Short message (SMS) storage system

• US 7,373,384 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2002
• Issued: 05/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vodafone Group PLC
• Original Assignee: Vodafone Group PLC
• Inventors: Molina Zamora, Fernando, Bragado Carrasco, Loreto, Garcia Robles, Ana
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong; Oanh
• Application Number:
  US10/498,190
• Publication Number:
  US 20050064882A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,982 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/232, 709/203, 709216-217, 709/219, 455/466, 455/403, 455/412.1, 379/93.01, 379/100.08, 379/201.1, 379/93.03
• US Class Current: 709/206
• 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 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/24 between backbone network devices

Abstract

It comprises a Short Message Service Center (2) (SMSC), STP nodes (4) (Signal Transfer Point), Home Location Register (3) (HLR) and Visitor Location Register (VLR); it is characterized in that it comprises additional SMS storage means (5) and storage means (3 or 4) of an identification of said additional SMS storage means (5), which relates the identification of the means (5) with their address in the mobile network, so that when sending a number corresponding to the identification of the means (5), means (3 or 4) are consulted, from which means the address of the network associated with the identification used as a VLR address for sending the SMS to means (5) is obtained, being stored in these means as if they were a mobile terminal. Storage is carried out such that each mobile terminal subscriber uses the identification of the means (5) for sending an SMS, which had previously been received or generated, in the same manner as it does when it sends an SMS to another mobile terminal.

Claims

1. A short message storage system operable to store short messages sent from a sender mobile terminal and to provide user access to the stored short messages, the system comprising:

a Short Message Service Center operable to receive a short message from the sender mobile terminal and for forwarding the short message to a recipient mobile terminal;

said Short Message Service Center being operative to access through a Signal Transfer Point node, a Home Location Register for obtaining information corresponding to information stored in a Visitor Location Register in which the recipient mobile terminal is registered and an International Mobile Subscriber Identification of said recipient mobile terminal;

said Short Message Service Center being operable to deliver the short message to the recipient mobile terminal through said Visitor Location Register;

a short message storage operable to store the short message received;

an identification storage operable to store an identification of said short message storage, and

to access a database relating said identification with a storage address having a Visitor Location Register address format, when the short message received includes said identification;

the Short Message Service Center operable to forward the message received to the short message storage at said storage address, when the short message received by the Short Message Service Center refers to the identification of the short message storage; and

said short message storage operable to store the short message together with an identification of the first mobile terminal that sent the short message, and to re-send the short message, according to a receipt of a user command requesting the re-sending, to another recipient terminal.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

the identification storage is a Signal Transfer Point database operable to relate said identification with a storage address is provided in the short message storage, and

the Signal Transfer Point is operable to access the short message storage, when the sender mobile terminal sends the short message referring to the identification of said short message storage, and the short message storage is operable to return the storage address.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the short message storage, when receiving the short message, is operable to generate a message receipt confirmation, and to return said message receipt confirmation to the Short Message Service Center.

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the short message storage comprises a storage database operable to store fields of short messages and data corresponding to subscribers, including subscriber identification data and a message service profile.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the short message storage further comprises an internal management module arranged for controlling system functioning according to a user command received via an interface.

6. The system according to claim 2, wherein the short message storage comprises an interface with a mobile telephone network for communication with nodes of said network.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the interface with the mobile telephone network is a Mobile Application Part interface.

8. The system according to claim 2, wherein the short message storage comprises a message download and configuration interface operable to access stored short messages from outside of a mobile telephone network and/or from a mobile terminal or any external machine by means of a user identifier and password, the external machine in turn operable to provide to the mobile telephone network access to the short message and to re-send messages to another recipient mobile terminal.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the message download and configuration interface is of a web type interface, where the short message storage comprises a server, and clients are subscribers to a service for storage of short messages in the short message storage.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the message download and configuration interface is operative to configure a personal e-mail address for the re-sending of the short messages and to forward an e-mail containing the short message to the e-mail address.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the re-sending of the short message is performed manually or automatically, according to criteria previously established in the message download and configuration interface.

12. The system according to claim 2, wherein the identification of the short message storage is stored in the Signal Transfer Points database.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

the identification storage is provided in the Home Location Register,

the database is provided in the Home Location Register, and

the Short Message Service Center is operable to access the Home Location Register through the Signal Transfer Point, when the sender mobile terminal sends the short message referring to the identification of the short message storage, and the Home Location Register is operable to return the storage address.