WO2008120034A2

WO2008120034A2 - Facilitating text communication

Info

Publication number: WO2008120034A2
Application number: PCT/IB2007/001410
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Rieman; Minna Hekanaho; Minna Koutonen; Tero Rantonen; John Hard
Original assignee: Nokia Corporation
Priority date: 2007-03-29
Filing date: 2007-05-30
Publication date: 2008-10-09
Also published as: WO2008120034A3

Abstract

Methods and arrangements together with computer program products are described that alleviate problems that are encountered when using predictive text input functions in communication devices. That is, problems related to the fact that desired words very often do not exist in dictionary in the device are addressed. Contact associated sets of words, i.e. dictionaries, facilitates for users of communication devices when, e.g., writing messages to entities specified by such contacts.

Description

FACILITATING TEXT COMMUNICATION

Technical field

Methods and arrangements as well as computer program products that facilitate for users when performing communication of words of text.

Background Communication devices of today, such as mobile phones, are to a large extent used for text communication in the form of messaging such as SMS and e-mail.

One feature that is available for facilitating messaging in communication devices is a collection of contacts, i.e. an address book in which sets of records containing contact information (such as telephone numbers, e-mail addresses etc.) are stored and is configured such that it is easily accessible when utilizing messaging applications.

Although the communication devices have evolved from very simple "telephones" to the current devices having very large processing and communication capabilities, there still exist ways in which they can be improved, not least in terms of their user interfaces. For example, due to the very common requirement that a communication device should be very small, there is a persisting compromise that need constant attention when designing such devices - the size of the keypad and the number of keys on the keypad. A typical communication device comprises a 12-button keypad of common ITU-T type on which each key represent several characters, digits as well as characters and other symbols.

Typing of text on such keypads is often facilitated by the use of various prediction functions that utilize a stored dictionary of words. However, a problem that is encountered when using such predictive functions is that desired words very often do not exist in the dictionary. The user is then typically forced to perform a more cumbersome character-by-character input of the "non-existing" word and, optionally, add the word to the dictionary.

Summary

In light of the above there are provided methods, arrangements and computer program products for facilitating for users when performing communication of words of text.

Hence, in a first aspect there is provided a method in a communication device that comprises receiving a set of data associated with a contact, determining whether the contact is associated with a set of words that are specific to said contact, and depending on the determination, enabling a messaging application to retrieve words from the contact specific set of words during creation of a message intended for transmission to an entity specified by the contact.

The reception of the set of data associated with the contact may involve receiving user input during a process of creation of the contact. The reception of the set of data associated with the contact may also or alternatively involve receiving a digital representation of a business card.

The determination whether the contact is associated with a set of words may involve communicating with a server, and the enabling a messaging application to retrieve words may involve retrieving words from the server.

The reception of the set of data associated with the contact may involve receiving also the set of words that are specific to the contact.

The enabling the messaging application to retrieve words may involve merging the set of words with a dictionary in the communication device.

Correspondingly, a computer program product may comprise machine- readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, performs the method according to this first aspect. Furthermore, a corresponding communication device may comprise a receiver configured such that it is capable of receiving a set of data associated with a contact, a determining part configured such that it is capable of determining whether the contact is associated with a set of words that are specific to said contact, and an enabling part configured such that it is responsive to the determining part and capable of enabling a messaging application to retrieve words from the contact specific set of words during creation of a message intended for transmission to an entity specified by the contact.

In a second aspect there is provided a method in a server that comprises receiving a request to provide a set of words associated with a designated contact, analyzing a database of stored associations between contacts and sets of words, and, depending on the analysis, providing a set of words that is specific to the designated contact.

Correspondingly, a computer program product may comprise machine- readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, performs the method according to this second aspect.

Furthermore, a corresponding server may comprise a receiver configured such that it is capable of receiving a request to provide a set of words associated with a designated contact, an analyzing part configured such that it is capable of analyzing a database of stored associations between contacts and sets of words, and a providing part configured such that it is responsive to the analyzing part and capable of providing a set of words that is specific to the designated contact.

In a third aspect there is provided a method in a communication device that comprises receiving a set of words, associating the received set of words with a specific contact, and providing the received set of words and information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact to a server. The reception of the set of words and the association^'of the received set of words with the specific contact may be performed during a process of creation of a message intended for transmission to an entity specified by the contact.

The provision of the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact to a server may involve push transmission to the server of the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact.

The provision of the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact to a server may involve receiving a request from the server, and, in response to the request, transmitting to the server the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact.

The received set of words may be stored in a dictionary in the communication device.

Correspondingly, a computer program product may comprise machine- readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, performs the method according to this third aspect.

Furthermore, a corresponding communication device may comprise a receiver configured such that it is capable of receiving a set of words, an associating part configured such that it is capable of associating the received set of words with a specific contact, and a providing part configured such that it is capable of providing the received set of words and information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact to a server.

In a fourth aspect there is provided a method in a server that comprises receiving data that designates a contact, receiving a set of words and information regarding an association between the received set of words and the contact, and storing the set of words and the information regarding the association of the received set of words with the specific contact in a database.

Correspondingly, a computer program product may comprise machine- readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, performs the method according to this fourth aspect.

Furthermore, a corresponding server may comprise a a receiver configured such that it is capable of receiving data that designates a contact, and capable of receiving a set of words and information regarding an association between the received set of words and the contact, and a storing part configured such that it is capable of storing the set of words and the information regarding the association of the received set of words with the specific contact in a database.

In other words, to exemplify some advantages of implementing the above methods and arrangements, consider a large corporation having a large number of employees. These corporate employees need to communicate with each other as well as with external contacts, each contact typically being a person who prefers to use specific terminology when corresponding via text messages.

Typically, information about these external contacts needs to be shared between many or all of the corporate employees. For example, "Joe@BigCompany" (Joe being an employee of the corporation called BigCompany) meets "MrX@StartUp" (Mr X being an external contact at a company called Startup) and learns the special terminology MrX uses for his specific field of expertise, e.g. display coatings. Joe enters those words into the dictionary of his communication device, so he can remember them and use them when communicating using text messages, such as SMS. Later, "Sue@BigCompany" (Sue also being an employee of the corporation called BigCompany) needs to communicate with MrX. Therefore, she will want to have the same knowledge of the special terminology of MrX, but this is stored only in Joe's handset.

However, by realizing the above methods in the communication devices of Joe and Sue as well as a server in a network accessible to Joe and Sue, it is possible to facilitate for Joe and Sue when they are communicating text messages to MrX.

Advantages of these methods and arrangements may include that they facilitate for a group of people to maintain consistent information about contacts. Moreover, the methods may be more or less transparent to the user by being executed automatically as part of actions that the users already perform, such as entering new words into their dictionary and sending electronic business cards, etc.

Brief description of the drawings

The above summarized methods, arrangements and computer program products will now be described more in detail, by way of example. References to the drawings will be made, where:

Figure 1 is a schematically illustrated communication network.

Figures 2a and 2b schematically illustrate a communication device.

Figure 3 schematically illustrates a server.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates content of a word dictionary in a communication device.

Figure 5 schematically illustrates content of a database in a server.

Figures 6 and 7 are flow charts of methods that are performed in a communication device.

Figures 8 and 9 are flow charts of methods that are performed in a server. Detailed description

Figure 1 illustrates a communication network where a first mobile communication device 101 , a second mobile communication device 103 and a third mobile communication device 103 interact with a first mobile communication system 107 via respective air interfaces 102, 104 and 106, respectively. The interaction between the communication devices 101 , 103, 105 and the mobile communication system 107 may be, as the skilled person realizes, in the form of voice connections as well as text messaging sessions, as will be discussed further below, and may follow any suitable standard such as the well known system standards GSM/GPRS, UMTS, CDMA 2000 etc.

The mobile communication system 107 is connected, via a respective gateway 119, 121 , with a second mobile communication system 111, e.g. similar to the first system 107, and a data communication network 117, e.g. the Internet. As illustrated, a fourth mobile communication device 109 is interacting via an air interface 110 with the second mobile communication system 111. A server system 113 and a user unit 115 is connected to the data communication network 117. Communication between the server system 113 and any other entity, including the entities of the mobile communication systems 107 and 111 , as well as entities in the data communication network 117, may be performed via the gateways 119, 121 and following any appropriate data communication standard known in the art.

With reference to the summary above, the first mobile communication device 101 , the second mobile communication device 103 and the third mobile communication device 105 may correspond to "Joe@BigCompany", "Sue@BigCompany" and "M rX@ Startup", respectively. Of course, the fourth mobile communication device 109 may alternatively represent any of "Joe", "Sue" and "MrX". The server 113 as well as the user unit 115 may be entities in a corporate data network, for example a network at "BigCompany".

Figure 2a illustrates schematically a communication device 201 , corresponding to any of the communication devices 101 , 103, 105 and 109 in figure 1. The communication device 201 , which is shown in some more detail as compared to the description of the devices of figure 1 , comprises a processor 207, memory 209 as well as input/output units in the form of a microphone 211 , a speaker 213, a display 215 and a keyboard 217. Radio communication via an air interface is realized by radio circuitry 219 and an antenna 221. The details regarding how these units communicate are known to the skilled person and is therefore not discussed further.

The methods to be discussed will in general reside in the form of computer programs comprising software instructions, together with other software components necessary for the operation of the device 201 , in the memory 209 of the device. The software instructions may be provided into the memory 209 in a number of ways, including distribution via a network with which the device is connected as well as from a software supplier via any suitable computer program storage and distribution media.

Figure 2b illustrates the communication device 201 in a view that is divided into functional blocks, rather than hardware/circuitry blocks as shown in figure 2a. Hence, the communication device 201 comprises a receiver 251 configured such that it is capable of receiving any data that is communicated in a communication system such as the system 107 of figure 1. A determining part 253 is configured such that it is capable of determining whether different sets of data are associated with each other and provide an indication of results from such determinations. An enabling part 255 is configured such that it is capable of enabling other parts of the communication device 201 to perform different operations. An associating part 257 is configured such that it is capable of associating different sets of data with each other and provide an indication of results from such associations. A providing part 259 is configured such that it is capable of providing sets of data to any entity capable of communicating with the device 201 , such as a server.

Figure 3 illustrates a server 301 , such as the server 113 in figure 1 , in a view that is divided into functional blocks. A hardware/circuitry view of the server 301 would comprise similar parts as the communication device illustrated in figure 2a, such as one or more processors and memory etc. Hence, the server 301 comprises a receiver 351 configured such that it is capable of receiving any data set that isw provided from, e.g., a communication device such as the device 201 described above. An an analyzing part 353 is configured such that it is capable of analyzing data such as data in a database in the server as well as any other received data. A providing part 355 is configured such that it is capable of providing sets of data to any entity, such as a communication device. A storing part 357 is configured such that it is capable of storing sets of data, for example into a database that may form part of the server 313.

Turning now to figures 4 and 5, content of a word dictionary in a communication device and content of a database in a server will be illustrated.

Referring to figure 4, a data set illustrated in the form of a table 401 in a communication device such as any of the communication devices described above in connection with figures 1 and 2, comprises a plurality of words 403 and a plurality of records 405 containing data corresponding to contacts. As indicated in figure 4, the words 403 are only schematically illustrated and are simply denoted by "WORD 1", "WORD 2" etc. As the skilled person will realize, the words may be of any language and length. Furthermore, the records 405 containing data corresponding to different contacts are schematically illustrated and are denoted "CONTACT 1", CONTACT 2" etc. As the skilled person will realize, the complete information regarding any contact may comprise virtually any information, including name, telephone number, address etc.

Figure 4 shows that "WORD 1", "WORD 2" and "WORD 6" are associated with "CONTACT 3". That is, "WORD 1", "WORD 2" and "WORD 6" define a set of words that is associated with the contact denoted by "CONTACT 3". In other words, the set of words "WORD 1", "WORD 2" and "WORD 6" can be seen as a dictionary of words for use when creating text messages intended for transmission to an entity that is defined by "CONTACT 3". Similarly, "WORD 3" and "WORD 5" define a set of words or dictionary that is associated with "CONTACT 42".

Examples of dictionaries include: corporate dictionaries, special interest dictionaries, most used dictionaries, personal dictionaries, and also pointers to dictionaries.

Referring now to figure 5, a data set illustrated in the form of a table 501 in a server such as the servers 113, 313 described above in connection with figures 1 and 3, comprises a plurality of records of contacts 503 and a plurality of records 505 containing sets of words. As indicated in figure 5, the records 503 containing data corresponding to different contacts are schematically illustrated and are denoted "CONTACT 1", CONTACT 2" etc. As the skilled person will realize, the complete information regarding any contact may comprise virtually any information, including name, telephone number, address etc. Furthermore, the sets of words 505 contain words that are only schematically illustrated and are simply denoted by "WORD 1", "WORD 2" etc. As the skilled person will realize, the words may be of any language and length.

Figure 5 shows that the entity that is defined by "CONTACT 1" has associated with it a set of words, i.e. a dictionary of words, that consists of "WORD 4", "WORD 5" and "WORD 6". Furthermore, "CONTACT 2" has no associated set of words and "CONTACT 3" and "CONTACT 42" each have a respective set of associated words.

Needless to say, figures 4 and 5 illustrate only a subset of complete sets of words and contacts. In a typical implementation, the number of words in a set would be much larger, for example tens or hundreds of words. Similarly, in a typical implementation, the number of contacts would be much larger than illustrated.

Turning now to figures 6 to 9, methods will be described that are performed in communication devices and servers, for example the communication devices and servers described above in connection with figures 1 to 3. Dictionaries or sets of words and contact information, that may correspond to the data sets described above with reference to figures 4 and 5, are processed during these methods.

Figure 6 is a flow chart specifying the general steps of a method that is performed in a communication device such as any of the communication devices described above in connection with figures 1 and 2.

In a reception step 601 , a set of data is received that is associated with a contact. Then, in a determination step 603 it is determined whether the contact is associated with a set of words that are specific to the contact. Depending on the determination, during an enabling step 605 enablement is performed of a messaging application to retrieve words from the contact specific set of words during creation of a message intended for transmission to an entity specified by the contact.

Variants of this method may include that the step 601 of receiving the set of data associated with the contact may involves receiving user input during a process of creation of the contact. The reception of the set of data associated with the contact may also or alternatively involve receiving a digital representation of a business card.

Furthermore, the step 603 of determining whether the contact is associated with a set of words may involve communicating with a server, and the step 605 of enabling a messaging application to retrieve words may involve retrieving words from the server.

Moreover, the step 601 of receiving the set of data associated with the contact may involve receiving also the set of words that are specific to the contact, and the step 605 of enabling the messaging application to retrieve words may involve merging the set of words with a dictionary in the communication device.

In other words, contact information may be sent along with a virtual business card or may be downloaded from a personal webpage service or through a corporate webpage, for example. If a contact is sent from one phonebook, i.e. from a first communication device, to another, the information is made available for the receiving communication device.

Figure 7 is a flow chart specifying the general steps of a method that is performed in a communication device such as any of the communication devices described above in connection with figures 1 and 2.

In a reception step 701 a set of words is received. Then, in an association step 703 the received set of words is associated with a specific contact, and in a provision step 705 the received set of words and information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact is then provided to a server.

Variants of this method may include that the step 701 of reception of the set of words and the step 703 of associating the received set of words with the specific contact may be performed during a process of creation of a message intended for transmission to an entity specified by the contact.

Furthermore, the step 705 of providing the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact to a server may involve push transmission to the server of the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact.

Moreover, the step 705 of providing the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact to a server may involve receiving a request from the server, and, in response to the request, transmitting to the server the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact.

The received set of words may be stored in a dictionary in the communication device. Figure 8 is a flow chart specifying the general steps of a method that is performed in a server such as any of the servers 113, 313 described above in connection with figures 1 and 3.

Hence, in a reception step 801 a request to provide a set of words associated with a designated contact is received. Then, in an analysis step 803, a database of stored associations between contacts and sets of words is analyzed. In a decision step 805 it is decided, depending on the outcome of the analysis step 803, to provide, in a provision step 807, a set of words that is specific to the designated contact.

Figure 9 is a flow chart specifying the general steps of a method that is performed in a server such as any of the servers 113, 313 described above in connection with figures 1 and 3.

In a reception step 901 data is received that designates a contact. In a further reception step 903 a set of words and information regarding an association between the received set of words and the contact is received. Then, in a storage step 905 the set of words and the information regarding the association of the received set of words with the specific contact is stored in a database.

In other words, sets of words entered into a "personal" dictionary in the communication device may be automatically tagged with, e.g., the name of the contact. On a request from a server, or periodically, the personal dictionary and the contact list is uploaded to the server. A database maintains contact-specific words for each contact. For basic text-input, the dictionary may include only the spelling of each word. But in a more advanced implementation, it can also include definitions which have been entered by the user who entered the words.

When another user downloads contact information from the server, the contact-specific dictionary may also be downloaded and merged into the personal dictionary of the communication device. Contact-specific tagging may also be maintained. Alternatively, when a first user sends an electronic business card with the contact information to a second user, the second user's communication device gets in contact with the server and initiates download of any personal dictionary information that is available.

Although the invention has above been described using embodiments involving a mobile communication device, the invention is applicable to any type of portable apparatus, including portable mp3-players, cameras, pocket computers, portable gaming devices, etc.

The invention has mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other em-bodi-ments than the ones disclosed above are equally pos-sible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended patent claims.

Claims

1. A method in a communication device, comprising:

- receiving a set of data associated with a contact,

- determining whether the contact is associated with a set of words that are specific to said contact, and

- depending on the determination, enabling a messaging application to retrieve words from the contact specific set of words during creation of a message intended for transmission to an entity specified by the contact.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reception of the set of data associated with the contact involves receiving user input during a process of creation of the contact.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the reception of the set of data associated with the contact involves receiving a digital representation of a business card.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determination whether the contact is associated with a set of words involves communicating with a server, and wherein the enabling a messaging application to retrieve words involves retrieving words from the server.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the reception of the set of data associated with the contact involves receiving also the set of words that are specific to the contact.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the enabling the messaging application to retrieve words involves merging the set of words with a dictionary in the communication device.

7. A method in a server, comprising:

- receiving a request to provide a set of words associated with a designated contact,

- analyzing a database of stored associations between contacts and sets of words, - depending on the analysis, providing a set of words that is specific to the designated contact.

8. A method in a communication device, comprising:

- receiving a set of words, - associating the received set of words with a specific contact,

- providing the received set of words and information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact to a server.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the reception of the set of words and the association of the received set of words with the specific contact is performed during a process of creation of a message intended for transmission to an entity specified by the contact.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the provision of the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact to a server involves push transmission to the server of the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact.

11. The method of any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the provision of the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact to a server involves:

- receiving a request from the server, and

- in response to the request, transmitting to the server the received set of words and the information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact.

12. The method of any of claims 8 to 11 , further comprising:

- storing the received set of words in a dictionary in the communication device.

13. A method in a server, comprising:

- receiving data that designates a contact, - receiving a set of words and information regarding an association between the received set of words and the contact, and

- storing the set of words and the information regarding the association of the received set of words with the specific contact in a database.

14. A communication device comprising:

- a receiver configured such that it is capable of receiving a set of data associated with a contact,

- a determining part configured such that it is capable of determining whether the contact is associated with a set of words that are specific to said contact, and

- an enabling part configured such that it is responsive to the determining part and capable of enabling a messaging application to retrieve words from the contact specific set of words during creation of a message intended for transmission to an entity specified by the contact.

15. A communication device comprising:

- a receiver configured such that it is capable of receiving a set of words,

- an associating part configured such that it is capable of associating the received set of words with a specific contact, and - a providing part configured such that it is capable of providing the received set of words and information regarding the association between the received set of words and the specific contact to a server.

16. A server comprising:

- a receiver configured such that it is capable of receiving a request to provide a set of words associated with a designated contact,

- an analyzing part configured such that it is capable of analyzing a database of stored associations between contacts and sets of words, and

- a providing part configured such that it is responsive to the analyzing part and capable of providing a set of words that is specific to the designated contact.

17. A server comprising:

- a receiver configured such that it is capable of receiving data that designates a contact, and capable of receiving a set of words and information regarding an association between the received set of words and the contact, and

- a storing part configured such that it is capable of storing the set of words and the information regarding the association of the received set of words with the specific contact in a database.

18. A computer program product comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform:

- receiving a set of data associated with a contact,

19. A computer program product comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform:

- analyzing a database of stored associations between contacts and sets of words,

- depending on the analysis, providing a set of words that is specific to the designated contact.

20. A computer program product comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform:

- receiving a set of words,

- associating the received set of words with a specific contact,

21. A computer program product comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform:

- receiving data that designates a contact,

- receiving a set of words and information regarding an association between the received set of words and the contact, and