SYSTEM AND METHOD OF WIRELESS INSTANT MESSAGING

• US 20100205270A1
• Filed: 04/23/2010
• Published: 08/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Bells, Matthew, Haigh, David M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,050,695 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Instant messaging clients transmit, to a server, presence information indicating that the respective client is in a communicative state in which the client is receptive to communicating with the other clients. A server determines, for each client, that the respective client is in a communicative state if presence information was received from the client over a preceding predetermined time period, and that the client is in an unknown state if presence information was not received from the client over the preceding predetermined time period. The communicative state and the unknown state are possible presence states of the clients. The server transmits a notification to a second client of the presence state of a first client when both the first client and the second client are in a communicative state. But the server refrains from transmitting the notification to the second client when the first client is in the unknown state.

Claims

1. A method of operating a server comprising:

receiving a single instant message addressed to a group;

resolving the group to two or more user ids; and

sending a message to each of the two or more user ids.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the group is a unique identifier.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the resolving comprises consulting a database that relates group ids to user ids.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein one or more of the two or more user ids identifies a wireless device.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein one or more of the two or more user ids identifies an internet client.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the single internet message is received from a wireless device.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the server maintains presence information for respective messaging clients.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the sent message is the single instant message.

9. A mobile communication device comprising:

a communication subsystem configured to send, to a server, a single instant message addressed to a group, the group being associated with two or more user ids;

wherein the server is configured to resolve the group to the two or more user ids and then send a message to each of the two or more user ids.

10. The mobile communication device of claim 9 wherein the group is a unique identifier.

11. The mobile communication device of claim 9 wherein one or more of the two or more user ids identifies a wireless device.

12. The mobile communication device of claim 9 wherein one or more of the two or more user ids identifies an internet client.

13. A wireless instant messaging system comprising:

a wireless messaging server configured to receive a single instant message addressed to a group, to resolve the group to two or more user ids, and to send a message to each of the two or more user ids.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the group is a unique identifier.

15. The system of claim 14 further comprising a database that relates group ids to user ids and that is consulted by the server when resolving the group.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein one or more of the two or more user ids identifies a wireless device.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein one or more of the two or more user ids identifies an internet client.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein the single internet message is received from a wireless device.

19. The system of claim 13 further comprising a presence table containing presence information for respective messaging clients.

20. The system of claim 13 wherein the sent message is the single instant message.