Free-hand mobile messaging-method and device

Abstract

A communication system and device that enables free-hand drawn SMS (Short Messaging Service) messages to be transmitted and received from / to various user devices. A buffer device is inserted within a GSM compatible handset providing a buffer for both conventional SMS messages created by typing a message on the keypad of the handset and for free-hand drawn SMS messages created by drawing or writing the free-hand message on a data entry device. An optional OCR (Optical Character Recognition) facility can be provided in either the buffer device inserted within the handset or in a network server that receives the transmitted message and processes it for proper routing to the intended recipient.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 915,563 filed on Jul. 27, 2001, which in turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 286,536 filed on Apr. 27, 2001. The Provisional Application is incorporated herein by reference for all it discloses.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention generally relates to the field of mobile handset communication. More particularly, this invention relates to improved techniques in the areas of SMS (Short Messaging Service), EMS (Enhanced SMS) and Image messaging with respect to a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) communications network.[0004]2. Description of Related Art[0005]There are two basic types of services offered through GSM: telephony (also referred to as teleservices) and data (also referred to as bearer services). Telephony services are mainly voice services that provide subscribers with the complete c...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014]To address the above-mentioned deficiencies in conventional mobile communication devices, it is an object of the present invention to provide a relatively inexpensive and compact device that allows for free-hand generation and reception of messages in different formats, such as SMS message format.

[0016]Creating and sending an SMS message using “free-hand” writing or drawing, as opposed to creating and sending an SMS message by manually pressing keys on the keypad of the device, is a convenient and welcome improvement over conventional communication devices. Allowing free-hand drawn messages would, for example, enable faster, more efficient, message transfer and it would also enable a variety of new services. Wireless banking, a service that would benefit from using free-hand drawn signatures for service verification, is one such new service.

[0017]One embodiment of the present invention generally deals with communication involving a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) enabled instrument, such as a handset or PDA (personal Digital Assistant). A device in accordance with the invention facilitates the transfer of standard GSM formatted data into the handset for transmitting and receiving over a network (without the need of a handset-proprietary data format). One example of a device in accordance with the invention is a handset that enables a user to create an SMS message using free-hand writing. A further embodiment of the invention enables the user to send a free-hand drawn image and also identifies the handwriting as characters. Thus, providing simple creation of complicated characters, such as Chinese characters.

[0018]The present invention also eliminates the complicated use of a small handset keyboard: The invention can be used in conjunction with second-generation cellular devices as well as more advanced sets of 2.5G and 3G (third generation) devices. One of the innovative aspects of this invention is that it is generic, i.e., not handset dependent, and because it interfaces with the standard preexisting data communication channels within the device, it works with all handsets without requiring a proprietary interface. Further, it is a very low cost solution with respect to each handset and there is no need to make special major adaptations for various cellular handsets.

Problems solved by technology

However, such devices are quite expensive and complicated when compared to a conventional cellular handset, i.e., 2G or, second generation handsets.

Furthermore, these externally attached modules are both large and expensive.

This contributes to increased costs, typically making these devices very expensive when compared to the cost of a cellular handset.

PDAs, on the other hand, do not require any attachments, but PDAs cannot send free-hand drawn images.

Also, PDA devices are expensive when compared to regular second generation cellular handsets.

Lastly, entering message data is even more complicated when it is desired to send a message using characters not supported by the keypad of the device, e.g., Chinese characters.

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