Method and system for transmitting multimedia message transmitted from transmitting mobile station of higher version to receiving mobile station of lower version

• US 20070171938A1
• Filed: 07/01/2004
• Published: 07/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SK Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: SK Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yun, Hong-Seo, Na, Dong-won, Yoon, Ja-Young, Sohn, Sang-Mok, Park, Hee-Won, Kwon, Bum-Joon
• Granted Patent: US 7,894,833 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/466
• 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: H04M 3/5315 where the non-audio components are still images or video still image mailbox systems H04N1/324, intermediate storage of video signals for videophones H04N7/147
• 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

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and system for transmitting a multimedia message, which reconstructs a multimedia message to be appropriate for the receiving mobile station and transmits the reconstructed message, when the multimedia message is requested to be transmitted from a transmitting station of a higher version to the receiving station of a lower version and the multimedia message may not be transcoded into a form which can be processed by the receiving mobile station. The present invention enables to transmit various types of multimedia message without being limited by the specification of the receiving mobile station.

Claims

1. A Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) system, the MMS system storing a multimedia message transmitted from a specific transmitting mobile station and transmitting the multimedia message to a specific receiving mobile station in response to a download request from the receiving mobile station, comprising:

an MMS relay server;

a first Database (DB) storing the multimedia message whose transmission is requested;

a second DB storing specification information of stations;

a transcoder ascertaining a specification of the receiving mobile station with reference to the second DB in response to a request from the MMS relay server, and reconstructing the multimedia message whose transmission is requested to be appropriate for the ascertained specification of the receiving mobile station; and

a content storage server storing media data of identical contents each having various formats, resolutions, or chords;

wherein, when the transcoding of the image and/or audio data is not possible, the transcoder receives an alternative image and/or audio data having contents identical to that of the image and/or audio data included in the multimedia message whose transmission is requested, but having a format, a resolution or a chord appropriate for the specification of the receiving mobile station, converts the received multimedia message, and transmits the converted multimedia message to the MMS relay server.

2. The MMS system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the content storage server ascertains the specification of the receiving mobile station with reference to the second DB in response to a request from the transcoder, searches for an image and/or audio data optimum for the specification of the receiving mobile station, provides the optimum image and/or audio data to the transcoder, and searches for an alternative image and/or audio data capable of being reproduced on the receiving mobile station and provides the searched image and/or audio data to the transcoder, when the image and/or audio data optimum for the specification of the receiving mobile station is not found.

3. The MMS system as set forth in claim 1, wherein, when the transcoder is informed that the image appropriate for the receiving mobile station is not found by the content storage server, the transcoder transmits an original image of the multimedia message if a display size of the receiving mobile station can accommodate a size of the original image, or the transcoder provides an error notice if the display size of the receiving mobile station cannot accommodate the size of the original image.

4. An MMS system, the MMS system storing a multimedia message transmitted from a specific transmitting mobile station and transmitting the multimedia message to a specific receiving mobile station in response to a download request from the receiving mobile station, comprising:

an MMS relay server;

a first DB storing the multimedia message whose transmission is requested;

a second DB storing specification information of stations; and

a transcoder ascertaining a specification of the receiving mobile station with reference to the second DB in response to a request from the MMS relay server, and reconstructing the multimedia message whose transmission is requested to be appropriate for the ascertained receiving mobile station;

wherein if, as a result of ascertainment, the receiving mobile station cannot receive at a time the media data included in the multimedia message whose transmission is requested, the media data included in the multimedia message is divided into various media data and transmitted to the MMS relay server, and the MMS relay server successively transmits the divided media data received from the transcoder in response to a request from the receiving mobile station.

5. An MMS method of storing a multimedia message transmitted from a specific transmitting mobile station and transmitting the multimedia message to a specific receiving mobile station in response to a download request from the receiving mobile station, comprising:

a first step of ascertaining a specification of the receiving mobile station in response to a transcoding request;

a second step of ascertaining whether image and/or audio data having contents identical with those of the image and/or audio data in the multimedia message and having a format, a resolution, or a chord appropriate for the specification of the receiving mobile station exists in a DB, when the transcoding of the requested multimedia message is impossible;

a third step of reconstructing the multimedia message whose transmission is requested into image and/or audio data appropriate for the specification of the receiving mobile station if, as a result of the second step, the image and/or audio data exists; and

a fourth step of transmitting the multimedia message, reconstructed at the third step, to the receiving mobile station.

6. The MMS method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the multimedia message whose transmission is requested is reconstructed into alternative image and/or audio data which can be accommodated in the receiving mobile station, when the image and/or audio data appropriate for the specification of the receiving mobile station is not found at the third step.

7. The MMS method as set forth in claim 6, further comprising:

ascertaining whether a display size of the receiving mobile station can accommodate a size of an original image included in the multimedia message when the image and/or audio data capable of being accommodated in the receiving mobile station is not found at the second step;

transmitting the original image included in the multimedia message to the receiving mobile station when the display size of the receiving mobile station can accommodate the size of the image; and

performing error-processing if the display size of the receiving mobile station cannot accommodate the size of the image.

8. The MMS method as set forth in claim 7, wherein the original image is processed by an engine and then transmitted to the receiving mobile station when a file of the original image included in the multimedia message is transmitted to the receiving mobile station.

9. An MMS method of storing a multimedia message transmitted from a specific transmitting mobile station and transmitting the multimedia message to a specific receiving mobile station in response to a download request from the receiving mobile station, comprising:

a first step of ascertaining a specification of the receiving mobile station in response to a transcoding request;

a second step of dividing media data included in the multimedia message whose transmission is requested into various media data when transcoding of the multimedia message is impossible and the receiving mobile station cannot receive the media data included in the multimedia message at a time; and

a third step of successively transmitting the divided various media data in response to a request from the receiving mobile station.