SYSTEM AND METHOD OF TRANSMITTING EMOTICONS IN MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINALS

• US 20070101005A1
• Filed: 11/03/2006
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, See, Shim, Jae
• Granted Patent: US 8,290,478 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• 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

Abstract

An apparatus and method transmitting emoticons in mobile communication terminals are disclosed by which compatibility in exchanging graphic emoticons between mobile communication terminals can be ensured. The present invention includes receiving a transmission request message in a first mobile communication terminal, the transmission request message related to a first graphic emoticon and including identification information for the first graphic emoticon, identifying a second graphic emoticon according to the transmission request message, and transmitting the second graphic emoticon to a second mobile communication terminal, wherein the second graphic emoticon comprises image data in a format decodable by the second mobile communication terminal.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting emoticons in a mobile communication terminal, the method comprising:

receiving a message requesting transmission of a first graphic emoticon to a receiving mobile communication terminal, the message comprising first emoticon identification information related to the first graphic emoticon;

identifying a second graphic emoticon according to the first emoticon identification information; and

transmitting second emoticon identification information related to the second graphic emoticon to the receiving mobile communication terminal,

wherein the second emoticon identification information comprises data in a format decodable by the receiving mobile communication terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the message further comprises metadata related to the first graphic emoticon.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the message further comprises first terminal information related to at least one of a manufacturer of the mobile communication terminal and a communication service provider for the mobile communication terminal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the message conforms to at least one specification for a multimedia message service (MMS).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the second graphic emoticon comprises:

identifying a category of the first graphic emoticon according to the first emoticon identification information; and

identifying the second emoticon identification information corresponding to the category.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the message further comprises a phone number of the receiving mobile communication terminal and identifying the second graphic emoticon comprises:

identifying receiving terminal information related to the receiving mobile communication terminal according to the phone number; and

identifying the second emoticon information according to the first terminal information and the receiving terminal information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the receiving terminal information comprises at least one of a manufacturer for the receiving mobile communication terminal and a communication service provider for the receiving mobile communication terminal.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the second emoticon identification information is performed according to at least one specification for a multimedia message service (MMS).

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second emoticon identification comprises image data of the second emoticon.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the second emoticon identification information comprises information related to an emoticon stored in the receiving mobile communication terminal.

11. An apparatus for transmitting emoticons in a mobile communication terminal, the apparatus comprising:

a transmission request receiving unit adapted to receive a message requesting transmission of a first graphic emoticon to a receiving mobile communication terminal, the message comprising first emoticon identification information related to the first graphic emoticon

a converting unit adapted to identify a second graphic emoticon according to the first emoticon identification information; and

a transmitting unit adapted to transmit second emoticon identification information related to the second graphic emoticon to the receiving mobile communication terminal,

wherein the second emoticon identification information comprises data in a format decodable by the receiving mobile communication terminal.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising an emoticon database comprising conversion data related to a correspondence between the second graphic emoticon and the first graphic emoticon and wherein the converting unit is adapted to identify the second graphic emoticon according to the first emoticon identification information with reference to the emoticon database.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the message further comprises metadata related to the first graphic emoticon.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the message further comprises first terminal information related to at least one of a manufacturer of the mobile communication terminal and a communication service provider for the mobile communication terminal.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the transmission request receiving unit is further adapted to receive a message conforming to at least one specification for a multimedia message service (MMS).

16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the converting unit is further adapted to identify the second graphic emoticon by:

identifying a category of the first graphic emoticon according to the first emoticon identification information; and

identifying the second emoticon identification information corresponding to the category.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a receiving terminal information database comprising information related to the receiving mobile communication terminal and wherein the message further comprises a phone number of the receiving mobile communication terminal and the converting unit is further adapted to identify the second graphic emoticon by:

identifying receiving terminal information related to the receiving mobile communication terminal according to the phone number with reference to the receiving terminal information database; and

identifying the second emoticon information according to the first terminal information and the receiving terminal information.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the receiving terminal information comprises at least one of a manufacturer for the receiving mobile communication terminal and a communication service provider for the receiving mobile communication terminal.

19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the transmitting unit is further adapted to transmit the second emoticon identification information according to at least one specification for a multimedia message service (MMS).

20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second emoticon identification comprises image data of the second emoticon.

21. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second emoticon identification information comprises information related to an emoticon stored in the receiving mobile communication terminal.