System and host arrangement for transmission of electronic mail

• US 6,205,330 B1
• Filed: 08/04/1998
• Issued: 03/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Winbladh, Hjalmar
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Congvan
• Application Number:
  US09/029,749
• Time in Patent Office: 959 Days
• Field of Search: 455/466, 455/403, 455/556, 455/426, 455/461, 455/455, 455/517, 455/550, 455/560, 455/414, 455/412, 379/58, 379/89, 379/93.18, 379/93.24, 379/200.34, 379/200.43, 379/872, 370/230, 370/428, 370/913, 370/912, 370/938, 371/33
• US Class Current: 455/426.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5322 for recording text messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and to a host arrangement for transferring electronic mail over a mobile telephone network with the aid of SMS message routing means existing in the network. According to the invention, e-mail is coupled with a modified SMS message containing an agent which, through the medium of control characters, is recognized in the addressed mobile station. A client function in the computer decodes the agent and initiates the transfer of e-mail from the host arrangement, wherein the mail is loaded into the computer from the mobile station, via a PCMCIA connection.

Claims

1. A method of a server, which server is operatively connected to a mobile telephone network, such as a GSM system, and to an external network, such as the Internet, for transferring electronic mail between the external network and a mobile telephone subscriber of the mobile telephone network the method comprising the steps of:

storing an electronic mail received from said external network and addressed to said mobile telephone subscriber;

forming an agent byte sequence that includes field with coded information, wherein one field includes information identifying said electronic mail and another field includes information identifying said server;

initiating transmission of an SMS message to a mobile station of said mobile telephone subscriber, wherein said agent byte sequence is included in the user text part of the SMS message; and

transmitting said electronic mail, upon a request from said mobile telephone subscriber, which request includes identifying information of said electronic mail, to said mobile station using a data connection provided by said mobile telephone network.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said agent byte sequence is composed of a character string.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said data connection used for transmitting said electronic mail is established between said server and said mobile station by receiving and accepting a call from said mobile station, and wherein said data connection initially is used by the server for receiving said request from said mobile telephone subscriber.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said information identifying said server corresponds to a server host telephone number in accordance with a telephone numbering plan.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said data connection is a GSM speech channel.

6. A server being operatively connected to a mobile telephone network, such as a GSM system, and to an external network, such as the Internet, for transferring electronic mail between the external network and a mobile telephone subscriber of the mobile telephone network, the server including:

storage means for storing an electronic mail received from said external network and addressed to said mobile telephone subscriber;

first means for forming an agent byte sequence that includes fields with coded information, wherein one field includes information identifying said electronic mail and another field includes information identifying said server;

SMS gateway means for operatively connecting the server to an SMS center, which SMS center is provided by said mobile telephone network for routing SMS messages;

second means for initiating transmission of an SMS message, which message includes said agent byte sequence in its user text part, from said SMS center to a mobile station of said mobile telephone subscriber;

data gateway means for connecting the server to a data connection provided by said mobile telephone network between said mobile station and the server; and

third means for transmitting said electronic mail, via the data gateway means and the data connection, to said mobile station in response to a request from the mobile station, said request including identifying information of said electronic mail.

7. The server as claimed in claim 6, wherein said first, second and third means are program code instruction means to be executed by a processing unit included in the server.

8. The server as claimed in claim 7, wherein said agent byte sequence is composed of a character string.

9. The server as claimed in claim 6, wherein said data connection used for transmitting said electronic mail is established between said server and said mobile station by receiving and accepting a call from said mobile station, and wherein said data connection initially is used by the server for receiving said request from said mobile telephone subscriber.

10. The server as claimed in claim 9, wherein said information identifying said server corresponds to a server host telephone number in accordance with a telephone numbering plan.

11. The server as claimed in claim 10, wherein said data connection is a GSM speech channel.

12. The server as claimed in claim 11, wherein said first, second and third means are program code instruction means to be executed by a processing unit included in the server.