INTERWORKING BETWEEN MESSAGING SERVICES

• US 20110264747A1
• Filed: 03/30/2009
• Published: 10/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Varga, Jozsef, Mutikainen, Jari
• Granted Patent: US 9,246,706 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 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

In a service level interworking unit, a service center (SC) address or a set of SC addresses dedicated for the service level interworking is used whenever an instant message (IM) is interworked to a short message (SM). In other words, if a message is initially sent as an instant message (IM) by user equipment (UE) and is interworked to a short message (SM) by the interworking function, the interworked short message (SM) is sent to a dedicated service center (SC) address. For originating messages that are not interworked, different service center address or addresses are used. A terminating short message (SM) received at the interworking unit is interworked to an instant message (IM) and the interworked instant message (IM) is delivered to the user equipment (UE), if a service center address in the terminating short message (SM) is one of the dedicated service center addresses. If the a service center address in the terminating short message (SM) is not one of the dedicated service center addresses, the terminating short message (SM) is delivered to the user equipment (UE) without a service level interworking.

Claims

1. A method, comprising

sending, at a service level interworking function, an originating message with a service center address selected among one or more service center addresses dedicated for service level interworking, if the originating message is interworked from a first messaging service to a second messaging service,

interworking, at the service level interworking function, a received terminating message to a message of the first messaging service and sending the interworked terminating message to the originating user equipment, if a service center address in the terminating message is one of said one or more service center addresses dedicated for service level interworking.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first messaging service is an instant message service, and the second messaging service is a short message service.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first messaging service is a short message service, and the second messaging service is an instant message service.

5. A method according to claim 1, comprising storing correlation information for an interworked originating message is stored in connection with the interworking.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein, when an originating instant message is interworked to a short message, said correlation information comprises at least a Message-ID from the originating instant message and at least a TP-Message-Reference from the interworked short message.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the terminating message is a delivery report for the originating message.

8. A method according to claim 1, comprising receiving the originating message via an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) from IP-based user equipment.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the originating message and the interworked terminating message comprise an instant message or a short message encapsulated in a session initiation protocol message.

10. A method according to claim 1, comprising

configuring load balancing settings of the dedicated service center addresses to allow changing of a dedicated service center address to another dedicated service center address only, and to allow changing of a non-dedicated service center address to another non-dedicated service center address only.

21. A program containing an executable code which performs the steps of claim 1, when executed in a computing device.

2. A method, comprising

receiving, at a service level interworking function, from originating user equipment an originating message of a first messaging service,

interworking the originating message to a message of a second messaging service, or to maintain the originating message as a message of the first messaging service, based on predetermined criteria,

sending the interworked originating message with a service center address selected among one or more service center addresses dedicated for service level interworking,

receiving, at the service level interworking function, a terminating message of the second messaging service containing a service center address,

interworking the terminating message to a message of the first messaging service and sending the interworked terminating message to the originating user equipment, if the service center address in the terminating message is one of said one or more service center addresses dedicated for service level interworking, and sending the terminating message to the originating user equipment without interworking to a message of the first messaging service otherwise.

11. An apparatus, comprising

a service level interworking unit configured to send an originating message to a service center address selected among one or more service center addresses dedicated for service level interworking, if the originating message is interworked from a first messaging service to a second messaging service, and wherein

said service level interworking unit is further configured to interwork, at the service level interworking function, a received terminating message to a message of the first messaging service, and to send the interworked terminating message to the originating user equipment, if a service center address in the terminating message is one of said one or more service center addresses dedicated for service level interworking.

14. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first messaging service is an instant message service, and the second messaging service is a short message service.

15. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first messaging service is a short message service, and the second messaging service is an instant message service.

16. An apparatus according to claim 11, comprising a storage for correlation information for an interworked originating message is stored in connection with the interworking.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein, when an originating instant message is interworked to a short message, said correlation information comprises at least a Message-ID from the originating instant message and at least a TP-Message-Reference from the interworked short message.

18. An apparatus according to claims 11, wherein the terminating message is a delivery report for the originating message.

19. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the apparatus is configured to receive the originating message via an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) from IP-based user equipment.

20. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the originating message and the interworked terminating message comprises an instant message or a short message encapsulated in a session initiation protocol message.

12. An apparatus, comprising

a receiver of a service level interworking unit configured to receive an originating message of a first messaging service from originating user equipment,

an interworking unit configured to transform the originating message to a message of a second messaging service, or to maintain the originating message as a message of the first messaging service, based on predetermined criteria,

a transmitter configured to send the interworked originating message with a service center address selected among one or more service center addresses dedicated for service level interworking,

a receiver, at the service level interworking function, configured to receive a terminating message of the second messaging service containing a service center address,

the interworking unit being configured to transform the terminating message to a message of the first messaging service and to send the interworked terminating message to the originating user equipment, if the service center address in the terminating message is one of said one or more service center addresses dedicated for service level interworking, and to send the terminating message to the originating user equipment without interworking to a message of the first messaging service otherwise.

13. An apparatus, comprising

means, at a service level interworking function, for receiving from originating user equipment an originating message of a first messaging service,

means for interworking the originating message to a message of a second messaging service, or maintaining the originating message as a message of the first messaging service, based on predetermined criteria,

means for sending the interworked originating message with a service center address selected among one or more service center addresses dedicated for service level interworking,

means for receiving, at the service level interworking function, a terminating message of the second messaging service containing a service center address,

means for interworking the terminating message to a message of the first messaging service and sending the interworked terminating message to the originating user equipment, if the service center address in the terminating message is one of said one or more service center addresses dedicated for service level interworking, and for sending the terminating message to the originating user equipment without interworking to a message of the first messaging service otherwise.