Method and system for improved short message services

• US 20050170855A1
• Filed: 07/06/2004
• Published: 08/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Numerex Corporation (Sierra Wireless Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cellemetry, LLC (Sierra Wireless Incorporated)
• Inventors: Simitses, William George, Criscolo, Michael J., Tarleton, Bryan Keith, Comer, Edward I.
• Granted Patent: US 7,245,928 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A service provider uses a telemetry gateway to communicate with radio communication devices using various incompatible short message service (SMS) protocols. A communication, from the service provider to a radio communication device, passes through the telemetry gateway. The telemetry gateway determines the communication protocol of the radio communication device and converts the communication from a common protocol to the radio communication device'"'"'s protocol. The telemetry gateway also determines and sends the converted communication over the appropriate communication path for receipt by the radio communication device. The telemetry gateway is also operable for providing registration information and receiving a communication from a radio communication device. The telemetry gateway can convert the received communication to a common protocol and transmit the converted communication to the service provider.

Claims

1. A method for communicating a message from a radio communication device to a recipient comprising the steps of:

receiving a registration notification corresponding to the message from a mobile switching center;

sending a response to the registration notification to the mobile switching center;

receiving the message from the mobile switching center;

sending an acknowledgement to the mobile switching center in response to receiving the message;

converting the message to a common protocol; and

transmitting the message to the recipient according to a terminating address.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the response to the registration notification comprises information about the radio communication device from which the message originated.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the received message has a protocol that is CDMA, TDMA, or GSM.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of conforming the message according to a preference of the recipient.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the recipient is an email system, a voicemail system, or a web-based messaging system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the radio communication device and the recipient subscribe to different communication carriers.

7. A method for communicating a message from a radio communication device to a recipient comprising the steps of:

receiving the message from the radio communication device;

retrieving a profile associated with the radio communication device from a storage medium;

sending the message using information in the profile to a telemetry gateway for conversion to a common protocol and transmission to the recipient;

receiving a delivery confirmation from the telemetry gateway; and

sending a message acknowledgement to the radio communication device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of retrieving the profile further comprises,

if there is no profile in the storage medium,

requesting registration information associated with the radio communication device from the telemetry gateway;

and

creating a profile entry with the registration information in the storage medium.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the received message has a protocol that is CDMA, TDMA, or GSM.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the transmission of the converted message to the recipient is performed in accordance with a delivery preference of the recipient.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the recipient is an email system, a voicemail system, or a web-based messaging system.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the recipient and the radio communication device are associated with different communication carriers.

13. A method for communicating a message from an originating communication device to a radio communication device comprising the steps of:

sending the message in a first format to a telemetry gateway, wherein the telemetry gateway is operable for,

transmitting a routing request to a mobile switching center based on the information in the message;

receiving a routing response for the message;

converting the message to a second format based on the routing response; and

transmitting the converted message to the mobile switching center for forwarding to the radio communication device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the originating communication device and the radio communication device subscribe to different communication networks.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the originating communication device is an email system, a voicemail system, or a Web-based messaging system.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the second format is CDMA, TDMA, or GSM.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of transmitting a routing request to the mobile switching center further comprises,

if the mobile switching center does not recognize the radio communication device,

transmitting a qualification request from the mobile switching center to the telemetry gateway;

and

transmitting a qualification response identifying the radio communication device to the mobile switching center.

18. A method for communicating a message from a service provider to a radio communication device comprising the steps of:

receiving the message from the service provider;

transmitting a route request associated with the message to a mobile switching center;

receiving a route response for the message from the mobile switching center;

converting the message from a first protocol to a second protocol based on the route response; and

transmitting the converted message to the mobile switching center for forwarding to the radio communication device.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a message delivery confirmation from the mobile switching center upon forwarding the converted message to the radio communication device; and

transmitting a message delivery notification to the service provider upon receipt of the message delivery confirmation.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the service provider and the radio communication device are associated with different communication networks.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the service provider is an email system, a voicemail system, or a Web-based messaging system.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the second protocol is CDMA, TDMA, or GSM.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of transmitting a route request to the mobile switching center further comprises,

if the mobile switching center does not have access to a profile for the radio communication device,

receiving a qualification request from the mobile switching center;

and

transmitting a qualification response for creating a profile for the radio communication device to the mobile switching center.

24. A method for communicating a message from a service provider to a radio communication device comprising the steps of:

receiving a route request associated with the message from a telemetry gateway;

retrieving route information associated with the message and transmitting the route information to the telemetry gateway;

receiving the message from the telemetry gateway, wherein the telemetry gateway has converted the message to the radio communication device'"'"'s protocol; and

transmitting the converted message to the radio communication device.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of transmitting a confirmation to the telemetry gateway that the message has been delivered.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the service provider and the radio communication device subscribe to different carriers.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the service provider is an email system, a voicemail system, or a Web-based messaging system.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the radio communication device'"'"'s protocol is CDMA, TDMA, or GSM.

29. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of retrieving route information further comprises:

if the radio communication device is unknown,

transmitting a qualification request to the telemetry gateway;

receiving a qualification response from the telemetry gateway; and

creating a database entry for the radio communication device using the qualification response.

30. A system for communicating a message from a radio communication device to a service provider comprising:

a mobile switching center operable for receiving the message from the radio communication device; and

a telemetry gateway operable for

receiving the message from the mobile switching center,

converting the message from a first format chosen from at least three

different wireless access formats to a common format, and

transmitting the converted message to the service provider.

31. The system of claim 30, further comprising a signal transfer point operable for routing the message from the mobile switching center to the telemetry gateway.

32. The system of claim 30, wherein the mobile switching center further comprises a visitor location register comprising a profile associated with the radio communication device.

33. The system of claim 30, wherein the telemetry gateway further comprises a database comprising a data record associated with the service provider.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the service provider is operable for delivering the message as an email, a voicemail, or a page.

35. A system for communicating a message from a service provider to a radio communication device comprising:

a telemetry gateway coupled to the service provider, the telemetry gateway operable for

receiving the message from the service provider;

requesting routing information associated with the message;

converting the message from a common format to a specific format associated with the radio communication device, wherein the specific format is chosen from one of at least three different wireless data formats; and

a mobile switching center operable for receiving the converted message from the telemetry gateway and transmitting the converted message to the radio communication device.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the telemetry gateway further comprises a database comprising a data record associated with the service provider.

37. The system of claim 35, wherein the mobile switching center further comprises a visitor location register comprising a profile associated with the radio communication device.

38. The system of claim 35, wherein the service provider is operable for receiving the message as an email, a voicemail, or a page.