PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8874148-B2
Application Number: US-20727808-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Automatic contact recognition from SMS

Abstract:
A first mobile device receives an input to send data via a text messaging protocol to a second mobile device. The data is marked up with one or more transparent text message characters to delimit fields in the data. The marked up data is transmitted via the text messaging protocol to the second mobile device.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method, comprising:
 receiving at a first mobile device an indication to send data having an electronic business card via a text messaging protocol to a second mobile device; 
 detecting the electronic business card; 
 marking up the data to create marked up data by (1) adding at least three different length patterns of at least three different combinations of two or more transparent text message characters to delimit at least three different types of data fields in the data, the fields associated with the electronic business card, wherein at least two of the two or more transparent text message characters are different characters; 
 and (2) using a first instance of a first length pattern of a first two or more transparent text message characters to distinguish a first type of a data field; then 
 using a second instance of the first length pattern of the first two or more transparent text message characters to distinguish a second type of a data field; and 
 transmitting the marked up data via the text messaging protocol to the second mobile device. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data comprises contact information. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the contact information comprises data selected from the group consisting of address data, phone number data, fax number data, email address data, name data, employer data, or web address data. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transparent characters are one of Unicode characters or Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) characters. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the two or more transparent characters include (1) a space character or a non-breaking space character, and (2) a carriage return character or a new line character. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the text messaging protocol is Short Message Service (SMS). 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein a first instance of a pattern of one or more transparent characters constitutes a first field delimiter and a second instance of the pattern of one or more transparent characters constitutes a second field delimiter. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein marking up comprises parsing the electronic business card into a plurality of fields and adding the transparent text message characters between pairs of fields. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the transparent characters are selected from the group consisting of space characters, non-breaking space characters, carriage returns, and newlines. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the two or more transparent text message characters, one of (1) comprise a space character or a non-breaking space character followed by a carriage return, (2) are three space characters or non-breaking space characters followed by a carriage return, or (3) are three space characters or non-breaking space characters. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the two or more transparent text message characters comprise recognizable character patterns that signify 3 or more different types of data fields. 
     
     
       12. An article of manufacture, comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having content stored thereon to provide instructions to result in an electronic device performing operations including:
 receiving at a first mobile device an indication to send data via a text messaging protocol to a second mobile device, wherein the data includes a plurality of fields from an electronic business card; 
 detecting the plurality of fields; 
 marking up the data to create marked up data (1) with at least three different length patterns of at least three different combinations of two or more transparent text message characters to delimit at least three different types of data fields of the plurality of fields in the data, wherein at least two of the two or more transparent text message characters are different characters; 
 and (2) using a first instance of a first length pattern of a first two or more transparent text message characters to distinguish a first type of a data field; then using a second instance of the first length pattern of the first two or more transparent text message characters to distinguish a second type of a data field; and 
 transmitting the marked up data via the text messaging protocol to the second mobile device. 
 
     
     
       13. The article of manufacture of  claim 12 , wherein the text messaging protocol includes business card file format having the plurality of fields and the data comprises contact information. 
     
     
       14. The article of manufacture of  claim 13 , wherein the contact information comprises data selected from the group consisting of address data, phone number data, fax number data, email address data, name data, employer data, or web address data. 
     
     
       15. The article of manufacture of  claim 12 , wherein the transparent characters are one of Unicode characters or Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) characters. 
     
     
       16. The article of manufacture of  claim 12 , wherein the two or more transparent characters include (1) a space character or a non-breaking space character, and (2) a carriage return character or a new line character. 
     
     
       17. The article of manufacture of  claim 12 , wherein the text messaging protocol is Short Message Service (SMS). 
     
     
       18. The article of manufacture of  claim 12 , wherein a first instance of a pattern of one or more transparent characters constitutes a first field delimiter and a second instance of the pattern of one or more transparent characters constitutes a second field delimiter. 
     
     
       19. The article of manufacture of  claim 12 , wherein the two or more transparent text message characters, one of (1) comprise a space character or a non-breaking space character followed by a carriage return, (2) are three space characters or non-breaking space characters followed by a carriage return, or (3) are three space characters or non-breaking space characters. 
     
     
       20. The article of manufacture of  claim 12 , wherein the two or more transparent text message characters comprise recognizable character patterns that signify 3 or more different types of data fields. 
     
     
       21. A mobile device, comprising:
 a conversion engine to receive an indication to send a plurality of fields of business card data via a text messaging protocol to a second mobile device, to detect the plurality of fields, and to markup the data to create marked up data by: (1) adding at least three different length patterns of at least three different combinations of two or more transparent text message characters to delimit at least three different types of data fields of the plurality of fields in the data, wherein at least two of the two or more transparent text message characters are different characters, and (2) using a first instance of a first length pattern of a first two or more transparent text message characters to distinguish a first type of a data field; then using a second instance of the first length pattern of the first two or more transparent text message characters to distinguish a second type of a data field; 
 a transmitter to transmit the marked up data as a first text message via the text messaging protocol to the second mobile device; and 
 the conversion engine further to
 receive a second text message, recognize transparent text message characters as field delimiters for data in the text message, and 
 convert data in the text message into an electronic business card based at least in part on the field delimiters. 
 
 
     
     
       22. The mobile device of  claim 21 , further comprising a display screen to display an accentuated portion of the data with the data in the second text message, wherein a user-selection of the accentuated portion causes the electronic business card in the second text message to be displayed. 
     
     
       23. The mobile device of  claim 22 , wherein the accentuated portion is accentuated based on one or more of highlighting, displaying an image, or including an icon. 
     
     
       24. The mobile device of  claim 22 , wherein the text messaging protocol is Short Message Service (SMS). 
     
     
       25. The mobile device of  claim 21 , wherein the data comprises data selected from the group consisting of address data, phone number data, fax number data, email address data, name data, employer data, or web address data. 
     
     
       26. The mobile device of  claim 21 , wherein the transparent text messaging characters are one of Unicode characters or Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) characters. 
     
     
       27. The mobile device of  claim 21 , wherein the two or more transparent text messaging characters include (1) a space character or a non-breaking space character, and (2) a carriage return character or a new line character. 
     
     
       28. The mobile device of  claim 21 , wherein the text messaging protocol includes business card file format having the plurality of fields. 
     
     
       29. The mobile device of  claim 21 , wherein the two or more transparent text message characters, one of (1) comprise a space character or a non-breaking space character followed by a carriage return, (2) are three space characters or non-breaking space characters followed by a carriage return, or (3) are three space characters or non-breaking space characters. 
     
     
       30. The mobile device of  claim 21 , wherein the two or more transparent text message characters comprise recognizable character patterns that signify 3 or more different types of data fields. 
     
     
       31. A method, comprising:
 receiving at a first mobile device an indication to send data having a personal or contact information via a text messaging protocol to a second mobile device; 
 detecting the personal or contact information; 
 automatically marking up the data to create marked up data by (1) adding at least three different length patterns of at least three different combinations of two or more transparent text message characters to delimit at least three different types of data fields associated with the personal or contact information in the data, wherein at least two of the two or more transparent text message characters are different characters; 
 and (2) using a first instance of a first length pattern of a first two or more transparent text message characters to distinguish a first type of a data field; then 
 using a second instance of the first length pattern of the first two or more transparent text message characters to distinguish a second type of a data field; and 
 transmitting the marked up data via the text messaging protocol to the second mobile device. 
 
     
     
       32. The method of  claim 31 , wherein the text messaging protocol includes business card file format. 
     
     
       33. The method of  claim 31 , wherein the two or more transparent text message characters, one of (1) comprise a space character or a non-breaking space character followed by a carriage return, (2) are three space characters or non-breaking space characters followed by a carriage return, or (3) are three space characters or non-breaking space characters. 
     
     
       34. The method of  claim 31 , wherein the two or more transparent text message characters comprise recognizable character patterns that signify 3 or more different types of data fields.

Description:
This Non-provisional application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/059,641, entitled Automatic Contact Recognition from SMS, filed on Jun. 6, 2008. 
     FIELD 
     Embodiments of the invention relate to text messaging, and more particularly to sending and receiving of contact information via text message protocols. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The mobile device is becoming increasingly ubiquitous as a communication tool. In addition to its use as a cell phone, the mobile device is often used for other forms of communication including email, text messaging and the like. Text message services and protocols (e.g., Short Message Service (SMS)) are primarily designed to handle simple short messages of text. Depending on the protocol(s) used, text messages are limited to a single text message size of either 160 7-bit characters, 140 8-bit characters, or 70 16-bit characters. 
     A markup language is a set of annotations (or markups) to text that describes how the text is to be structured, laid out, parsed or formatted. It is common in many markup languages to have the text of a document intermingled with markup instructions in the same data stream or file. These embedded or “inline” markups can be processed by various applications, services and/or programs designed with such capability. 
     However, applications, services and/or programs without such capability are often forced to present the intended text along with the inline markups via a user interface. Such presentation can it make it difficult, confusing and/or aesthetically unpleasant for a user to view. For example, electronic business cards are typically marked up according to a particular file format (e.g., vCard). Conventional text messaging services are not capable of recognizing the markups associated with an electronic business card. As such, attempts to send an electronic business card as a text message will result in a receiving user being presented with a garbled mixture of contact information and inline markups. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A first mobile device receives an input to send data via a text messaging protocol to a second mobile device. For example, a mobile device user may desire to send contact information (e.g., an electronic contact/business card) via SMS. The data is marked up with one or more transparent text message characters to delimit fields in the data. The marked up data is transmitted via the text messaging protocol to the second mobile device. If the second mobile device is capable, it will recognize the transparent field delimiters in the received text message and automatically convert the data (e.g., into an electronic contact/business card). If the second mobile device does not have this recognition capability, the contact information in the text message will be presented in a clean, clear and readable format. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The following description includes discussion of figures having illustrations given by way of example of implementations of embodiments of the invention. The drawings should be understood by way of example, and not by way of limitation. As used herein, references to one or more “embodiments” are to be understood as describing a particular feature, structure, or characteristic included in at least one implementation of the invention. Thus, phrases such as “in one embodiment” or “in an alternate embodiment” appearing herein describe various embodiments and implementations of the invention, and do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. However, they are also not necessarily mutually exclusive. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating transmission of contact information to different devices according to various embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an electronic contact card used in various embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a mobile device user interface. 
         FIGS. 4A-B  are block diagrams illustrating text displays on a user interface. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating various text message character patterns used in various embodiments. 
         FIGS. 6A-B  are diagrams illustrating the display of text messages according to various embodiments. 
         FIGS. 7A-B  are block diagrams illustrating various components of a mobile device used in various embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments described herein facilitate the sending of structured data, such as electronic business cards, via text messaging protocols. When a mobile device capable of processing electronic business cards via text messaging protocols recognizes certain character patterns in a text message, the mobile device automatically parses the data from the text message into an electronic business card. As used herein, an electronic business card may refer to any compilation or combination of personal and/or contact information including, but not limited to, phone numbers, addresses, website links, fax numbers, dates (e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, etc.), photographs, maps and the like. Mobile devices that are not equipped to process electronic business cards sent via a text messaging protocol can still receive and view the personal/contact information via text message in various embodiments. 
     In various embodiments, text messages are marked up with transparent text message characters. Conventional text messages are created using characters of a particular character set. For example, SMS text messages may use Unicode character encoding or Global System for Mobile communications version 7 (GSM7) character encoding. Other encoding schemes known in the art could also be used. As used herein, transparent text message characters may be text message characters that are not visible or otherwise not highly noticeable to the human eye. For example, in the Unicode character set, the space and the non-breaking space characters are essentially invisible to the human eye and could be referred to as transparent text message characters. Additionally, characters such as a carriage return, newline and the like could also be transparent text message characters in various embodiments. In contrast, characters such as “@,” “#,” “&amp;”, and “&gt;” are easily noticed on a display screen and would not be considered transparent text message characters. A character such as the underscore character (“_”) is not entirely invisible but is also not highly noticeable and/or visually distracting and could be considered a transparent text message character in some embodiments. 
     Electronic business cards may be transmitted via text messaging protocols by marking up a text message with transparent text message characters. Patterns and/or strings of transparent text message characters are used to delimit various fields of an electronic business card in a text message. For example, a string of three consecutive space characters followed by a carriage return might separate the “name” field from the “address” field of an electronic business card. Of course, other specific patterns could be used to delimit these fields as well. In some embodiments, different instances of the same pattern of transparent text message characters can signify different field delimiters. For example, the first instance of a string of three consecutive space characters could delimit a “phone number” field while the second instance of a string of three consecutive space characters could delimit an “email address” field. 
     A mobile device equipped to recognize transparent text message character patterns as field delimiters as described above can receive a text message and automatically convert the data from the text message into an electronic business card and present it on a display for the user of the mobile device. However, mobile devices that are not equipped to recognize patterns and convert text messages into electronic business cards can still display the information associated with the electronic business card in a user-friendly format. Given the use of transparent text message characters to markup the text message, the markups are essentially invisible to users of mobile devices not capable of recognizing the markups and converting text messages to electronic business cards. Thus, rather than viewing a garbled text message where the contact information may or may not be discernable amid the markups, the user can view a “clean” text message showing the contact information in the electronic business card. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating transmission of contact information to different devices according to various embodiments. X-type device  110  contains data including electronic business card  112 . As shown, X-type device  110  can send a copy of electronic business card  112  via Short Message Service (SMS) transmission to X-type device  120  and Y-type device  130 . In various embodiments, X-type devices, as shown in  FIG. 1 , could be, for example, iPhones from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. However, the term X-type device is intended to represent any mobile device capable of sending, recognizing and converting an electronic business card from an SMS transmission according to embodiments described herein. In other words, X-type devices can be different products from different manufacturers. In contrast, a Y-type device (e.g., Y-type device  130 ) is intended to represent any mobile device that is not equipped to send, recognize and convert an electronic business card from an SMS transmission according to embodiments described herein. Though various embodiments described herein discuss the use of SMS text messages, any protocol or service that sends clear text messages could also be used in different embodiments (e.g., email clients, social networking sites and micro-blogging sites such as Twitter, comment sections in blogs and other forums, etc.) When an X-type device (e.g., X-type device  120 ) receives a text message that includes an electronic business card, it may be automatically converted into electronic business card  122 . In some embodiments, the text message may only be converted after receiving user input requesting the conversion. Data (e.g., contact information, etc.) associated with the electronic business card may constitute the whole text message or merely part of the text message. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an electronic business card used in various embodiments. Electronic business card  200  contains several fields including name field  210 , phone number field  220 , fax number field  230 , address field  240 , email address field  250 , web address field  260 , other fields  270  and icon  280 . The order, appearance, layout, etc. of the fields can be different in different embodiments. Additionally, one of skill in the art will appreciate that the fields shown in  FIG. 2  are not exhaustive. Other fields could be added, including sub-fields (e.g., “first name” field and “last name” field, “work address” field and “home address” field, etc.). Icon  280  could be an image such as a photograph, drawing, map, etc. Some embodiments could include multiple icons. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a mobile device user interface. In some embodiments, when an a user of an X-type device desires to send an electronic business card to another user, the user may be presented with a user interface  300  that gives the user the option to send the electronic business card via email  310  or via SMS transmission  320 . In other embodiments, an X-type device might automatically select whether to send the electronic business card via email or SMS, for example, based on the recipient&#39;s contact information. For example, if the recipient&#39;s contact information includes an email address, the device might send the electronic business card via email; whereas if the recipient&#39;s contact information only includes a phone number, the electronic business card might be sent via SMS. In some embodiments, electronic business cards could be sent via email and SMS simultaneously. 
       FIGS. 4A-B  are block diagrams illustrating text displays on a user interface.  FIG. 4A  is intended to illustrate an example of how an electronic business card sent as a text message from a Y-type device might appear on a display of another Y-type device. Given that conventional methods and devices (e.g., Y-type devices) are not configured and/or equipped to markup and send an electronic business card with transparent text message characters, the appearance, as shown in  FIG. 4A , is garbled and/or confusing. In other words, the contact information is obfuscated, at least in part, by the markups. 
     Contrast  FIG. 4A  with  FIG. 4B .  FIG. 4B  is intended to illustrate an example of how an electronic business card sent as a text message from an X-type device might appear on a display of a Y-type device. Given that various embodiments of an X-type device are capable of marking up a text message with transparent text message characters, the recipient Y-type device display will show the contact information from the electronic business card in a relatively clear and organized fashion, as shown in  FIG. 4B . The example in  FIG. 4B  can be modified in other embodiments; the exact layout of the contact information is not as important as the overall clear and concise appearance. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates in more detail the markup patterns associated with the text message display of  FIG. 4B . As discussed herein, markups for electronic business cards sent via text messages in various embodiments employ transparent text message characters in various patterns. The “\n” symbol used in  FIG. 5  is intended to provide a visual example of a return character, such as a newline or carriage return. The dash characters (e.g., “ - - - ”) used in  FIG. 5  are intended to provide a visual example of space characters (e.g., space, non-breaking space, etc.) given that space characters themselves are not visible on a display screen. In some embodiments, the dash characters of  FIG. 5  could in fact be dash characters, underscore characters, or other characters that could be considered transparent despite not being absolutely invisible on a display screen. 
     Various transparent text message patterns signify field delimiters in various embodiments. For example, pattern  510  indicates a delimiter for the “name” field in  FIG. 5 . Pattern  510  could delimit a different field in other embodiments. Pattern  520 , as shown, delimits the “home phone number” field. Pattern  540  is shown separating the “work phone number” field from the number itself. In general, any pattern can be used to signify and/or delimit any field associated with the electronic business card. Repeated instances of the same pattern can also be used to distinguish different fields in some embodiments. For example, pattern  530  is the same as pattern  510 . Pattern  530  may be referred to as the second instance of the pattern while pattern  510  would be considered the first instance of the pattern. Thus, the first instance of a pattern can signify one delimiter while a second instance of the same pattern can signify a different delimiter in various embodiments. 
       FIGS. 6A-B  are diagrams illustrating the display of text messages according to various embodiments.  FIG. 6A  shows a user interface  600  for a mobile device. The various bubbles track an ongoing text message conversation between two users. It is not necessary to display the ongoing conversation—the conversation could be displayed one piece at a time on user interface  600 . In X-type devices (e.g., devices that are capable of recognizing and converting electronic business cards from marked up text messages), a piece of contact information (e.g., a name) can be underlined or otherwise accentuated (e.g., highlighting, italicizing, etc.) on the user interface to indicate that the received message includes an electronic business card. For example, in bubble  620 , the name Danny Larusso is underlined, indicating that Danny&#39;s electronic business card is part of the message. 
     In various embodiments, the underlined or accentuated portion of the user interface can be tapped, touched, or otherwise selected to display the electronic business card (e.g., the electronic business card display of  FIG. 2 ). In other embodiments, an icon (e.g., chevron  630 ) could be tapped, touched, or otherwise selected to display the electronic business card. The tapping, touching or selecting may cause the electronic business card to be saved to the device in addition to displaying the electronic business card. 
       FIG. 6B  illustrates another example for presenting an electronic business card in a bubble or on a user interface of an X-type device. Bubble  620  in  FIG. 6B  could simply show an icon (e.g., icon  280  of  FIG. 2 ) associated with the electronic business card to accentuate the bubble, indicating the presence of the electronic business card. Again, by tapping, touching or otherwise selecting the icon, the electronic business card may be displayed and/or saved on the device. In various embodiments, including those illustrated in  FIGS. 6A and 6B , selecting an electronic business card could cause all or part of the electronic business card to be displayed and/or stored. 
       FIG. 7A  is a block diagram illustrating various components of a mobile device used in various embodiments. Mobile device  702  includes storage for one or more electronic business cards  712 . An SMS conversion engine  710  parses the electronic business card into various fields and marks up the fields using transparent text message characters based on various rules and structures  714 . The markups include various patterns, such as those illustrated and described in  FIG. 5 . 
     The marked up electronic business card is then sent as an SMS text message  716  to mobile device  704 . If mobile device  704  is not equipped to recognize and convert SMS text message  716  back into an electronic business card, mobile device  704  can simply display the contact information associated with the electronic business card. Given that the text message is marked up with transparent text message characters, the contact information will be displayed in a relatively clear and organized manner, as described previously herein. 
       FIG. 7B  is a block diagram illustrating further details of a mobile device capable of receiving and converting an electronic business card from an SMS text message. When a text message  720  is received by mobile device  706  (sent, for example, from mobile device  702  of  FIG. 7A ), SMS conversion engine  710  recognizes various patterns in the text message. The patterns in the text message are formed from transparent text message characters. Given the patterns and based on various rules and structures  714 , SMS conversion engine  710  parses text message  720  into various fields and converts the information in those fields into an electronic business card  722 . The entire text message can be converted to an electronic business card or only a relevant portion of text message  720  may be converted in some embodiments. 
     Various components described herein may be a means for performing the functions described herein. Each component described herein includes software, hardware, or a combination of these. The components can be implemented as software modules, hardware modules, special-purpose hardware (e.g., application specific hardware, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc.), embedded controllers, hardwired circuitry, etc. Software content (e.g., data, instructions, configuration) may be provided via an article of manufacture including a computer readable medium, which provides content that represents instructions that can be executed. The content may result in a computer performing various functions/operations described herein. A computer readable medium includes any mechanism that provides (i.e., stores and/or transmits) information in a form accessible by a computing device (e.g., computer, PDA, electronic system, etc.), such as recordable/non-recordable media (e.g., read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, etc.). The content may be directly executable (“object” or “executable” form), source code, or the like. A computer readable medium may also include a storage or database from which content can be downloaded. A computer readable medium may also include a device or product having content stored thereon at a time of sale or delivery. Thus, delivering a device with stored content, or offering content for download over a communication medium may be understood as providing an article of manufacture with such content described herein. 
     Besides what is described herein, various modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments and implementations of the invention without departing from their scope. Therefore, the illustrations and examples herein should be construed in an illustrative, and not a restrictive sense. The scope of the invention should be measured solely by reference to the claims that follow.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20080909
Publication Date: 20141028
Grant Date: 20141028
Priority Date: 20080606
Inventors: HERZ SCOTT
VAN OS MARCEL
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04L51/066", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L12/5835", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L12/5895", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/38", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/58", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/066", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/066", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/58", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 41400786