Reception notification control method and system

• US 7,474,890 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2002
• Issued: 01/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Shinji, Funato, Daichi, Yoshikawa, Kunio, Onishi, Taku, Miyake, Motoharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Duc
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee; Justin Y
• Application Number:
  US10/311,333
• Publication Number:
  US 20030148756A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,442 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412.2, 455/414.2, 455/456.2
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1432 Metric aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1485 Tariff-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 Backbone network devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to a reception notification control method in which an information server that stores information addressed to reception terminals and performs reception notification, via a network apparatus, on each of the reception terminals to which the information stored in the information server is addressed. After receiving, via the network apparatus, a predetermined connection request from a reception terminal to which stored information is addressed, the information server performs the reception notification on the reception terminal.

Claims

1. A reception notification system in which an information server that stores e-mail addressed to reception terminals and makes a reception notification to each of the reception terminals via a network apparatus with a node device interposed between the network apparatus and the information server, the system comprising:

a communication state determining part configured to determine a communication state of an arbitrary reception terminal in accordance with a control signal that is transmitted when a HTTP packet link is established between the arbitrary reception terminal and the network apparatus to access a service unrelated to e-mail retrieval;

a stored information inquiring part configured to inquire the information server whether the information server stores e-mail addressed to the arbitrary reception terminal, when the communication state determining part determines that the arbitrary reception terminal has established the HTTP packet link with the network apparatus; and

a reception notifying part configured to make a reception notification to the arbitrary reception terminal depending on a result of the inquiry made by the stored information inquiring part and the reception notification being provided via the HTTP packet link between the arbitrary reception terminal and the network apparatus thereby avoiding a further packet link establishment to the information server for receiving the reception notification as the reception notification is provided together with the unrelated service;

wherein, each of the communication state determining part, the stored information inquiring part, and the reception notifying part are provided in the node device, the node device having a packet conversion function that enables the node device to make a communication with the arbitrary reception terminal via the network apparatus.

2. A reception notification system in which an information server that stores e-mail addressed to reception terminals and makes a reception notification to each of the reception terminals via a network apparatus with a node device interposed between the network apparatus and the information server, the system comprising:

a communication state determining part configured to determine a communication state of an arbitrary reception terminal in accordance with a control signal that is transmitted when a HTTP packet link is established between the arbitrary reception terminal and the network apparatus to access a service unrelated to e-mail retrieval;

a stored information inquiring part configured to inquire the information server whether the information server stores e-mail addressed to the arbitrary reception terminal, when the communication state determining part determines that the arbitrary reception terminal has established the HTTP packet link with the network apparatus;

a reception notifying part configured to make a reception notification to the arbitrary reception terminal depending on a result of the inquiry made by the stored information inquiring part and the reception notification being provided via the HTTP packet link between the arbitrary reception terminal and the network apparatus thereby avoiding a further packet link establishment to the information server for receiving the reception notification as the reception notification is provided together with the unrelated service; and

a protocol conversion device, interposed between the network apparatus and the node device and having a packet conversion function, configured to enable the node device to make a communication with the arbitrary reception terminal via the network apparatus;

wherein, each of the communication state determining part, the stored information inquiring part, and the reception notifying part being provided in the node device.

3. A reception notification system in which an information server that stores e-mail addressed to reception terminals and makes a reception notification to each of the reception terminals via a network apparatus with a node device interposed between the network apparatus and the information server, the system comprising:

a communication state determining part configured to determine a communication state of an arbitrary reception terminal in accordance with a control signal that is transmitted when a HTTP packet link is established between the arbitrary reception terminal and the network apparatus to access a service unrelated to e-mail retrieval;

a stored information inquiring part configured to inquire the information server whether the information server stores e-mail addressed to the arbitrary reception terminal, when the communication state determining part determines that the arbitrary reception terminal has established the HTTP packet link with the network apparatus; and

a reception notifying part configured to make a reception notification to the arbitrary reception terminal depending on a result of the inquiry made by the stored information inquiring part and the reception notification being provided via the HTTP packet link between the arbitrary reception terminal and the network apparatus thereby avoiding a further packet link establishment to the information server for receiving the reception notification as the reception notification is provided together with the unrelated service;

wherein, each of the communication state determining part, the stored information inquiring part, and the reception notifying part are provided in the node device, the information server and the node device being separate devices.