Arrangement for implementing transmission of multimedia messages

• US 7,886,007 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2001
• Issued: 02/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2000
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Conversant Wireless Licensing S.à.r.l. (f/k/a Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l.) (MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management))
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Kuisma, Jussi, Pihlajamäki, Sisko
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder; Patrice L
• Application Number:
  US10/023,447
• Publication Number:
  US 20020078228A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,340 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/231
• US Class Current: 709/206
• 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 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre

Abstract

A multimedia messaging center is arranged to receive multimedia messages addressed to a terminal. In response to the receipt of such messages, the message center transmits a notification to the terminal regarding the received message. A wireless message is transmitted, from the terminal to the message center, requesting notification messages that have not been acknowledged as received by the terminal.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting a first message wirelessly to a multimedia messaging centre, the first message requesting the multimedia messaging centre to transmit a notification message to a terminal only for multimedia messages addressed to the terminal that have arrived at the multimedia messaging centre and for which the terminal has not received a notification message yet, and only for multimedia messages for which a notification message has been sent and an acknowledgement message from the terminal has not yet been received by the multimedia messaging center, wherein said first message comprises an option to define a selection criterion so as to limit information to be sent in response to said first message; and

sending the notification message to the terminal, wherein the notification message is a message to which a response is sent from the terminal for receiving the actual multimedia message.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said first message requests the multimedia messaging centre to transmit a notification message to the terminal for multimedia messages, addressed to the terminal, that have arrived at the multimedia messaging centre and for which the terminal has not received a notification message transmitted from the multimedia messaging centre.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving the first message transmitted by the terminal at the multimedia messaging centre;

determining at the multimedia messaging centre whether there are multimedia messages addressed to the terminal at the multimedia messaging centre for which the terminal has not received a notification message yet;

transmitting a second message from the multimedia messaging centre to the terminal in response to the first message, the second message containing the notification messages for said multimedia messages for which the terminal has not received a notification message yet.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving the second message at the terminal, which has been transmitted by the multimedia messaging service and contains said notification messages;

transmitting a third message from the terminal to the multimedia messaging centre in response to said second message, the third message indicating to the multimedia messaging centre the terminal'"'"'s desire to fetch the multimedia message on which a notification message was transmitted to the terminal in said second message.

5. A method according to claim 3, wherein it is determined, at the multimedia messaging centre, whether the multimedia messaging centre has multimedia messages, addressed to the terminal, for which the terminal has not received a notification message, by investigating whether the multimedia messaging centre has received an acknowledgement to the notification message from the terminal.

6. The method of claim 3 further comprising that the first message indicates to the multimedia messaging centre a time when the terminal wants to receive the undelivered notification messages.

7. A method according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving the third message transmitted by the terminal at the multimedia messaging centre;

transmitting a fourth message from the multimedia messaging centre to the terminal in response to said third message, the fourth message containing the multimedia message which the terminal desires to fetch as indicated in said third message.

8. The method of claim 4 further comprising that each of the first, second, third and fourth messages are a certain message type, the message type indicating to a receiving device how to process a respective message.

9. A method according to claim 7, wherein the terminal and the multimedia messaging centre comprise a protocol stack and a multimedia application on top of it, and said first, second, third and fourth messages are transmitted at the level of the multimedia application, the messages then being independent of the implementation of the protocol stack below the multimedia application.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the selection criterion defines that notification message(s) for only those multimedia messages for which notification message(s) has not been successfully transmitted are requested.

11. A multimedia messaging centre comprising:

an interface configured for receiving a first message requesting the multimedia messaging centre to transmit a notification message to a terminal only for multimedia messages addressed to the terminal that have arrived at the multimedia messaging centre and for which the terminal has not received a notification message yet and only for multimedia messages for which a notification message has been sent to the terminal but for which an acknowledgement has not been received in the multimedia messaging centre; and

a control unit configured for determining whether there are multimedia messages, addressed to the terminal at the multimedia messaging centre for which the terminal has not received a notification message yet, and multimedia messages for which a notification message has been sent to the terminal but for which an acknowledgement has not been received in the multimedia messaging centre, where the notification message is a message to which a response is sent from the terminal for receiving the actual multimedia message.

12. A multimedia messaging centre according to claim 11, wherein said first message comprises an option to define a selection criterion so as to limit information to be sent in response to said first message, and wherein the multimedia messaging centre is arranged to select information to be sent in return based on said selection criterion.

13. A multimedia messaging centre according to claim 12, wherein the selection criterion is definable so that said first message requests notification message(s) to be sent concerning only those multimedia messages for which notification message(s) has not been successfully transmitted, and wherein the multimedia messaging centre is arranged to handle and respond to said first message containing the selection criterion defined this way.

14. An apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a memory including computer program code,

the memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

transmit a first message wirelessly to a multimedia messaging centre, the first message requesting the multimedia messaging centre to transmit a notification message to the apparatus only for multimedia messages addressed to the apparatus that have arrived at the multimedia messaging centre and for which the apparatus has not received a notification message yet and only for multimedia messages for which a notification message has been sent but for which an acknowledgement has not yet been received in the multimedia messaging centre, wherein said first message comprises an option to define a selection criterion so as to limit information to be sent in response to said first message and the notification message is a message to which a response is sent from the apparatus for receiving the actual multimedia message.

15. A terminal according to claim 14, wherein the terminal is arranged to request, with said first message and using said selection criterion, notification messages concerning only those multimedia messages for which notification messages has not been successfully transmitted.

16. A system comprising:

means for transmitting a first message, wirelessly from a terminal to a multimedia messaging centre, the first message requesting the multimedia messaging centre to transmit a notification message to the terminal only for multimedia messages addressed to the terminal that have arrived at the multimedia messaging centre, and for which the terminal has not received a notification message yet and only for multimedia messages for which a notification message has been sent but for which an acknowledgement has not yet been received in the multimedia messaging centre, wherein said first message comprises an option to define a selection criterion so as to limit information to be sent in response to said first message and the notification message is a message to which a response is sent from the terminal for receiving the actual multimedia message.

17. A computer program product stored in a memory and executable by a computer, the computer program product comprising:

computer readable program code means for causing the computer to receive a first message requesting the computer to transmit a notification message to a terminal only for multimedia messages addressed to the terminal which have arrived at the computer and on which the terminal has not received a notification message yet and only for multimedia messages for which a notification message has been sent but for which an acknowledgement has not yet been received by the computer, where the notification message is a message to which a response is sent from the terminal for receiving the actual multimedia message; and

computer readable program code means for causing the computer to determine whether there are multimedia messages addressed to the terminal at the computer on which the terminal has not received a notification message yet, and multimedia messages for which a notification message has been sent to the terminal but for which an acknowledgement has not been received by the computer.

18. The computer program product according to claim 17, wherein said first message comprises an option to define a selection criterion so as to limit information to be sent in response to said first message, and wherein the computer program product has computer readable program code means for selecting information to be sent in return based on said selection criterion.

19. A computer program product stored in a memory and executable in a terminal, the computer program product comprising:

computer readable program code means for causing the terminal to transmit a first message wirelessly from the terminal to a multimedia messaging centre, the first message requesting the multimedia messaging centre to transmit a notification message to the terminal only for multimedia messages addressed to the terminal which have arrived at the multimedia messaging centre and on which the terminal has not received a notification message yet and only for multimedia messages for which a notification message has been sent but for which an acknowledgement has not yet been received in the multimedia messaging centre, where the notification message is a message to which a response is sent from the terminal for receiving the actual multimedia messages, and

computer readable program code means for causing the terminal to define a selection criterion in said first message to limit information to be sent in response to said first message.