above, and further comprises information means for informing the server when a call is made to a certain address in the network.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will be described in more detail in the following on the basis of preferred embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a network configuration according to the invention Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the connection between a server used for to perform the functions according to the invention and a telephone network and Figure 3 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method according to the invention -CH. Detailed description of embodiments Figure 1 shows a network configuration according to the invention in which a fixed telephone network and a GSM network are used. This is of course only shown as an example. The solution according to the invention is independent of the type of network. There is a server 1, connected to a fixed network 3. When a subscriber, represented by a telephone 5 in the fixed network 3, can call another terminal, information about the call can be forwarded from the fixed network 3 to the server 1. This function can be used, e.g. of a store or an information service to which a subscriber wants to call to retrieve information. The call can be connected to the store as a regular telephone call while the server 3 is simultaneously informed of the call.

The subscriber is registered in a database 7 which is located in or in connection with the server 1, with one or more telephone numbers and / or one or more computer addresses, e.g. Uni- form Resource Identifiers (URI). such as e-mail addresses, SIP addresses or network addresses. The telephone from which the call is made is registered in the database together with one or more other telephones and / or computers used by the subscriber. In Figure 1, the subscriber also has a personal computer 9, connected either through the fixed telephone network 3 or in some other known manner, to the Internet (not shown). The subscriber may also have other terminals, e.g. another personal computer in the office, a mobile phone or a personal computer (PDA) that can communicate with the Internet. In Figure 1, a GSM network 11 is also connected to the server 1 via signaling functions. A mobile telephone 15 can be connected to the GSM network 11 via the air interface.

The personal computer 9 comprises a client program which enables it to receive information from the server 1. A separate information channel is connected by the server between the server and the client program in the personal computer 9 to send the appropriate type or types of messages. In particular, the server 1 can cause an Internet browser to start on the computer 9 and a web page is opened, or other types of messages, e.g. audio, video and / or email. In this way, the fixed telephone 5 or the mobile telephone 15 can be used, provided that they are registered in the database 7, for making calls, e.g. a service number for a store to request information. A receiving means 17 in the server 1 receives a notification from the fixed network that a call has been initiated and connected. The notification includes both the A-subscriber's number (ie the caller) and the B-subscriber's (ie the caller)'s number. If the subscriber is registered, the server l determines whether there is additional information in a memory device, which is shown here as a database 19.

If this is the case, server 1 retrieves information from the database 7 about one or more terminals to which additional information is to be sent. If the store has, for example, a web page, the server can, via transmitter means 21, send a message to the client in the personal computer 9 and have it start an internet reader and open the web page automatically.

Alternatively, if the subscriber does not have a personal computer, or the personal computer is not currently available, a suitable message can be sent to the mobile telephone 15 or to another terminal registered in the database 7 as belonging to the same subscriber. An answer to a question can be given or the address of the website can be sent to the terminal so that the user can open the website later. If more than one terminal is specified, it is determined to which terminal or terminals the message is to be sent by a terminal selector 23. The appropriate format of the terminal to receive the message can be determined depending on the address format, or on the basis of other information available. stored in the database 7. The message to be selected, and the appropriate format, is determined by the distribution selector means.

Messages can be sent to a mobile phone using an existing messaging service in the GSM network 1 1, such as Short Message Service (SMS) or Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) Push. A message can of course also be sent to the mobile phone when the original call is made from the mobile phone.

When more than one terminal is registered for the same subscriber, the server can decide which terminal or terminals messages are to be sent to in your different ways: Messages can be sent to all registered terminals, or to all registered terminals who can receive an appropriate message. For the same business or the like, several messages in fl your different formats may of course be available, which correspond to the requirements and characteristics of, for example, different mobile phones, PDAs and personal computers. The database must then include information for each terminal on which format or formats can be accepted. If the message is not to be sent to all terminals, the server can check which of the registered terminals is switched on, or is currently able to receive the message. In addition, there may also be a priority list so that if, for example, the personal computer is available, the message is always sent there, if it is not, it must be sent to another personal computer, if there is more than one on the list, or to a mobile phone. Alternatively, if the personal computer cannot open a website, an e-mail message can be sent instead, provided that an e-mail address of the user is registered in the database 7.

In order for the server 1 to know which terminals are available at a given time, a registration message can be sent from each terminal to the server when the terminal is switched on, or at given intervals. This is shown in Figure 1 with a dashed arrow between the personal computer 9 and the server 1. For mobile terminals connected to the GSM network, a similar registration message can be sent from the GSM network's CPR when the mobile terminal is switched on or connects to the network.

There may also be more than one A-number registered for a particular subscriber, ie. numbers from which the initial call can be made.

The server 1 can of course be connected only to the PSTN network 3 or to the GSM network 1 l, or to both. Other networks may also be connected. Instead of one server, two or more, or a network of servers can be used, depending on the load.

Figure 2 shows a possible way to connect the server to the fixed network 103 or another telephone network. The telephone network is connected to a signaling intermediate network node 105 (Signaling 10 15 20 25 518175 7 gateway) which performs protocol conversion, in particular to the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) or another suitable call signaling protocol from the signaling protocol used in the telephone network. The signaling intermediate network node 105 is connected to an interconnection unit 107. When a call received in the telephone network 103 is to be redirected, it is sent through the signaling intermediate network node 105 to the interconnection unit 107. The interconnection unit 107 then analyzes the call and forwards it to one of a number of connected service nodes the. One such service node may be the server 1 described in connection with Figure 1, in order to perform the functions according to the invention.

Figure 3 is a flow chart of the steps performed according to an embodiment of the invention.

Step S 1: A subscriber registered in the database makes a call.

Step S2: A notification that a call has been connected is sent to the server.

Step S3: Is a message available from the recipient of the call? If yes, go to step S4, if no, exit.

Step S4: Select the terminal or terminal to receive the message.

Step S5: Select the appropriate message or message format for the terminal selected in step S4.

Step S6: Send the message to the selected terminal or terminals.

The process ends.

How the terminal or terminals can be selected in step S4, and the message in step S5, was discussed in connection with Figure 1.

In step S6, different messages, or different message formats, may need to be sent if the message is to be sent to more than one terminal.

Claims (1)

A server intended to provide information to at least a first receiving terminal, which server (1) is connectable to at least one communication network (3.1 1) and comprises or is connected to a database (7) comprising a list of registered subscribers and at least one subscriber terminal for each subscriber and comprises or is connected to memory means (19) comprising at least one message which can be provided to the first communication terminal, which server comprises: receiving means (17) for receiving a notification of a call from an initiating terminal (5) connected to the communication network (3), terminal selection means (23) for selecting from the database (7) at least a first subscriber terminal (9) as a receiving terminal, to which a message shall be sent in dependence on said notification, message selecting means (25) for selecting an appropriate message, sending means (21) for sending the message to ll the at least the first receiving terminal in response to the call from the initiating terminal. The server of claim 1, wherein the message selecting means (25) is arranged to select a message of a suitable format depending on at least one feature of the at least first receiving terminal. A server according to claim 2, wherein the message selecting means (25) is arranged to select the message depending on the address format of the at least first receiving terminal. A server according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the message selecting means (25) is arranged to select a message having a certain content. 10 15 20 25 518175 9. Server according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the database (7) is updated dynamically when the status of the at least one receiving terminal changes. . Communication network comprising a server (1) according to any one of claims 1-5, which network further comprises notification means (105) for informing the server when a call is made to a certain address in the network. . A method of providing information to at least a first receiving terminal, from a memory means in a communication network, comprising at least one message that can be provided to the first receiving terminal, comprising the steps of: in a call from an initiating terminal in a communication network being received, a server connected to the communication network receives a notification of the call, the server selects at least one first receiving terminal to receive a message depending on an identification of the initiating terminal, the server selects at least one message to send to the at least first receiving terminal, the message is sent to the at least first receiving terminal in response to the call from the initiating terminal. . The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of selecting the message to be sent to the at least first receiving terminal depending on the type or types of receiving terminals selected. . The method of any of claims 7-8, further comprising the step of selecting the message to be sent to the at least first receiving terminal as the message having the desired content. 518 175 10A A method according to any one of claims 7-9, further comprising the step of selecting the at least first receiving terminal from terminals currently accessible to SCYVCYII.