WO2001084868A1

WO2001084868A1 - Method for providing interactive services

Info

Publication number: WO2001084868A1
Application number: PCT/FI2001/000423
Authority: WO
Inventors: Petri Tuomainen
Original assignee: Nokia Corporation
Priority date: 2000-05-04
Filing date: 2001-05-03
Publication date: 2001-11-08
Also published as: AU2001258458A1; FI20001042A; FI110225B

Abstract

A method for providing an interactive service supporting a wider protocol for a mobile phone (MS) which is not supporting the wider protocol. The method comprises steps of initializing a service session by sending (2b-1) a session request from the mobile phone (MS) to a Protocol Support application, sending (2b-4) a starting page comprising a list of menu items to the mobile phone (MS), and sending (2b-5) a menu item identifier indicating one menu item of said list to the Protocol Support application. The Protocol Support application maps (2b-5') the menu item identifier to a respective address of a server providing the service and requests (2b-6) service from said address. The server sends (2b-7) a service stack corresponding to said menu item to the Protocol Support application and the Protocol Support application stores and analyzes (2b-7') the service stack. If required, the Protocol Support application sends (2b-8) an input request to the mobile phone (MS) and executes calculation (2b-10). Then the Protocol Support application sends (2b-11) a service content message providing the service to the mobile phone (MS).

Description

Method for Providing Interactive Services

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to providing an interactive service supporting a wider protocol for a mobile phone which is not supporting the wider protocol. The invention is especially well suited for providing WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) services for a mobile phone not supporting WAP.

Background of the Invention At present, one method for providing a mobile station or mobile phone, MS, with Internet connectivity is Wireless Application Protocol, WAP. In this context Internet must be interpreted widely, i.e. comprising any type of IP (Internet Protocol) network, such as intranet or extranet. WAP specifies an application framework and network protocols for wireless devices, such as mobile phones. The specifications extend mobile networking technologies (such as digital networking standards) and Internet technologies (such as XML, URLs, Scripting, and various content formats). WAP defines a set of standard components that enable communication between mobile terminals and WWW servers. WAP content and applications are created by Wireless Markup Language, WML, which is a language very similar to HyperText Markup Language, HTML, and used to create WAP pages that can be displayed in a WAP browser, i.e. a micro browser in the wireless terminal, which is analogous to a standard web browser.

Figure 1A illustrates an arrangement in which a WAP phone MS' is used. A WAP gateway 11 provides a connection between the mobile network 18 and the WWW technology on the Internet 17. The WAP gateway 11 translates WAP requests to WWW requests thereby allowing the WAP micro browser in the WAP phone MS' to submit requests to the WWW server 12. The WAP gateway 11 also translates the responses from the WWW server into a format supported by the micro browser in the WAP phone. If the WWW server 12 provides WAP content (e.g., WML), the WAP gateway 11 retrieves it directly from the WWW server and forwards it to the WAP phone. However, if the WWW server provides WWW content (such as HTML), the WAP gateway 11 (or a separate filter unit) translates the WWW content (e.g., HTML) into WAP content (e.g., WML). The WAP is receiving very much publicity at the moment, but the penetration of WAP phones, i.e. mobile phones that support WAP protocol, is rather small. WAP services cannot be used with a 'conventional' mobile phone not supporting WAP. Hereafter, the term 'conventional' mobile phone refers to a mobile phone not supporting WAP. Especially from the service provider's point of view, it would be advantageous to have more WAP service users. Therefore, it would be advantageous to be able to use WAP services with a conventional mobile phone.

A partial solution for the problem is to provide conventional mobile phones with services similar to the WAP services by using SMS (Short Message Service) messages. In such an arrangement, the user requests sen/ice with a query including a search word identifying the service and the parameters the service may require. The service requested is then provided for the user in an SMS message in response to the service query. For example, if a Weight Index service is used, the user sends a query: "WEIGHT_INDEX_180_75", i.e. a search word and in addition, the length and weight of the person as parameters. The answer for the query is: "WEIGHTJNDEX_23.1_NORMAL". In this way, simple services can be provided for conventional mobile phones by means of SMS messaging. However, the user has to know the correct format of the query to request the service, such as the correct search word(s), the parameters required and the correct order of the parameters. Therefore, the use of the services is somewhat complicated and inflexible. This also requires service and content providers to support multiple ways of accessing service that may turn to be inefficient.

Disclosure of the Invention

An object of the present invention is to alleviate the above described problems by a method for providing an interactive service supporting a wider protocol for a mobile phone not supporting the wider protocol. This and other objects of the invention are achieved with a method, a communication system and a network element which are characterized by what is disclosed in the attached independent claims. Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the attached dependent claims. Here, the term 'interactive services' refers to services which the user may choose from a selection of services and which may depend on or require user input.

The principle of the invention is to provide a service session between the mobile phone and the server by means of a Protocol Support application which provides functionality of the wider protocol for the mobile phone. The Protocol Support application conveys interactive services to the mobile phone MS by means of messages comprising a list of menu items corresponding to different actions, such as different links or addresses. Messaging may be SMS messaging or USSD (Unstructured Service Data) messaging.

In the following, the invention will be described by means of WAP. However, it is clear that the invention is not limited to WAP, but is applicable to any other protocol. The Protocol Support application acts as an interface between a

WAP gateway or a WAP WWW server and a USSD center/SMSC (Short Message Sen/ice Center), performing all necessary protocol conversions between WAP/WWW and USSD/SMS. The WAP gateway or the WAP/WWW server sees the combination of the Protocol Support application and the mobile phone as a WAP phone.

The user configures a starting page, i.e. a selection of preferred links, beforehand for example through a www interface. A session is always started from this starting page. If the user has not configured the starting page, a default page is used. The user initiates a service/WAP session with an SMS or USSD message. The SMS/USSD message is directed to the Protocol Support application, which replies by sending the starting page of the user to the mobile phone.

On the starting page, actual links to other Internet sites (Internet addresses) are presented as a list of menu items. The menu items may for example correspond to an Internet address or to executing some type of task, such as terminating the session. The menu items are preferably numbered and identified by a respective number. The Protocol Support application keeps track on which number corresponds to which Internet address, URL (Uniform Resource Locator), or task. The user selects a menu item by sending an identifier corresponding to the menu item to the Protocol Support application. This identifier is preferably the number of the menu item. The Protocol Support application then maps the menu item identifier to the respective URL, and sends a request for the service to that address of the WAP/WWW server. The request may be routed directly to the server or it may be routed to the WAP gateway and further to the server. The response (a WML stack) from the server to the Protocol Support application is returned the same way, and the Protocol Support application converts the response to an SMS/USSD message and forwards the converted message to the mobile phone in the form of a list of menu items. The Protocol Support application removes pictures from the WAP/WWW content and executes WML scripts. If the response from the server includes input fields or calculation

(WML scripts), the Protocol Support application stores the WML stack in its memory and initiates a conversation with the user for getting the input required. If there are WML scripts in the WML stack, they are executed in the Protocol Support application and the responses are forwarded to the mobile phone. (In a WAP phone, the WML stack is stored and the WML scripts are executed in the phone.)

Some default menu items, such as "Home", "Back" and "End", may be added to every message that is sent to the user.

The user terminates the session by sending a termination request or by selecting the menu item "End" or the like. In response to the termination, a message including information on the session, such as the duration of the session or the number of the messages, may be sent to the user.

An advantage of the invention is that WAP services can be used in a flexible manner with conventional mobile phones, that is with mobile phones not supporting WAP. Further, the user does not require prior information on these services. Thus, the potential number of the users of the WAP/WWW services would rise, increasing the income of all WAP infrastructure and service providers.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail by means of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1A illustrates a prior art arrangement for a WAP phone, Figure 1B illustrates an arrangement according to the invention,

Figure 2A is a signaling diagram illustrating the operation of a WAP phone,

Figure 2B is a signaling diagram illustrating an embodiment according to the invention,

Figures 3A, 3B and 3C illustrate examples of user interfaces according to the invention,

Figure 4A is a signaling diagram illustrating another embodiment of the invention,

Figure 4B is a signaling diagram illustrating yet another embodiment of the invention.

Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

Figure 1 B illustrates an arrangement according to the invention. A WAP gateway 11 provides a connection between the mobile network 18 and the WWW technology on the Internet 17. However, this is a connection that cannot be exploited by a conventional mobile phone MS. The connection between the mobile network 18 and the Internet 17 for the mobile phone MS is provided by a network element 14 according to the invention. The network element 14 includes a Protocol Support application acting as an interface between the WAP gateway 11 and the mobile network 18 or between a WAP/WWW server 12 and the mobile network. The Protocol Support application is capable of communicating with the WAP gateway or directly with the WAP WWW server. The dashed arrows in the Figure show these two alternative routes between the Protocol Support application and the server 12 on the Internet 17. Similarly, two alternative routes are shown between the Protocol Support application 14 and the mobile phone MS with solid line arrows. The Protocol Support application may communicate with the mobile phone with SMS or USSD messages via a SMSC or USSD center respectively. The Protocol Support application performs all necessary protocol conversions between WAP/WWW and USSD/SMS. The Protocol Support application removes pictures from the WAP/WWW content and executes WML scripts. The WAP gateway or WAP/WWW server sees the combination of the Protocol Support application and the mobile phone as a conventional WAP phone.

With reference to Figures 2A and 2B, the invention is illustrated in comparison to a WAP phone. Figure 2A is a signaling diagram illustrating the operation of a WAP phone and Figure 2B is a signaling diagram illustrating an embodiment according to the invention.

In Figure 2A, a session request is sent from the WAP phone WAP MS to the server via a WAP gateway in step 2a-1. The WAP gateway forwards the session request to the server in step 2a-2. In response to the session request, the server sends a starting page to the WAP MS via the WAP gateway in steps 2a-3 and 2a-4. In steps 2a-6 and 2a-6', a WML request for service is transmitted to the server from the WAP MS, and the server replies by sending a WML stack containing the service to the WAP MS in steps 2a-7' and 2a-7. If the service requires user input, the phone requests it from the user in step 2a-8, and if the stack contains WML scripts, they are executed in the WAP MS in step 2a-9. The service content is then displayed to the user in step 2a-10.

In an embodiment of the invention of Figure 2B, all messaging between the conventional mobile phone MS and the Protocol Support application is carried out by SMS or USSD messaging. In the signaling between the Protocol Support application and the server, only the direct route is shown. However, all signaling between the Protocol Support application and the server may also be routed via the WAP gateway, which is illustrated with a dashed line in this Figure. A service session is provided between the mobile phone MS and the server 12 via a Protocol Support application 14. The Protocol Support application 14 conveys an interactive service to the mobile phone MS by means of messages comprising a list of menu items corresponding to different actions, such as different addresses of the server or different tasks. The list of menu items is described in more detail with reference to Figures 3A, 3B and 3C.A session request is sent from the MS to the Protocol Support application in step 2b-1. If the Protocol Support application does not have a starting page for the user it requests starting page content in step 2b-2 from the server, which replies with starting page content in step 2b-3, and the Protocol Support application proceeds to step 2b-4, in which the Protocol Support application sends the starting page to the mobile phone. If the Protocol Support application already has the information for the starting page, it proceeds directly to step 2b-4 after step 2b-1. The starting page is a list of menu items, which may have been configured beforehand, or which may be a default selection of menu items. Figure 3A shows an example starting page list 32 comprising six numbered menu items. The user selects one of the menu items and sends a menu item identifier of that menu item to the Protocol Support application in step 2b-5. The menu item identifier is for example the number of the menu item.

In steps 2b-5' and 2b-6, the Protocol Support application maps the menu item identifier to a respective Internet address and sends a service request to this address to the server. The server replies by sending a service stack to the Protocol Support application in step 2b-7. The Protocol Support application stores the stack in step 2b-7'. If the service requires user parameters, the Protocol Support application sends an input request in step 2b-8 to the mobile phone and the mobile phone replies in step 2b-9 with an input reply including the user parameters requested. The Protocol Support application may send several input requests if several parameters are required. Methods for requesting user parameters are described in more detail with reference to Figures 4A and 4B. If the service requires calculation, the calculation is executed in the

Protocol Support application in step 2b-10. In step 2bτ11 , the service content is sent to the mobile phone in a service content message. The session is terminated in step 2b-12 by sending a termination request from the mobile phone to the Protocol Support application. Some default menu items may be added to the list of menu items every time the list is sent to the mobile phone. In the examples shown in Figures 3A, 3B and 3C, "Home", "Back" and "End" are such menu items. The menu item "End" corresponds to the termination request, and if this menu item is chosen, the session is terminated. The service content message of step 2b-11 includes a list of menu items for proceeding to another service. An example of such a list is shown in Figure 3C. The first two lines of the list 34 express the service content (with reference to the weight index service), and in the end of the list there are three menu items for proceeding to another service or terminating the session. In step 2b-13, a session information message indicating information about the session, such as the duration of the session or the number of the messages, from the Protocol Support application to the mobile phone in response to the termination request of step 2b-12.

Figures 3A, 3B and 3C illustrate examples of user interfaces according to the invention with reference to the weight index service. Figure 3A shows a starting page 32 on a screen 31 of a mobile phone MS. The user chooses the menu item number 3 for the weight index service. In response the Protocol Support application fetches the service stack corresponding to the service from the server. After this, the Protocol Support application sends the list of menu items 33 shown in Figure 3B to the mobile phone. The first two menu items on the list are for inputting a parameter and the third one is for initiating the calculation of the weight index. In the end of the list there are three default menu items for proceeding to another service or terminating the session. The user gives the parameters required for the service with the help of menu items no 1 and 2. In reply, the user receives a list 34 shown in Figure 3C. The first two lines of the list 34 express the service content. The default menu items are included also in this list.

Figures 4A and 4B are signaling diagrams illustrating two embodiments of the invention for inputting user parameters. In both embodiments, an input request is sent in the form of a list of menu items comprising menu items for the user parameters required and for proceeding to another service in steps 4a-1 and 4b-1. An example list is shown in Figure 3B.

In the embodiment of Figure 4A, the user selects a menu item corresponding to a user parameter by sending a respective menu item identifier in step 4a-2 to the Protocol Support application, for example by choosing number 1 on the list of Figure 3B. The Protocol Support application then sends in step 4a-3 a parameter request corresponding to the menu item identifier to the mobile phone. In the case of Figure 3B, the parameter request may be for example: "GIVE LENGTH IN CM". The user then replies by sending a value for the parameter requested as an input reply to the Protocol Support application in step 4a-4. In the case of Figure 3B, the input reply may be for example: "180".

In the embodiment of Figure 4B, the user replies to the input request by sending an input reply including a menu item identifier corresponding to a user parameter and a value for said parameter to the Protocol Support application in step 4b-2. In the case of Figure 3B, the input reply may be for example: "1. 180".

The Protocol Support application is described in the above by means of the preferred embodiments and WAP to illustrate the principles of the invention. However, the invention is not limited to these particular embodiments. Regarding the details, the invention may vary within the scope of the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A method for providing an interactive service supporting a wider protocol for a mobile phone (MS) not supporting the wider protocol in a communication system comprising at least a mobile network (18) in which said mobile phone (MS) is active and operationally coupled to at least one server (12) providing said service, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by providing a service session between the mobile phone (MS) and the server (12) via a Protocol Support application (14), and conveying the interactive service from the Protocol Support application (14) to the mobile phone (MS) by means of messages comprising a list of menu items (32, 33, 34) corresponding to different actions.

2. A method according to claim 1 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d by initializing the service session by sending (2b-1) a session request from the mobile phone (MS) to the Protocol Support application (14), in response to the session request, sending (2b-4) a starting page comprising a list of menu items (32) from the Protocol Support application (14) to the mobile phone (MS), in response to the starting page, sending (2b-5) a menu item identifier indicating one menu item of said list (32) from the mobile phone (MS) to the Protocol Support application (14), in response to the menu item identifier, the Protocol Support application (14) mapping (2b-5') said menu item identifier to a respective address of the server (12) and requesting (2b-6) service from said address, in response to the requesting step, the server (12) sending (2b-7) a service stack corresponding to said menu item to the Protocol Support application (14), the Protocol Support application (14) storing and analyzing (2b-7') the service stack, if the analyzing step (2b-7') indicates that the service requires user parameters, sending (2b-8) an input request from the Protocol Support application (14) to the mobile phone (MS) and sending (2b-9) an input reply including the user parameters requested from the mobile phone (MS) to the

Protocol Support application (14), if the analyzing step (2b-7') indicates that the service requires calculation, executing the calculation (2b-10) in the Protocol Support application (14), and sending (2b-11) a service content message providing the service from the Protocol Support application (14) to the mobile phone (MS).

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the wider protocol is Wireless Application Protocol.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the service content message includes a list of menu items (34) for proceeding to another service.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by sending (4a-1) the input request in the form of a list of menu items (33), the list comprising menu items for the user parameters required and for proceeding to another service, in response to the input request, selecting a menu item corresponding to a user parameter by sending (4a-2) a respective menu item identifier from the mobile phone (MS) to the Protocol Support application (14), in response to the menu item identifier, sending (4a-3) a parameter request corresponding to the menu item identifier from the Protocol Support application (14) to the mobile phone (MS), and in response to the parameter request, sending (4a-4) a value for the parameter requested as an input reply from the mobile phone (MS) to the Protocol Support application (14).

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by sending (4b-1) the input request in the form of a list of menu items

(33), the list comprising menu items for the user parameters required and for proceeding to another service, and in response to the input request, sending (4b-2) an input reply including a menu item identifier corresponding to a user parameter and a value for said parameter from the mobile phone (MS) to the Protocol Support application (14).

7. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the communication between the mobile phone (MS) and the Protocol Support application (14) is carried out by means of USSD (Unstructured Service Data) messaging or SMS (Short Message Service) messaging via an USSD center (16) or an SMS center (15), respectively.

8. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by numbering the menu items on the list (32, 33, 34) and identifying the menu items when sending (2b-5, 4a-1) a menu item identifier by the respective number of the list.

9. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by sending (2b-2) a starting page request from the Protocol Support application (14) to the server (12) in response to the session request, in response to the starting page request, sending (2b-3) a starting page content from the server (12) to the Protocol Support application (14), the starting page content including the list of menu items (32) for the starting page.

10. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by storing the list of menu items (32) for the starting page in a memory of the Protocol Support application (14), and obtaining the list of menu items (32) from the memory for sending (2b-4) the starting page.

11. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized by configuring beforehand a predetermined list by a user, using said predetermined list as the list of menu items (32) for the starting page.

12. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized by terminating the service session by sending (2b-12) a termination request from the mobile phone (MS) to the Protocol Support application (14), and in response to the termination request, sending (2b-13) a session information message indicating information about the session from the Protocol Support application (14) to the mobile phone (MS).

13. A Protocol Support element (14) in a communication system comprising at least a mobile network (18) in which a mobile phone (MS) not supporting a wider protocol is active and operationally coupled to at least one server (12) providing interactive services supporting the wider protocol, c h a ra c t e r i z e d in that the Protocol Support element is arranged to provide a service session between the mobile phone (MS) and the server (12), and to convey an interactive service to the mobile phone (MS) by means of messages comprising a list of menu items (32, 33, 34) corresponding to different actions.

14. A Protocol Support element (14) according to claim 13, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the Protocol Support element is arranged to receive (2b-1) a session request from the mobile phone (MS) for initializing the service session, in response to the session request, to send (2b-4) a starting page comprising a list of menu items (32) to the mobile phone (MS), in response to the starting page, to receive (2b-5) a menu item identifier indicating one menu item of said list (32) from the mobile phone (MS), in response to the menu item identifier, to map (2b-5') said menu item identifier to a respective address of the server (12) and to request (2b-6) service from said address, in response to the requesting step, to receive (2b-7) a service stack corresponding to said menu item from the server (12), to store and analyze (2b-7') the service stack, if the analyzing step (2b-7') indicates that the service requires user parameters, to send (2b-8) an input request to the mobile phone (MS) and to receive (2b-9) an input reply including the user parameters requested from the mobile phone (MS), if the analyzing step (2b-7') indicates that the service requires calculation, to execute the calculation (2b-10), and to send (2b-11) a service content message providing the service to the mobile phone (MS).