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FORM 2
THE PATENT ACT 1970
(39 OF 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2005
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(SEE SECTION 10 AND RULE 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
“SMS BASED CLIENT AND SERVER APPLICATION”
APPLICANTS:
Name Nationality Address
Eterno Infotech Private
Limited.
Indian 35/1, Prerena Chambers, Vasavi Temple
Road, VV Puram, Basavangudi,
Bangalore-560004, Karnataka, India.
The following specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this
invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:-
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BACKGROUND
Technical Field
[0001] The embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to mobile communication, and
more particularly, to an application running on mobile devices.
5
Description of the Related Art
[0002] The usage of mobile phones has become very active along with daily activity
content providing/retrieval services. For instance, when one needs information regarding
cricket scores, he sends SMS to the service provider and acquires the information,
10 wherein the SMS’s are of exclusive text messages and/or coded (e.g., CRICKETSCORES-
58333). After sending the SMS code, the user may receive an instant reply with
the current cricket scores. This type of service can be implemented in relation to many
activities that users are interested in (e.g., News, Health care tips, Astrology etc.).
[0003] For a user to access content, the user has to memorize the text sequence to obtain
15 an automated response and the number to which the sequence has to be sent. Certain
service providers provide services on the SIM card, providing the user with automated
services, by which the user can use a menu to send an automated message to a number
specified by the service provider, to obtain automated responses. For example, a service
provider “A” may provide a SIM card to a user, with a pre-determined number and text
20 sequence stored. When the user selects the option, the application provided by the service
provider on the SIM card creates an SMS with the text sequence and sends the same to
the number.
[0004]
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SUMMARY
[0005] In view of the forgoing, the embodiments herein disclose a method of generating
a Short Message Service (SMS) for content retrieval using a client and server application
by a user. The SMS is a data bearer of the information content. The method comprises of
updating a menu by a service manager, the server generating 5 an SMS based on the menu
update, the server sending an SMS to the user, the client equipment receiving and
identifying the SMS, the client equipment checking the type of action to be performed on
the menu and the client equipment modifying the menu according to the information
received in the message. The type of action may include creating/deleting/rearranging a
10 menu item or menu list, updating a menu item or creating/updating SMS configuration or
the like. The method further comprises of organizing the information content into
hierarchical menu items in menu lists, mapping multiple levels of menu items and menu
lists to corresponding contents by the server, the server providing the menu details at
each menu level to the client equipment, the user equipment generating Pull SMS on
15 receiving an indication from the user and the server generating a Reply SMS based on the
content code. The user can subscribe and unsubscribe for the service by sending SMS to
content/menu management server. The user can also subscribe for receiving periodic
content push to user equipment. SMS for menu updation from client application is in the
binary format and responses from the server can be at least one of a Unicode, text and
20 binary format for different preferred languages. A Menu Push SMS format is a
proprietary binary based format which packs the contents of the menu and has headers for
segmentation and reassembly of the menu lists information to support transmission over
multiple Short Message Service Packet Data Units (SMS PDUs) from server to the client
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application. The Menu Push SMS formats supports modification of the menu by
performing at least one of creating a menu list, deleting the menu lists, adding menu
items, deleting the menu items, rearranging menu items and menu lists and updating the
menu items. The client application includes a setting for language and location prompt
for the user, a multilevel content menu classified with categories, 5 provides the menu
upgrade over SMS push, supports synchronous and asynchronous retrieval of the content
for different users, provides persistent storage of previous content retrieval responses.
The server tracks the user location and performs menu upgradation using Push SMS,
provides a user interface for uploading the contents to the server, provides upgrades to
10 the client application, enables the user equipment to create and modify the menu items.
[0006] Embodiments further comprise of information content in the server comprising a
content code for the user to access the information, an SMS code to handle replies to the
user from different content providers, a phone number to call on the click, a web address
to launch on click by the user, the information content accessible with the content code
15 by a content provider receiving the SMS code, a reference to third party content, and a
mechanism to access the third party content. The Pull SMS comprises of a content
descriptor and a client state descriptor. The content descriptor includes a content code and
additional parameters entered by the user and the client state descriptor includes the client
menu version, language preferred by the user, and the location of the user.
20 [0007] Embodiments herein further disclose a system for generating a Short Message
Service (SMS) using a client and server application for content retrieval by a user. An
SMS is data-bearer of the information content and the system comprises at least a means
adapted for updating a menu, generating an SMS on updation of the menu, sending the
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SMS to the user, identifying the SMS, the client application to check the type of action to
be performed and to modify the menu according to the SMS. The type of action may
include creating/deleting/rearranging a menu item or menu list, updating a menu item or
creating/updating SMS configuration or the like. The system further comprising at least
one means adapted for organizing the information contents into hierarchical 5 menu items
in menu lists, mapping multiple levels of menu items and menu lists to corresponding the
contents, providing the menu details at each level to the client equipment by the server,
the user equipment generating pull SMS on receiving an indication from the user, and the
server generating a Reply SMS based on the content. The user can subscribe and
10 unsubscribe for the service by sending SMS to content/menu management server. The
user can also subscribe for receiving periodic content push to user equipment. SMS for
menu updation from client application is in the binary format and responses from the
server can be at least one of a Unicode, text and binary format for different preferred
languages. The contents of the client menu are packed by a Menu Push SMS format and
15 the Menu Push SMS supports modification of the menu comprising at least one means for
performing one of creating a menu list, deleting the menu lists, adding menu items,
deleting the menu items, and updating the menu items. The client application includes a
setting for language and location prompt for the user, multilevel content menu classified
with categories, providing the menu upgrade over SMS push, supporting synchronous
20 and asynchronous retrieval of the content for different users, and providing persistent
storage of previous content retrieval responses. The server tracks the user location and
performs the menu upgradation using the Push SMS. The server further provides a user
interface for uploading the contents to the server, provides the client application upgrade,
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enables the user equipment to create and modify the menu items. The information content
in the server comprises a content code for the user to access the information, an SMS
code to handle replies to the user from different content providers, a phone number to call
on the click, a web address to launch on a click by the user, the information content
accessible with the content code by a content provider receiving 5 the SMS code, a
reference to third party content, and a mechanism to access the third party content. The
Pull SMS comprises of a content descriptor and a client state descriptor. The content
descriptor includes a content code and additional parameters entered by the user and the
client state descriptor comprises of the client menu version, language preferred by the
10 user and the location of the user.
[0008] Embodiments herein further disclose a client application installed in the user
equipment. The client application comprises of a user interface module for showing
different screens to the user and managing the user actions and navigation, a menu parser
and navigator for parsing a menu format and extracting elements for menu lists and menu
15 items, a message handler for sending and receiving SMSs, a menu list manager with
storage for receiving Push SMS from memory, and a library for addressing needs of
applications requiring language support.
[0009] Embodiments herein further disclose a content/management server, which is a
web-server for sending and receiving SMSs. The server comprises of a Pull SMS
20 processor for receiving a Pull SMS from a client application, a content code mapper for
mapping a content code and additional parameters from a content descriptor, a content
database for providing content organization, a client state tracker for checking version of
menu in a client state descriptor and verifying for the menu updation, a content menu list
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manager for mapping the content organization to the client menu representation, an SMS
dispatcher for sending at least one of a reply SMS and a menu push SMS, and a server
user interface for performing at least one of adding, deleting, modifying the contents, the
client menu lists and menu items.
5
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood from the following
detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the various modules involved in a content
10 retrieval service in a mobile application, in accordance with the embodiments disclosed
herein;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting the architecture of a Client Application, in
accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting the architecture of content/menu management
15 server, in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein;
[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram depicting a method of updating a menu list in a
user equipment using a web-interface in accordance with the embodiments disclosed
herein;
[0015] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram depicting the method of generating a message by
20 the content/menu management server on a menu upgradation, in accordance with the
embodiments disclosed herein;
[0016] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram depicting the method of modifying the menu in
the user equipment in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein;
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[0017] FIG. 7 illustrates the architecture of the click and get SMS service based on client
application and a content/menu management server application in accordance with the
embodiments disclosed herein; and
[0018] FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting the Operation and Maintenance Server (O &
M server) User Interface in accordance with e 5 mbodiments disclosed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] The embodiments disclosed herein and the various features and advantageous
10 details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments
that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following
description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are
omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments disclosed herein. The
examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which
15 the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in
the art to practice the embodiments disclosed herein. Accordingly, the examples should
not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments disclosed herein.
[0020] Embodiments herein disclose an automatic SMS generation application by
providing an option of upgrading the menu using a client server application and a server.
20 Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 8, where similar
reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures,
there are shown preferred embodiments.
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[0021] Embodiments herein disclose a click and get SMS client and server application
for content retrieval by mobile users. The service offers simple navigation through
multiple level menu lists on a mobile handset. A click at selected item leads to triggering
a SMS which in turn gets a response from the server that 5 has the content in Indian
language. E.g. a user would go through a multiple list like this to get his daily forecast.
Astrology-Aries-Daily. The application uses Unicode or English SMS as data-bearer for
the service, with multiple levels of menu with categories for easy navigation at the
mobile client. And also, the entire menu presented to the end-user on mobile client can be
10 modified over the air using a web interface. FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram depicting
the various modules of a “click and send SMS” mobile application with the involved
network elements in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein. The network
comprises of a user equipment 101, content/menu management server 103, third party
content 104, user interface 105 and a service manager 106. A client application 102 is
15 installed in the user equipment 101 by a means as pre-burn, GRPS, infrared, Bluetooth or
the like. The client application 102 provides setting for promoting the language and
location of the user at first use and further modification during consequent use, a
multilevel content look up menu with categories, content grouping to multilevel lists,
support for synchronous and asynchronous content retrieval for different user
20 requirements and persistent storage of previous content retrieval responses. SMS is used
as a data bearer for the content. The content/menu management server 103 reply to SMSs
from the user by providing appropriate content in preferred language by tracking the user
state as location, language menu version, firm version and the like and performs menu
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upgrade for incoming content requests. The content/menu management server 103
provides user interface 105 for uploading contents to the server 103 and grouping the
contents under the content lists which can be mapped to menu list at user side. Further,
the content/menu management server 103 provides client application 102 upgrade, phone
emulator to create and modify menu and keep track of existing 5 menu versions. The
content/menu management server 103 gets information from the user interface 105 and a
third party content 104. The user equipment 101 exchanges information with content
server 103 in a bidirectional manner. The service manager 106 controls the menu and can
make changes to the menu using the user interface 105 present on the content/menu
10 management server 103. The request from the user can be text or Unicode message and
the response from the server 103 can be in Unicode or text or binary format.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting the architecture of the client application, in
accordance with the embodiment disclosed herein. The client application 102 includes an
application user interface module 201, menu parser and navigator module 202, message
15 handler 203, a menu list manager 204 with a memory 205 for storage and a library
module 206. The application user interface 201 shows different screens to user and
manages user actions and navigation. Further, the application user interface 201 uses the
menu parser and navigator 202 to obtain the necessary elements for display of menu lists.
The client application 102 needs to be provided with menu details at each level. Each
20 item of the menu list, called as Menu item, includes title and display on client navigation,
action on selection, SMS code, content code for accessing information, phone number to
call on a click, web address to launch on a click by the user, sub menu reference and
parameter list with type and user prompts. The actions which can be selected by the user
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includes show submenu, send SMS, wait for reply, get additional parameters from user
before sending SMS, place a call to a given number, launch a web page and so the like.
Further, the application user interface 201 prompts user action based on action elements
of menu items and performs user parameter entry. The menu parser and navigator 202
parse the menu format and extract the elements for menu lists 5 and menu items. Further,
menu parser and navigator 202 supports the navigation logic using the Action, Sub Menu
Reference elements of the menu item and generates the Pull SMS for content retrieval.
The pull SMS generated by the client application 102 includes two parts as content
descriptor and client state descriptor. The content descriptor includes content code,
10 additional parameters entered by the user and the client state descriptor includes client
menu version, language and location of the user. The Pull SMS is sent to the SMS code
when the action is Send SMS. The message handler 203 manages sending and receiving
SMSs with required port numbers, sending of Pull SMS, detects the Reply SMS, Menu
push SMS and hands over to Navigator 202 and Menu List Manager 204. The Menu Push
15 format is a proprietary binary, Type Length Value (TLV) based format that packs the
contents of the Client Menu. The Push SMS includes headers for segmentation and
reassembly of menu lists information to support transmission over multiple SMS PDUs
from “Server” 103 to “client application” 102. The Menu Push SMS format supports the
operators as Create Menu (adding a new menu list), Delete Menus (removing one or
20 many Menu List), Add/Delete/Update/Rearrange Menu Items. An instance of the Menu
Push message can support a combination of the operations. The Menu List Manager 204
implements proprietary protocol for receiving the “Menu Push SMS” from the server 103
and manages persistent memory 205 for the menu lists with the menu items and provides
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retrieval of menu from memory 205 for the navigator 202. The library 206 addresses all
needs of client applications 102 requiring the language support. The library is J2ME
library providing common classes for J2ME applications for supporting various
languages.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting the architecture 5 of content/menu
management server, in accordance with the embodiment disclosed herein. The
content/menu management server 103 includes Pull SMS Processor 301, Content Code
Mapper 302, SMS dispatcher 303, Content Database 304, Content Menu List Manager
305, Client State Tracker 306, Subscription Manager 307 and server user interface 202.
10 The Pull SMS Processor 301 receives the Pull SMS from the client application 102 in
user equipment 101 and hands over the Content Descriptor in Pull SMS to the Content
Code Mapper 302 and the Client State Descriptor to Client State Tracker 306. The
Content Code Mapper 302 maps the Content Code used by the client to access
information and the Additional Parameters from the Content Descriptor to appropriate
15 Reply SMS. In case of third party content 104, the Content Code Mapper 302 maps the
Contents from a third party back-end. The Content Database 304 provides content
organization at the server. The information content at the server 103 is organized in
accordance with the desired navigation at the mobile client application 102. The multiple
levels of desired menu map to hierarchical organization of corresponding content at the
20 server 103. Each information node includes a content code, an SMS code, a phone
number to call on a click, a Web Address to launch on a click and may contain a
reference to a third party content 104 and a mechanism to access the third party content
104. The Client State Tracker 306 verifies if the user has a subscription for the SMS
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service and if the user has a subscription, then a subscription manager 307 manages the
subscription feature by providing periodic SMS push to the user. The Client State Tracker
306 checks the version of the menu at the client application 102 in the Client State
Descriptor and decides if the user menu needs an update. If an update is required, then
Client State Tracker 306 transfers the upgrade to client menu 5 by using the Menu Push
SMS. The Content Menu List Manager 305 maps the Content Organization to Client
Menu Representation and provides elements for making Menu Push SMS. The client
needs to be provided with menu details at each level. The SMS Dispatcher 303 handles
sending Reply SMS or Menu Push SMS with appropriate interfaces to bulk SMS
10 providers or operator Short Message Service Centers (SMSCs). The server User Interface
105 may Add/Delete/Modify/Rearrange contents, Add/Delete/Modify Client Menu lists
and items, and report statistics on user database and content access.
[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram depicting the process of updating a menu list in
an user equipment using a web-interface in accordance with the embodiments disclosed
15 herein. The service manager 106 can update (401) a Menu item in a menu list using a
web-interface. The content/menu management server 103 generates (402) a message on
the basis of updates to the menu. The server 103 then sends (403) the message to the User
equipment 101 targeted to client application 102 and further the client application 102
modifies (404) the menu list according to the message from the server 103. The various
20 actions in method 400 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or
simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 4 may be
omitted.
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[0025] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram depicting the method of generating a message by
the content/management server on a menu upgradation, in accordance with the
embodiments disclosed herein. The server 103 retrieves (501) menu object from memory
205 and checks (502) if there is a change in the primary keys of the 5 menu. If there is a
change, then a further check (503) is performed to check if any change exists in the menu
items. If there is no change in the primary keys of the menu, the server then performs a
further check to check (504) is there any rearrangement or deletions in the menu. If there
is a change in the menu items or menu due to change in primary keys of menu or
10 rearrangement or deletions in the menu, then the server 103 determines (505) different
upgrade requests from the client and packs (506) the upgrades requests in sequence of
options with the related data. The server 103 then splits (507) the upgrade request to
multiple SMS units with unique upgrade IDs. Further, the server 103 sends (508) the
messages to the user equipment 101 for updation on the client application. If there is no
15 change in the menu items or menu, then the process is terminated (509). The various
actions in method 500 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or
simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 5 may be
omitted.
[0026] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram depicting the method of modifying the menu in
20 the user equipment in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein. The user
equipment 101 receives (601) messages from the content/menu management server 103.
The client application 102 in User equipment 101 then checks (602) if all parts of the
SMS are received. If all parts are not received, then User equipment 101 continues
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receiving (601) messages from server 103. If all the parts of the message are received, the
client application 102, reassembles (603) message using a unique message identifier. The
client application 102 then checks (604) for the type of action to be performed in the
message received from the Server 103 and further read (605) the commands associated
with the data. The type of action may include creating/deleting/rearranging 5 a menu item
or menu list, updating a menu item or creating/updating SMS configuration or the like.
The User equipment 101 then performs (606) suitable actions to update the menu
according to changes reported in the message. The various actions in method 600 may be
performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some
10 embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 6 may be omitted.
[0027] FIG. 7 illustrates the architecture of the click and get SMS service based on
mobile client application and a content/menu management server in accordance with the
embodiments disclosed herein. The Client application 102 is a Mobile Information
Device Profile (MIDP 2.0) user equipment 101 application and the sever 103 is a web15
server receiving and sending Short Message Services (SMS) through a code, either a
short coder or long code. The client application 102 can be directed in the user equipment
101 by pre-burning, downloading via GRPS, downloading through infrared/Bluetooth or
the like. The Client Application 102 includes an application user interface 201 for
showing different screens to user and managing user actions and navigation, a menu
20 parser navigator 202 for parsing the menu format and extracting the elements for menu
lists and menu items, a message handler 203 for sending and receiving SMSs with
required port numbers, a menu list manager with memory 205 for receiving the Menu
Push SMS from the server 103 and managing the menu items in menu lists, and a library
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providing all needs of client application 102 needing language support. The
Content/Menu Management Server 103 includes a Pull SMS processor 301 for receiving
Pull SMS and handing over the Content Descriptor to the Content Code Mapper 302 and
Client State Descriptor to the Client State Tracker 306, a Content Code Mapper 302 to
map the content code and additional parameters from 5 the Content Descriptor to
appropriate Reply SMS, a Content Database 304 for providing Content Organization, a
Client State Tracker 306 for checking the version of the menu at the user in the client
State Descriptor and verifying the need for an update, a Content Menu List Manager 305
for providing elements for preparing of Menu Push SMS, a SMS dispatcher for handling
10 Reply SMS or Menu push SMS with appropriate interfaces to bulk SMS providers, a
server user interface 202 for adding/deleting/modifying contents, client menu lists and
menu items, and for reporting statistics on user database and content access and a
subscription manager 307 for handling the subscription of the service. The subscription
manager 307 provides periodic SMS push to the user precluding the user from sending
15 request message each time. The client application 102 and server modules work with the
formats and methodology used for content organization, grouping for menu
representation, and SMS contents for Pull, Reply and Push for menu upgrades to achieve
the SMS service implementation. Alternative to the actual content, the information node
may contain a reference to third party content and a mechanism to access the contents.
20 [0028] FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting the Operation and Maintenance Server (O &
M server) User Interface in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. The O&M
server user interface 801 includes a management module 802, client configuration 803
and a reports generation 804. The management module 802 further consists of a menu
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management module 805, a client firmware management module 806, and a Short
Message Service Center (SMSC) connectivity management module 807. The menu
management module 805 provides menu manager for each opted language, creates and
maintains versions of menu, generate initialization file for any menu that goes as default
menu for the user and provides ability to push the menu upgrade 5 to users. A menu editor
is present central to the process of Menu Management 805, which allows the service
manager to navigate the menu in user equipment 101, for instance, mobile screen and to
perform the operation of add/delete/modify the Menu list and Menu Item. The Client
Firmware Management Module 806 manages the client software upgrades and allows the
10 service manager to upload new versions permitting the backend to handle the upgrade
requests from users. The Client Firmware Management Module 806 can be used in case
of major application software upgrades. The SMSC Connectivity Management Module
807 manages the configuration of the SMS connectivity with backend vis-à-vis protocols
like Hypertext Transfer Protocol HTTP/Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) and the
15 required Uniform Resource Locator (URL)/Login details. The Client Configuration
Module 803 manages the basic SMS connectivity of the user. The SMS short code and
keyword where the SMS service is running can be managed by Client Configuration 803.
For instance, an application using the short code ‘5111’ can be shifted to ‘5222’ using the
Client Configuration Module 803 by sending simple upgradation messages to the client
20 application 102. The Reports Generation Module 804 supports report generation of
content Access statistics for a given date range, user base report, individual user access
statistics and content code user statistics. The content access statistics may be on daily,
weekly or monthly based, filtering based on possible language or specific content code.
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The user base report includes all user bases giving general information with aggregate
access counts, active users for the previous month, or users of subscription services. The
individual user access statistics include the content accessed by the user, how many times
the content is accessed and the content code user statistics include which users are
accessing the content, filtering possible by 5 region and supporting one month data.
[0029] The client application is built on a unique language rendering technology where a
rendering engine supports most opted languages in a library which can fit in a single
downloadable mobile application. The client application is available in many platforms
for instance, Symbian C++, or Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME), and is portable to any
10 platform supporting application development in C or Java. The Click-and–Get SMS
technology can be coupled with compact language rendering engines to help SMS
content owners to reach out to more users in the language of their choice. Further, the
SMS upgradeability makes the application very flexible.
[0030] As can be appreciated, the embodiments disclosed herein allow content retrieval
15 using SMS as a data-bearer with multiple levels of upgradable/changeable menu with
categories offering easy navigation at user equipment. Also it is to be understood that the
invention as described here is not limited to this precise embodiment and that various
changes and modifications may be affected therein without departing from the original
scope or spirit of present invention.
20 [0031] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the
general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge,
readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without
departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications
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should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents
of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology
employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while
the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those
skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein 5 can be practiced with
modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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CLAIMS
What is claimed is
1. A method of generating a Short Message Service (SMS) for content retrieval
using a client and server application by an user, wherein said SMS is data-bearer of said
information content, said 5 method comprising steps of:
a service manager updating a menu in said server application ;
said server generating an SMS on updation of said menu;
said server sending said SMS to user equipment of said user;
said client application identifying said SMS;
10 said client application checking type of action to be performed; and
said client application modifying said menu according to said SMS.
2. The method, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
said server organizing said information content into hierarchical menu items in
15 said menu list;
said server mapping multiple levels of menu items and menu lists to
corresponding said contents;
said server providing said menu details at each level to said client application ,
user equipment of said user generating pull SMS on receiving an indication from
20 said user; and
said server generating a Reply SMS based on said content.
3. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said user can subscribe and
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unsubscribe for a service by sending SMS to said server.
4. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said SMS for said menu updation
from said client application is binary format.
5
5. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein response for said SMS from said
server can be at least one of a Unicode, text and binary format for different preferred
languages.
10 6. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contents of said client menu are
packed by a Menu Push SMS format, wherein said Menu Push SMS format supports
modification of said menu by performing at least one of:
creating a menu list;
deleting said menu lists;
15 adding menu items to said menu lists;
deleting said menu items;
rearranging said menu items; and
updating said menu items.
20 7. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said client application includes a
setting for language selection and location prompt for said user.
8. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said client application includes a
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multilevel content menu classified with categories.
9. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said client application provides said
menu upgrade over SMS push.
5
10. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said client application supports
synchronous and asynchronous retrieval of said content for different said users.
11. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said client application provides
10 persistent storage of previous said content retrieval responses.
12. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said server tracks said user location
and perform said menu upgradation using said Push SMS.
15
13. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said server provides a user interface
for uploading said contents to said server.
14. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said server provides upgrades to said
20 client application.
15. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said server enables said user
equipment to create and modify said menu items.
16. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said user can subscribe for receiving
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periodic content push to said user equipment.
17. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said information content in said
server comprises:
a content code for said user 5 to access said information;
an SMS code to handle replies to said user from different content providers;
a phone number to call on the click;
a web address to launch on click by said user; and
said information content accessible with said content code by a content provider
10 receiving said SMS code;
a reference to third party content; and
a mechanism to access said third party content.
18. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said Pull SMS comprises of a
15 content descriptor, said content descriptor including said content code and additional
parameters entered by said user.
19. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said Pull SMS comprises of a client
state descriptor, said client state descriptor comprising:
20 said client menu version,
language preferred by said user; and
location of said user.
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20. A system for generating a Short Message Service (SMS) using a client and server
application for content retrieval by an user, wherein said SMS is data-bearer of said
information content, said system comprising atleast one means adapted for:
a service manager to update a menu i 5 n said server application;
said server to generate an SMS on updation of said menu;
said server to send said SMS to user equipment of said client application;
said client application to identify said SMS;
said client application to check type of action to be performed; and
10 said client application to modify said menu according to said SMS.
21. The system, as claimed in claim 20, further comprising at least one means
adapted for:
said server organizing said information content into hierarchical menu items in
15 said menu lists;
said server mapping multiple levels of menu items and lists to corresponding said
contents;
said server providing said menu details at each level to said user,
user equipment of said user generating pull SMS on receiving an indication from
20 said user; and
said server generating a Reply SMS based on said content .
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22. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said user can subscribe and
unsubscribe for a service by sending SMS to said server.
23. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein a service manager handles the
5 subscription of said service.
24. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said SMS for said menu updation
from said client application is in binary format.
10 25. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein response for said SMS from said
server can be at least one of a Unicode, text and binary format.
26. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said contents of said client menu are
packed by a Menu Push SMS format, wherein said Menu Push SMS supporting
15 modification of said menu comprising at least one means for performing one of:
creating a menu list;
deleting said menu lists;
adding menu items to said menu lists;
deleting said menu items;
20 rearranging said menu items; and
updating said menu items.
27. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said client application includes a
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setting for language and location prompt for said user.
28. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said client application includes a
multilevel content menu classified with categories.
5
29. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said client application provides said
menu upgrade over SMS push.
30. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said client application supports
10 synchronous and asynchronous retrieval of said content for different said users.
31. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said client application provides
persistent storage of previous said content retrieval responses.
15 32. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said server tracks said user location
and perform said menu upgradation using said Push SMS.
33. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said server provides a user interface
for uploading said contents to said server.
20
34. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said server provides said client
application upgrade.
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35. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said server enables said user
equipment to create and modify said menu items.
5
36. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said user can subscribe for receiving
periodic content push to said user equipment.
37. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said information content in said
10 server comprises:
a content code for said user to access said information;
an SMS code to handle replies to said user from different content providers;
a phone number to call on the click;
a web address to launch on click by said user; and
15 said information content accessible with said content code by a content provider
receiving said SMS code;
a reference to third party content; and
a mechanism to access said third party content.
20 38. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said Pull SMS comprises of a
content descriptor, said content descriptor including said content code and additional
parameters entered by said user.
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39. The system, as claimed in claim 20, wherein said Pull SMS comprises of a client
state descriptor, said client state descriptor comprises:
said client menu version,
language preferred by said user; and
5 location of said user.
40. A client application, wherein said client application is installed in an user
equipment, said client application comprising at least one of:
a user interface module for showing different screens to said user and managing
10 said user actions and navigation,
a menu parser and navigator for parsing a menu format and extracting elements
for menu lists and menu items;
a message handler for sending and receiving SMSs;
a menu list manager with storage for receiving Push SMS from memory; and
15 a library for addressing needs of applications requiring language support.
41. A content/menu management server, wherein said server is a web-server for
sending and receiving SMSs, said server comprising at least one of:
a Pull SMS processor for receiving a Pull SMS from a client application;
20 a content code mapper for mapping a content code and additional parameters from
a content descriptor;
a content database for providing content organization;
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a client state tracker for checking version of menu in a client state descriptor and
verifying for said menu updation;
a subscription manager for managing the subscription of periodic SMS push to
user;
a content menu list manager for mapping said content organization 5 to said client
menu representation;
an SMS dispatcher for sending at least one of a reply SMS and a menu push SMS;
and
a server user interface for performing at least one of adding, deleting, modifying
10 said contents, said client menu lists and menu items.
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ABSTRACT
A user controlled automatic SMS generation application by providing the user
with a web interface to control the application is disclosed. A click and get SMS client
and server application for content retrieval is used by the mobile users, where a click at
selected item triggers an SMS which in turn gets a response from 5 the server that has the
content in preferred language. The method includes a client application updating the
menu, the server generating and sending an SMS based on menu update to the client
application, the client application receiving and identifying the message, checking the
action to be performed, modifying the menu according to the information in the message,
10 mapping multiple levels of desired menu to corresponding information contents,
providing the menu details at each menu level to the user, the client application
generating a pull SMS and the server generating a Reply SMS based on the content code.
15