Ims network providing purchasing sessions to mobile devices that are located proximate to a business

{
  "publication_number": "US2009003265A1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A1",
  "title": "Ims network providing purchasing sessions to mobile devices that are located proximate to a business",
  "abstract": "IMS networks and methods are disclosed for providing purchasing sessions to mobile devices that are located proximate to a business. IMS network includes an application server that provides advertisements for the business to mobile devices that are located proximate to the business (i.e., the advertisements are pushed to the mobile devices). Responsive to an advertisement, the user of a mobile device may contact the application server through the mobile device to purchase one or more items from the business. The application server responds to the mobile device with receipt information for the purchase. The user may then request delivery of the purchased item through the mobile device by transmitting some or all of the receipt information to the application server. The application server may then schedule delivery of the item to the user of the mobile device.",
  "claims": [
    "1. An IMS network, comprising: an application server that is associated with a business, wherein the application server is adapted to receive a notification message from a location server indicating that a mobile device is located proximate to the business, to identify an advertisement related to the business, and to initiate transmission of the advertisement to the mobile device that is located proximate to the business; the application server is further adapted to receive a purchase request message from the mobile device to purchase an item from the business, to facilitate the purchase of the item by a user of the mobile device, and to transmit a purchase response message to the mobile device that includes receipt information for the purchase of the item. 2. The IMS network of claim 1 wherein the application server is further adapted to: receive a delivery request message from the mobile device wherein the delivery request message includes the receipt information; and process the delivery request message to schedule delivery of the item to the user of the mobile device. 3. The IMS network of claim 2 wherein the application server is further adapted to: instruct an agent of the business to deliver the purchased item to a pickup location of the business. 4. The IMS network of claim 1 further comprising the location server adapted to: receive a request message from the application server requesting to be notified of mobile devices that are located proximate to the business; process location information for the mobile devices that are served by the IMS network to identify the mobile devices that are located proximate to the business; and transmit the notification message to the application server indicating that the mobile device is located proximate to the business. 5. The IMS network of claim 4 wherein: the request message from the application server comprises a SIP SUBSCRIBE message; and the notification message from the location server comprises a SIP NOTIFY message. 6. The IMS network of claim 1 wherein the advertisement comprises a coupon for the item purchased by the user. 7. The IMS network of claim 1 wherein the application server is farther adapted to: identify a payment method for the purchase; execute a financial transaction based on the identified payment method; and generate the receipt information for the purchase upon execution of the financial transaction. 8. The IMS network of claim 1 wherein the notification message from the location server indicates that a plurality of mobile devices are located proximate to the business, and wherein the application server is farther adapted to: transmit the advertisement and an indication of the plurality of the mobile devices that are located proximate to the business to a broadcast server to allow the broadcast server to broadcast the advertisement to the plurality of mobile devices. 9. A method of operating an IMS network, the method comprising: receiving a notification message in an application server that is associated with a business from a location server wherein the notification message indicates that a mobile device is located proximate to the business; identifying an advertisement related to the business; initiating transmission of the advertisement to the mobile device that is located proximate to the business; receiving a purchase request message in the application server from the mobile device to purchase an item from the business; facilitating the purchase of the item by a user of the mobile device; and transmitting a purchase response message from the application server to the mobile device that includes receipt information for the purchase of the item. 10. The method of claim 9 further comprising: receiving a delivery request message from the mobile device wherein the delivery request message includes the receipt information; and processing the delivery request message to schedule delivery of the item to the user of the mobile device. 11. The method of claim 10 wherein processing the delivery request message to schedule delivery of the item to the user of the mobile device comprises: instructing an agent of the business to deliver the purchased item to a pickup location of the business. 12. The method of claim 9 further comprising: receiving a request message in the location server from the application server requesting to be notified of mobile devices that are located proximate to the business; processing location information for the mobile devices in the location server that are served by the IMS network to identify the mobile devices that are located proximate to the business; and transmitting the notification message from the location server to the application server indicating that the mobile device is located proximate to the business. 13. The method of claim 12 wherein: the request message from the application server comprises a SIP SUBSCRIBE message; and the notification message from the location server comprises a SIP NOTIFY message. 14. The method of claim 9 wherein the advertisement comprises a coupon for the item purchased by the user. 15. The method of claim 9 further comprising: identifying a payment method for the purchase; executing a financial transaction based on the identified payment method; and generating the receipt information for the purchase upon execution of the financial transaction. 16. The method of claim 9 wherein the notification message from the location server indicates that a plurality of mobile devices is located proximate to the business, and wherein the method further comprises: transmitting the advertisement and an indication of the plurality of the mobile devices that are located proximate to the business to a broadcast server to allow the broadcast server to broadcast the advertisement to the plurality of mobile devices. 17. An IMS network adapted to provide advertisements to mobile devices, the IMS network comprising: a location server adapted to monitor the locations of mobile devices that are registered with the IMS network; and an application server that is associated with a business, wherein the application server is adapted to transmit a request message to the location server requesting to be notified of mobile devices that are located proximate to the business; the location server further adapted to process location information for the mobile devices to identify the mobile devices that are located proximate to the business responsive to the request message, and to transmit a notification message to the application server indicating the mobile devices that are located proximate to the business; the application server further adapted to identify an advertisement related to the business, and to initiate transmission of the advertisement to the mobile devices that are located proximate to the business. 18. The IMS network of claim 17 wherein the application server is further adapted to: receive a purchase request message from one of the mobile devices to purchase an item from the business; facilitate the purchase of the item by a user of the one mobile device; and transmit a purchase response message to the one mobile device that includes receipt information for the purchase of the item. 19. The IMS network of claim 18 wherein the application server is further adapted to: receive a delivery request message from the one mobile device wherein the delivery request message includes the receipt information; and process the delivery request message to schedule delivery of the item to the user of the one mobile device. 20. The IMS network of claim 17 wherein the application server is further adapted to: transmit the advertisement and an indication of the mobile devices that are located proximate to the business to a broadcast server to allow the broadcast server to broadcast the advertisement to the mobile devices."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "1. Field of the Invention\n\nThe invention is related to the field of communication networks and, in particular, to an IMS network that provides purchasing sessions to one or more mobile devices that are located proximate to a business. More particularly, the IMS network provides an advertisement to the mobile devices that are located proximate to the business, and then allows the mobile devices to purchase items from the business.\n\n2. Statement of the Problem\n\nLocation-based services are services offered by some cell phone providers for sending custom advertising and other content to cell-phone subscribers based on their present location. A server in the cellular network obtains or determines the location of the cell phone, such as from a GPS signal, and then identifies content relevant to that location. The server may then send the relevant content to the cell phone, such as in the form of a text message. As an example, a cell phone subscriber may subscribe to a service that provides information on restaurants that are in the same vicinity as the subscriber.\n\nOne problem with cellular networks or other communication networks that provide location-based services is that the server in the communication network transmits the content to the user, and then the server does not have further interaction with the user. In one example, a server in the communication network may transmit a text message about restaurants to a user. The text message comprises a push of the restaurant content to the user, and the user is not allowed to further interact with the server responsive to the text message.",
  "cpc": [
    "H04L 65/1016",
    "G06Q 30/02",
    "H04L 67/52",
    "H04W 4/02",
    "H04W 4/029"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "G06Q 20/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Alcatel Lucent USA Inc"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Anjana Agarwal",
    "David S. Benco",
    "Byron J. Williams"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2007-06-27",
  "publication_date": "2009-01-01",
  "priority_date": "2007-06-27",
  "application_number": "US-76939307-A",
  "family_id": "40160352",
  "cited_by_count": 48,
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}