Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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Attorney Docket No.: MEF11-01PCT
Inventors: Eugene Lee Lew, Vasileios John Gianoukos
Attorney Docket No.: MEF11-01PCT
SOCIAL MESSAGING HUB
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to messaging and communications, and to mobile
telephony, text messaging, instant messaging, multimedia messaging, personal
computers and
data enabled digital devices.
BACKGROUND
People around the world are confronted by a number of communications and
writing
devices which have evolved relatively recently from the separate areas of
telephone
communications networks, wireless networks, television or cable networks, and
computer
networks and personal computers. The more recent devices ¨ mobile phones with
message/picture/video texting, personal digital devices for Internet browsing
and computer-based
blogging and social networking sites ¨ have been shaped in part by the
separate networks of
origin, but the nature and capabilities of many of these now-ubiquitous
devices have both
converged, and also advanced quickly in different directions as the industries
controlling each
sector have capitalized on their market power, reservoir of legacy subscribers
and, in some cases,
regulatory barriers and proprietary network equipment and connection
protocols, to introduce
new consumer features, often employing developments from other consumer
products, and
aiming to lure subscribers by mimicking those products. However, in doing so,
each industry has
also been limited by its own equipment, data transfer speeds and connection
abilities.
Thus, as digital imaging advanced and consumers learned to take and handle
images and
to attach the images to e-mail messages, imaging chipsets were incorporated
into mobile
telephones and the mobile phones were configured to display images and allow
their
transmission between phones. Text and message protocols allowed transmission
of 'instant'
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messages, and coded standardized greetings and messages between phone users,
filling a niche
for immediate portable, personal communication that was not met by existing
personal computer
devices. Devices like the iPhone , introduced in 2007 allowed a user to access
his Internet-
based email from his mobile phone via a specially-configured data connection
with his mobile
service provider, and to exchange content via wireless connection to his
personal computer.
However, despite these developments blurring boundaries between the classical
phone,
mobile telephone, Internet, wireless and television or cable networks, there
has not been a
convergence. Rather, although industry and government groups have promoted
interface
standards for several different classes of data or communication, each
industry has retained much
of its special structure, and the devices served by an industry (such as
mobile telephones) may
find their feature set constrained by intrinsic limitations of bandwidth and
connectivity, by
available networking equipment base, and by the level of contractual
cooperation agreements of
its provider. The many different classes of communications systems now
available, and the many
separate provider networks in each class, have also required the development
of new supporting
entities, such as nationally- or internationally-extending registries,
aggregators, exchanges and
other entities, in order to affect timely transfer of data, messages and/or
entertainment content.
This second-level infrastructure imposes further constraints of the feasible,
or economically
feasible, set of features that a consumer may exercise. Thus, for example,
mobile telephones
have been augmented with a display and the ability to run small applications
such as games,
MP3 players, Internet browsers/applications and email retrieval, while
personal computers have
the capability to run larger programs, employ wireless connectivity and
perform voice-over-IF
(VOIP) Internet communications. Various special-purpose applications requiring
cross-platform
connections may be provided, or applications simulating cross-platform
capabilities may be
developed, by a service provider, such as a television-displayed chat session
available for
subscribers of a TV provider. However, many other personal devices while
having large data
capacity, ability to connect to another user device and ability to run
entertainment apps, may
entirely lack the mobile telephone electronic circuitry necessary for
exchanging mobile messages
with telephone users. Additionally, the delivery of messages in some social
messaging systems is
affected by limitations of carrier networks and international boundaries. It
is therefore desirable
to provide a system for enhanced communication between personal devices.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Enhanced communication between personal devices is achieved in accordance with
one
aspect of the invention by a system for communication with a data enabled
device although
lacking mobile phone hardware and software, includes Internet network access
capabilities.
Such data enabled devices include, but are not limited to, an iPod touch ,
iPadO, portable e-
Reader, a personal computer, a portable game player, a game console, a laptop,
a television set or
a netbook computer. The user of a non-telephony data enabled personal
electronic device or a
data enabled telephony device (e.g., smartphone, iPhone) is given a registered
phone number (or
an additional phone number for data enabled telephony devices) which serves to
identify the
source device in messages originating from the user of service on the data
enabled device. The
phone number also serves to indicate destination in messages directed to the
user of the service
on the non-telephony data enabled device. Such messages may originate in
mobile telephones of
other users, or in similarly equipped and provisioned non-telephony or
telephony data enabled
devices of other users. A social messaging hub operates such that incoming
mobile text
messages/multi-media messages are transparently routed, locally or
internationally, through
existing Short Message Service/ Multimedia Messaging Service/Enhanced
Messaging Service
SMS/MMS/EMS messaging infrastructures including messaging aggregation and
delivery
organizations, thus messaging bi-directionally between mobile phones and the
user's non-
telephony data device or smartphone. Instant messaging communications is also
facilitated by
the social messaging hub.
The registered phone number may be acquired through or serviced by a
competitive local
exchange carrier (CLEC), local exchange carrier (LEC) or other provider that
is authorized to
issue registered phone numbers, and the set of numbers so issued may be
serviced by that
carrier's network, or by a separate entity or sub-entity, herein called a
network unaffiliated
virtual operator (NUVO), that serves as the service provider to users and
functions as a
destination carrier to receive messages directed to its telephone numbers
(i.e., the numbers
assigned by the NUVO to the user's data enabled device) from the message
aggregator and to
provide an Internet interface for delivery of the messages to users' non-
telephony devices. The
NUVO operating the social messaging hub receives messages from the user's data
device over
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the Internet and transmit the messages through a connection to entities in a
messaging
infrastructure (e.g., a message aggregator or a carrier), for delivery to the
mobile phones or non-
telephony or telephony data enabled devices of intended recipients. The NUVO
also receives
SMS/MMS messages, via the aggregator entity or carrier, when these are
directed to the
registered phone number of a user served by the NUVO, and transmits these
messages to (or
allows web access from) the user's non-telephony or telephony data enabled
device or mobile
phone over the Internet. In this manner, the non-telephony data enable device,
lacking a mobile
telephony chip set or software, simulates the messaging abilities of a mobile
phone. The non-
telephony personal device is thus rendered SMS, MMS and EMS capable. For data
enabled
devices, the registered phone number may be seen as (and is sometimes referred
to below as) a
'virtual' phone number, making the device addressable by mobile phones without
the need for
any special applications or software updates. When a data enabled mobile
phone, is enabled by
the NUVO, a secondary or alternative phone number to the one assigned by
default can be used
to send and receive messages separately under the NUVO phone number. This
allows a user to
operate two lines, for example with personal and business numbers, in a single
mobile device,
such as a smart phone.
In one embodiment, a technique for messaging communications with a data
enabled
device includes obtaining a plurality of unique identifiers, assigning to a
user of the data
enabled device a unique identifier from the plurality of unique identifiers,
associating the unique
identifier with a data enabled device identifier. The technique further
includes registering the
unique identifier to data enabled device identifier association in a database,
receiving a message
from a message source through a message service directed to the user's data
enabled device
having the registered unique identifier obtained from the message source,
providing the message
using the database to identify the destination of message to an inbound
service, establishing a
connection between a data enabled device and the inbound service and pushing
the message from
the inbound service to an application running on the data enabled device.
Such a technique, overcomes the limitations of carrier networks and
international
boundaries. Significantly, this technique provides a telephone number to the
user, thus invoking
many of the legal rights enjoyed by telephone subscribers in the user's
jurisdiction. The service
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may appeal especially to parents who do not want their children to have mobile
phones, but
understand the value of texting and other messaging for the child's social
life, enabling
communications and educational development; or who wish to have each family
member in a
family plan service, but without the high costs associated with full mobile
telephony plans. In
this case, the virtual phone number may be viewed as a placeholder for later
telephone service,
for example when the child graduates beyond elementary school. From the
provider perspective,
because the use of a virtual phone number for addressing SMS/MMS/EMS messages
neither
requires nor involves the extensive tracking and routing infrastructure that
supports mobile voice
calling, but can be supported by a simple web-based server network, they may
offer virtual
number messaging services at attractive and affordable rates without incurring
incremental
capital requirements.
Indeed, all subscriber messages are transmitted over the Internet through one
or more
servers and a message aggregation entity in the messaging infrastructure, so
the entire service
may be set up as a small third party or outside NUVO, or as similarly small
Internet-coupled
server operation within an existing mobile carrier (or land-line) network.
When offered by an
existing mobile carrier to a subscriber with an existing mobile phone, the
system enables a user
to additionally log onto a web-based service to send and receive SMS/MMS
messages with his
PC or other data enabled device. Such a web-based service may also operate to
send and receive
messages identified by a user's land line phone number, even if the user's
land line/fixed phone
is not SMS/MMS/EMS capable. The social messaging hub may be configured to
exchange user
messages with common messaging entities, such as Microsoft Windows Live
Messenger, AIM,
Yahoo, GoogleTalkTm, Twitter, Facebook and others, so that texting mobile
phones and non-
telephony data devices can enjoy substantially similar messaging capabilities.
When offered by
an existing mobile carrier to a subscriber with an existing mobile phone, the
system enables a
user to additionally use a secondary phone number simultaneously with his
primary phone
number to send and receive SMS/MMS/EMS messages with his mobile phone, in
essence
providing a duality of identifications on a single device.
An exemplary social messaging hub for Short Message Service/ Multimedia
Messaging
Service/Enhanced Messaging Service (SMS/MMS/EMS) communications includes an
SMS
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provider, a inbound service coupled to the SMS provider, a database coupled to
the inbound
service and a web server, a Representational State Transfer (REST) service
coupled to the web
server; and a data push server coupled to the REST service. In other aspects
of the social
messaging hub, the data push server includes an interface to a push
notification server, a
notification queue, and a queue listener. Another aspect of the social
messaging hub, the
messaging hub includes a common message conversation queue.
Advantageously the social messaging hub runs software for converting messages
into the
different formats and employed in each of the foregoing messaging
environments, and may
.. include software for filing and maintaining all the text/multi-media
messages of a user for later
or simultaneous access, transmission or retransmission to the user's blogs,
Facebook and other
contacts. The social messaging hub allows a user to send one message across
several social
networks via text messaging, instant messaging (IM) and other Internet
protocol (IP) based
messaging formats to multiple contacts in one operation.
Embodiments of the invention include any type of computerized device,
workstation,
handheld, tablet or laptop computer, or the like configured with software
and/or circuitry (e.g., a
processor) to process any or all of the method operations disclosed herein. In
other words, a
computerized device or a processor that is programmed or configured to operate
as explained
herein is considered an embodiment of the invention.
Other embodiments of the invention that are disclosed herein include software
programs
to perform the steps and operations summarized above and disclosed in detail
below. One such
embodiment comprises a computer program product that has a computer-readable
medium
.. including computer program logic encoded thereon that, when performed in a
computerized
device having a coupling of a memory and a processor and a display, programs
the processor to
perform the operations disclosed herein. Such arrangements are typically
provided as software,
code and/or other data (e.g., data structures) arranged or encoded on a
computer readable
medium such as an optical medium (e.g., CD-ROM), floppy or hard disk or other
a medium such
as firmware or microcode in one or more ROM or RAM or PROM chips or as an
Application
Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). The software or firmware or other such
configurations can
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be installed onto a computerized device to cause the computerized device to
perform the
techniques explained herein. Other configurations include web applications,
browsers, IP
applications and data enabled device applications as will be explained in more
detail.
It is to be understood that the features of the social messaging hub can be
embodied strictly as a software program, as software and hardware, or as
hardware alone such
as within a single processor or multiple processors, or within an operating
system or within a
software application.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-
implemented method for messaging communications with a data enabled device,
the method
comprising: obtaining a plurality of unique identifiers; assigning to a user
of the data enabled
device a unique identifier from the plurality of unique identifiers;
associating the unique
identifier with a plurality of data enabled devices and corresponding data
enabled device
identifiers; registering the unique identifier to data enabled device
identifier associations in a
database; establishing an Internet protocol (IP) connection with each of the
plurality of data
enabled devices; receiving an SMS text message from a message source through a
message
service directed to the user's plurality of data enabled devices having the
registered unique
identifier obtained from the message source; providing the received message
using the
database to identify the destination of message to an inbound service;
establishing a
connection between at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices and
the inbound
service; pushing the message from the inbound service to an application
running on at least
one of the plurality of the data enabled devices configured to receive the SMS
text message;
consolidating message delivery into a common message conversation queue;
intermixing
messages from a plurality of messaging services into the common message
conversation
queue; and wherein obtaining a plurality of unique identifiers includes
obtaining a plurality of
unique identifiers from a provider that is authorized to issue registered
phone numbers.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-
transitory computer storage medium, comprising executable instructions, which
when
executed by a computer, cause the computer to: obtain a plurality of unique
identifiers; assign
to a user of the data enabled device a unique identifier from the plurality of
unique identifiers;
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associate the unique identifier with a plurality of data enabled devices and
corresponding data
enabled device identifiers; register the unique identifier to data enabled
device identifier
association in a database; establish an Internet protocol (IP) connection with
each of the
plurality of data enabled devices; receive an SMS text message from a message
source
.. through a message service directed to the user's plurality of data enabled
devices having the
registered unique identifier obtained from the message source, the message
service delivering
the message to an inbound service for delivery to the data enabled device;
provide the
message using the database to identify the destination of message to the
inbound service;
establish a connection between the at least one of the plurality of data
enabled devices and the
.. inbound service; and push the message from the inbound service to an
application running on
the at least one of the plurality of data enabled devices configured to
receive the SMS text
message consolidate message delivery into a common message conversation queue;
intermix
messages from a plurality of messaging services into the common message
conversation
queue; and wherein obtaining a plurality of unique identifiers includes
obtaining a plurality of
unique identifiers from a provider that is authorized to issue registered
phone numbers.
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PCT/US2011/037190
Attorney Docket Number: MEF11-01PCT
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will
be
apparent from the following more particular description of embodiments of the
invention, as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings and figures in which like reference
characters refer to
the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not
necessarily to scale, with
emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the embodiments, principles
and concepts of the
invention. These and other features of the invention will be understood from
the description and
claims herein, taken together with the drawings of illustrative embodiments,
wherein
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a social messaging hub and network
environment/
messaging infrastructure in accordance with one example embodiment disclosed
herein;
FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the social messaging hub of FIG. 1
including an
embodiment of a system configured for multiple messaging providers;
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a text handling subsystem;
FIG. 4 illustrates details an embodiment of the social messaging hub of FIG. 1
configured
for Twitter messaging;
FIG. 5 illustrates details an embodiment of the social messaging hub of FIG. 1
configured
for IM messaging;
FIG. 6 illustrates details of an embodiment including a push notification
service;
FIGs. 7-9 are flow charts of processing steps performed to register data
enabled devices
and affect social media and SMS messaging among these devices and mobile
phones through a
messaging infrastructure in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A social messaging hub combines text, chat and IM across multiple screens and
enables
users to access social media via SMS from anywhere in the world. The social
messaging hub
enables users to stay socially connected via social media sites regardless of
their geographic
location. The social messaging hub enables users to seamlessly interact with
their favorite social
sites and communication platforms.
Now referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary social messaging hub 100 operates in
network
environment 10 which includes messaging infrastructure 20. The social
messaging hub 100
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includes one or more processors 112a-112n and is coupled to the network
environment 10 and
messaging infrastructure 20 through a firewall 102. The firewall 102 is
typically located at a
social messaging hub 100 hosting facility.
The messaging infrastructure 20 includes, but is not limited to, a Short
Message Service
Center (SMSC) 12, a third party SMS aggregator 14 (also referred to a SMS
aggregator 14), a
billing and provisioning system 16, an SMS Gateway (SMS-GW) 18, social
messaging gateways
22 and a cellular phone infrastructure 28. Other components of the messaging
infrastructure 20
include a Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) 13 and additional SMS-Gateways and
other
SMSCs and billing and provisioning systems provided by additional mobile
carrier service
providers (not shown). The SMSC 12 and the billing and provisioning system 16
are typically
operated by a mobile carrier service provider. The MSC 13 is also typically
operated by a
mobile carrier service provider and found in Europe and other countries
outside the United
States. The social messaging gateways 22 include connections to IIVI services,
for example AOL
instant messenger (AIIVI), Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger Jabber,
Skype, Tencent
QQ, ICQ and GoogleTalk (gTalk), and other social networks such as Facebook and
Twitter.
In one embodiment, the social messaging hub 100 communicates with the systems
in the
messaging infrastructure 20 (e.g., SMSC 12, the third party SMS aggregator 14
and the billing
and provisioning system 16) using various network protocols including the
Short Message Peer-
to-Peer (SMPP) protocol, Signaling Transport (SIGTRAN) protocol or SS7
protocol. The SMPP
protocol is a telecommunications industry protocol for exchanging SMS messages
between SMS
peer entities.
In this embodiment, the link between the social messaging hub 100 and the
messaging
infrastructure 20 is secured by the firewall 102 using a virtual private
network (VPN) connection
with HTTPS using 1024 bit (3DES-SHA1) encryption. Messages are transferred
over SMPP
link 104 and provisioning and single sign on (SSO), XML and SOAP messages and
other control
traffic are interchanged over control link 106. In another embodiment,
messages are transferred
over SIGTRAN (SS7 over IP) depending on the connection (e.g., a connection to
a European
Mobile Operator).
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The social messaging hub 100 is connected via the Internet 25 or a dedicated
connection
to the messaging infrastructure 20 that relays messages between existing
customer equipment,
for example, a mobile phone 29, a data enabled mobile phone 30, a data enabled
WiFi phone 31
and other data enabled devices (not shown) such as a laptop, netbook, tablet
and a smart phone.
The mobile phone 29 can be connected to the social messaging hub 100 over the
cellular phone
infrastructure 28 through the SMSC 12 using an SMS protocol. The MSC 13 is
also connected
to the cellular phone infrastructure 28. The data enabled mobile phone 30 can
be connected to
the social messaging hub 100 over the cellular phone infrastructure 28 using a
data connection
provided by OTA/WAP protocols. A data enabled WiFi phone 31 can be connected
to the social
messaging hub 100 via a WiFi connection to the Internet. It is understood that
a mobile phone
can be data enabled via both a WAP connection and a WiFi connection. The data
enabled WiFi
phone 31 is sometimes referred to as a dual mode phone if it can also connect
over WAP. As
referred to herein, a "non-telephony" device is a data enabled device which
does not incorporate
mobile phone hardware and software and which sends and receives SMS messages
over a IP
channel in contrast to mobile phone 29 which sends and receives SMS messages
over standard
cellular phone control channel.
A laptop personal computer 32 can be connected to the social messaging hub 100
via a
wired Internet 25 connection 36 or a wireless Internet connection (not shown).
Other
mobile/portable data enabled devices (not shown) include but are not limited
to a portable media
players, personal digital assistants, Wi-Fi mobile platforms, pad-tablet
computers, portable e-
Readers, personal computers, portable game players, game consoles and netbook
computers
which can be connected to the social messaging hub 100 via the Internet 25
using a WiFi, wired
or other wireless connection. These devices, the data enabled mobile phone 30
and the data
enabled WiFi phone 31 are collectively referred to as adata enabled device 26
or devices 26 and
these devices generally establish an Internet protocol (IP) session or
connection with the social
messaging hub 100. Some data enabled devices 26 interface with the social
messaging hub 100
using a client browser 37 and other data enabled devices 26 interface with the
social messaging
hub 100 using a client software component (also referred to as a client
application or simply
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"app"). The client browser 37 communication to a corresponding web application
and the client
application (app) are collectively referred to as application 40.
In operation and as described below in more detail, the social messaging hub
100 obtains
a plurality of unique identifiers which in one embodiment, are telephone
numbers acquired
through or serviced by a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC), local
exchange carrier
(LEC) or other provider that is authorized to issue or service registered
phone numbers, and the
set of numbers so issued may be serviced by that carrier's network, another
carrier network or by
a separate entity or sub-entity such as a network unaffiliated virtual
operator (NUVO), that
serves as the service provider to users and functions as a destination carrier
to receive messages
directed to its telephone numbers from the SMS aggregator 14, an SMS operator
(e.g., a mobile
carrier), a content provider or another NUVO, and to provide an Internet
interface for delivery of
the messages to users' data enabled devices 26.
The social messaging hub 100 assigns a user of a data enabled device 26 a
unique
identifier from the plurality of unique identifiers and the social messaging
hub 100 associates the
unique identifier with a data enabled device identifier. The data enabled
device identifier
includes but is not limited to a network address, a Unique Device Identifier
(UDID), a Media
Access Control address (MAC address), a International Mobile Equipment
Identity (IMEI), a
Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID), a Electronic Serial Number (ESN) and a CPU
serial
number, of the data enabled device 26. The social messaging hub 100 registers
the association
between the unique identifier with a data enabled device identifier in a
database. After the user
is assigned a unique identifier, a userid and password is when the application
40 is started.
When the user registers the enabled device 26 and signs-in to an IM service or
social media
account (e.g., AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and GoogleTalk,
Facebook,
Twitter, etc.) the account information is stored, in certain embodiments, on
the user's data
enabled device in a mini database for app. Previously stored login/signon
information can be
retrieved in order to sign on the user automatically.
In one embodiment, the user is given a registered phone number and unique IP
addressable identification. The IP addressable identification is a
connectionless method by
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which the user supplied email address, supplied as part of the registration
process for contact
purposes, is combined with the unique registered phone number. By affecting
such a
combination of two unique identifiers, each supplied by separate parties, a
unique identification
is created that can be located in a connectionless manner on the Internet.
For inbound messages (i.e., sent to the data enabled device 26), the social
messaging hub
100 receives the text message from the messaging infrastructure 20 (e.g.,
message service
SMSC 12, or SMS aggregator 14). The message is directed to the user's data
enabled device 26
having the registered unique identifier obtained from the text message source,
and the social
messaging hub 100 provides the message to an inbound service, establishes a
connection
between a data enabled device 26 and the inbound service and pushes the text
message from the
inbound service to an application or web browser running on the data enabled
device 26.
For outbound messages (i.e., sent from the data enabled device 26). the social
messaging
hub 100 receives the text message from the data enabled device 26 including a
destination
identifier for the message, processing the message and provide the message to
SMS destination
through the messaging infrastructure 20 (e.g., SMSC 12, or SMS aggregator 14)
for delivery to
the message recipient.
The social messaging hub 100 can submit multiple messages in one transmission
using a
1 to many feature in conjunction with the application 40 (i.e., web client or
smart phone app).
The social messaging hub 100 transfers messages between data enabled devices
26 without the
use of the message infrastructure 20 even if phone numbers are used as the
addresses.
Provisioning and SSO are incorporated in the social messaging hub 100 such
that once a
registered phone number and other user information is stored in database 126
connections and
logins can be established automatically.
As described below in conjunction with FIGs. 2-5, the social messaging hub 100
may be
configured to interface and exchange messages with various specialized social
messaging
services, such as AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, GoogleTalk,
Facebook,
Twitter, as well as SMS/MMS-capable mobile phones and smart phones, and
operates such that
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incoming mobile text messages are transparently routed, locally or
internationally, through
existing SMS/MMS delivery organizations in the messaging infrastructure..
More generally, embodiments of the social messaging hub 100 include an
application
which enables a user (sometimes referred to herein as a subscriber) to perform
SMS/MMS/EMS
or chat activities using a data enabled device 26, such as an iPod Touch,
iPad, portable e-Reader,
a personal computer, a portable game player, a game console, a laptop, a
television set or a
netbook computer, all of which can connect to the Internet,. Messaging is
carried out hi-
directionally between the data enabled device 26 (non-telephony device,
smartphone or other
data devices) and other SMS capable devices. The social messaging hub 100 is
implemented
without any add-ons, that is, without requiring the user to attach accessory
electronic devices,
and is implemented via a the social messaging hub 100 that maintains an
Internet connected
server that interfaces with certain wireless messaging facilities in the
messaging infrastructure 20
to establish device-to-wireless communications. In different embodiments, the
social messaging
hub 100 may be a separate dedicated entity, or may be a service entity set up
within a mobile
service provider to service data enabled devices 26 of some of the provider's
subscribers.
Further, the social messaging hub 100 may provide applications for managing
the address books,
messages and account information of the user.
When the social messaging hub 100 is a separate message service center entity,
the social
messaging hub 100 operations may be incorporated by one or more mobile
providers to extend
their subscriber service capabilities and the provider entity may provide
dedicated connections
for affecting coordination between services, call logs and billing for the
affected accounts.
Features of the social messaging hub 100 may be provided within, or as
external hosting
services communicating with an existing mobile network provider as a web based
application
using advanced web capabilities, and may be configured to handle all forms of
messaging for the
subscribers. In such embodiments, a web client application provides the user
with a single
integrated interface wherein the subscriber can view or send SMS/MMS/EMS
messages, tweets
(integrated with Twitter), chat (for which the system supports MSN or AIM or
Yahoo or
GoogleTalk or Facebook or other similar IM service as the chat client), or
status, for example
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Facebook Status. Subscription/Unsubscription operations can be performed from
a web client
running on any data enabled device 26 that supports standard Internet browsers
or from IP based
applications.
FIG. 2 illustrates the architecture of one embodiment of the social messaging
hub 100 for
multiple messaging applications. The social messaging hub 100 includes an SMS
provider 120
which provides the interface to the messaging infrastructure 20 and in
particular in one
embodiment to the SMSC 12, SMS aggregator 14 and (SMS-GW) 18. The SMS provider
120 is
used to send and receive SMS/MMS/EMS messages respectively to and from: a
mobile phone 29
through the cellular phone infrastructure 28 and a data enable device 26 shown
here as laptop
personal computer 32 and a smart phone 50.
The SMS provider 120 is interfaced to a web farm 150 having one or more
servers 152a ¨
152n (collectively referred to as web server 152). The servers 152a ¨ 152n
store the
SMS/MMS/EMS messages received and SMS/MMS/EMS messages to be delivered in
conjunction with database server 125 and database 126. The servers 152a ¨ 152n
also support a
Hub application 42 which runs in conjunction an application 40 on data enabled
device 26, here
laptop 32 or smart phone 50. The web farm 150 is coupled to a database server
125 and
corresponding database 126 which is used to store user information including
the association
between the assigned unique identifiers and data enabled device identifiers.
The social messaging hub 100 further includes a common message conversation
queue
which is interfaced to the database 126 and the message processing engine 128.
The social
messaging hub 100 further includes a Twitter service 142 connected to a
Twitter application
programming interface (API) 202, a Facebook Service 144 connected to a
Facebook API 204,
and an IM Service 146 connected to an IM services API 206. The Hub application
42 provides
support the Twitter service 142, the Facebook Service 144 and the 1M Service
146 and
connection from these services to the applications 40 (including browsers 37
and apps 48)
running on the data enabled devices 26.
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The database server 125 is connected to a message processing engine 128 which
has an
associated message processing database 136. Database server 125 in conjunction
with database
126 primarily stores SMS messages and certain user information and it is used
when interfacing
to the messaging infrastructure 20. Database 136 is used in conjunction with
other messaging
functions such as IM, Chat, etc.
The components of the social messaging hub 100, in one embodiment, are
developed in
C, C++, JAVA or other suitable programming language, and include web
servers, such as
Apache. Microsoft Internet Information Services platform (uIS) or other
suitable server systems
operating on a UNIX, Microsoft or other operating system platform to store and
communicate
messages to Internet devices. An exemplary software framework for the social
messaging hub
100 includes the following:
The Hub application 42 on servers 152a-152n runs on a .Net framework and is
hosted on
a Microsoft IIS7 system on a windows 2008 server.
The database 126 is a relational database implemented in this embodiment using
a 2008
SQL Server, and the message processing engine 128 is implemented as a COMET
server, using
Frozen Mountain's COMET engine (using .net framework on IIS7).
The SMS provider 120 is a C++ server application which interacts with the
messaging
infrastructure 20.
The Twitter service 142 is a .Net WCF based service which communicates with
Twitter
via a Twitter API 202 to provide the Twitter feed to the applications 40.
Implementations for specific social messaging entities and devices are
schematically
illustrated in FIG. 2 which, for purposes of discussion, reference the above-
described software
and other communications elements. It is understood, however, that the
servers, interfaces and
other hardware and software elements of each system may vary within a broad
range, so long as
the system is well integrated with its operative components and is configured
to communicate
effectively with the other messaging entities involved.
In operation, the SMS provider 120 determines from the destination of a
received
message where to route the message through the messaging infrastructure 20.
The message may
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be routed through to one of the SMSC 12, the SMS aggregator 14 the (SMS-GW) 18
or other
communications entity, operated by a mobile operator, aggregator or some other
intermediary.
The social messaging hub 100 consolidates message delivery into a common
message
conversation queue 130 and intermixes messages from other messaging services,
including
presence activity and geographic location data into the common message
conversation queue
130. This consolidation, allows the social messaging hub 100 to enable
personal replies to be
threaded back to the user's social inbox so individual chat conversations can
continue across
multiple data enabled devices to provide multi-screen messaging. Texting
conversations follow
users from the Facebook App to their smartphone or tablet and vice versa. A
user can read a
message from anywhere and respond on any device with the same phone number.
Chat based
systems, such as Facebook, are operated using the common message conversation
queue 130 to
facilitate combined common message conversations.
When used to support multiple mobile network providers, advantageously, the
social
messaging hub 100 is configurable for each provider. An instance of the social
messaging hub
100 is set up for each provider and includes separate instances of the
database 126, Twitter
service 142, Facebook service 144, IM services 146, message processing
engine128 and the SMS
provider 120. It is understood that the various server functions of the social
messaging hub
100could be run on a single computer or multiple computers, storage could be
provided by
individual storage media or a storage area network.
FIG. 3 illustrates further details of the text message-handling subsystem of
the social
messaging hub 100. A web client 38 operating on a data enabled device 26,
connects to the
social messaging hub 100. After user login and authentication, the Hub
application 42 initiates a
persistence connection (i.e., using the same Transmission Control Protocol
(TCP) connection to
send and receive multiple Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requests
/responses) to the
message processing engine 128. As described above, the application 40 can be
either a web
client 38 (e.g., browser) or an app running on a data enabled device 26.
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Outbound SMS/MMS messages are sent to the SMS provider 120 which in turn
relays
the message to the messaging infrastructure 20 (e.g., SMS Aggregator 14 or the
SMSC 12). It is
the responsibility, for example, of the SMSC 12 to send this message to the
receiving party's
(addressee's) device. Inbound SMS/MMS/EMS messages for a user of the social
messaging hub
100 are received by the SMS provider 120 from the SMSC 12. The SMS provider
120 relays the
message to an inbound service 124 which stores the message in the social
messaging hub 100
database and also relays it to the message processing engine 128. The message
processing engine
128 sends this message to the subscribed application 40 if an active session
is available. If an
active session is not available, the messages are stored in queue for delivery
upon next login of
the recipient
Now referring to FIG. 4, in one embodiment, a social messaging hub 100
includes the
Twitter service 142 subsystem and the Twitter API 202. The Twitter service 142
subsystem can
provide a web or application interface, Twitter Hub Application 132. In
operation, the
application 40 on the data enabled device 26 connects to the Twitter hub
application 132. In the
case of PC, the Twitter hub application 132 provides a web application to run
in conjunction
with a browser on the data enabled device 26. In one embodiment, the user uses
a short code
(e.g., 40404) and sends an SMS message "Start" in establish a connection with
the Twitter
Service 142. The user then can proceed to send and receive "Tweets" via SMS
messaging.
When used from a data enabled device 26 operating a web browser, a web client
38
connects to the Twitter Service 142 through the web server 152 running the
Twitter Hub
application 132 component of the Hub application 42. After user login and
authentication, the
user opens a Twitter Panel, and the Twitter Hub application 132 displays
recent Twitter feeds to
the user. The web server 152 sends the Twitter user information to the Twitter
service 142 (also
referred to a SocialServicePolling web service) which polls the Twitter
service through a Twitter
API 202 periodically for feed updates. When a new feed is received from
Twitter, the Twitter
service 142 forwards the feed to the web server 152 through the inbound
service 124. The
inbound service 124 relays this feed to the message processing engine 128
which sends the feed
to the subscribed web client 38 if it is connected.
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The social messaging hub 100 implementation of Twitter messaging
advantageously
enables users of the social messaging hub 100 to receive the 'Tweets' of the
people that they are
following on Twitter via SMS on a global basis with no regard to national
country borders. In
conventional implementations service, a person can only receive the Tweets of
the people they
are following on Twitter via SMS within the home/native country of their
mobile carrier
provider. For example, if a local carrier is the providing mobile carrier for
a user, once the
person leaves the US, the Tweets delivered by SMS directed to the user's
mobile phone are not
delivered. This is due partly to cost, partly business contracts (lack of
contracts between Twitter
and mobile carriers) and technology limitations.
Using the assigned unique identifier, the user can use multiple devices in
conjunction
with the unique identifier to send and receive messages worldwide without
having to constantly
change messaging services. The Facebook service 144 operates in a manner
similar to the
Twitter Service 142 described above in conjunction with FIG. 4. The common
message
conversation queue 130 enables personal replies to be threaded back to the
user's social inbox so
individual chat conversations can continue across multiple data enabled
devices to provide multi-
screen messaging. The user can also use a Group Message feature by sending
text and chat
messages out to Facebook, IM's and through SMS to contacts in the user's
mobile address book.
Texting conversations follow users from the Facebook App to their smartphone
or tablet and vice
versa. A user can read a message from anywhere and respond on any device with
the same phone
number.
In another embodiment (not shown), the social messaging hub 100 provides the
ability to
send and receive SMS message with a user's own phone number from within the
user's
Facebook account. A Facebook application executes within Facebook to utilize
SMS with the
user's assigned phone number for sending and receiving SMS. The Facebook
application logs
onto servers 152 in the social messaging hub 100, establishing an 'IP session'
while the user is
within Facebook. Operationally this is similar to when the user is connected
to the social
messaging hub 100 from a data enabled device 26 with an IP connection, but the
messages are
received from and delivered to the Facebook application. The connection of the
Facebook
application to the social messaging hub 100 allows a Facebook user to send and
receive SMS
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from within Facebook without having to exit Facebook. Other users in the
outside world are not
aware of whether the user is in Facebook or on their phone or other data
enabled device 26.
Now referring to FIG. 5, in another embodiment, a social messaging hub 100
includes an
Instant Messaging (IM) service 146 and an IM Hub application 148 component of
the Hub
application 42. In operation, the web client 38 connects to the web server 152
which is running
the IM Hub application 148. After user login and authentication, and the user
opens an IM Panel
(supplied by the social messaging hub 100) in the web client, the user is
authenticated by the IM
web site. Once authenticated, the user can chat with friends through the IM
panel. The chat
messages are not handled directly by the social messaging hub 100 but are
handled by IM
services 146. Only the social messaging hub 100 web page is used to send and
view the chat
messages.
Additionally, presence information with regard to the user's IM service
address book is
communicated through the social messaging hub 100 IM service 146 and displayed
in the user's
address book for the IM service. The IM services include IM communication
using for example
AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and GoogleTalk,
Now referring to FIG. 6, another embodiment of a social messaging hub 100
operates
with smart phones 50 and other data enabled devices 26 having additional
messaging and
application features supported by the mobile carrier provider and the phone
manufacturer.
Examples of such smart phones include smart phones running the AndroidTM
operating system
and Apple Corporation's iPhones and iPods. The social messaging hub 100
includes a set of
Representational State Transfer (REST) web services 156 (also referred to as
REST web services
156). The social messaging hub 100 further includes a notification queue 162
and a queue
listener 164 which is interfaced to an external Push notification server 168.
The smart phone client / app 48 communicates with the social messaging hub 100
via the
REST web services 156. The first time the smart phone 50 runs the smart phone
app 48, the
application requests an Auth Token from the REST service. The Auth Token is
delivered by the
web service via the Push Notification Server 168. This Auth Token is stored by
the smart phone
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app 48 and passed to the Push Notification service with every subsequent call
for
verification/security purpose.
After getting the Auth Token, the smart phone app 48 requests a telephone
number. This
number is then used by the smart phone app 48 to send and receive SMS/MMS/EMS
messages.
The REST web services 156 deliver a unique identifier (e.g., a telephone
number) and also create
a User login account that can be used for logging onto the web/ application.
The inbound
messages enter the social messaging hub 100 through the SMS provider 120,
which connects to
the inbound service 124. The inbound service 124 pushes out a Message Received
notification
via the Push Notification Server 168 using the notification queue 162 and the
queue listener 164.
When the smart phone app 48 gets the Message Received Notification, it
retrieves the message
from the social messaging hub 100 through a connection to the social messaging
hub 100 REST
services 156. All the notifications are delivered to the Notification Queue
162, from where they
are picked up by the Queue Listener 164 and delivered to the Push Notification
Server 168. The
Hub application 42 can initiate a request to upload contacts from the smart
phone 50. This
request goes through the notification server 168 and the smart phone app 48
uploads the contacts
by calling the REST service 156. Uploaded contacts allow the social messaging
hub 100 to cross
reference the contacts allowing a user to send a message via name and be
notified of a received
message by name instead of phone number. Additionally locator/tracking
features by name are
enabled by contact information. Outbound messages are process by the REST web
services 156
as part of the Hub application 42. The messages are transferred to the SMS
provider 120 for
delivery through the messaging infrastructure 20.
To insure that a text message is delivered to the right device and to prevent
anyone
spoofing the address when a push notification is not available, the social
messaging hub 100
architecture utilizes a session based communications model requiring
authentication by login
with userid and password registered devices or a non-registered device is
being used (e.g. ¨ a
PC), Thus, it is virtually impossible to have a combination of an
unregistered, unauthorized, or
unrecognized device receive messages without some form of legitimate
userid/password
combination to establish the session.
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In one specific embodiment supporting the Apple iOS environment (i.e., Apple
iOS
devices, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad etc.), the Push Notification Server 168 is
an Apple Push
Notification Server. When used with a smart phone such as an iPhone. a Droid a
Windows
Mobile -based phone, or any phone having a GPS chip, the system may also be
configured with a
safety or monitoring application. In one such configuration, the system
accesses the GPS chip of
the mobile device, and if the user or account holder (such as a parent paying
the telephone bill)
so elects, the social messaging hub 100 client application may be set to
disable the
sending/receiving of SMS/MMS. In one embodiment, the social messaging hub 100
in
conjunction with application 40 provides the geographic distance of a user's
contacts from the
user's present location. In addition, use of cell tower triangulation data in
combination of IF
geo- location estimation provides a 3-way or 2-way or 1-way estimation of
geographic location.
In FIG. 7, flowchart 700 diagrams the overall process of the transmission and
reception
of SMS messages facilitated by the social messaging hub 100. In step 710 the
social messaging
hub 100, obtains a plurality of unique identifiers. In step 720, a user of the
data enabled device
26 is assigned a unique identifier from the plurality of unique identifiers.
In step 730, the unique
identifier is associated with a data enabled device identifier, and in step
740, the unique identifier
to data enabled device identifier association is registered in the database
126.
In step 750, a message is received from a message source through a message
service in
the messaging infrastructure 20 directed to the user's data enabled device 26
having the
registered unique identifier obtained from the message source. In step 760,
the message is
provided by the SMS Provider 120 using the database 126 to identify the
destination of message
to an inbound service 124. In step 770, a connection is established between
the data enabled
device 26 and the inbound service 124, and finally in step 780, the message is
pushed from the
inbound service 124 to an application running 40 on the data enabled device.
FIG. 8 diagrams the overall process of the transmission of SMS messages
facilitated by
the social messaging hub 100. In step 810 the social messaging hub 100
receives a message
from the data enabled device including a destination identifier for the
message. In step 820, the
message is processed in the SMS provider 120 which determines the best
delivery route through
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the messaging infrastructure 20, and in step 830, the message is provided to
the appropriate
message service in the messaging infrastructure 20 for delivery to the message
recipient
indicated by a SMS destination identifier.
FIG. 9 illustrates additional steps performed by the social messaging hub 100.
In step
910, in the case of certain devices the subscribing process includes registers
the application 40 to
receive push notifications. For example, the app running on an iPhone or iPod
Touch is
registered to receive Apple Push Notifications as part of the process to
receive SMS messages on
the iPhone or iPod Touch.
In one embodiment, the step of assign a user a unique identifier includes
creating a User
login account for logging onto the social messaging hub application 100 at
step 920. A user
supplied email address supplied as part of the registration process for
contact purposes is
combined with the unique registered phone number. Such a combination of two
unique
identifiers, each supplied by separate parties provides a unique
identification that can be located
in a connectionless manner on the Internet.
In step 930, message delivery is consolidated into a single common message
conversation
queue, followed by step 940 where the intermixing messaging services and
presence activity data
are intermixed into the single common message conversation queue 130.
While configurations of the system and method have been particularly shown and
described with references to configurations thereof, it will be understood by
those skilled in the
art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without
departing from the
scope of the invention. As an example, the order of processing steps in the
flow charts is not
limited to the order shown herein. Accordingly, the present invention is not
limited by the
example configurations provided above.
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