| US20050047577A1 | ||||
| CN1713674A | ||||
| CN1558342A |
We claim:
1. A method to communicate contact information comprising: a. Storing contact information in at least one centralized location; b. Notifying system of a change in the owner's contact information; and c. Transmitting contact information from the system to all predefined contact person(s) update information on their electronic device(s).
2. A claim as in 1 whereas, the contact person(s) are grouped according to the contact information desired to be transmitted. 3. A claim as in 1 whereas, the contact information may include address information, telephone information, and email information.
4. A claim as in 1 whereas, the device may be a PDA, cellular phone, computer .
5. A claim as in 1 whereas, the device can be a combination of claim 4. 6. A claim as in 1 whereas, the contact person is queried to accept new transmitted data.
7. A claim as in 1 whereas, the owner is notified of contact person(s) acceptance of the contact information.
8. A method to communicate contact information comprising: a. Storing contact information in at least one centralized location; b. Notifying system of a change in the owner's contact information; c. Transmitting contact information from the system to all predefined contact person(s) update information on their electronic devices; and d. Automatically updating the contact person(s) device with the current contact information of the owner.
9. A claim as in 8 whereas, the contact person is notified of the new transmitted data.
10. A claim as in 8 whereas, the contact person is queried to accept new transmitted data.
11. A claim as in 8 whereas, the owner is notified of contact person(s) acceptance of the contact information.
12. A method to communicate contact information comprising: a. Storing contact information in a centralized location; b. Notifying a change in the owner's contact information; and c. Transmitting notice to person(s) to update said contact information.
13. An apparatus to communicate contact information comprising: a. said contact information is stored in at least one centralized location; b. system is notified of a change in the owner's contact information; and c. said system transmits contact information to all predefined contact person(s) update information on their electronic devices.
14. An apparatus as in claim 1 whereas, the contact person(s) are grouped according to the contact information desired to be transmitted.
15. An apparatus as in 14 whereas, the contact information may include address information, telephone information, and email information.
16. An apparatus as in 14 whereas, the device may be a PDA.
17. An apparatus as in 14 whereas, the device may be a cellular phone.
18. An apparatus as in 14 whereas, the device may be a computer.
19. An apparatus as in 14 whereas, the contact person is queried to accept new transmitted data.
20. An apparatus as in 14 whereas, the owner is notified of contact person(s) acceptance of the contact information.
21. An apparatus communicate contact information comprising: a. said contact information is stored in at least one centralized location; b. system is notified of a change in the owner's contact information; c. said system transmits contact information to all predefined contact person(s) update information on their electronic devices; and d. Said information is automatically updated in the contact person(s) device with the current contact information of the owner.
22. An apparatus as in 22 whereas, the contact person is notified of the new transmitted data.
23. An apparatus as in 22 whereas, the contact person is queried to accept new transmitted data. 24. An apparatus as in 22 whereas, the owner is notified of contact person(s) acceptance of the contact information. 25. An apparatus communicate contact information comprising: a. said contact information is stored in at least one centralized location; b. system is notified of a change in the owner's contact information; and c. said system transmits notice person(s) to update information. |
PROFILE BROADCAST APPARATUS AND METHODS
INVENTOR
QUACH, Robert Chi-Thanh, C-57 Cameron Street Toronto, Ontario M5T 2Hl Citizen of Canada
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
This patent application claims priority from provisional patent application, Ser. No. 60/761,351, filed on 1/24/06.
BACKGROUND
When a person changes their contact phone number or email address, he needs to inform clients, partners, friends and families of the change. It is extremely time consuming notifying everyone on your contact list, the person receiving these updates also has to manually update all their records. If it is not done timely loyal customers might have sent service request based on old contact information that may lead to lost sales or delayed services, directly affecting a company's bottom line. The same may result if one loses track of clients' contact information because no update was received, or updates were not input onto your record timely therefore product offers or promotions were not able to reach customers efficiently. This invention assists our customers to broadcast updated profile information to people on their contact list. The information will be stored in the target's device for easy retrieval when needed. People receiveing the updated information also has the option to let our service update their record automatically by simply pressing a button. There is no need to search for pen and paper, all information is properly stored.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the preferred embodiment, a registered user ("the user") creates a profile in the system. The profile contains his/her personal information that may include name, home phone number, business phone number, cell phone number, fax number, home address, business address, email address, and etc. The user can define different levels and subset of fields he/she would like to share with different groups. The user may also define different levels and subset of groups based on his/her contact list stored in the system.
When the user updates his/her own profile previously stored in the system, the system, based on user setting, sends his/her updated information to the selected target group(s). The information sent over is customizable and is based on user setting related to the target group(s). Following are possible results that may occur on the target user's end.
1. When the target user is a registered user. If the receiving target user is a registered user, the updated information will be automatically updated on the target user's end device. A notification message will be sent to the receiving target user regarding the update. No further action is requested from the receiving target user. The updated record will be push to all registered devices that is registered under the receiving target user.
2. When the target user is not a registered user.
If the receiving target user is not a register user, the system will send a notification message to the receiving target user. The notification message may be a SMS message, fax or voice message. The notification message will contain the updated information sent by the user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1: Block diagram of a typical communication system for profile broadcasting.
Figure 2: Flowchart of profile update and changes notification. Figure 3: Flowchart of receiving notification and contact list update. Figure 4: Message flow diagram.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a profile broadcast system. The example system shown comprises a three-tier information system which comprises the database server(s), application server(s) (13) and distributed terminal workstations (10). Each terminal workstation (10) may be, for example, a mobile computing device, which could be but not limited to a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, or a smart phone. The system may also contain at least one application server. Each application server comprises core and business logic of the communication system, including database management. The application server (13) processes what is input by users, and returns results of processing to users. The database server controls processing of data stored in a database located in the database server (13). Such processing includes reading, writing, deleting, modifying, and backup, for example.
In the exemplary embodiment shown, a communication tower (11) provides a communication path (21) to each mobile computing device. The mobile computing device communicates with the communication tower. The communication tower (11) is also connected to the application servers (13) through a communication path (22). The communication path (22) may be either private or public. In addition, the communication path may or may not be wireless; that is, employ wireless communication. Each application server (13) is coupled to a local area network (LAN), which itself also connects with the database server. The LAN provides access to the Internet for the application servers and the computing devices. The mobile device therefore also has access to the Internet via the LAN, to any of the application servers, thru the communication path 21, and to the communication path 22. An alternative communication system could also be used between the mobile computing device (10) and the base station (11). The alternative communication system is similar to the above-described typical communication system. However, in the alternative communication system, the mobile computing device is connected to the base station (11) using, for example, an Ethernet card, a phone line, a coaxial cable, an electric
wire, another connection, or a combination of any of the above media. Through the LAN, the mobile computing device can access the application and database server (13).
The above-described typical and alternative communication systems are provided only as examples. Many variations of the systems described, and even different types of systems, can also be employed to incorporate the profile broadcast system and to implement the disclosed methods. For example, the claimed subject matter can be employed in a LAN-based data server configuration. It should also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the disclosed method can be advantageously deployed within almost any communication or other type of system where either bandwidth and/or device memory is an issue. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to systems that employ wireless communication links. Nevertheless, this is one area in which the advantages of the claimed subject matter are readily apparent.
Figure 2 is a flow chart showing an exemplary embodiment of a profile update and change notification method. After login to the system, the user will have right to change the profile. The user will have an option to broadcast the updated information. The updated information will be sent to others based on a predefined distribution list.
Figure 3 is a flow chart showing an exemplary embodiment of a process for providing a user with an updated profile broadcast. When the user receives the updated profile broadcast, it will be followed by a message asking if he wants to update the information in his mobile device with the new contact information. If the user has accepted the update request, the system will then check whether the device has the ability to do so. .In an embodiment, the device can automatically update contact information only if its owner subscribes to a service for that purpose. For devices that have the ability to automatically update the information, for example, because the user of the device has subscribed to a service, the system will automatically make the uĻdate(s) on the mobile device. In the case of a device that does not have the ability to automatically update the information, the system will then prompt the user to download the necessary program by registering for the service. When the program is installed into the device, the information will then automatically update the device with the updated information received.
Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary flow and format for messages that implement one or more features described above.
While the above invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. One skilled in the art may find variations of these preferred embodiments which, nevertheless, fall within the spirit of the present invention, whose scope is defined by the claims set forth below.
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