JP2006287978A - Message transmission method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate conventional defects in a message transmission method. <P>SOLUTION: The method of transmitting message in a communications network, comprising at least one terminal and a message function includes the steps of transmitting information regarding the capabilities of the terminal and its current user profile from the terminal to the message function, if a predetermined state occurs; deciding how the message function should be dealt with the message of the terminal received by the message function, based on the information; and dealing with the message by using the message function, based on a result of the decision step. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for sending a message in a communication network.

  Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) implements the Multimedia Message Service Center (MMSC) as a network element of a communication network for use in, for example, General Packet Radio System (GPRS) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) We are currently considering Unfortunately, most remain undefined, such as terminal capabilities and user profile management.

  The function of the multimedia message service center provides, from a technical point of view, a non-real-time service that partially operates in a storage-transfer form. Further, multimedia messages are transmitted using, for example, a GPRS air interface, and the content of the message is text, images, speech, video clips, etc., or any combination thereof. For example, these contents can be sent from one mobile station to another using this multimedia message service.

  According to the service description of the multimedia message, the content and length of the message are in principle unlimited. However, because there are various different types of terminals (eg, mobile terminals), many different capabilities of these terminals exist in the network. As a result, each of these terminals inevitably introduces its own specification constraints and limitations, particularly with respect to the possibility of handling multimedia messages.

  For example, the available storage capacity is limited and is different between different terminals, so not all terminals can receive all content. Furthermore, the capacity of a single terminal can change dynamically, eg, if the terminal has already received and stored a message, the remaining storage capacity is reduced. Similarly, the terminal can be connected to or disconnected from other devices such as a laptop.

  Furthermore, in addition to the limitations caused by terminal capabilities, users may wish to create or modify their user profiles, which creates special restrictions. For example, a user desires to store a certain type of multimedia message at a multimedia message service center, forward it to an Internet address, or discard it. These constraints determined by the user are based on, for example, the size, content type or sender of the multimedia message.

  As is apparent from the above, there is a problem that some or all of the multimedia message is not managed by the recipient's terminal due to the lack of ability to receive, store, process or display the multimedia message. As a result, the uncontrolled transmission of multimedia messages can cause serious problems to the extent that the terminal has a system defect that at least partially disrupts communication and interrupts communication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for sending a message in a communication network having at least one terminal and a message function, in which the above drawbacks are eliminated.

  According to the present invention, this object is a method for sending a message in a communication network with at least one terminal and a message function, the terminal capability and its current user profile when a predetermined condition occurs. Is transmitted from the terminal to the message function. Based on the information, the message function determines how to handle the terminal message received by the message function, and determines the result of the determination step. This is achieved by a method including the step of handling the message based on the message function.

  Furthermore, the object is a method for transmitting a message in a communication network having at least one terminal and a message function, wherein the message is received by the message function and a notification regarding the presence of the message is sent to the message function. To the terminal, the terminal determines how to handle the received message from its capabilities and current user profile, responds to the notification sent by the message function by the terminal, and It is achieved by a method comprising the steps of commanding based on a result and handling the message by the message function based on the command.

  The present invention further includes a receiving means for receiving a message and information, a processing means for processing the received information data and message, a storage means, and a transmitting means for transmitting the information and the message to the terminal, respectively. We also propose a terminal device equipped with

  Further advantageous developments of the invention are described in the respective dependent claims.

  An advantage of the present invention is that message handling is based on the capabilities of the recipient terminal and the corresponding subscriber user profile. Therefore, each message and each part of the message can be handled correspondingly. In conclusion, terminal failures or functional interruptions can no longer be considered, and the method according to the invention further provides a wide range for subscribers to join the network flexibly and freely.

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

  According to the present invention, the transmission of multimedia messages as an example of messages to be sent in a communication network is handled based on the capabilities and user profile of a recipient terminal such as a mobile station, for example. The decision on how to handle this transmission is based on the environment in which the content, size and format of the multimedia message, the terminal capabilities, and the subscriber's user profile associated with the terminal are available to each means of determination. .

  The handling of these messages to be sent out is performed in another element of the communication network, ie a network device that implements the message function. In the following description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, an explanation will be given by referring to an example of a multimedia message service center as a network device that implements a message function and referring to an example of a multimedia message as a message to be sent out. . However, it should be noted that these examples do not limit the present invention in any way. That is, monomedia messages can be sent out, and the message function need not be implemented in a single network device such as a multimedia message service center, and may be a distributed function.

  With respect to the determinations described above, for purposes of explanation, multimedia messages can be considered as originating from a multimedia message service center, while terminal capabilities and user profiles can be considered unique to each terminal. Therefore, the information must be transmitted in any way that can make a decision.

  In addition, for convenience, it is appropriate that decisions are automated and optimized based on parameters provided by the terminal and the user. However, this is not essential for the present invention.

  Multimedia messages can have a certain format, multiple parts (segments), different contents (text, images, speech, video, etc.), different sizes or sender recognition, so that the terminal receives the multimedia message, Whether it can be displayed or processed depends on the capabilities of the recipient terminal and the currently defined user profile as well as whether the subscriber wants it.

  Thus, the result of the decision on how to handle a multimedia message is stored in the multimedia message service center whether it must be sent out completely, partially or modified, or it must be discarded. Or must be forwarded to an e-mail address on the Internet, for example. As described above, it is of course possible to ask the user what to do in either the general case or the special case, rather than automatically judging. Furthermore, the storage of multimedia messages in the multimedia message service center is in most cases limited to a certain period of time. This is probably because the amount of memory available at the multimedia message service center is not unlimited (so the MMSC informs the subscriber with each notification about the passage of time period before deleting the stored message. be able to). If the multimedia message is only partially sent, the part not sent can be stored, transferred or discarded. When changing a multimedia message, the multimedia message is usually converted from one format to another, but data compression or other types of processing must be understood by its representation, so that part Multimedia messages that are not divided into segments can be segmented by this process. For many possibilities of how to handle the transmission of multimedia messages, the result of the decision will ultimately be a combination of each of the items described above.

  Alternatively, if the multimedia message service center is designated as a new network element for general packet radio and universal mobile telecommunications systems, the data transmission will probably involve each other network element based on the system. By using, it is executed in non-real time by the protocol data unit. The other network elements are omitted from the description of the invention for clarity.

First Embodiment According to the first embodiment of the present invention, a determination regarding selection of transmission of a multimedia message is made at a multimedia message service center (MMSC). The basic idea of this solution is that after receiving a new multimedia message, the multimedia message service center can immediately determine which type of transmission should be selected. In other words, the multimedia message service center acts as a pre-filter for the terminal.

  In order to provide such functionality, terminal capabilities and current user profiles must be stored in the multimedia message service center. Furthermore, this information must be updated under certain conditions. If this information (terminal capabilities and user profile) and the given multimedia message service center does not change at all, then that information should be sent and stored once and never updated. Of course, these pre-required conditions are hardly satisfied. Accordingly, the initial information and its updates must be sent to the multimedia message service center to effectively retain the information stored therein.

  This information includes the terminal display format, the terminal keyboard format, the codec supported by the terminal, the memory size of the terminal, the electrical connection between the terminal and other devices, and the terminal. Installation of external accessories and, of course, current user profiles.

  A number of conditions are possible when sending information from the terminal to the multimedia message service center, and the possibility of updating is not limited to only one condition. However, the update must be tied to the need for update, or at least other data to be transmitted to avoid traffic disruption (this is a signaling sequence between two network elements) ) Together with the possibility of sending information. Therefore, the conditions under which the terminal starts its signaling sequence to transmit information are determined. This condition includes: login of the terminal to the network, change of connection status of the terminal, change of context activation or context state, creation or change of user profile, generation of terminal outgoing traffic or terminal incoming traffic, multimedia message Service center request, notification of the multimedia message service center about the presence and / or content of a new multimedia message to the terminal, and so on.

  With reference to FIG. 1, a signaling sequence for transmitting information on terminal capabilities and a current user profile will be described using an example in which information is transmitted based on predetermined conditions of context activation.

  Accordingly, in a first step S11, a terminal MS, such as a mobile station, requests context activation from the multimedia message service center MMSC via the support node SN. With this request for context activation, the terminal MS transmits its capability CAP and the current user profile UP simultaneously. In examples where the current network is GPRS or UMTS, all signaling shown in FIG. 1 can be performed by using protocol data units PDUs.

  After this transmission is completed, the multimedia message service center MMSC stores the user profile UP of the terminal MS. Depending on the capabilities of the multimedia message service center, the user profile UP of the terminal MS can or must be adapted within the scope of the capability CAP of the terminal MS. However, the user can also prevent his preferred user profile from being changed in this way. The storage of the user profile UP and its final processing are performed in step S12.

  In a third step S13, at least a confirmation of context activation is sent from the multimedia message service center MMSC to the terminal MS via the support node SN.

  However, if the multimedia message MM of the terminal MS currently exists in the multimedia message service center MMSC, step S14 is performed before step S13, and this multimedia message MM is stored in the multimedia message service center MMSC. Are handled based on the user profile UP. The handling of the multimedia message MM corresponds to the result of the decision process based on the capability CAP of the terminal MS and the user profile UP which is then stored in the multimedia message service center MMSC. Although the possible results of this decision process have been described in detail above, it will be mentioned again that in the first embodiment, this decision is made by the multimedia message service center MMSC.

  Based on the determination result, the handling of the multimedia message MM may or may not require processing of the data of the multimedia message MM (for example, in the case of modification or partial transmission), as described above. In any case, if at least a part of the multimedia message MM has to be transmitted to the terminal MS, this is done in step S13 together with the transmission of the context activation confirmation.

  As described above, the example illustrated in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and the first embodiment is not limited thereto. It will therefore be clear to the person skilled in the art that the process shown in FIG. 1 can each be adapted to other possibilities based on the first embodiment described above.

Second Embodiment Aside from the solution based on the first embodiment, another form in which the terminal capability and user profile information is maintained only on the terminal side, thereby making a determination regarding selection of multimedia message transmission by the terminal. There is.

  Therefore, the basic idea of the second embodiment is to store the terminal capability and user profile information in the terminal, for example, in the case of a terminal device or mobile terminal, in the SIM, or in both. That is. For this reason, the determination regarding the transmission of the multimedia message is made at the terminal.

  The functions of the multimedia message service center and the terminal according to the second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 illustrates the function of the multimedia message service center MMSC according to this embodiment in receiving a new mobile incoming multimedia message MM. After receiving the new multimedia message MM in step S20, the multimedia message service center MMSC automatically sends a special control message MMSNotify to the terminal MS in step S21. The MMSNotify message contains information about the actual multimedia message MM such as the total size, content, content type, human readable description, etc. of the message.

  Based on the stored information about the terminal capability CAP and its current user profile UP, the terminal MS now processes the information contained in the MMSNotify message and how to handle the multimedia message MM accordingly. to decide. Based on this decision process, the terminal MS sends a corresponding response message to the multimedia message service center MMSC, which is received by the multimedia message service center MMSC in step S22. This process is illustrated by the example of FIG. 3 described below.

  It should be noted that the present invention does not limit the means for sending the MMSNotify message to the terminal MS. For example, the multimedia message service center MMSC may send an MMSNotify message as a special SMS message, which may be parsed by the terminal MS, or the multimedia message service center MMSC may be a specific bearer dedicated to the multimedia message service (eg, Control channel).

  In any case, the signaling sequence according to the second embodiment for exchanging messages and information is based on the following principle. Upon receipt of the MMSNotify message, the terminal MS sends a MMSResultRequest message as a response, which is received by the multimedia message service center MMSC in step S22. However, possible MMSResultRequest messages differ from each other depending on the result of the decision process. Here, MMSResultRequest is, for example, MMSDriverReq, MMSStoreReq, MMSForwardReq, or MMSDiscardReq.

  Accordingly, in step S23, the multimedia message service center MMSC checks whether the response of the terminal MS is an MMSSstoreReq message. If "yes", the multimedia message MM is sent in step S26 to the multimedia message service. Memorized in the center. If no, the process proceeds to step S24 and checks whether the response is an MMSDeliverReq message.

  If the MMSDeliverReq message is a response of the terminal MS, the process proceeds to step S27, where the multimedia message service center MMSC determines whether the multimedia message should be sent partially or fully. Check the message. Step S29 shown in FIG. 2 shows a case in which the multimedia message MM is partially sent to the terminal MS, and then in step S26, at least a non-sending part of the multimedia message MM is stored in the multimedia message service center MMSC. Is done. On the other hand, step S210 shows the case where the multimedia message MM is completely sent to the multimedia message service center MMSC, and then in step S211, the multimedia message MM is sent to the multimedia message service center after sending. Removed from MMSC.

  If the MMSDeliverReq message is not a response of the terminal MS, it is checked in step S25 of the process whether MMSForwardReq is a response, and if not, assuming that MMSDiscardReq exists, the multimedia message MM is returned by step S211. Removed from the multimedia message service center MMSC. If there is an MMSForwardReq message, the multimedia message MM is first transferred to the destination given by the MMSForwardReq message in step S28 and then removed from the multimedia message service center MMSC in step S211.

  The function of the terminal MS after receiving the MMSNotify message in step S30 based on step S21 of FIG. 2 will be described below with reference to FIG.

  More specifically, the terminal MS checks its capability CAP and user profile UP in step S31, and then proceeds to corresponding determination steps S32-S35. As is clear from FIG. 3, the selection to leave the determination to the user is included as an option corresponding to step S32. If the user profile UP is set so that the user must determine the sending of the multimedia message MM, the result of the user input is further conveyed to steps S33-S35. When the determination is automatically made based on the second embodiment of the present invention, the terminal MS handles the multimedia message MM existing in the multimedia message service center MMSC by its user profile UP and capability CAP. Judge. In any case, in this case, the result is further conveyed to steps S33 to S35.

  A number of options for how the terminal MS decides to send a multimedia message MM have been described above, some of which are illustrated in FIG. That is, in step S33, the terminal checks whether the result should partially or completely retrieve the multimedia message MM, and if so, proceed to step S37 and send MMSDeliverReq to the multimedia message service center MMSC. Is done. If the multimedia message MM should not be retrieved but it is checked that the result should be transferred in step S34, continue to step S38 and send an MMSForwardReq message to the multimedia message service center MMSC. If the result is not to forward the message, the process continues to step S35 and checks if the result is to store the multimedia message MM in the multimedia message service center MMSC. If so, continue to step S39, which includes sending an MMSSstoreReq message to the multimedia message service center MMSC. If not, continue to step S40, which includes sending an MMSDiscardReq message to the multimedia message service center MMSC. However, it is assumed that this is the result of the decision process.

  In any case, all steps S37-S40 are followed by step S41, where the user profile is checked once again, ie appropriate in step S24 for the presence of the multimedia message MM and possibly also for its handling. It is checked whether the user should be notified with a simple notification. In both cases, the process flow is terminated until another MMSNotify message is received.

  It has been stated that the response message sent by the terminal MS based on one of the steps S37-S40 of FIG. 3 is received by the multimedia message service center MMSC in step S22 of FIG. Furthermore, in any case, the response message includes information necessary for the operation of the multimedia message service center MMSC based on the terminal call determination when sending the multimedia message MM.

  Again, it should be noted that the examples shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 do not limit the present invention, and the range of options for sending multimedia messages has been described in detail above. According to the present invention, further improvement and / or modification of the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 3 can be easily obtained in accordance with the above-described policy.

  As a further variation within the second embodiment, the signaling between the terminal and the multimedia message service center can be implemented in a single request-response message pair. In other words, the terminal can always respond to the MMSNotify message with an MMSNotifyReply message. In this case, the desired function of the terminal and the multimedia message service center can be achieved by assigning a control flag to each part of the multimedia message in the MMSNotifyReply message (for example, in a 2-bit display). If the flag value is send, store, forward or discard, the terminal can inform the multimedia message service center in a single response message how to handle each part of the multimedia message.

  This type of solution allows more flexible functionality. For example, according to this variant, each part of a multimedia message can be processed separately from the other parts, one part can be sent to the terminal and one part can be forwarded to an Internet e-mail address etc. It will be clear that it is possible to instruct the multimedia message service center with a single response message.

  However, this requires that the multimedia message is clearly defined in each part and that the multimedia message service center can process each part separately.

  According to the second embodiment, the following further effect can be obtained.

  Terminal capabilities and user profile information need not be maintained at the multimedia message service center, so the multimedia message service center's storage and processing capabilities are not expended and are left for other purposes.

  Furthermore, there is no need to send information every predetermined condition in order to keep the information stored in the multimedia message service center valid. Therefore, no extra signaling occurs between the terminal and the multimedia message service center. In conclusion, the information is always up-to-date and no traffic clutter occurs to update the signaling.

  Furthermore, there is no need to perform extra processing at the multimedia message service center. The structure of the multimedia message service center can be kept at a less complicated level by the second embodiment, i.e. the implementation of the multimedia message service center can be simplified and its performance requirements can be expected to be reduced, This embodiment is preferred.

  As described above, the present invention is a method for sending a message in a communication network having at least one terminal and a message function, wherein the message function MMSC receives the message MM of the terminal MS, and the message MM. A notification MMSNotify about the presence of the message is sent from the message function MMSC to the terminal MS, and the terminal MS determines how to handle the received message MM from its capability CAP and the current user profile UP. Responding to the notification sent by the message function MMSC, commanding based on the result of the decision step, and taking the message MM by the message function MMSC based on the command. We propose a method that contains the Utoyuu stage.

  It should be understood that the foregoing description and accompanying drawings are only illustrative of the invention. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the invention can be modified within the scope of the claims.

2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic signaling sequence for transmitting a multimedia message between a multimedia message service center and a recipient terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of functions implemented in a multimedia message service center after receiving a new mobile incoming multimedia message according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It is another flowchart which shows an example of the function implemented in a terminal, after receiving a MMSNotify message by 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

CAP Terminal Capability UP User Profile MS Terminal SN Support Node MMSC Multimedia Message Service Center MM Multimedia Message

Claims (20)

A method for sending a message in a communication network having at least one terminal and a message function, comprising:
When a predetermined condition occurs, information on the terminal (MS) capability (CAP) and its current user profile (UP) is sent from the terminal (MS) to the message function (MMSC),
Based on the information, the message function (MMSC) determines how to handle the message (MM) of the terminal (MS) received by the message function (MMSC), and based on the result of the determination step, Handling the above message (MM) by the message function (MMSC),
A method comprising the steps of:   The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the information in the message function (MMSC).   As a result of the determination step, at least the message (MM) of the terminal (MS) is transmitted to the terminal (MS) after being completely or partially changed, or the message (MM) is discarded. The method according to claim 1, wherein the message (MM) is transferred to another terminal or the message (MM) is stored in the message function (MMSC).   The predetermined state includes the following events: login of the terminal (MS) to the network; change in the connection state of the terminal (MS); change in context activation or context state; formation of a user profile (UP) or Change of user profile (UP); terminal outgoing traffic or terminal incoming traffic; request for the above message function (MMSC); notification of the above message function (MMSC) regarding the presence of a new message (MM) to the terminal (MS); And a notification of the message function (MMSC) regarding the content, format and size of a new message (MM) to the terminal (MS).   The information about the capability (CAP) of the terminal (MS) includes the following events: the display format of the terminal (MS); the keyboard format of the terminal (MS); the codec supported by the terminal (MS); Including at least one of: memory size of the terminal (MS); electrical connection between the terminal (MS) and other devices; attachment of external accessories to the terminal (MS); or current user profile (UP) The method of claim 1. A method for sending a message in a communication network having at least one terminal and a message function, comprising:
Receive the message (MM) of the terminal (MS) by the message function (MMSC),
Send a notification (MMSNotyfy) regarding the presence of the message (MM) from the message function (MMSC) to the terminal (MS),
The terminal (MS) determines how to handle the received message (MM) from its capability (CAP) and current user profile (UP),
The terminal (MS) responds to the notification sent by the message function (MMSC) and commands based on the result of the determination step, and based on the command, the message function (MMSC) MM)
A method comprising the steps of:   As a result of the determination step, at least the message (MM) of the terminal (MS) is transmitted to the terminal (MS) after being completely or partially changed, or the message (MM) is discarded. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the message (MM) is forwarded to another terminal or the message (MM) is stored in the message function (MMSC).   The notification (MMSNotify) regarding the presence of the message (MM) from the message function (MMSC) to the terminal (MS) further notifies at least the content, format and size of the message (MM). the method of.   The terminal (MS) responds to the message function (MMSC) during signaling by sending a notification response message including a control flag for each part of the message (MM), and the value of the control flag is sent out 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method is any one of: change, storage, transfer, or destruction.   The method according to claim 6, wherein the determination step includes a request from the terminal (MS) to the user how to handle the message (MM) and an input by the user representing the result of the determination step.   Receiving means for receiving message (MM) and information, processing means for processing received information data and message (MM), storage means, and transmitting information and message (MM) to terminal (MS), respectively 6. A message function apparatus comprising: a transmission means for performing the method according to claim 1;   Receiving means for receiving message (MM) and information, processing means for processing received information data and message (MM), storage means, information and message (MM) to message function (MMSC), respectively A terminal device comprising a transmitting means for transmitting, wherein the terminal device performs the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10. A system for sending a message in a communication network having at least one terminal and a message function,
The terminal (MS) is configured to send information about the terminal capability (CAP) and its current user profile (UP) to the message function (MMSC) when a predetermined condition occurs,
The message function (MMSC) is configured to determine how to handle the message (MM) of the terminal (MS) received by the message function (MMSC) based on the information.
The message function (MMSC) is configured to handle the message (MM) based on the result of the determination step.
A system characterized by that. A system for sending a message in a communication network having at least one terminal and a message function,
The message function (MMSC) is configured to receive the message (MM) of the terminal (MS),
The message function (MMSC) is configured to send a notification (MMSNotyfy) regarding the presence of the message (MM) to the terminal (MS),
The terminal (MS) is configured to determine how to handle the received message (MM) from its capability (CAP) and current user profile (UP),
The terminal (MS) is configured to respond to the notification sent by the message function (MMSC) and to command based on the result of the determination step,
The message function (MMSC) is configured to handle the message (MM) based on the instruction.
A system characterized by that.   A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 1.   A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 6.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program for functioning a computer as a message function apparatus of Claim 11.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program for functioning a computer as a terminal device of Claim 12.   A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for causing a computer to function as the system according to claim 13.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program for functioning a computer as a system of Claim 14.

Images