Patent Publication Number: US-2011059757-A1

Title: Systems and methods for automatic delivery of 411 caller information

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to 411 calls and, more specifically, to automatic delivery of 411 caller information. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     When a 411 operator or Directory Assistance (DA) is dialed on a wireless handset, carriers or their 411 service providers (DAs) can optionally provide a short message service (SMS) message to the mobile handset over the network from the operator&#39;s station containing the requested caller information, mapping information, etc. to supplement the expected oral delivery and connection of the caller to the requested number. For example, the SMS message may contain the information “John Doe, 206-555-1212” embedded in an SMS message confirmation of the inquiry. 
     While useful, the subscriber then manually enters the information from the received SMS message into the local directory of their mobile handset. The subscriber does this after the 411 call has ended or not at all, if the subscriber forgets due to an unforeseen interruption. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a client application on a mobile handset that identifies short message service (SMS) messages in a 411 format and extracts the caller identification information in the SMS message. The client application presents a query on the display or keypad of the mobile handset that allows the subscriber to automatically enter the extracted caller identification information into the contacts or caller information directory on the mobile device. 
     The present invention directly supports the customer/subscriber and protects the revenue generated by 411 queries with a carrier-enhanced service. This is valuable in that traditional 411 service using directory assistance (DA) is threatened by data service providers that provide reverse directory lookup applications using the Internet or other database channels on the mobile network. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a mobile system with a mobile handset configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an example mobile handset formed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of an example process performed by the handset shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a wireless/cellular system  20  that includes one of many mobile handsets  30 , one of a plurality of wireless/cellular nodes (also known as Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs))  46 , a wireless network  44 , a 411 operator or Directory Assistance system (DA)  38 , and a Short Message Service Center (SMSC)  50 . The handset  30  includes a client application that automatically determines if an incoming short message service (SMS) message is a DA SMS message, then prompts the user of the handset  30  to determine whether the information included in the SMS message is to be stored locally on the handset  30 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , an example of the mobile handset  30  includes a processor  60 , output devices  62  (display(s) and/or speaker(s)), a user interface  64 , a communication device  66 , and memory  68 . An application  72  is stored in the memory  68 . When an SMS message is received the processor  60  runs the application  72 , which determines if the SMS message was received from the DA  38  (i.e. formatted with DA included in the sender address information), then prompts the user of the handset  30  to determine if they want the information included in the SMS message stored locally on the handset  30 . The mobile handset  30  may be a cell phone, mobile device, VoIP device, portable data assistant (PDA), or any comparable device. 
       FIG. 3  shows an example process  100  performed by the handset  30 . First at a block  102 , a subscriber initiates a 411 query. Then at a block  104 , the DA  38  answers the query by sending an SMS message containing the requested information to the mobile handset  30  of the subscriber via the SMSC  50 . SMS message generation and delivery may be performed by a DA operator or automatically by an Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) system that is included in the DA  38 , or comparable system. Next at a decision block  108 , the processor  60  running the application  72  analyzes the SMS message to determine if it is formatted as a response to a 411 query. The analysis of the SMS message preferably includes evaluation of a numerical code or message content associated with the SMS message. If the SMS message is determined not to be formatted with 411 query information, at a block  110  the SMS message is processed as a standard SMS message. 
     If the SMS message is determined to be formatted with 411 query information, then, at a block  112 , the processor  60  prompts the subscriber to determine if they wish to store the information included in the SMS message in the caller directory of the handset  30 . If the subscriber elects to store the information in the caller directory, at block  116  the processor  60  stores the information included in the SMS message. If the subscriber elects not to store the information in the caller directory, the process terminates. 
     In another embodiment, the processor  60  automatically extracts and stores the information included in the SMS message in the mobile handset&#39;s caller directory. This automatic placement into the caller directory may be done after the processor  60  determines the information included in the SMS message was not previously stored in the caller directory. 
     While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.