Method and instantaneous messaging system for mobile terminals equipped with a virtual presence server configured to manage different contact lists of a single user

• US 8,239,464 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2008
• Issued: 08/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synchronoss Technologies France
• Original Assignee: Miyowa
• Inventors: Colon, François
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THU HA T
• Application Number:
  US12/024,156
• Publication Number:
  US 20090113007A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,649 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/205, 709/206, 709/207, 455/414.1, 455/435.1, 370/252, 370/349, 379/93.01
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• 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: H04W 4/08 User group management

Abstract

The invention relates to an instantaneous messaging system for mobile terminals comprising one or several instantaneous messaging service servers (S1, S2) able to deliver instantaneous messaging services to mobile terminals (TA, TB1, TC1, TD1, TB2, TE2, TF2) connected to said servers and of which the users (A, B1, C1, D1, B2, E2, F2) have opened an instantaneous messaging session, and a virtual presence server (100) independent of the existing instantaneous messaging service servers (S1, S2), said virtual presence server being connected to at least one mobile client terminal (TA) and to at least one of the existing messaging servers (S1, S2) in such a way that the information intended for or sent by said mobile client terminal transits by said virtual presence server, wherein the instantaneous messaging service servers (S1, S2) are configured to transmit contact lists intended for mobile client terminal (TA), said lists being intercepted by the virtual presence server (100), the latter comprising a means to aggregate the different contact lists received and only manage a single list (110) in which are registered the identities of the different users (B1, C1, D1, B2, E2, F2), without distinction as to the community that said users are members of.

The invention also relates to a method making it possible to manage different contact lists of a single user in an instantaneous messaging session.

Claims

1. An instant messaging system, comprising:

at least two instant messaging service servers configured to deliver instant messaging services to mobile terminals connected to the at least two instant messaging service servers and to which users of the mobile terminals have opened an instant messaging session; and

a virtual presence server independent of the at least two instant messaging service servers, the virtual presence server being connected to a mobile client terminal and to the at least two instant messaging service servers in such a way that information intended for or sent by the mobile client terminal transits via the virtual presence server,

wherein the at least two instant messaging service servers are configured to transmit contact lists intended for the mobile client terminal, the contact lists being intercepted by the virtual presence server, the virtual presence server aggregating the contact lists received into a single list in which are registered identities of users, without distinction as to community membership of the users, wherein a computer application executed by the mobile client terminal transmits a piece of information to the virtual presence server in order that one of the users appearing in multiple of the contact lists is represented only once in the single list generated by the virtual presence server, and wherein the virtual presence server transmits the single list to the mobile client terminal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile client terminal transmits a piece of information to the virtual presence server indicating that the one of the users having at least two different identities must be treated as a single user.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein:

the virtual presence server automatically manages an instant messaging session in place of a user of the mobile client terminal,

the at least two instant messaging service servers transmit a presence request to the virtual presence server when a new user registered in the contact lists opens an instant messaging session,

when the presence request is received, the virtual presence server sends an alert message intended for the mobile client terminal during automatic management of the messaging session.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual presence server comprises a database storing filtering rules to be applied to messages sent by the mobile terminals of the users registered in the contact lists.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the virtual presence server transmits an alert message to ones of the mobile terminals whose messages have been filtered.

6. The system of claim 4 or 5, wherein the virtual presence server transmits an alert message to the mobile client terminal when a message is filtered.

7. The system of claim 4 or 5, wherein the mobile client terminal transmits filtering rules associated with different users to the virtual presence server, the virtual presence server recording the filtering rules in the database.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the virtual presence server analyzes the contact lists transmitted by the mobile client terminal, and checks if, for each one of the users registered in the lists, one or several filtering rules are already recorded in the database.

9. The system of claim 4 or 5, wherein the mobile client terminal transmits a piece of information to the virtual presence server indicating that the one of the users having different identities must be treated as a single user, the virtual presence server being able to connect to the instant messaging server to which the mobile terminal of the user is connected;

and the virtual presence server is configured to apply the same filtering rule to the messages intended for or sent by the mobile terminals of users having different identities but having to be treated as a single user.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein, when a connection between the mobile client terminal and the virtual presence server is cut off, the virtual presence server:

maintains connections to the at least two instant messaging service servers;

continues to receive messages from the users of the mobile terminals via the at least two instant messaging service servers; and

stores the messages for later retrieval by the mobile client terminal.

11. A method for controlling a virtual presence server in an instant messaging (IM) system having client terminals that establish IM sessions with IM servers, the method comprising:

connecting to the IM servers;

providing connectivity with the IM servers to a first user of a mobile client terminal, wherein IM information transmitted from the mobile client terminal and IM information transmitted to the mobile client terminal is transmitted through the virtual presence server;

intercepting contact lists sent by the IM servers and intended for the mobile client terminal, wherein each of the contact lists includes user information associated with a corresponding one of the IM servers; and

aggregating the contact lists into a single list, wherein the first user performs IM communications with entries on the single list, the aggregating including;

in response to a piece of information from the mobile client, selectively associating a user identity from a first one of the contact lists with a user identity from a second one of the contact lists based on the user identity from the first one of the contact lists corresponding to a first user and the user identity from the second one of the contact lists also corresponding to the first user; and

including a single entry in the single list that corresponds to both the user identity from the first one of the contact lists and the user identity from the second one of the contact lists.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving an indication from the mobile client terminal that specifies the user identity from the first one of the contact lists and the user identity from the second one of the contact lists, wherein the selectively associating is performed based on the indication.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

selectively automatically managing an IM session on behalf of the first user;

receiving a message from one of the IM servers indicating presence of a new user; and

during automatic management of the IM session, sending an alert to the mobile client terminal when the message indicating presence of the new user is received.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising storing a database of filtering rules applied to IM messages.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a single one of the filtering rules applies both to messages from the client terminal associated with the user identity from the first one of the contact lists and to messages from the client terminal associated with the user identity from the second one of the contact lists.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising, when a message from one of the users user is filtered, transmitting an alert to the one of the users.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising transmitting, when a message from one of the users user is filtered, transmitting an alert to the mobile client terminal.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein filtering comprises discarding messages from the client terminal associated with the user identity from the first one of the contact lists and discarding messages from the client terminal associated with the user identity from the second one of the contact lists.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving the filtering rules from the mobile client terminal.

20. An instant messaging (IM) system, comprising:

IM servers configured to deliver IM services to mobile terminals connected to the IM servers and to which users of the mobile terminals have opened IM sessions; and

a virtual presence server independent of the IM servers, the virtual presence server being connected to a mobile client terminal and to the IM servers, the virtual presence server intercepting and selectively retransmitting information sent by the mobile client terminal and information intended for the mobile client terminal,

wherein the IM servers transmit contact lists intended for the mobile client terminal, the lists being intercepted by the virtual presence server, the virtual presence server aggregating the contact lists received into a single list in which are registered identities of users, without distinction as to community membership of the users,

wherein the mobile client terminal transmits a piece of information to the virtual presence server instructing that one of the users appearing in multiple of the contact lists be treated as a single user, the virtual presence server including the one of the users only once in the single list,

wherein the virtual presence server transmits the single list to the mobile client terminal,

wherein the mobile client terminal transmits filtering rules to the virtual presence server, the virtual presence server recording the filtering rules in a database, the virtual presence server discarding messages from ones of the mobile terminals based on the filtering rules and transmitting an alert message to ones of the mobile terminals whose messages have been filtered, and

wherein the virtual presence server applies a single filtering rule to messages from the one of the users regardless of from which of the IM servers the messages arrive.