Asynchronous messaging based system for publishing and accessing content and accessing applications on a network with mobile devices

• US 20040092272A1
• Filed: 02/11/2003
• Published: 05/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unwired Planet LLC (JP Morgan Chase & Co), LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Openwave Systems Incorporated (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Inventors: Valloppillil, Vinod
• Granted Patent: US 7,343,168 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

An MMS publishing system comprises a management tool, an authoring tool, a storage facility, a message router, and a rendering server. The management tool authenticates a first user by using a telephone number of the first user as a user ID. The authoring tool allows the first user to associate rich media content with his telephone number. The content is then stored in the storage facility in association with his telephone number. Subsequently, the message router intercepts an MMS message sent from a mobile device over a wireless network when the MMS message includes a predetermined indicator and indicates the telephone number of the first user as a destination. The rendering server then accesses the stored content associated with the telephone number and sends the content to the mobile device, for output to a user of the mobile device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a message sent over a network, the message conforming to an asynchronous messaging protocol for sending person-to-person messages from mobile devices, the message having a destination telephone number associated with an end user;

detecting a predetermined indicator in the message; and

in response to detecting the predetermined indicator in the message, accessing a network-based resource associated with the destination telephone number.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the messaging protocol is MMS, and the message is an MMS message.

3. A method comprising:

receiving an MMS message sent over a network, the MMS message having a destination telephone number associated with an end user;

detecting a predetermined indicator in the MMS message; and

in response to detecting the predetermined indicator in the MMS message, accessing a network-based resource associated with the destination telephone number.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the network-based resource comprises content that can be output to a user.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein the content comprises rich media content.

6. A method as recited in claim 4, further comprising, in response to the MMS message, sending the content over the network to a device which originated the MMS message, the content to be output by the device to a user of the device.

7. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein said sending the content over the network comprises sending the content over the network in a second MMS message.

8. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the network-based resource comprises an executable application.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, further comprising, in response to the MMS message, sending a result of executing the application over the network to a device which originated the MMS message.

10. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the result is to be output by the device to a user of the device.

11. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the device is an MMS-capable mobile device operating on a wireless network.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the destination telephone number is a telephone number assigned to a second user and a second MMS-capable mobile device.

13. A method as recited in claim 3, further comprising, in response to the MMS message, sending a result of executing the application over the network to a second application which initiated the MMS message.

14. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein said sending the result over the network in response to the MMS message comprises sending the result over the network in a second MMS message.

15. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein the destination telephone number is a telephone number assigned to a mobile device on a wireless network and a user of the mobile device.

16. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the predetermined indicator indicates that the MMS message is not destined for an end user.

17. A method as recited in claim 16, wherein the predetermined indicator comprises a predetermined character in the MMS message.

18. A method comprising:

intercepting an MMS message sent from a first MMS-capable mobile device over a wireless network, the MMS message including a predetermined indicator to indicate that the MMS message is not destined for an end user, the MMS message having a destination telephone number assigned to a user of a second MMS-compatible mobile device and associated with the second MMS-compatible mobile device;

identifying stored rich media content associated with the destination telephone number; and

sending the rich media content to the first MMS-compatible mobile device as an MMS message, the rich media content to be output by the first MMS-compatible mobile device to a user of the first MMS-compatible mobile device.

19. A processing system comprising:

a storage facility to store content associated with a telephone number assigned to a first user;

a message router to intercept an MMS message sent from a device over a network, the MMS message including the telephone number to indicate a destination of the MMS message; and

a rendering server to access the content associated with the telephone number in response to detection of a predetermined indicator in the MMS message, and to send the content to the device over the network in response to the MMS message, the content to be output to a user of the device.

20. A processing system as recited in claim 19, further comprising an authoring tool to allow a first user to associate content with a telephone number assigned to the first user.

21. A processing system as recited in claim 20, further comprising a management tool to authenticate the first user by using the telephone number assigned to the first user as a user ID, to enable the first user to access the authoring tool.

22. An MMS publishing system, comprising:

a management tool to authenticate a first user by using a telephone number assigned to the first user as a user ID;

an authoring tool to allow the first user to associate rich media content with the telephone number assigned to the first user;

a storage facility to store the rich media content associated with the telephone number assigned to the first user;

a message router to intercept an MMS message sent from a mobile device over a wireless network in response to detection of a predetermined indicator in the MMS message, the MMS message indicating the telephone number as a destination of the MMS message; and

a rendering server to access the rich media content associated with the telephone number and to send the rich media content to the mobile device over the wireless network, for display to a user of the mobile device.

23. A server system comprising:

an authoring tool to allow a first user of a mobile device operating on a wireless network to associate content with a telephone number assigned to the first user, from the mobile device via the wireless network; and

a storage facility to store the content in association with the telephone number assigned to the first user, the content for subsequent transmission over a network to a second device in response to a message from the second device, wherein a destination of the message is indicated by the telephone number being associated with the message, the content to be output by the second device to a user of the second device.

24. A server system as recited in claim 23, wherein the message conforms to an asynchronous messaging protocol for sending person-to-person messages from mobile devices.

25. A server system as recited in claim 24, wherein the message is an MMS message.

26. A server system as recited in claim 25, wherein the content comprises rich media content.

27. A server system as recited in claim 26, wherein the second device is mobile device operating on the wireless network.

28. A server system as recited in claim 27, wherein the telephone number assigned to the first user is also assigned to the mobile device.

29. A server system as recited in claim 28, further comprising a management tool to authenticate the first user by using a telephone number assigned to the first user as a user ID.

30. A server system as recited in claim 23, wherein the content is subsequently transmitted to the second device only if the message from the second device contains a predetermined indicator.

31. A mobile device comprising:

a communication interface to enable the mobile device to communicate with remote processing systems over a wireless network;

a processor; and

a memory storing software which, when executed by the processor, causes the mobile device to enable a first user of the mobile device to access a remote server via the wireless network from the mobile device, and to allow the first user, using the mobile device, to store content on the remote server in association with a telephone number assigned to the first user and the mobile device, the content for subsequent transmission by the remote server to a second device in response to a message from the second device, the message being addressed using the telephone number, the content to be output by the second device to a user of the second device.

32. A mobile device as recited in claim 31, wherein the message is an MMS message.

33. A mobile device as recited in claim 32, wherein the content comprises rich media content.

34. A mobile device as recited in claim 31, wherein the software, when executed by the processor, further is to authenticate the first user, by using a telephone number assigned to the first user as a user ID, prior to the first user accessing the remote server.