KR20110134651A - Method and apparatus for sending of multimedia message - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A multimedia message transmission method and apparatus thereof are provided to transmit a multimedia message abroad and to increase the satisfaction of a client. CONSTITUTION: An information obtaining unit(315) obtains the location of a transmitting terminal according to a transmission request. The information obtaining unit obtains routing information corresponding to the receiving terminal. A message transmitting unit(330) analyzes the routing information. The message transmitting unit extracts connection information from a database.

Description

Method and apparatus for sending multimedia message

The present invention relates to a mobile communication system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for transmitting a multimedia message abroad.

Currently, the mobile communication service is not only a short message service (SMS), but also a multimedia message service (MMS) that can transmit voice, video, and pictures. In particular, in recent years, a multimedia message service capable of sending and receiving multimedia messages, which are large-capacity messages including still images, moving pictures, and long texts, has been widely used by users.

Such a multimedia message service is not simply a text message, but can be transmitted by attaching various multimedia information, which is frequently used among domestic communication service subscribers.

However, there is currently no way for a domestic communication service subscriber to transmit a multimedia message to a subscriber to an overseas communication service. Accordingly, there is a demand for a method in which a domestic communication service subscriber can transmit a multimedia message to an overseas communication service subscriber.

The present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for transmitting a multimedia message abroad, and can increase customer satisfaction.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for transmitting a multimedia message to a foreign destination terminal in a mobile communication system is provided.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for transmitting a multimedia message to an overseas destination terminal in a mobile communication system, the method comprising: (a) receiving a request for transmission of a multimedia message from an originating terminal to the overseas destination terminal; (b) querying a location of the overseas destination terminal to an overseas third party communication system according to the transmission request to obtain routing information corresponding to the overseas destination terminal; (c) analyzing the routing information and extracting access information of a third-party message transmission device of a communication system subscribed to the overseas destination terminal from a database; And (d) directly transmitting the multimedia message to the third-party message transmission apparatus using the extracted access information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for transmitting a multimedia message to a foreign destination terminal in a mobile communication system.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a message transmission apparatus for transmitting a multimedia message to an overseas destination terminal, the apparatus comprising: a communication unit for receiving a request for transmission of a multimedia message from a calling terminal to the overseas destination terminal; An information acquisition unit for querying a location of the overseas destination terminal to an overseas third party communication system according to the transmission request to obtain routing information corresponding to the overseas destination terminal; And analyzing the routing information to extract connection information of a third party message transmission device of a communication system subscribed to the overseas destination terminal from a database, and directly transmitting the multimedia message to the third party message transmission device using the connection information. A message transmission device including a message transmission unit may be provided.

According to the method and apparatus for transmitting a multimedia message according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to transmit a multimedia message to a communication subscriber abroad, thereby increasing customer satisfaction.

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a mobile communication system capable of transmitting a multimedia message abroad.
2 shows the global title of the switching center.
3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a message transmission device of the company communication system of FIG. 1.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting a multimedia message to a foreign destination terminal in a mobile communication system.

The present invention is capable of various modifications and various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated and described in the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all transformations, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1-FIG. 2 Description

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a mobile communication system capable of transmitting a multimedia message abroad, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a global title of an exchange. In FIG. 1, the company's communication system is a domestic company's communication system, and the third party's communication system is a communication system of another overseas operator.

Referring to FIG. 1, a mobile communication system for transmitting a multimedia message includes a user terminal 10, a company communication system 20, and a third party communication system 30.

The user terminal 10 is an apparatus for receiving various communication services through its communication system 20. For example, the user terminal 10 may be a personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, a personal communication service (PCS) phone, a hand-held PC, or a global network (GSM). System for Mobile (Phone), WCDMA phones, CDMA-2000 phones, MBS (Mobile Broad and System) phones and the like can be included.

Hereinafter, in the present specification, a user device for sending a multimedia message is called a calling terminal, and a user device for receiving a multimedia message is called a called terminal.

The company's communication system 20 performs a function of providing various communication services according to a request of the user terminal 10. The company communication system 20 includes a base station 110, a switching center 120, a message transmitting device 130, and a gateway location register 140, as shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, each structure of the company's communication system 20 will be described.

The base station 110 receives the location information of the user terminal 10, the registrant information, and the communication call of the user terminal 10. For example, the base station 110 may include a base station transmitter (BTS), a base station controller (BSC) and a repeater (not shown). have.

The base station transmitter is arranged in units of cells and performs a function of transmitting a communication call of the user terminal 10 to the switching center 120 via the base station controller. In addition, the base station transmitter determines the location of the user terminal 10 existing in the cell area under the control of the base station transmitter and performs location registration.

The base station transmitter receives location information of the base station transmitter from a global positioning system (GPS). The base station transmitter transmits the location information to the user terminal 10 using the system parameter message of the forward link call channel. The user terminal 10 may register new location information by calculating the location of the user terminal 10 by using the location information of the base station transmitter of the cell to which the user terminal 10 belongs. Location registration is a process of informing the switching center 120 of the location, status, identifier, slot period, and other characteristics of the user terminal 10 through the base station transmitter, so that the base station transmitter establishes an incoming call to the user terminal 10. When the user terminal 10 can be called effectively. Such location registration is performed when the user terminal 10 is powered on or off, when the user terminal 10 moves between switching stations, or when a parameter of the user terminal 10 is changed.

The base station controller performs various functions required for radio call processing such as handoff while controlling and managing a plurality of base stations. The base station controller also transmits subscriber information of the location registered terminal to the exchange.

The base station controller performs a function of transferring a communication call transmitted from the user terminal 10 through the base station transmitter to the switching center 120.

The switching center 120 has a control function and an interworking function between the public telephone network and another switching network so that the wireless base stations can be efficiently operated. For example, when the exchange 120 receives an outgoing call, it checks the home location register of the corresponding GT (Global Title) through the translation of the incoming prefix number, then inquires the location information of the called terminal in the confirmed home location register. According to the result, routing to the other exchange in which the called terminal is located.

In addition, the switching center 120 transmits the multimedia message to the message transmission device 130 according to the multimedia message transmission request including the incoming information of the user terminal 10.

For example, the switching center 120 may be a mobile switching center (MSC) in the case of a circuit switched network, or a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) in the case of a packet switched network.

The message transmission device 130 checks the connection information of the third-party message transmission device according to the multimedia message transmission request including the incoming information of the user terminal 10 and then directly sends the multimedia message to the third-party message transmission device using the confirmed connection information. Perform the function of sending. This will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings below.

For example, the message transmission device 130 may be a multimedia message service center (MMSC) of a mobile communication system.

Gateway location register 140 serves as a gateway to enable roaming services between mobile operators using different mobile application part (MAP) protocols (eg, GSM, ANSI-41, PDC, etc.).

The third party communication system 30 performs a function of providing routing information corresponding to the called terminal according to a location query request for the called terminal of the company communication system 20.

The third party communication system 30 includes a home location register 150, as shown in FIG. Of course, the third-party communication system 30 may include a third-party exchange station, a third-party message transmission device in addition to the home location register 150, which is the same as the configuration and function described in the communication system 20 of the separate description for this Will be omitted.

The home location register 150 stores various information about the subscriber and manages location information on the user terminal 10. In addition, when a location query for the called terminal is requested, the home location register 150 extracts routing information corresponding to the called terminal, and transmits the extracted routing information to the gateway location register 140. Here, the location query request includes incoming information and outgoing information. The called information may be identification information of the called terminal, and the calling information may be identification information of the calling terminal. Identification information of the called terminal and calling terminal is determined by the telephone number of each terminal, mobile identification number (MIN), electronic serial number (ESN), and mobile station international ISDN number (MSISDN). And the like.

In addition, the routing information may be an International Mobile Station Identity (IMSI) corresponding to the called terminal and a global title (GT) of the switching center.

In order to facilitate the understanding and explanation, the configuration of the global title of the switching center will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

As shown in Fig. 2, the global title of the switching center generally follows the E.214 numbering standard or the E.164 numbering standard. In this specification, for the convenience of understanding and explanation, the configuration of the global title of the switching center will be briefly described with reference to the E.214 numbering standard. The global title of the switching center is comprised of 1 to 3 digit country code, m (natural number of 12 or less) digit network code and n digit mobile subscriber identification number. Here, since the global title of the switching center is composed of up to 15 digits, n may be 15-digits of the country code minus m digits. In FIG. 2, the global title of the switching center included in the routing information is described, but the international mobile station identification number also includes a country code, a network code, and a mobile subscriber identification number similarly to the global title of the switching center. Of course, in the case of the International Mobile Station Identification Number, since the E.212 numbering standard is used, the number of bits (i.e., digits) constituting each identifier may be different as shown in FIG.

In the present specification, it is assumed that the 2G network is a routing information international mobile station identification number or an exchange station global title. However, in the 3G network, the routing information may be a mobile station roaming number (MSRN). That is, the routing information may be different depending on the communication network, and includes identification information for identifying the destination party to which the destination terminal is directly connected. Can be applied.

[Description of Fig. 3]

3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a message transmission device of the communication system of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the message transmission device 130 includes a communication unit 310, an information acquisition unit 315, a storage unit 320, and a message transmission unit 325.

The communication unit 310 performs a function of transmitting and receiving data with other devices of the company communication system 20 through a communication network.

For example, the communicator 310 receives a multimedia message transmission request including origination information and incoming information from the user terminal 10 through the switching center 120. In addition, the communication unit 310 may transmit a location query request for the called terminal to the gateway location register 140.

When the information acquisition unit 315 receives the multimedia message transmission request from the user terminal 10 through the communication unit 310, the information acquisition unit 315 transmits a location query request for the destination terminal to the third party communication system 30 through the gateway location register 140. And transmits routing information about the called terminal through the third party communication system 30 in response to the location query request. For example, the location query request may be a Send Routing Information (SRI) request, which is a GSMMAP message. As described above, the routing information may be the global title of the IMSI corresponding to the called terminal and the switching center to which the called terminal is connected.

The storage unit 320 stores an algorithm for operating the message transmission device 130. In addition, the storage 320 maps the access information of the message transmission device for each provider and stores the information in the form of a database or a table. The connection information may be an IP address or a domain for connection of the message transmission device.

That is, the storage unit 320 may map and store the access information of each message transmission device to the country code and the network code. The country code may be a mobile country code (MCC), and the network code may be a mobile network code (MNC). Here, MCC and MNC are differently assigned to each country and operator, each carrier can be distinguished using the MCC and MNC. Since this is obvious to those skilled in the art, further description will be omitted.

The message transmitter 325 extracts a country code and a network code for a called terminal by analyzing routing information acquired through the information acquirer 315, and maps the message transmitter to correspond to the extracted country code and network code. Extract connection information from the database. Subsequently, the message transmitter 325 directly transmits the multimedia message to the message transmitter of the third party communication system corresponding to the called terminal by using the extracted access information.

In this way, the message transmission device obtains routing information about the overseas destination terminal from the third-party communication system 30 by using the reception information of the overseas destination terminal, and the communication that the overseas destination terminal has finally subscribed to using the corresponding routing information. After confirming the operator, the multimedia message may be directly transmitted to the message transmission device of the corresponding carrier. Accordingly, regardless of the number movement of the overseas destination terminal, the message transmission device 130 has an advantage of transmitting a multimedia message to the overseas destination terminal.

[Description of Fig. 4]

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting a multimedia message to a foreign destination terminal in a mobile communication system. Hereinafter, in FIG. 4, for convenience of understanding and explanation, an exchange station included in the communication system of the company will be referred to as an originating exchange station, and an exchange station included in a third party communication system will be referred to as a destination exchange station.

In step 410, when the originating switching center receives a multimedia message transmission request from the originating terminal to the overseas destination terminal, the originating switching center transmits the multimedia message to the message transmission device 130 designated in the communication system. Here, the multimedia message transmission request includes incoming information for the overseas destination terminal and outgoing information for the originating terminal. As described above, the called information and the calling information are identification information for each terminal (ie, called terminal, calling terminal), and may be MIN, MSISDN, or the like.

In step 415, when the message transmission device 130 receives the multimedia message including the incoming information and the outgoing information through the originating switching center 120, the gateway location register 140 transmits a location query to the overseas destination terminal including the incoming information. Ask. Here, the location query may include incoming information for the overseas destination terminal and outgoing information for the originating terminal. The location query may be an SRI, which is a GSMMAP message, as described above.

In operation 420, the gateway location register 140 transmits a location query request from the message transmission device 130 to the home location register 150 of the third party communication system 30.

In step 425, the home location register 150 of the third party communication system 30 acquires routing information corresponding to the overseas destination terminal in response to the location query request, and checks the location query response (SRI Ack) including the corresponding routing information. Send to location register 140.

In more detail, the home location register 150 extracts incoming information from the location query request and transmits a routing request to the destination switching center 120 using the extracted incoming information. Here, the routing request may be a provision roaming number (PRN) which is a GSMMAP message. Accordingly, the overseas destination terminal corresponding to the destination information transmits a routing request response (PRN Ack) including routing information corresponding to the destination exchange station directly connected to the home location register 150. When receiving the routing request response, the home location register 150 may transmit a location query response (SRI Ack) including routing information included in the corresponding routing request response to the gateway location register 140.

In step 430, the gateway location register 140 routes the location query response received from the third party communication system 30 to the message transmission device 130.

In operation 435, the message transmission device 130 extracts routing information from the location query response received through the gateway location register 140, and extracts access information of an overseas third party message transmission device corresponding to the routing information. As described above, the access information may be an IP address or a domain for accessing each communication service provider's message transmission device.

In more detail, as described above, the message transmission device 130 maps the access information to the message transmission device for each communication service provider to a country code and a network code for each communication service provider, and stores them in a database.

Accordingly, the message transmission device 130 extracts routing information from the location query response received through the gateway location register 140, and analyzes the routing information to extract a country code and a network code. Subsequently, the message transmission device 130 may extract access information of an overseas third party message transmission device corresponding to the extracted country code and network code from a database.

In operation 440, the message transmission device 130 may transmit the multimedia message requested by the calling terminal to the third party message transmission device of the overseas third party communication system subscribed to by the overseas destination terminal using the extracted access information.

Accordingly, when the third-party message transmission device receives the multimedia message to the overseas destination terminal, the third party message transmission device may transmit a notification message notifying the reception of the multimedia message to the overseas destination terminal. Subsequently, when the overseas destination terminal requests the reception of the multimedia message according to the notification message, the third-party message transmission device may provide the corresponding multimedia message to the overseas destination terminal.

On the other hand, the method of transmitting a multimedia message to the overseas destination terminal in the company's communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention can be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various electronic means for processing information can be recorded in the storage medium have. The storage medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination.

Program instructions to be recorded on the storage medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the present invention or may be available to those skilled in the art of software. Examples of storage media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic-optical media such as floppy disks. hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as magneto-optical media and ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. In addition, the above-described medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal wire, a waveguide, or the like including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal specifying a program command, a data structure, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also devices that process information electronically using an interpreter, for example, high-level language code that can be executed by a computer.

The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

Although the above has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below It will be appreciated that modifications and variations can be made.

10: user terminal
20: our communication system
30: third party communication system

Claims (7)

In the method for transmitting a multimedia message from the mobile communication system to the overseas destination terminal,
(a) receiving a request for transmission of a multimedia message from an originating terminal to the overseas called terminal;
(b) querying a location of the overseas destination terminal to an overseas third party communication system according to the transmission request to obtain routing information corresponding to the overseas destination terminal;
(c) analyzing the routing information and extracting access information of a third-party message transmission device of a communication system subscribed to the overseas destination terminal from a database; And
(d) transmitting a multimedia message directly to the third-party message transmission device using the extracted access information.
The method according to claim 1,
prior to step (c),
And mapping a country code and a network code for each service provider to access information of a message transmission device for each service provider and storing the same in a database.
The method of claim 2,
The routing information is at least one of an international mobile station identification number (IMSI) corresponding to the overseas destination terminal and a global title (GT) for an exchange station of the third party communication system to which the overseas destination terminal is directly connected;
In step (c),
And extracting, from the database, access information for the message transmission device of the telecommunications operator mapped to the country code and the network code included in the international mobile station identification information and the global title for the switching center. .
In the message transmission device for transmitting a multimedia message to a foreign destination terminal,
A communication unit for receiving a request for transmission of a multimedia message from an originating terminal to the overseas receiving terminal;
An information acquisition unit for querying a location of the overseas destination terminal to an overseas third party communication system according to the transmission request to obtain routing information corresponding to the overseas destination terminal; And
A message for analyzing the routing information and extracting connection information of a third party message transmission device of a communication system subscribed to the overseas destination terminal from a database, and directly transmitting the multimedia message to the third party message transmission device using the connection information. Message transmission device comprising a transmission unit.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And a storage unit which maps country code and network code for each service provider to access information of the message transfer device for each service provider and stores the data in a database.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And said routing information is one or more of an international mobile station identification number (IMSI) corresponding to said called terminal and a global title (GT) for an exchange station of said third party communication system to which said called terminal is directly connected.
The method of claim 6,
And the message transmitting unit extracts, from a database, access information about a message transmission device of a communication operator mapped to the international mobile station identification information and the country code included in the global title and the network code.

Images