Multimedia messaging service routing system and method

• US 20020126708A1
• Filed: 12/21/2001
• Published: 09/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Skog, Robert, Torok, Eniko
• Granted Patent: US 6,947,738 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/522
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/08 Upper layer protocols network arrangements or communication protocols for networked applications H04L67/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre

Abstract

A multimedia messaging system for sending and receiving multimedia MMS messages. The MMS messages are sent to a MMS server and addressed to the recipient'"'"'s MSISDN number. MMS server sends a notification to a PAP server that sends the notification as a WAP Push to the recipient mobile device telling the mobile device to retrieve the message. If the recipient mobile device is engaged in an on going or dedicated session with the Internet, the notification is sent to the recipient mobile device during the session. The recipient mobile device then initiates a HTTP GET request to retrieve the multimedia message via the voice or data channel of a PLMN. If the recipient mobile device is not engaged in an on going or dedicated session with the Internet, the notification is sent to the recipient mobile device as a WAP Push using SMS as bearer via the signaling channel of the PLMN. The recipient mobile device then initiates a HTTP GET request to retrieve the multimedia message via the voice or data channel of the PLMN.

Claims

1. A method for sending a multimedia message to a mobile device, comprising:

sending the multimedia message to a server;

sending a notification to the mobile device from the server, wherein the notification includes the address of the server and indicates that a multimedia message is available to be retrieved by the mobile device from the server;

automatically retrieving the multimedia message from the server in response to receipt of the notification; and

storing the multimedia message in the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is a mobile telephone.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the multimedia message to the server from another mobile device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the mobile device and the another mobile device are mobile telephones.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the mobile telephones are in a same or different PLMNs addressed with MSISDN.

6. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

sending the notification using SMS as bearer and addressed to the mobile device'"'"'s MSISDN number.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the server is a MMS server.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

sending a notification from the MMS server to a PAP server; and

sending the notification from the PAP server to the mobile device, wherein the notification includes a WAP Push.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending an HTTP GET request from the mobile device in order to automatically retrieve the multimedia message.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending the multimedia message from another mobile device to the MMS server.

11. A method for sending a multimedia message to a mobile device, comprising:

sending a multimedia message initially to a sender'"'"'s server;

sending a notification to the mobile device from the sender'"'"'s server, wherein the notification includes the address of the sender'"'"'s server and indicates that a multimedia message is available to be retrieved by the mobile device from the sender'"'"'s server;

sending a request to retrieve the multimedia message from the sender'"'"'s server to a server of the mobile device from the mobile device in response to receipt of the notification, wherein the request includes the address of the sender'"'"'s server;

retrieving the multimedia message from the sender'"'"'s server by the server of the mobile device;

retrieving the multimedia message from the server of the mobile device by the mobile device; and

storing the multimedia message in the mobile device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the mobile device is a mobile telephone.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising sending the multimedia message to the sender'"'"'s server from another mobile device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the mobile device and the another mobile device are mobile telephones.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the mobile telephones are in a same or different PLMNs addressed with MSISDN.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

sending the notification using SMS as bearer and addressed to the mobile device'"'"'s MSISDN number.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the sender'"'"'s server and the server of the mobile device are MMS servers.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

sending the notification from the sender'"'"'s MMS server to a PAP server; and

sending the notification from the PAP server to the mobile device, wherein the notification includes a WAP Push.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising sending an HTTP GET request, in response the WAP Push, from the mobile device in order to automatically retrieve the multimedia message.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising sending the multimedia message from another mobile device to the sender'"'"'s MMS server.

21. A system to send multimedia messages to a mobile device, the system comprising:

in a server, logic configured to;

receive a multimedia message;

in response to receipt of the multimedia message, sending a notification to the mobile device, wherein the notification includes the address of the server and indicates that a multimedia message is available to be retrieved by the mobile device from the server;

in the mobile device, logic configured to;

automatically retrieve the multimedia message from the server in response to the notification; and

store the multimedia message in the mobile device.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the mobile device is a mobile telephone.

23. The system of claim 21, further comprising in another mobile device, logic configured to send the multimedia message from the another mobile device to the server.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the mobile device and the another mobile device are mobile telephones.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the mobile telephones are in a same or different PLMNs addressed with MSISDN.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the notification is sent using SMS as bearer and is addressed to the mobile device'"'"'s MSISDN number.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein the server is a MMS server.

28. The system of claim 27, further comprising in a PAP server, logic configured to:

receive a notification from the MMS server; and

to send the notification from the PAP server, wherein the notification includes a WAP Push.

29. The system of claim 28, further comprising in the mobile device, logic configured to send a HTTP GET request to the MMS server in response to the WAP Push.

30. The system of claim 26, further comprising in another mobile device, logic configured to send the multimedia message from the another mobile phone to the MMS server.

31. A system to send multimedia messages to a mobile device, the system comprising:

in a sender'"'"'s server, logic configured to;

initially receive a multimedia message; and

send a notification of the multimedia message to the mobile device, wherein the notification includes an address of the sender'"'"'s server and indicates that a multimedia message is available to be retrieved by the mobile device;

in the mobile device, logic configured to send a request to a server of the mobile device in response to receipt of the notification, wherein the request includes the address of the sender'"'"'s server;

in the server of the mobile device, logic configured to retrieve the multimedia message from the sender'"'"'s server;

in the mobile device, logic configured to;

retrieve the multimedia message from the server of the mobile device; and

store the multimedia message in the mobile device.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the mobile device is a mobile telephone.

33. The system of claim 31, further comprising another mobile device having logic configured to send the multimedia message from the another mobile device to the sender'"'"'s server.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the mobile device and the another mobile device are mobile telephones.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the mobile telephones are in a same or different PLMNs addressed with MSISDN.

36. The system of claim 31, wherein the notification is sent from the sender'"'"'s server to the mobile device using SMS as bearer and addressed to the mobile device'"'"'s MSISDN number.

37. The system of claim 31, wherein the sender'"'"'s server and the server of the mobile device are MMS servers.

38. The system of claim 37, further comprising:

a PAP server having logic configured to;

receive a notification from the sender'"'"'s MMS server; and

send the notification from the PAP server to the mobile device, wherein the notification is a WAP Push.

39. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

in the mobile device, logic configured to send a HTTP GET request to the MMS server of the mobile device in response to the WAP Push.

40. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

in another mobile device, logic configured to send the multimedia message from the another mobile device to the sender'"'"'s MMS server.