KR100604589B1 - Message forwarding method to mobile communication terminal modified phone number and System using the method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a technique related to a message serviced to a mobile communication terminal.

A text message service system for providing a service for transmitting and receiving a received text message to a corresponding terminal includes a message receiving unit for receiving a message; A destination address confirming unit which checks a destination address (DA) included in the message received from the message receiving unit and checks whether there is a message transmission request to a changed DA different from the confirmed DA; A destination address correction unit for modifying the DA of the message received from the message receiving unit to the changed DA when a message transmission request to the changed DA is found as a result of the confirmation of the destination address confirming unit; A base station search unit searching for a base station in charge of a communication service of a corresponding receiving terminal with reference to a DA modified by the destination address correcting unit; And a message transmission processor for transmitting and processing the DA modified message by the destination address correction unit to the base station searched by the base station search unit.

Mobile terminal, SMSC, Destination Address (DA)

Description

Message forwarding method to mobile communication terminal modified phone number and System using the method

1 is a schematic network diagram of a typical mobile communication system.

2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an SMSC configuration required for message forwarding according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flow chart schematically illustrating a message forwarding method in an SMSC according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a technique related to a message serviced to a mobile communication terminal.

Current mobile communication networks provide messaging services such as SMS (Short Messaging Service) and MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) to mobile terminals, and these transmission technologies have already reached maturity. SMS is a type of wireless data communication service that can send and receive textual or numeric text messages, and the size of messages that can be delivered at one time is quite short. The Long Message Service (LMS) of all kinds, including the Enhanced Message Service (EMS), which overcomes this problem, overcomes the length limit of the existing short message and transmits a long message of 500 to 1000 characters. MMS (Multimedia Message Service) is a service that goes beyond simple text messages and attaches various multimedia data such as text, images, sounds, and composite video to other terminals or e-mail.

Short Message Service Center (SMSC) is a message center for SMS service in a mobile communication system. In short, it is a Store and Foward Message Switch. That is, a communication service that delivers a character of a limited size between mobile terminals or between a mobile terminal and short message entities (SMEs), and the subscriber can receive a short message transmitted to a called subscriber that cannot be received at any moment. It stores and forwards it until it is present, and delivers it to the called party in a call. The SMSC can be self-upgraded and configured to service any kind of Long Message Service (LMS), including Enhanced Message Service (EMS), or it can be processed by a separate Long Message Service Center (LMSC), an extended concept of SMSC. May be Both SMSC 160 and LMSC may be identical in that they are systems for serving text characters.

The Multimedia Message Service Center (MMSC), as is known, provides MMS services. The MMSC stores the multimedia message transmitted from the mobile communication terminal on the web server, and transmits the URL of the web server to the destination mobile communication terminal through the SMSC 160. The called mobile communication terminal executes a swap browser and accesses the web server through the received URL to download the multimedia message.

Next, a conventional message forwarding technique based on such a message system will be described. First, when an SMS text message or an MMS multimedia message is sent from an originating mobile communication terminal, the SMSC receives an SMS text message directly through a base station and an exchange, or a text message including URL information from an MMSC. Receive.

The SMSC of the mobile communication system is responsible for the communication of the cell in which the mobile communication terminal having the corresponding DA is located through a known technique using a destination address (DA), which is the phone number information of the receiving mobile communication terminal included in the text message. The base station is searched for. When the base station is found, the SMSC sends a text message to the base station. The base station receives the text message transmitted from the SMSC and transmits the message to the corresponding destination mobile communication terminal. Accordingly, the receiving mobile communication terminal normally receives the message.

However, if the incoming mobile terminal subscriber changes the phone number of DA, even if the SMSC searches for the base station in the above-described process, the corresponding base station cannot be found (assuming that the telephone number before the change is unassigned to other mobile subscribers). do). Eventually, the SMSC will typically keep the message for a certain duty period, but after the retention period, the message stored in the SMSC is discarded on the mobile communication network. As a result, the number-changed mobile communication terminal may not receive a message sent to the telephone number before the change.

The present invention has been made to solve this problem, and an object of the present invention is to enable a mobile terminal to receive a message sent to an existing number before the change even if the number is changed.

A text message service system according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object receives a message sent from an originating mobile communication terminal, and confirms the called party's telephone number from the received message. The text message service system checks whether there is a request for message transmission to the changed telephone number for the message sent to the confirmed called telephone number. The request for message transmission to the changed telephone number may preferably be made when the mobile terminal subscriber changes the number or afterwards by subscribing to the service. Accordingly, the text message service system may check whether the subscriber is subscribed to the service. If there is a request for transmission to the changed telephone number, the text message service system modifies the recipient's telephone number of the message to the changed telephone number and transmits it to the corresponding terminal.

According to this aspect of the present invention, even if the mobile communication terminal subscriber changes the terminal telephone number, the mobile communication terminal subscriber can confirm by receiving the message transmitted to the terminal of the telephone number before the change by the new service subscription according to the present invention to the terminal having the changed telephone number. Will be.

The foregoing and further aspects of the present invention will become more apparent through the preferred embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail to enable those skilled in the art to easily understand and reproduce the present invention.

1 is a schematic network diagram of a typical mobile communication system 100. First, a mobile station (MS) 110 refers to a user terminal device that a user carries and uses a mobile communication service provided by a mobile communication company. A base station (BS) 120 is a fixed radio station that forms a direct radio path with a mobile communication terminal in a corresponding management cell. A mobile service switching center (MSC) 130, which is a mobile station switching center, performs central control and access of a mobile communication terminal and a fixed telephone network (PSTN), and is a user between another switching center (MSC) in the same or another communication network. It is a device that configures an access point (Node) for traffic. The exchange 130 includes a visitor location register (VLR) and interlocks with the base station 120 to provide a circuit switched service to a mobile subscriber. As an additional function, the location of the mobile subscriber can be tracked so that the mobile communication service can be provided at all times and the communication channel can be maintained even when the place is moved.

The Mobile Carrier Server (MC) 140 is a Signaling System Number, SS7, which is a common channel signaling system of the Consultative Committee International Telegraph and Telephone (CCITT) on standard interfaces for the exchange of public telecommunication networks. A subscriber location register (HLR) that provides a mobile communication service using a protocol method, and performs location registration and deletion of a mobile communication subscriber, inquiry of subscriber information, registration and cancellation of additional services, and activation and deactivation of a mobile terminal. Location Message (SMSC) 160, Short Message Service Center (SMSC) 160 that delivers various useful services and life information through text messages on the LCD screen of the mobile communication terminal (MS), and mobile communication Voice mail system (VMS: Voice Mail) that delivers useful services and life information through the speaker of the terminal. System) and a variety of applications such as a billing system that processes billing according to the amount of voice communication and data communication used by a user, thereby forming a mobile communication network.

An interworking function (IWF) 170 is an apparatus for interworking data communication between an SS7 mobile communication network and a TCP / IP internet network. This network interworking device (IWF) 170 preferably serves to connect the wireless Internet content (Contents) from the gateway 180. In this process, the mobile communication exchange (MSC) 130 and the subscriber location register (HLR) 150 and the billing system and the billing system (Billing System) and the subscriber's basic information, usage, usage type information and the like.

The gateway 180 is preferably a WAP gateway, and is a device that interconnects a plurality of communication networks that are incompatible with each other and converts protocols to exchange information, and communicates in a different protocol manner. It is inserted between SS7 type mobile communication network and TCP / IP type internet network and performs protocol conversion to connect mobile communication network and internet network. The Multimedia Message Service Center (MMSC) 190 is located at the back of the WAP gateway, and provides a multimedia message service including images, sounds, and videos by escaping voice or text message-based basic services. System. As is known, the MMSC 190 provides a service through interworking with the SMSC 160 which is a basic device of a mobile communication company.

The present invention will be described with reference to a typical mobile communication system 100 having a network configuration as described above and FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the SMSC 160 required for message forwarding according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the SMSC 160, which is a text message service system, includes a message receiver 161, a destination address checking unit 162, a destination address correction unit 163, a base station search unit 164, and a message transmission processing unit. (165).

First, the message receiving unit 161 receives a message transmitted from the sender mobile communication terminal. The sender mobile communication terminal may transmit a short message of SMS type according to a user key manipulation, or may transmit a multimedia message of MMS type. When the sender mobile communication terminal transmits an SMS text message, the message receiver 161 of the SMSC 160 receives the text message directly through the base station 120 and the exchange 130. On the contrary, when the calling mobile terminal transmits an MMS-type multimedia message, the transmitted multimedia message is transmitted to the MMSC 190 through the mobile communication system path as shown in FIG. 1. The MMSC 190 places the received multimedia message on a web server, generates a text message including the URL address, and transmits the URL address to the called party's terminal, and transmits the text message to the SMSC 160. Accordingly, the message receiver 161 of the SMSC 160 receives a text message transmitted from the MMSC 190.

The destination address confirming unit 162 confirms a destination address (DA) which is a telephone number of the called party's terminal from the received text message. The destination address checking unit 162 may check the DA in the corresponding data area according to the SMS packet standard. Next, the destination address confirmation unit 162 confirms whether there is a message transmission request to the changed DA for the DA identified in the text message.

When there is a request for transmission, a precondition is processed according to a preferable example as follows. First, the subscriber of the terminal subscribes to a service (hereinafter referred to as 'service A') to receive a message sent to the telephone number before or after the telephone number change. For reference, the telephone number before the change is not allocated to other mobile subscribers during the service period by the receiving subscriber's service A application. Next, the mobile communication system sets a service A flag for the subscriber. The service A flag setting information made by the service subscriber's service subscription may be managed by DB in the SMSC 160 itself. In the DB, preferably, a 'telephone number before change-telephone number after change-flag setting information' is mapped and stored. In addition, the service A flag setting information may be managed in an exchange or an HLR.

If the DB is provided in the SMSC 160 itself, the destination address checking unit 162 searches the own DB to check whether the service A flag is set for the DA identified in the text message. Otherwise, if the service A flag information is managed in the HLR 150, the destination address checking unit 162 may set the service A flag for the DA identified in the text message through the network connected exchange 130 or the HLR 150. You can also check if it is.

When the destination address correction unit 163 confirms that the service A flag is set for the DA confirmed by the destination address confirmation unit 162, the DA of the text message refers to the information stored in the SMSC 160 itself DB or HLR. After change, change it to DA value. When the base station search unit 164 confirms that the service A flag is set in the destination address confirming unit 162, the base station search unit 164 searches for a base station in charge of the communication service of the corresponding terminal having the telephone number DA after the change. That is, it is to search in which cell it is located. The base station discovery processing unit 164 searches for the base station in charge of the communication service of the corresponding terminal, as known through the network-connected HLR 150 and the MSC 130 with reference to the changed DA. The message transmission processing unit 165 transmits the DA-modified text message by the destination address correction unit 163 to the base station searched by the base station search unit 164 through the corresponding path. The base station receives the text message and transmits it to the corresponding terminal, and the terminal subscriber can check the received text message.

According to this aspect of the present invention, even if the mobile communication terminal subscriber changes the terminal phone number, the mobile communication terminal subscriber can receive and confirm the message transmitted to the terminal of the transfer diagram to the terminal having the changed telephone number.

3 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a message forwarding method in the SMSC 160 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The SMSC 160 receives a message transmitted from the mobile communication terminal. According to an example, when the mobile communication terminal transmits an SMS text message, the SMSC 160 transmits the message through the base station 120 and the exchange 130. Receive a text message. According to another example, when the mobile communication terminal transmits the text message of the MMS method, the multimedia message is first received by the MMSC 190 and the multimedia message is stored in the web server, and the URL address which is at least the corresponding web server address from the MMSC 190. And a text message including the DA (step 402).

The SMSC 160 searches for the base station in charge of the communication service of the mobile communication terminal having the DA, the called phone number included in the received text message (step 404). If the base station is not found as a result of step 404, the SMSC 160 determines whether the called terminal subscriber has applied for the service A requesting the transmission of the message to the changed phone number (step 408). As described above, the SMSC 160 may determine the service A flag setting information stored in its own DB. When the SMSC 160 does not have its own DB, the service A flag setting information managed by the exchange 130 or the HLR 150 may be determined. Can be determined by reference.

In the case of managing the service A flag setting information, when the SMSC 160 searches for a corresponding base station through the exchange 130 and the HLR 150 with the DA included in the message in step 404, the exchange 130 or On the HLR 150 side, the service A flag is set and informs the SMSC 160 of the changed DA value. Accordingly, the SMSC 160 modifies the DA of the message to DA, which is the changed phone number (step 410).

If the SMSC 160 itself manages the service A flag setting information through its own DB, the SMSC 160 first performs step 404 described above. However, since the DA included in the message has already been changed, the corresponding base station cannot be found. Then, the SMSC 160 checks the state of the service A flag stored in its own DB to check whether the service A flag is set. If the service A flag is set, the SMSC 160 modifies the DA of the message to DA, which is the changed telephone number, by referring to the DB (step 410).

Next, the SMSC 160 searches for the corresponding base station 120 in charge of the communication service of the mobile communication terminal having the changed DA, and transmits a message to the found base station 120 (step 412) (step 414). The base station 120 receives the message and transmits the message to the mobile communication terminal of the DA changed recipient. If no in step 408, the SMSC 160 keeps the message for a certain duty period. During the storage period, the SMSC 160 preferably processes steps 404 and 406 periodically so that the message can be transmitted by step 414, and discards the message if the base station 120 is not found during the storage period (step 420). ).

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the mobile communication terminal subscriber changes the terminal telephone number, the mobile terminal can receive and confirm the message transmitted to the terminal of the transfer diagram to the terminal having the changed telephone number.                     

On the other hand, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, which are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be defined only by the appended claims.

Claims (7)

A message receiving unit for receiving a text message; A destination address confirming unit which checks a destination address (DA) included in the received message and checks whether there is a message transmission request to the changed DA instead of the confirmed DA; A destination address correction unit for modifying the DA of the received message to the changed DA when there is a message request to the changed DA; A base station search unit for searching for a base station in charge of a communication service of a receiving terminal having the changed DA; A message transmission processor which transmits and processes the message having the modified DA to the searched base station; Text message service system comprising a. 2. The text message service system of claim 1, wherein the message transmission request to the changed DA is in a state of setting a corresponding service flag according to a subscriber's service subscription in advance. 3. The text message service system of claim 2, wherein the flag setting state information is managed by the text message service system by itself or by a network-connected exchange or home location register (HLR). a) receiving a text message sent from a mobile communication terminal; b) checking whether there is a message transmission request to the changed DA other than the destination address (DA) included in the received message; c) if there is a request for message transmission to the changed DA, modifying the DA included in the received message to the changed DA; d) transmitting the message having the modified DA to a corresponding mobile communication terminal; Message forwarding method to a number-changed mobile communication terminal executable in the mobile communication system comprising a. 5. The message forwarding method of claim 4, wherein the mobile communication system is a Short Message Service Center (SMSC). [6] The mobile communication system of claim 5, wherein the step b) confirms whether there is a message transmission request to the changed DA in advance by checking whether a corresponding service flag state is set according to the subscription of the subscriber. Executable number changed message forwarding method to the mobile terminal. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the service flag state information is managed by the SMSC itself or by a network-connected exchange or an HLR.

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