Multimedia messaging method and system

• US 20030154300A1
• Filed: 02/03/2003
• Published: 08/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Conversant Wireless Licensing S.à.r.l. (f/k/a Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l.) (MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management))
• Original Assignee: 2011 Intellectual Property Asset Trust (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Mostafa, Miraj
• Granted Patent: US 8,150,989 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• 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 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

A multimedia messaging method and system, wherein the same multimedia message can be used to encapsulate both non-streamable media components and descriptors relating to streamable media components. A recipient extracts the descriptors from the multimedia message and initiates streaming sessions accordingly. The notification process by which a recipient user agent is informed of the availability of a multimedia message is the same regardless the type of the components within the message.

Claims

1. A method for receiving a multimedia message, comprising the steps of:

receiving a multimedia message transmission;

separating from the multimedia message transmission a descriptor containing information necessary to initiate a streaming session; and

initiating a streaming session, using the descriptor, to retrieve a stored streamable media component described by the descriptor.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

separating a non-streamable media component from the multimedia message transmission.

4. A method according to any of the preceding claims, the method further comprises notifying a recipient user agent that the multimedia message is available using a notification message.

5. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the multimedia message further contains a non-streamable media component and the multimedia message transmission further contains the non-streamable media component.

6. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a streamable media component of a multimedia message is replaced with the aforementioned descriptor, such that the multimedia message is modified to contain the descriptor.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein, if the multimedia message contains more than one streamable component, each streamable component is replaced with a corresponding descriptor.

9. A method according to any of claims 6 to 8, wherein replacement is performed by an entity selected from a group consisting of the following:

a recipient MMS relay, a recipient MMS server, and an intermediate communication block.

10. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the descriptor is selected from a group consisting of:

a session description file, a uniform resource locator (URL), and a Universal Resource Identifier (URI).

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the session description file is a session description protocol (SDP) file.

12. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the descriptor contains all the data necessary to initiate a streaming session to download the streamable component.

3. A method for multimedia messaging, comprising the steps of:

storing a multimedia message containing a streamable media component in a communications network entity;

sending a multimedia message transmission from the network entity to a recipient user agent; and

including in said multimedia message transmission a descriptor providing information allowing the multimedia user agent to initiate a streaming session to retrieve the streamable media component.

8. A method according to any claims 3 to 6, wherein, if the multimedia message contains more than one streamable component, at least two streamable components are replaced with one descriptor common for all replaced components.

13. A multimedia messaging user agent comprising a transceiver (RF) for receiving a multimedia message and for establishing a streaming session;

characterised by the user agent further comprising;

a processor (CPU) for searching the multimedia message for a descriptor containing streaming initialisation data; and

the processor (CPU) being arranged to control the transceiver (RF) to initiate a streaming session using the streaming initialisation data contained by the descriptor.

14. A multimedia messaging service system (100) comprising:

a first network entity (150) for storing a multimedia message;

a plurality of user agents (110,127);

a second network entity (142) for notifying a user agent of a multimedia message available to the user agent, said user agent being a recipient user agent;

a third network entity (142,144) for searching the multimedia message for a streamable media component, for storing such a component, and for modifying the multimedia message by placing into the multimedia message, instead of the streamable component, a descriptor sufficient to allow the recipient multimedia user agent (110,127) to initiate a streaming session to retrieve the streamable media component;

the second network entity (142) being arranged to receive a request for delivering the multimedia message to the recipient user agent (110,127) and to transfer the multimedia message to the recipient user agent responsive to the request.

15. A multimedia message comprising an address of a recipient of the multimedia message;

characterised in that the multimedia message further comprises;

a descriptor containing all necessary data for allowing a recipient user agent, using the descriptor, to initiate a streaming session to retrieve at least one streamable media component.

16. A Computer program product for controlling a multimedia messaging user agent, comprising computer executable program code to enable the user agent to receive a multimedia message;

characterised by the computer program product further comprising;

computer executable program code to enable the user agent to search the multimedia message for a descriptor containing streaming initialisation data; and

computer executable program code to enable the user agent to initiate a streaming session using the streaming initialisation data contained by the descriptor.