BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a cellular network in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a sending mobile phone displaying a text message in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 shows a receiving mobile phone displaying a text message in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to a method for sending a size limited text message, such as an SMS message, with a signature.
In FIG. 1, a cellular network for sending a size limited text message in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The cellular network includes a sending mobile phone 10, a personalization server 20, a personalization database 30, an SMS center 40, and a receiving mobile phone 50. Prior to sending a text message, a sender pre-determines a signature to be used for text messages to be sent over the cellular network. The pre-determined signature may be stored in the personalization database 30 for future text messages to be sent from the sending mobile phone 10. Several methods are available for transmitting the pre-determined signature to the personalization database 30. In one embodiment, the user may use a web interface to transmit the pre-determined signature to a network provider, which may then store the pre-determined signature on the personalization database 30. In another embodiment, the user may send a text message to a designated phone number or email address in order to activate the signature service and transmit the pre-determined signature for storage on the personalization database 30. If the user is a member of a group, such as a company, the pre-determined signature may be set by the group or company. In this embodiment, the pre-determined signature may identify the user as a member of the group to recipients of text messages sent by the user.
To send a text message over a cellular network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the sender may compose a text message on the sending mobile phone 10. The sender then sends the text message 100, which is received by the personalization server 20. Upon receipt, the personalization server 20 may query 110 the personalization database 30 in order to determine whether the sender has stored a pre-determined signature in the personalization database 30. If so, the personalization server 20 may obtain 120 the pre-determined signature from the personalization database 30.
Prior to appending the pre-determined signature to the text message, the personalization server 20 may determine the size of the text message and compare the size with a size limit for sending the text message over the cellular network. For example, the text message may be an SMS message limited in size to 160 characters. If the combined size of the text message and the pre-determined signature is less than 160 characters, then the pre-determined signature may be appended to the text message by the personalization server 20. The combined text message and pre-determined signature may then be sent 130 to the SMS center 40. Upon receipt, the SMS center 40 may then transmit 140 the combined text message and pre-determined signature to the receiving mobile phone 50. Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a simplified example of a cellular network for illustrative purposes. For example, there may be intervening network components between the SMS center 40 and the ultimate transmission to the receiving mobile phone 50.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show a sending mobile phone 10 and a receiving mobile phone 50, respectively, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the sending mobile phone 10 is shown with a text message 101 entered by a user is displayed on a screen 110. Prior to sending the displayed text message 101, the user of the sending mobile phone 10 has pre-determined a signature (not shown) and input the pre-determined signature in a personalization database for use with text messages. For example, the pre-determined signature may be “John the GREAT ;-)”. The text message 101 shown on the sending mobile phone 10 may be sent over a cellular network, such as the cellular network shown in FIG. 1. Because the text message 101 is relatively short (less than 60 characters), the personalization server will determine that sufficient space exists for the pre-determined signature if the size is limited to 160 characters, as is the case with SMS messages.
After appending the pre-determined signature to the text message, the combined message may then be sent to an SMS center and transmitted to the receiving mobile phone 50 shown in FIG. 3. In the prior art, lacking a pre-determined signature, the receiving mobile phone 50 may only display the text message 101 and the name 103 of the sender, if the receiving mobile phone has a name in its directory that corresponds to the phone number of the sender. Lacking the name in the directory of the receiving mobile phone 50, the phone number of the sending mobile phone 10 might be shown on the display 120 instead of the name 103 of the sender. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the receiving mobile phone 50 receives further identifying information for the sender in the form of the pre-determined signature 102, which has been appended to the text message 101 by the personalization server. Although the above example utilizes mobile phones, those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other messaging devices besides mobile phones may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented using existing cellular networks with relatively minor upgrades, a personalization server and a personalization database. Messaging devices already capable of sending size-limited text messages, such as SMS messages, may use a cellular network in accordance with embodiments of the present invention without updating or otherwise modifying the messaging devices. Thus, the cost and/or hassle of upgrading the messaging device may be avoided by users of the cellular network.
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.
Patent Application
20080016158
