Communication service

• US 20020073205A1
• Filed: 08/02/2001
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• 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: 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))
• Inventors: Mostafa, Miraj
• Application Number:
  US09/920,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20020073205A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• 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: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1108 Web based protocols, e.g. webRTC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A communication method, comprising the steps of a sender 21 sending a message comprising at least one streamable component and information describing it to a communication server MMSC and the communication server responsively sending to a receiver 24 a notification message to notify about the availability of the streamable component. The notification message is a multimedia message comprising the description for the streamable component. The communication server MMSC and the receiver form a streaming session for transferring the streamable component using the information describing the streamable component. The communication server MMSC then streams the streamable component to the receiver 24 in sequential sub-parts in the streaming session. Corresponding to the method, a communication system 20, a communication server MMSC, a communication device 21,24 and computer program products for them are also described.

Claims

1. A communication method comprising the steps of:

receiving by a communication server content and information describing the content from a first terminal;

sending a notification message from the communication server to a second terminal, the notification message notifying about availability of the content;

forming a streaming session between the communication server and the second terminal, using the information describing the content; and

transmitting the content in sequential sub-parts from the communication server to the second terminal, during the streaming session.

2. A communication method according to claim 1, further comprising sending the content and the information describing the content from the first terminal to the communication server in separate messages.

3. A communication method according to claim 1, further comprising sending by the communication server to the second terminal the information describing the content as a media component of a multimedia message.

4. A communication method according to claim 1, wherein the content comprises at least one non-streamable component and at least one description of a streamable component.

5. A communication method according to claim 1, further comprising requesting the content by the second terminal before the transmitting the content from the communication server to the second terminal.

6. A communication method according to claim 1, further comprising generating the content at the first terminal.

7. A method according to claim 6, further comprising the step of streaming the content generated at the first terminal to the communication server.

8. A method according to claim 6 further comprising the step of sending the information describing the content before the content generation is complete.

9. A method according to any of the claim 1 further comprising the step of sending the information describing the content from the communication server to the second terminal within the notification message.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the communication server comprises a content server for storing and transmitting the content and a notification server for receiving and transmitting notification messages, wherein the content server and the notification server have a physical relationship selected from the group consisting of:

a single unit, separate units, and separate units distributed at different geographic locations.

11. A method according to claim 1 further comprising implementing the method as part of a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).

12. A method according to claim 1 further comprising multicasting the content to at least one other terminal in addition to the second terminal.

14. A communications system according to claim 13, further comprising means for generating the content at the first terminal.

15. A communications system according to claim 13, wherein the communication server comprises a notification server for receiving the information describing the content from the first terminal and for sending the notification message to the second terminal.

16. A communications system according to claim 13, wherein the communication server further comprises a content server for receiving the content from the first terminal and for transmitting the content to the second terminal.

13. A communications system comprising:

a plurality of terminals including a first terminal and a second terminal;

a communication server accessible to the plurality of terminals;

means for sending content and information describing the content from the first terminal to the communication server;

means for sending a notification message from the communication server to the second terminal, the notification message notifying the second terminal about availability of the content;

means for forming a streaming session between the communication server and the second terminal, using the information describing the content;

means for transmitting the content in sequential sub-parts from the communication server to the second terminal, during the streaming session.

17. A communication server for serving a plurality of terminals, the communication server comprising:

means for receiving from a first terminal content and information describing the content;

means for sending a notification message to a second terminal, the notification message notifying the second terminal about availability of the content;

means for forming a streaming session with the second terminal, using the information describing the content; and

means for transmitting the content in sequential sub-parts to the second terminal during the streaming session.

18. A computer program product comprising:

computer program code for causing a communication server to receive content and information describing the content from a first terminal;

computer program code for causing the communication server to send a notification message from the communication server to a second terminal, the notification message notifying the second terminal about availability of the content;

computer program code for causing the communication server to form a streaming session between the communication server and the second terminal, using the information describing the content; and

computer program code for causing the communication server to transmit the content in sequential sub-parts from the communication server to the second terminal, during the streaming session.

19. A communication device comprising:

means for receiving from a communication server information describing a message intended for the communication device;

the message comprising a streamable component;

the information describing the message comprising information describing the streamable component;

the communication device further comprising;

means for forming, using the information describing the streamable component, a streaming session with the communication server for receiving the streamable component; and

means for receiving the content in sequential sub-parts from the communication server.

20. A computer program product comprising:

computer program code for causing a communication device to receive from a communication server information describing a message intended for the communication device;

the message comprising a streamable component;

the information describing the message comprising information describing the streamable component;

the computer program product further comprising;

computer program code for causing the communication device to form, using the information describing the streamable component, a streaming session with the communication server for receiving the streamable component; and

computer program code for causing the communication device to receive the content in sequential sub-parts from the communication server.