Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Special service
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-05
2002-07-09
Urban, Edward F. (Department: 2685)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Special service
C455S426100, C455S466000, C455S458000, C455S560000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06418308
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for transmitting messages and the processing of received answers to the transmitted messages. A further object of the invention is a system for transmitting messages and the processing of received answers to the transmitted messages, which system comprises a communicator's (message sender's) data processing system comprising means for selecting a target group, for transmitting a message and for receiving answers, a service center comprising means for transferring the message and the answer, and a telecommunication device for receiving messages.
The invention relates in particular to making small-size opinion polls, but it is possible to utilize the method according to the invention also in other two-way communication. In the following the invention is through explained in an exemplary way in particular in connection with making opinion polls.
Opinion polls have traditionally been made by mailing a questionnaire to the answering party, by making personal on-site interviews, by making personal interviews by telephone and by requesting in television and/or radio broadcasts the interviewees to call certain telephone numbers, in which case the opinion is expressed by dialing a telephone number corresponding to the opinion or by entering DTMF-signals, i.e. by pushing the telephone keys based upon a voice or a vocal message heard from the called-up telephone number. In publication WO 88 05 239 “Improved polling system” it is explained a system operating in the fixed telephone network, in which system by utilizing programmable units and a voice messages a data system is made to call the interviewees, who answer the questions using their telephone devices according to the instructions of the voice message.
A letter poll can be directed to a certain area, in which case the persons selected to be interviewed are selected based upon their area of residence. A letter poll cannot be directed to persons who were in a certain area at a certain moment.
The problem of a letter poll is also its slowness. The preparing of the material, mailing and the passage of mail itself to both directions all consume their own time. The slowness is increased by the fact that the transfer of the answer information to the enquirer's data processing system for analyzing involves a delay. Another disadvantage is also that a letter poll is delivered to an interviewee's address or to an address into which the interviewee has redirected his/her mail, independent of where the interviewee is at the moment. A further problem of a letter poll from a recipient's point of view is that if he/she does not check his/her mail during the answering period, an outdated enquiry cannot be removed from his/her mail. Answering a letter poll further requires that the interviewee takes his/her answer to a letter box.
Personal on-site interviews can be directed to a certain area. Additionally, they can be directed to persons being in this area during a certain period. The period must however be rather long. Normally there are so many persons in an area that only a small part of them is reached. Interviewees selected based upon their place of residence are only reached when at home, in which case an interviewer may have to make several visits. The problem is, independent of the selecting criterion, that the coverage of a poll is highly dependent on the number of persons present on the site. A further problem is that the interviewees cannot be reached simultaneously. From an interviewee's point of view the disadvantage is that he/she should have time to answer the questions just at the time of an interview. Also slowness is a problem of an on-site interview. The preparing of material, printing, an eventual selecting of the interviewers and the interviewers' moving to the site of interview, the interview itself, delivering the answers to the subscriber of the poll and transferring the answer information into the enquirer's data processing systems consume time. In addition to above, the problem of an on-site personal interview is that an interviewer may unconsciously, or even consciously, influence the answers given by the interviewee with his/her body language and/or by presenting the question using his/her own words.
Telephone interviews can be directed to a certain area. In this case the persons selected to be interviewed are selected based upon their place of residence. In prior known methods enquiries cannot be directed to persons who were in a certain place at a certain moment. Even the telephone interview method utilizing a voice message and several telephone lines simultaneously, which was presented in publication WO 88 05 239, has shortcomings. If there is no answer in a telephone number or it is busy, it must be called again, possibly even a number of times during the interview period. In addition to that the number of telephone lines connected to a “polling center” limits the number of interviewees who can be reached simultaneously. Because in the method the answering is done using the dialing equipment of a telephone, the questions are limited to multiple-choice questions only. From the point of view of an interviewee who has answered the phone, the problem of the method is that he/she should have just at the moment of enquiry time to answer the questions.
An opinion poll, in which answers are requested over a television and/or radio broadcast to call certain telephone numbers or to express their opinions in another way, has the problem of limiting the target group and the geographical focusing of a poll. It is possible to try to limit the target group through selecting the media and the broadcasting time, but it is not possible to select the target group demographically. The problem in geographic focusing is that even the smallest area to which a poll can be focused, is geographically a quite large one (e.g. the coverage of a local radio broadcast).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,177 (Nickerson) discloses an opinion poll system utilising a radio link connection between central station and user stations. The system comprises plurality of dedicated handsets for transmission of user responses to a local base station. The opinion poll questions are delivered over a common TV-broadcast. The system offers real-time answering and updating opinion poll charts. Updated charts can further be broadcasted and shown also to the audience with handsets. While the system has advantages of real-time opinion polls with wireless handsets, it has several disadvantages such as: 1. The user's station is not capable for receiving and displaying only a short index (question reference) of maximum 3 digits. 2. The user's station must be relatively close to the central station to confirm a wireless link (radio link or wireless infrared- or optical link etc.) to the central station and therefore the system is basically for local use only. 3. The purpose of the handset according to this system is to provide the user with possibility to answer questions shown in an on-line or off-line media (TV, radio, and newspapers). The handsets are therefore not likely to become popular and thus the system can not offer substantial percentage of voters among a large population.
The publication of WO patent application 89 09 530 discloses a real time automated interactive mass communications system. The system is arranged to make telephone calls to a number of telephone subscribers. Once a recipient answers a call, a recorded audio message will be played to present the question(s). The user can give an answer by means of dialling certain number by and ordinary telephone device used to answer the telephone call. An automated system gathers the results from the various users. As the system uses an on-line telephone method, it suffers from the same disadvantages as mentioned before in case of WO 88 05 239.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,389 discloses a system, where a satellite TV-program carries the question of an opinion poll and a user is equipped with special devices prov
Heinonen Pekka
Okkonen Harri
Tuomi Ilkka
Craver Charles
Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd.
Perman & Green LLP
Urban Edward F.
LandOfFree
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