KR20030088419A - A messaging method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of transmitting a text message from the standard telephone 1 to the text message receiving device 8-11 is disclosed. The caller's address is sent with the text message to aid in the response. Additional messages such as advertisements may be sent with the test message. The free text message may be compiled by the user, or a standard message corresponding to the service identification number may be sent. The user can use the caller address associated with the text message to establish a voice link with the standard telephone. Alternatively, a text message can be transmitted which is converted into a voice message and transmitted to the standard telephone 1. Systems and telephony computers for implementing this method are also disclosed.

Description

Messaging method and apparatus {A MESSAGING METHOD AND SYSTEM}

Telephones with a rotary dial signal the exchange in pulses as the contacts open and close. More modern telephones include a dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal generator that generates a dual tone multi-frequency signal upon key activation. The standard arrangement of DTMF phones includes a 12-key keypad.

A number of automated answering messaging systems have been developed to handle telephone calls based on the signals generated by these standard telephones. Such systems are widely used in voicemail devices where a user is prompted to dial a number corresponding to a menu item.

As the use of text messaging devices such as mobile phones and pagers increases, the use of text messaging services is growing rapidly. Initially, text messaging services could only be provided between text messaging devices.

U.S. Patent 5,339,358 discloses a system in which a conventional telephone can be used to send a text message from a standard telephone to a text messaging device. However, the methods and systems disclosed herein do not provide a simple means for responding to text messages received from standard telephones. Moreover, this method, even in standard form, requires a costly procedure for entering text messages.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved messaging method and system or to provide a useful choice for the public.

The present invention relates to a messaging (message transmission and reception) method and a system for implementing the method. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of transmitting a text message from an existing phone to a text receiving device and from a text messaging device to a standard phone. Systems for implementing this method are also disclosed.

1 is a block diagram of a system for implementing the method of the invention.

2 is a flow chart for sending a text message from a standard telephone.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a method is provided for transmitting a text message from a communication device that does not have a designation key for each letter of the alphabet. This method consists of the following steps.

1) establish a connection between the communication device and the communication system,

2) Enter the recipient address,

3) transmit a signal indicating the desired spell from the communication device to the communication system,

4) when the communication system receives the signals indicating the spelling, it generates a voice message corresponding to the spelling and transmits the voice message to the telephone communication apparatus,

5) Repeat steps 3) and 4) for entering the required text message,

6) in the communication device, transmit a signal indicating completion of the message to the communication system, and

7) A text message including a telephone caller address is transmitted from the communication system to the text message receiving apparatus through the communication network.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for transmitting a text message from a communication device that does not have a designation key for each letter of the alphabet. This method consists of the following steps.

1) establish a connection between the communication device and the communication system,

2) Enter the recipient address,

3) select the desired message to send, and

4) The selected text message is transmitted from the communication device to the text message receiving device through the communication network.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method of transmitting a text message from a text messaging device to a telephone is provided. This method consists of the following steps.

1) enter a text message and a recipient address into a text messaging device and transmit it to the telephone network;

2) establishes a connection between the telephone with the recipient address and the communication network;

3) Converts a text message into a voice message and plays it on a telephone through a communication network.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method of transmitting a text message from a communication device is provided. This method consists of the following steps.

1) enter a service identification number corresponding to the message to be sent to the communication device,

2) enter the recipient address via the toe-in device, and

3) Send a text message related to the service identification number to the recipient address.

A telephony computer for implementing the above methods is also disclosed.

1 shows a system for implementing the method of the invention. The communication device 1 is connected to the public telephone network 2. In this case, the communication device is a standard DTMF 12 button telephone. Other phones such as rotary dial phones can of course also be used.

Telephone function computer 3 is also connected to the public telephone network. The telephone function computer 3 can be any of mainframe, miniframe, server, or personal computer having a network interface unit (NIU) for connecting to the telephone network using standard telephones such as ISDN, SS7, and MF. For example, a clearpath mainframe that operates the MCP operating system with a Unisys telephony platform device known as Network Application Platform (NAP) may be appropriate. The telephone function computer 3 is connected to one or more network provider. As shown in FIG. 1, a telephone function computer 3 is connected to a network provider 4, 5, 6, 7.

A wireless connection is provided between any wireless device capable of receiving text messages and a network provider. For example, in FIG. 1, the network provider 4 is connected to the mobile telephone 8, the network provider 5 is connected to the PDA 9, and the network provider 6 is connected to the pager 10. The connection between the network provider 7 and the computer 11 may be a wired connection or a wireless connection. The text messaging device 8-11 is shown by way of example only, and other devices such as a WAP device, a fax machine, a radiotelephone, a television, or a display phone can be used as well. The wireless connection may be provided by a GSM network and the message may be delivered via Short Message Service (SMS).

The method of the invention may enable the transfer of text messages from a standard telephone or similar communication device to a text messaging device. The method of the invention can facilitate the user of the text messaging device to establish communication with the communication device 1.

In Fig. 2, a method (preferred method) of processing a text message transmitted from the communication device 1 in the telephone function computer 3 is shown. In this embodiment, the user dials a telephone number to the communication device 1 to establish a connection between the communication device 1 and the telephone function computer 3 via the public telephone network 2.

Once the connection is established, the telephony computer 3 in step 12 determines whether the caller identification number (telephone number) is displayed on the screen (CLIP; Calling Line Identification Presentation) or whether it is restricted (CLIR). ). If limited, the procedure goes to step 13. The telephone function computer 3 here sends a voice message to the telephone 1 giving the user the option of pressing a key "1" to display the telephone number or the key "2" to restrict the number. Pressing key 1 switches the CLI flag from restricted to unrestricted (CLIR-> CLIP). When key 2 is pressed, the CLI flag remains unchanged. Although steps 12 through 14 are preferred, they are not mandatory for the operation of the messaging system and method, and may be omitted in other embodiments. In another embodiment, the sender may be prompted to enter the telephone caller identification number through the communication device 1.

Processing proceeds to step 15. In step 15, the telephone function computer 3 presents the recipient address input prompt to the user. This address can be an IP address, an email address, a phone number, a pager number, and so on. In the case of an e-mail message, this may be an e-mail address, while in the case of a telephone, mobile phone, or pager, a telephone number may be entered. In this example, the telephone number is input by the user via the communication device 1.

In step 16, the number is verified to ensure that the number is a valid phone number. If the number is not valid, a voice message is sent from the telephone function computer 3 to the telephone 10, informing the user that the number is invalid and the process returns to step 15. If the number is valid, the call type is confirmed in step 18, and depending on the call type, the processing proceeds to step 19 or step 23. The call type decision is preferably based on the telephone number dialed to access this service.

When the call type displays a message of a free form, the telephone function computer 3 sends a voice message to the telephone 1 in step 19 requesting the user to input a message. The message can be entered using a number of kinds of techniques. The standard 12-key telephone keypad has a large number of letters printed adjacent to the key number. For example, the key 2 is spelled "ABC". According to one technique, pressing key 2 once returns the letter "A", pressing twice returns the letter "B", and pressing three times returns the letter "C". Two key spellings are also known that press a key with one spelling and then press a number corresponding to this spelling position. For example, "A" is "21", "B" is "22", and "C" is "23". Spellings can be entered using this and other methods well known in the art.

In step 20, the telephone function computer 3 collects the numbers input from the keypad of the telephone 1, and processes them to return to one letter in step 21. FIG. The spelling message is passed back to Phone 1 (step 22). Processing proceeds in this manner until a signal is indicated to end the message. In the example of FIG. 2, when the hash key is pressed, the message end is displayed. Other signals, such as on hook signals, can be used to indicate end of message input. The procedure then proceeds to step 24. Alternatively, in steps 19 to 22, the user may be prompted to select one of a plurality of messages from the menu by dialing the corresponding number.

If it is detected in step 18 that the call type indicates that a standard message should be delivered, then processing proceeds to step 23. In one embodiment, depending on the type of message to be sent, the user may dial a different service identification number (phone number) than previously described. One number may cause the free form text message to be entered from steps 19 to 22. Other phone numbers include "please call me", "happy birthday", "please call me at home" and "please call me at work" ", Etc., may correspond to a standard message to be transmitted. If in step 18 it is determined that the call is a telephone number associated with the standard message, the process proceeds to step 23. The standard message is set in step 23, and the procedure goes to step 24. In step 24, the text message is delivered to the network provider (one of 4, 5, 6, 7) and relayed to the appropriate messaging device (one of 8, 9, 10, 11).

As part of the transmission process 24, additional messages may be added to the transmission text message. This additional message may include advertisements or user information. For example, it may advertise a dedicated call rate provided by a network provider.

The order of the main steps is not very important. The recipient address can be entered before or after entering the message. Moreover, CLI information processing can occur at any stage.

In FIG. 1, the communication system comprises a public telephone network 2 (connected to a telephone 1), and a telephone function computer 3. The communication system may consist of only a telephone function computer 3 directly connected to the telephone 1. This is especially true if, for example, a large organization wants to provide this service to its staff.

As the text message delivered to the text messaging device 8, 9, 10, 11 is preferred to include the caller address (caller phone number), the user of the text messaging device can easily respond to the text message. . If the device is a mobile phone 8, the caller's phone number can be selected and dialed. This allows the user of the mobile telephone 8 to directly contact the text message sender of the telephone 1.

Depending on alternative embodiments, such as when a text-only device such as computer 11 receives a text message, an alternative response method may be provided. The receiver can instruct his device 11 to respond to the caller address. The caller address may be an e-mail address or a phone number, depending on the service feature. Once an e-mail address is given, it will incorporate the caller identification number into the caller address, which causes the message to be relayed to the communication device 1. Alternatively, the caller address may include routing information for sending a text message to the telephony computer 3 together with the caller identification number (telephone number).

When the telephone function computer 3 receives such a text message, the computer 3 obtains the caller identification number and calls the communication device 1 through the public telephone network 2. When the call is answered, the text message is converted into a voice message and reproduced by the communication device 1 to the recipient. Additional voice messages may be added before and after the main message. The additional message may include advertisements, promotions, or general information. Alternatively, the user may have to follow menu options for message playback. Moreover, the user may have to enter a password before the message is played.

The invention thus provides a method of transmitting a text message from a standard telephone, which provides an easy means of response by the message recipient. This method makes it possible to send additional messages simultaneously.

Claims (32)

A method of transmitting a text message from a communication device that does not have a designated key for each letter of the alphabet. 1) establish a connection between the communication device and the communication system, 2) Enter the recipient address, 3) transmit a signal indicating the desired spell from the communication device to the communication system, 4) when the communication system receives a signal indicating a spelling, a voice message corresponding to the spelling is generated, and the voice message is transmitted to the communication device. 5) Repeat steps 3) and 4) as necessary for entering the required text message, 6) in the communication device, transmit a signal indicating completion of the message to the communication system, and 7) sending a text message including the caller address from the communication system to the text message receiving apparatus through the communication network; And transmitting a text message from a communication device that does not have a designation key for each letter of the alphabet. The method of claim 1 wherein step 2) is performed before steps 3) and 4). The method of claim 1, wherein step 2) is performed after steps 3) and 4). 4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the signals transmitted in step 3) are generated by operating one or more keys of the communication device several times for transmission of a DTMF signal sequence. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein spelling is entered at the communication device by inputting two keys in sequence. 4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the signals transmitted in step 3) are a series of pulses from a rotary dial device. 7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the recipient address is entered by dialing the recipient identification number through the communication device. 8. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the signal transmitted in step 6) is generated by pressing one key of the communication device or a combination of keys. 8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the signal transmitted in step 6) is an on hook signal. 10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the caller address is a telephone number. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein an additional message is added to the text message before sending the text message to the text message receiving device in step 7). 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the additional message is an advertising message. 13. A text message receiving device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the text message receiving device is a cellular telephone, pager, WAP device, fax machine, PDA, on-screen phone, radio telephone, television, or computer. Characterized in that the method. 14. A communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the communication system comprises a public telephone network connecting the communication device to a computer, which computer processes the input of the text message and sends the message to the text message receiving device via the communication network. Characterized in that the method. A method of transmitting a text message from a communication device that does not have a designation key for each letter of the alphabet. 1) establish a connection between the communication device and the communication system, 2) Enter the recipient address, 3) select the desired message to send, and 4) sending the selected text message from the communication system to the text message receiving device via a communication network; And transmitting a text message from a communication device that does not have a designation key for each letter of the alphabet. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein a recipient address is entered by dialing a recipient identification number through a communication device. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the message is selected by pressing a key or a series of keys. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the message is selected by pressing two or more sets of keys. A method of sending a text message from a text messaging device to a phone, the method of 1) Enter a text message and a recipient address on the text messaging device and send it to the network; 2) establish a connection between the telephone with the recipient address and the network; and 3) converts a text message into a voice message to be played on a telephone over a network; And transmitting the text message from the text messaging device to the telephone. 20. The method according to claim 19, wherein an additional voice message is sent to the telephone in step 3). 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the additional message is an advertising message. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the message is played prior to text message conversion. A method of transmitting a text message from a communication device, the method of 1) enter a service identification number corresponding to the message to be sent at the communication device; 2) enter a recipient address through the communication device, and 3) sending a text message relating to the service identification number to the recipient address, A method of transmitting a text message from a communication device, comprising the above steps. The method of claim 23 wherein the service identification number is a telephone number. 25. The method of claim 24, wherein a service identification number is entered by dialing a telephone number through a communication device. 26. A text message according to any of claims 23 to 25, characterized in that the text message is transmitted to a mobile telephone, pager, WAP device, facsimile, PDA, on-screen telephone, radio telephone, television or computer. Way. A phone number set up to carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims. A telephone function computer for sending a text message, the computer comprising: 1) processing means, 2) an interfacing means between the first communication network and the processing means, the interfacing means for converting signals received from the first communication network into a digital signal provided to the processing means, and 3) interfacing means between the second communication network and the processing means for transmitting the text message via the second communication network; Wherein the processing means comprises means for obtaining a caller identification number when a connection is made between the caller and the computer, and means for inserting the caller identification number into a text message transmitted to the second communication network. Telephone function computer for transmitting a text message comprising a. A telephone function computer for sending a text message, the computer comprising: 1) processing means, 2) an interfacing means between the first communication network and the processing means, the interfacing means for converting signals received from the first communication network into a digital signal provided to the processing means, and 3) interfacing means between the second communication network and the processing means for transmitting the text message via the second communication network; Wherein, according to the signal received from the first communication network, a designated text message is transmitted to the second communication network. A telephone function computer for sending a text message, the computer comprising 1) processing means, 2) an interfacing means between the first communication network and the processing means, the interfacing means for converting signals received from the first communication network into a digital signal provided to the processing means, and 3) interfacing means between the second communication network and the processing means for transmitting the text message via the second communication network; Wherein upon receipt of the recipient address, a designated message is transmitted to the second communication network. 31. A telephone-function computer as claimed in any of claims 28 to 30, wherein the first and second communication networks are the same or part of the same communication network. Application for a telephony computer implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 26.