U.S. patent application number 14/326802 was filed with the patent office on 2014-10-30 for apparatii and methods for providing texting services to voice grade telephone numbers.
The applicant listed for this patent is Giimme, Inc.. Invention is credited to Brian Park.
Application Number | 20140325426 14/326802 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49212295 |
Filed Date | 2014-10-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140325426 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Park; Brian |
October 30, 2014 |
APPARATII AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING TEXTING SERVICES TO VOICE GRADE
TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Abstract
Apparatii to facilitate texting to both textable and
non-textable telephone numbers may include a user interface module,
a destination verification module, a destination selection module
and a routing module. The user interface module may render a map or
a list on an electronic display that includes contact information
for one or more entities. The destination verification module may
use the contact information to access a texting registry to
determine if an entity has a texting address. In response to
determining that a texting address is available for an entity, the
user interface module may display a textable indicator proximate to
contact information for the entity. Similarly, information from a
destination field of a text message may be used to retrieve a
texting address from the texting registry and route the email
message to the texting address. Methods corresponding to the
apparatii are also disclosed herein.
Inventors: |
Park; Brian; (Clifton,
VA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Giimme, Inc. |
Sunnyvale |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
49212295 |
Appl. No.: |
14/326802 |
Filed: |
July 9, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13429191 |
Mar 23, 2012 |
8812035 |
|
|
14326802 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/780 ;
345/636 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 4/14 20130101; G06F
3/04842 20130101; G06T 11/60 20130101; H04L 51/046 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/780 ;
345/636 |
International
Class: |
G06T 11/60 20060101
G06T011/60; H04L 12/58 20060101 H04L012/58; H04W 4/14 20060101
H04W004/14; G06F 3/0484 20060101 G06F003/0484 |
Claims
1. A method to facilitate texting, the method comprising:
displaying a map to a user on an electronic display, the map
comprising a plurality of graphical indicators for a plurality of
entities; wherein a placement of the graphical indicators on the
map substantially corresponds to actual locations for the entities;
and wherein the graphical indicators comprise a textable indicator
for entities having a texting address.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising accessing a registry
to determine if an entity has a texting address.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the texting address is selected
from the group consisting of a textable telephone number and an
electronic messaging address.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a text
message input interface in response to selection of a texting
interface element.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a text
message from the user.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising delivering the text
message to the texting address.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the textable indicator is
selected from the group consisting of an icon, a symbol, a graphic,
a display character, and a sequence of display characters.
8. An apparatus to facilitate texting, the apparatus comprising: a
user interface module configured to render a map on an electronic
display, the map comprising a plurality of graphical indicators for
a plurality of entities; wherein a placement of the graphical
indicators on the map substantially corresponds to actual locations
for the entities; and wherein the graphical indicators comprise a
textable indicator for entities having a texting address.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a destination
verification module configured to access a texting registry to
determine if an entity has a texting address.
10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the texting address is
selected from the group consisting of a textable telephone number
and an electronic messaging address.
11. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a texting
interface module configured to provide a text message input
interface to a user in response to selection of a texting interface
element.
12. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a routing module
configured to a receiving a text message from the user and deliver
the text message to the texting address.
13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the textable indicator is
selected from the group consisting of an icon, a symbol, a graphic,
a display character, and a sequence of display characters.
14. A method to facilitate texting, the method comprising:
displaying a list of entities to a user on an electronic display;
displaying at least one textable indicator on the electronic
display proximate to listings for entities having a texting
address; and activating a text messaging interface in response to
user selection of a texting interface element.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising accessing a registry
to determine if an entity has a texting address.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the texting address is selected
from the group consisting of a textable telephone number and an
electronic messaging address.
17. An apparatus to facilitate texting, the apparatus comprising: a
user interface module configured to display a list of entities to a
user on an electronic display; the user interface module further
configured to display at least one textable indicator on the
electronic display proximate to listings for entities having a
texting address; and the user interface module further configured
to activate a text messaging interface in response to user
selection of a texting interface element.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a destination
verification module configured to access a registry to determine if
an entity has a texting address.
19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the texting address is
selected from the group consisting of a textable telephone number
and an electronic messaging address.
20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the textable indicator is
selected from the group consisting of an icon, a symbol, a graphic,
a display character, and a sequence of display characters.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/429,191 entitled "APPARATII AND METHODS FOR
PROVIDING TEXTING SERVICES TO VOICE GRADE TELEPHONE NUMBERS" and
filed on 23 Mar. 2012. The foregoing application is incorporated
herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The claimed inventions relate to texting services in general
and apparatii and methods for providing texting services to
telephone numbers that currently do not support texting services
such as telephone numbers for voice grade telephone lines and
handsets.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Texting services such as SMS, MMS, and TMS are widely
available on cellular phone networks and have proven to be a
popular form of communication due to the immediate yet unobtrusive
and deferrable nature of text messages. Despite these advantages,
texting has been primarily limited to cell phones in general and to
affiliated parties such as family members, friends and colleagues
that have direct knowledge that the intended party has a cell phone
that is able to receive such messages. In particular, small
businesses and residences with established and published phone
numbers have been unable to tap into the power of text messaging
and support customer interaction with texting services despite the
preference of many consumers for this convenient form of
communication.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention has been developed in response to the
present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the
problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved
by currently available texting apparatii and methods. Accordingly,
the claimed inventions have been developed to provide apparatii and
methods for providing texting services to telephone numbers that
currently do not support texting such as voice grade telephone
numbers and published telephone numbers.
[0007] As described below apparatii to facilitate texting to both
textable and non-textable telephone numbers may include a user
interface module, a destination verification module, a destination
selection module and a routing module. In one embodiment, the user
interface module renders a map on an electronic display that
includes graphical indicators for a plurality of entities.
[0008] The placement of the graphical indicators on the map may
substantially correspond to actual locations for the entities. The
graphical indicators may include a textable indicator for entities
that have a texting address. Examples of entities include stores,
businesses, enterprises, institutions, residences, families and
individuals.
[0009] In another embodiment, the user interface module displays a
list of entities to a user on an electronic display along with one
or more textable indicators proximate to listings for entities that
have a texting address. The texting address may be a textable phone
number, an electronic messaging address or the like. The user
interface module may also be configured to parse information
associated with a user display for a telephone number and provide
the phone number to the destination verification module.
[0010] The destination verification module may be configured to
access a texting registry to determine if an entity has a texting
address. The texting registry may store contact information
including a contact telephone number for a plurality of entities
associated with a geographic region. The destination verification
module may also be configured to determine if a telephone number
matches a contact telephone number within the registry and whether
a texting address is associated with the contact telephone number.
In response to determining that a texting address is available for
an entity, the user interface module may display a textable
indicator proximate to contact information for the entity.
[0011] The apparatii described herein may also include a routing
module that sends text messages to texting channels corresponding
to the texting addresses retrieved from the registry and a
registration module that manages the registry. A variety of methods
corresponding to the described apparatii are also disclosed
herein.
[0012] Although a variety of embodiments of the aforementioned
apparatii and methods are disclosed herein, it should be noted that
references throughout this specification to features, advantages,
or similar language does not imply that all of the features and
advantages that may be realized with the present invention should
be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather,
language referring to the features and advantages is understood to
mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic
described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least
one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the
features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this
specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same
embodiment.
[0013] The described features, advantages, and characteristics of
the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more
embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that
the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific
features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other
instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in
certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of
the invention.
[0014] These features and advantages will become more fully
apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may
be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth
hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] In order that the advantages of the invention will be
readily understood, a more particular description of the invention
briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific
embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings.
Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments
of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be
limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and
explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of
the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting one example of a
computing and communications infrastructure that is consistent with
one or more embodiments of the claimed inventions;
[0017] FIGS. 2a and 2b are block diagrams depicting one example of
a texting system that is consistent with one or more embodiments of
the claimed inventions;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a flowchart diagram depicting one example of a
texting method that is consistent with one or more embodiments of
the claimed inventions;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a flowchart diagram depicting one example of a
registration method that is consistent with one or more embodiments
of the claimed inventions;
[0020] FIG. 5 is graphical diagram depicting one example of a
listing interface that is consistent with one or more embodiments
of the claimed inventions;
[0021] FIG. 6 is graphical diagram depicting one example of a map
interface that is consistent with one or more embodiments of the
claimed inventions;
[0022] FIG. 7 is graphical diagram depicting one example of a
texting dialog that is consistent with one or more embodiments of
the claimed inventions; and
[0023] FIG. 8 is graphical diagram depicting one example of a
destination selection dialog that is consistent with one or more
embodiments of the claimed inventions.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] Many of the functional units described in this specification
have been labeled as modules, in order to more particularly
emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module
may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI
circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic
chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also
be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field
programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable
logic devices or the like.
[0025] Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by
various types of processors in conjunction with a non-transitory
computer readable medium. An identified module of executable code
may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks
of computer instructions which may, for instance, be organized as
an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of
an identified module need not be physically located together, but
may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations
and devices which, when joined logically together, comprise the
module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.
[0026] Indeed, a module of executable code may be a single
instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over
several different code segments, among different programs, and
across several computer readable memories and/or computational
devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and
illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in any
suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data
structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data
set, or may be distributed over different locations including over
different computer readable storage and computational devices.
[0027] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment,"
"an embodiment," or similar language means that a particular
feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with
the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the
present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one
embodiment," "in an embodiment," and similar language throughout
this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the
same embodiment.
[0028] Reference to a computer readable medium may take any
non-transitory form capable of enabling execution of a program of
machine-readable instructions on a digital processing apparatus.
For example, a computer readable medium may be embodied by a flash
drive, compact disk, digital-video disk, a magnetic tape, a
Bernoulli drive, a magnetic disk, a punch card, flash memory,
integrated circuits, or other digital processing apparatus memory
device. A digital processing apparatus such as a computer may store
program codes, associated data, and the like on the computer
readable medium that when retrieved enable the digital processing
apparatus to execute the functionality specified by the
modules.
[0029] Furthermore, the described features, structures, or
characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable
manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description,
numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of
programming, software modules, user selections, network
transactions, database queries, database structures, hardware
modules, hardware circuits, hardware chips, etc., to provide a
thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled
in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may
be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with
other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other
instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not
shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the
invention.
[0030] As used herein the phrase `texting number`, `texting
address`, or `texting destination` refers to a telephone number or
the like that is used as an address for a text message regardless
of whether the corresponding telephone line and handset support
texting. In contrast, the phrase `textable phone number` refers to
a telephone number such as a mobile phone number that corresponds
to a handset and communication channel that natively support
texting. Similarly, the phrase `non-textable phone number` or
`untextable phone number` refers to a telephone number such as a
PSTN phone number that corresponds to a handset and/or
communication channel that do not natively support texting.
[0031] FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting one example of a
computing and communications infrastructure 100 that is consistent
with one or more embodiments of the claimed inventions. As
depicted, the infrastructure 100 includes various systems,
subsystems, and networks such as a public switched telephone
network (PSTN) 110, a TDM gateway 120 connecting the PSTN to an
inter-network 130, a variety of workstations 125, a data center 140
with administrative terminals 145, an inter-network gateway 150
connecting a local area network to the inter-network 130, and
various servers such as application servers 170, texting servers
180, and registry servers 190. The infrastructure 100 is one
example of components that can be operably interconnected to
provide an infrastructure for providing texting services to
non-textable phone numbers.
[0032] Each workstation 125 may include a separate computing device
126 and a communications device 127 or the computing device and
communications device may integrated into the workstation 125. The
computing devices 126 may enable browsing of web pages via the
internetwork 130. The communications devices 127 may enable users
to communicate with other users coupled to the PSTN 110.
[0033] The PSTN 110 may interconnect the communication devices 127
and enable users to make voice calls. The PSTN 110 may include
various mobile phone networks (not shown) that enable mobile
communication devices 127 (including mobile workstations 125 such
as smartphones that incorporate a communication device 127) to
access the PSTN 110 via wireless communications. Furthermore, the
mobile phone networks within the PSTN may enable users of mobile
communication devices 127 to communicate with each other via
texting.
[0034] Typically, non-mobile communication devices 127 that
attached to the PSTN 110 are analog devices or VOIP devices (that
connect to the PSTN 110 via the inter-network 130) with untextable
phone numbers that do not intrinsically support texting.
Ironically, the PSTN 110 of many advanced nations has a greater
installed base of untextable phone numbers than the PSTN of
developing nations thus necessitating the features and advantages
of the present invention.
[0035] The inter-network 130 may facilitate electronic
communications between the various workstations and servers. In one
embodiment, the inter-network 130 is the internet. In another
embodiment, the inter-network 130 is a virtual private network
(VPN).
[0036] Various servers such as blade servers within the data center
140 function cooperatively to enable texting to textable and
untextable phone numbers. For example, the application servers 170
may provide one or more texting enabled applications and/or web
pages to the local and remote users. Some users may have the
texting enabled applications installed partially or wholly on their
local computing devices 126.
[0037] The texting servers 180 may facilitate texting between the
users through various channels or services such as e-mail services,
instant messaging services, short message services, and similar
services. The workstations 125 may leverage such services for
user-to-user texting via the texting servers 180. Furthermore,
individual users may have texting channels or services that can be
leveraged when available.
[0038] The registry servers 190, or the like, store contact
information for the various entities (e.g. individuals, businesses
and institutions) that are able to communicate via texting even if
those entities do not possess textable phone numbers.
[0039] FIGS. 2a and 2b are block diagrams depicting one example of
a texting system 200 that is consistent with one or more
embodiments of the claimed inventions. As depicted, the texting
system 200 includes a texting server 210, a registry server 220, a
registry datastore 230 and a texting client 240. The system 200 may
be housed in a datacenter such as the datacenter 140 or distributed
on various digital processing devices that are connected to an
inter-network such as the inter-network 130.
[0040] The texting server 210 and the texting client 240 may
include a variety of modules that enable texting. In some
embodiments, the modules are stored wholly or in part on various
computer readable storage devices and loaded into various digital
processing devices for execution. The depicted modules include a
user interface module 212, a destination verification module 214, a
destination selection module 216 and a routing module 218.
[0041] The texting server 210 and the texting client 240 may
function cooperatively via the inter-network 130 and/or the PSTN
110. One of skill in the art will appreciate that although the
texting server 210 and the texting client 240 may be (preferably)
embodied as distinct devices, the depicted modules and other
modules described herein may be partitioned across the texting
server 210 and the texting client 240 in a variety of
configurations and may be considered to be a single apparatus from
a functional standpoint.
[0042] The registration server 220 may include a variety of modules
that enable registration of users of texting services and phone
numbers associated with such services. For example, the registry
server may be configured to serve up one or more registration web
pages that enable users to submit a texting address that is to be
associated with a voice grade telephone number.
[0043] The registry datastore 230 may store a registry 232 of
entities such as businesses and individuals that use texting
services. The registry 232 may include a variety of information
associated with the entities that use texting services. Examples of
such information include a texting address, contact information and
other data associated with the entities that use texting services.
The texting address associated with each entity may be an
electronic messaging address such as an email address or an instant
messaging user ID and need not be limited to textable phone
numbers.
[0044] Referring to the texting server 210 and the texting client
240, the user interface module 212 may enable users to send and
receive text messages. The text messages may have a telephone
number or some other information such as a business name embedded
in a destination field of the text message. The telephone number
may be a voice grade telephone number. The telephone number may be
associated with a geographic region or a particular category of
service.
[0045] The destination verification module 214 may access the
registry 232 to determine if a texting address is associated with
the contents of the destination field. The routing module 218 may
subsequently route each text message to the texting address if a
texting address is associated with the contents of the destination
field. The texting address may be a textable phone number, or an
electronic messaging address such as an email address or instant
messaging address, or the like. In some embodiments, the routing
module 218 may leverage the texting channels of the user device in
order to transmit SMS messages (or the like) via the user device
for destinations that are associated with textable phone
numbers.
[0046] If more that one texting address is associated with the
contents of the destination field, the destination selection module
216 may automatically select, or enable a user to manually select,
the preferred texting address from a list of matching texting
addresses and/or descriptors. In certain embodiments, the
destination selection module 216 selects the preferred texting
address based on the contents of the text message. For example, the
destination selection module 216 may select a texting address for
an electronics department of a business if the contents of the text
message relate to electronics.
[0047] The depicted registration server 220 includes a registration
module 222, a harvesting module 224, a contact module 226 and a
text-to-speech module 228. The registration module 222 may manage
access to the registry 232 and facilitate inserting data into, or
retrieving data from, the registry 232. The registry 232 may be
cached locally on the registry server 220 and stored partially or
wholly within the datastore 230.
[0048] The harvesting module 224 may harvest contact information
for various entities from web pages, electronic listings, public
databases, or the like. The contact information may include contact
addresses that may be used as a texting addresses such as email
addresses and instant messaging addresses.
[0049] The contact module 226 may use the harvested contact
information to invite various entities to register within the
registry 232. Invitations may be sent to entities through a variety
of communication means such as email, instant messaging, texting,
automated phone dialogs, postal mail, and the like. The
registration invitation may include a registration pin that can be
used to uniquely identify an entity on a registration web page or
during a call to a registration phone number. In some embodiments,
the text-to-speech module 228 may be leveraged to invite entities
to register via an interactive voice dialog. In certain
embodiments, the contact module 226 comprises a dialer that may be
leveraged to connect entities with available customer support
personnel, the text-to-speech module 228, or the like.
[0050] One of skill in the art will appreciate that extending
invitations to entities to register within the registry 232 may
dramatically increase the number of entities that are registered to
use texting services. As a result, the reach, availability, and
usefulness of such texting services may be significantly advanced.
One of skill in the art will also appreciate that the various
modules depicted in FIGS. 2a and 2b may reside partially or wholly
within user devices such as mobile devices and desktop devices or
distributed amongst multiple nodes in a cloud computing environment
or the like.
[0051] FIG. 3 is a flowchart diagram depicting one example of a
texting method 300 that is consistent with one or more embodiments
of the claimed inventions. As depicted, the texting method 300
includes receiving 310 a text message, accessing 320 a texting
registry, determining 330 if a destination for the text message is
registered, and sending 340 the text message. The texting method
300 may also include contacting 340 the destination and delivering
350 a registry invitation and/or the text message. The texting
method 300 may be used to provide texting services to textable and
untextable phone numbers. The texting method 300 may be executed by
the texting server 210 and/or a user device associated with such a
server.
[0052] Receiving 310 a text message may include receiving a text
from a user application or the like. The user application may
reside on a variety of devices such a mobile devices and desktop
devices. Subsequently, the method is advanced by accessing 320 a
texting registry such as the registry 232 and determining 330 if
the contents of the destination field for the text message matches
an entity that is registered within the texting registry.
[0053] If the contents of the destination field matches a
registered entity, the texting method 300 may be advanced by
sending 340 the text message to the registered entity. In one
embodiment, if the contents of the destination field matches
multiple entities (i.e. an ambiguous match) a selection list is
provided to the user application and a user of the user application
is enabled to select the intended destination. Subsequently, the
text message is sent to the intended destination in response to
selection of the intended destination.
[0054] If the contents of the destination field does not match a
registered entity, the texting method 300 may be advanced by
contacting 340 the destination and delivering 350 a registry
invitation and/or the text message. For example, an electronic
message, voice message, or postal letter may be sent to the
destination informing them that a party was attempting to contact
them via a text message. The electronic message, voice message, or
postal letter may include the contents of the text message and
invite an entity associated with the destination to register with
the texting system 300 in order to respond to the text message and
receive future text messages.
[0055] One of skill in the art will appreciate that informing an
entity of actual attempts to send text messages provides a
compelling motivation to register with the texting system 200 and
thereby extend the reach, availability, and usefulness of texting
services far beyond what is currently attainable.
[0056] One of skill in the art will also appreciate that the
operations depicted in FIG. 3 and in other Figures included herein
need not be executed in the depicted order. For example, in one
embodiment access to the registry 232 or the like may occur before
an actual email message is sent. For example, the registry 232 may
be accessed in response to a user editing the destination field
within a message editor or the like. Consequently, the information
provided by the user within such a field can be used to retrieve
and disambiguate an intended destination and the corresponding
texting address previous to transmission of a texting message. In
yet another embodiment, a user is informed if the contents of the
destination field does not resolve to a texting address.
[0057] FIG. 4 is a flowchart diagram depicting one example of a
registration method 400 that is consistent with one or more
embodiments of the claimed inventions. As depicted, the
registration method 400 includes obtaining 410 voice grade
telephone listings, searching 420 for a corresponding electronic
address, determining 430 if an electronic address has been found,
queuing 440 a listing, contacting 450 an entity associated with a
listing for registration information, pre-registering 460 an
entity, and transmitting 470 a confirmation invitation.
[0058] Obtaining 410 voice grade telephone listings may include
obtaining a database of telephone listings associated with a
geographic region such as white pages listings, yellow pages
listings, or the like. Searching 420 for a corresponding electronic
address may include conducting an internet search of web pages that
reference a particular telephone number and extracting a
corresponding electronic address such as an email address.
[0059] If a corresponding electronic address is found the method
maybe advanced by pre-registering 460 an entity and transmitting
470 a confirmation invitation to the entity via the electronic
address. Upon reception of a confirmation message from the entity,
the registration may be finalized within the registry 232.
[0060] If a corresponding electronic address is not found the
method may be advanced by queuing 440 a listing and subsequently
contacting 450 an entity associated with a listing for registration
information.
[0061] FIG. 5 is graphical diagram depicting one example of a
listing interface 500 that is consistent with one or more
embodiments of the claimed inventions. As depicted, the listing
interface 500 includes a variety of listings 510 with entity
contact information 520, distance information 530, review
information 540, and a review link 550. The listing interface 500
also includes a textable indicator 560 which enables a user to know
which entities can be contacted via texting (i.e. are textable
entities) regardless of whether those entities actually possess a
textable phone number.
[0062] In some embodiments, the user interface module 212 or the
like parses the information to be displayed to identify telephone
numbers. For example, the listings 510 may be embedded in a web
page that is parsed to identify telephone numbers that are included
therein. In other embodiments, the location of each telephone
number is identified by formatting codes. In response to
identifying telephone numbers, the destination verification module
214 or the like may access a texting registry to determine if a
texting address is associated with each identified telephone
number. If a texting address is associated with an indentified
telephone number, the textable indicator 560 may be displayed
proximate to the telephone number or other contact information for
the corresponding entity.
[0063] The textable indicator may be any suitable indicator such as
an icon, a symbol, a graphic, a display character or a sequence of
display characters. In some embodiments, clicking or selecting the
textable indicator 560 proximate to the entity contact information
520, activates a texting interface (not shown) that enables a user
to have a texting dialog with the selected entity. However, one of
skill in the art will appreciate that a texting interface for
communicating with a textable entity could be activated via a
variety of mechanisms (e.g. voice commands) some of which may not
be currently known in the art.
[0064] FIG. 6 is graphical diagram depicting one example of a map
interface 600 that is consistent with one or more embodiments of
the claimed inventions. As depicted, the map interface 600 includes
a variety of graphical indicators 610 with an entity name 620,
review information 540, and the textable indicator 560 overlayed
thereon. Similar to the listing interface 500, the map interface
600 enables a user to know which entities can be contacted via text
messaging regardless of whether those entities actually possess a
textable phone number.
[0065] In the depicted embodiment, the textable indicator 560 is
proximate to the entity name 620 and clicking or selecting the
textable indicator 560 activates a texting interface (not shown)
that enables a user to have a texting dialog with the selected
entity. However, activation of a texting interface is not limited
to the depicted embodiment.
[0066] FIG. 7 is graphical diagram depicting one example of a
texting interface or dialog 700 that is consistent with one or more
embodiments of the claimed inventions. The texting dialog 700
includes a recipient or destination field 705, a number of user
transmissions 710, entity responses 720, and a message editing
field 730. The texting dialog 700 shows how the texting system 200
can be leveraged to conduct commerce via texting.
[0067] The recipient or destination field 705 enables a user to
specify a destination address for the text message(s). In some
embodiments, the contents of the field 705 are used to access a
texting registry which verifies that the contents correspond to an
entity with a texting address. In one embodiment, if the contents
of the field 705 correspond to more that one entity the field a
drop down list is provided (not completely shown) to the user with
descriptors for entities that match the contents of the destination
field.
[0068] The credit card number of the user and/or a confirmation
code may be known to the entity that receives the user
transmissions or by the texting system 200. In some embodiments,
user credit card numbers and/or confirmation codes are be stored in
the registry 232 and associated with a corresponding entity.
Consequently, the user may be able to confirm the transaction with
via a confirmation code 740 which can subsequently be validated by
the entity. In the depicted embodiment, the confirmation code is
explicitly transmitted by the user. In another embodiment, the user
initiates transmission of the confirmation code by activating a
`confirm` button or the like. In some embodiments, payments to
entities from users are automatically handled by the system 200 in
response to a transaction that is confirmed by the user.
[0069] FIG. 8 is graphical diagram depicting one example of a
destination selection dialog 800 that is consistent with one or
more embodiments of the claimed inventions. As depicted, the
destination selection dialog 800 includes a variety of entity
listings 810 that enable disambiguation of an intended destination.
For example, when the contents of the destination field of a
transmitted or pending text message matches multiple entities (i.e.
an ambiguous match) as described above, a selection list or the
like may be provided to the user to enable the user to select the
intended destination. Subsequently, the text message may be sent to
the intended destination in response to selection of the intended
destination and/or entry of the text message by the user.
[0070] The proceeding depiction of the texting system 200 and other
inventive elements described herein are intended to be illustrative
rather than definitive. Similarly, the claimed invention may be
embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit
or essential characteristics. For example, the modules of an
apparatus claim may be distributed across multiple physical devices
such as a client device and a server device while retaining the
essence of the claimed apparatus. The described embodiments are to
be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not
restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by
the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All
changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of
the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
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