# US 7,610,208 B2 · Booking method and system

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- Number: US 7,610,208 B2
- Document ID: US7610208B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 11/980,491
- Filed: 2007-10-31
- Published: 2008-03-13
- Granted: 2009-10-27
- Earliest claimed: 2001-08-21
- Assignees: Bookit Oy Ajanvarauspalvelu
- Inventors: Jukka Salonen
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7610208B2

## CPC

- G06Q 10/02: Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
- G06Q 10/025: {Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation}
- G06Q 10/109: Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
- G06Q 10/1093: Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups
- G06Q 20/322: {Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]}
- G06Q 20/3221: {Access to banking information through M-devices}
- G06Q 20/3255: {using mobile network messaging services for payment, e.g. SMS}
- G06Q 20/40: Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
- G06Q 20/4014: {Identity check for transactions}
- G06Q 30/0267: {Wireless devices}
- G06Q 30/0601: Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
- G06Q 30/0609: {Qualifying participants for shopping transactions (payment transaction verification G06Q20/401)}
- G06Q 30/0623: {by investigating goods or services}
- G06Q 50/14: Travel agencies
- H04L 51/18: Commands or executable codes
- H04L 51/23: Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
- H04L 67/10: in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46)
- H04M 3/42382: {Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks}
- H04W 4/12: Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
- H04W 4/14: Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
- H04W 4/40: for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
- H04W 4/50: Service provisioning or reconfiguring
- H04W 12/06: Authentication
- G08G 1/207: {with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries}
- H04L 2101/37: E-mail addresses
- H04W 12/71: Hardware identity
- H04W 12/72: Subscriber identity
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93})

## Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system for booking a reservation in a booking system and synchronizing bookings in several booking systems comprising at least one booking systems; at least one service provider; a mediator service; a client, and at least one client terminal device that can be a mobile device and that includes a dialogue. In addition, the system comprises telecommunication connections that are used to connect the booking systems, the service providers, the mediator, and the client terminal device. The client uses the dialogue to enter information into the system. There mediator gets inquiries and answers from booking systems, service providers, and dialogues, and transfers and adapts information between them.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A computer program product comprising a recording medium, having encoded thereon a computer readable program executable by a computer, for performing the functions of a mediator for controlling communications between a service provider and a client terminal device having a client identifier address, where the communications between the service provider and the client terminal device are based upon technology in which a reply to an inquiry does not automatically include an explicit reference to the inquiry, the mediator functions comprising:
preparing a plurality of inquiry messages pertaining to the service provider, each of the plurality of inquiry messages including a plurality of choices that are selectable by the client,
associating a particular reply address to each of the plurality of inquiry messages, the particular reply address being selected from a plurality of different addresses at which the mediator is configured to receive communications from the client terminal device regarding the service provider,
sending the plurality of inquiry messages to the client terminal device,
receiving from the client terminal device a reply to at least one of the plurality of inquiry messages at the particular reply address associated with said received reply, the received reply including the client identifier address and a selected choice, and
determining which choice of the plurality of choices has been selected by the client in the received reply using the client identifier address, the particular reply address at which the received reply is received and the selection made by the client, wherein
the determined particular reply address at which the received reply is received identifies the specific message that the client has replied to among the plurality of inquiry messages sent to the client.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The mediator of claim 1, further comprising:
storing information pertaining to the received reply including the client identifier address and the reply address and the ordinal position of the selection made by the client.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The mediator of claim 2, wherein, when a reply to each of the plurality of inquiry messages is received at the particular reply address associated with each inquiry message, a determination is made as to which choice has been selected in each reply even if a reply is received in an order different from the order in which the plurality of inquiry messages was sent to the client terminal device.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The mediator of claim 3, further comprising: tracking those addresses of the plurality of different addresses that are currently available and assigning each particular reply address at random from those addresses that are currently available.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The mediator of claim 1, further comprising:
storing information pertaining to the received reply in a data structure which can be illustrated as a three dimensional matrix, the three dimensional matrix including a first axis indexed by client identifier address, a second axis indexed by reply address, and a third axis indexed for storing ordinal position of selections.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The mediator of claim 5, further comprising: storing the selection of the client along the third axis.

### Claim 7

A method of utilizing a mediator controlling communication between a client and a service provider, the client having a client identifier address and using a client terminal device to communicate with the mediator, the communications between the client and the service provider being based upon technology in which a reply to an inquiry does not automatically include an explicit reference to the inquiry, the method comprising:
a) preparing a plurality of inquiry messages, pertaining to the service provider, each inquiry message including a plurality of choices that are selectable by the client;
b) associating a particular reply address to each of the plurality of inquiry messages, said particular reply address being selected from a plurality of different addresses at which the mediator is configured to receive communications from the client terminal device regarding the service provider;
c) sending the plurality of inquiry messages to the client terminal device;
d) receiving, from the client terminal, a reply to at least one of the plurality inquiry messages at the particular reply address associated with said reply, the reply including the client identifier address and a selected choice;
e) storing information pertaining to the reply in a data structure which can be illustrated as a three dimensional matrix, the three dimensional matrix including a first axis indexed by client identifier address, a second axis indexed by reply address, and a third axis indexed for storing ordinal position of selections; and
f) determining which choice of the plurality of choices has been selected by the client in the received reply using the client identifier address, the particular reply address at which the received reply is received and the ordinal position of the selection made by the client, wherein
the determined particular reply address at which the received reply is received identifies the specific message of the plurality of inquiry messages that the client has replied to.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein, when a reply is received to each of the plurality inquiry messages at the particular reply address associated with each inquiry, determining which choice has been selected in each reply even when each reply is received in an order different from the order in which the plurality of inquiry messages is sent to the client terminal device.