Method for transmitting mini-messages and associated device

• US 20020160794A1
• Filed: 08/17/2001
• Published: 10/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DRNC Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: DRNC Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tisserand, Bruno, Davit, Luc
• Granted Patent: US 8,521,803 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0428 Integrated services digital network, i.e. systems for transmission of different types of digitised signals, e.g. speech, data, telecentral, television signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/037 of the control plane, e.g. signalling traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

To reduce the call cost for user messages of a few tens of bytes through a mobile telephone network (3), and to avoid having to set up a call channel as is necessary for transmitting data of several thousands of bytes, spare fields in signaling messages are used to convey the user messages, a call then taking place via signaling messages, and without a dedicated call channel being set up.

Claims

1. / A method of sending a user message through a transmission network (3), the method being characterized in that:

a request is activated to set up a call channel between a caller and a called party;

to set up the call channel, a signaling stage is performed during which a signaling message containing at least one spare field is interchanged between the caller and the called party;

and in that;

before the interchange between the called party and the caller, the user message is placed in the spare field of the signaling message; and

the setting up of the call channel is terminated once the user message has been received by the called party and/or a reply to the receiver message has been received by the caller.

2. / A method according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the user message is stored in a dedicated memory (22) of the receiver of the user message, and/or a reply to the user message is stored in a dedicated memory (22) of the receiver of the reply to the user message.

3. / A method according to claim 2, characterized in that:

a user is authorized to access the dedicated memory by means of specific commands.

4. / A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

the dedicated memory is placed in a mobile telephone (1), the mobile telephone being used as a modem, and the transmission network then being a mobile telephone network.

5. / A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

the dedicated memory is placed in an ISDN-type modem, the modem making it possible to connect the caller to the called party via an ISDN used as a transmission network.

6. / A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that:

the size of a user message is limited to 35 eight-bit bytes at maximum.

7. / A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that:

the user message is enciphered with an enciphering key prior to being transmitted; and

the user message is deciphered with a deciphering key on being received.

8. / A transceiver device (1) for transmitting a user message to a called party and for receiving a reply to the user message from a called party, said device being characterized in that it includes a dedicated memory (22), the dedicated memory serving to store the user message and/or the reply to the user message, the user message and/or the reply being sent in a spare field of a signaling message during a signaling stage.

9. / A device according to claim 8, characterized in that the memory capacity of the dedicated memory is no more than 35 bytes.