KR100886827B1 - Multimedia message transmission system and method using small base station - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a multimedia message transmission system and method using a small base station.

According to the present invention, when a service request message including an originating terminal location information including subscriber originating region identification information and a subscriber information and a MMS (Multimedia Messaging System) origination request message are received through a session, the location information of the called terminal is requested. MMS server that receives the location information of the called terminal including the identification information, and processes the transmission fee of the multimedia message as either free or discount depending on whether the calling terminal location information and the destination terminal location information match, or handles it as a general charge. It provides a multimedia message transmission system using a small base station comprising a.

According to the present invention, when the calling terminal and the called terminal are located within the coverage of the small base station, the increase in the number of users using the small base station can be expected because the charge for the multimedia message transmitted by the calling terminal to the called terminal is free or discounted. You can expect the effect.

Description

System and method for transmitting multimedia message using small base station {ystem and Method for Transmitting Multimedia Message Using Small-Size Base Station}

The present invention relates to a system and method for free or discounted multimedia message transmission. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and a method for freely processing or discounting a multimedia message transmission between a calling terminal and a called terminal located within the coverage of a small base station.

As the use of mobile communication services is becoming more common, each mobile service provider is making great efforts to improve call quality of mobile communication services, such as installing a repeater in a shaded area.

In recent years, by replacing femtocell, a small base station equipment with its own capacity, in the home or office instead of the indoor repeater that was in charge of radio relay, it is possible to improve the coverage of mobile communication service and expand the bandwidth. It is attracting attention as a wired / wireless integrated service method.

The small base station is connected to the existing mobile communication network through the Internet line to form a coverage of the small indoor base station itself, and it is expected that the service quality will be improved by eliminating the shadow area and various additional services may be implemented in the base station area. have.

Additional services that can be provided by using a small indoor base station include voice calls between the called party and the called party located within the coverage of the small indoor base station, such as a regional-based virtual private network service that conventionally provides free or discounted calls between the caller and the called party located in a specific area. , Multimedia Messaging System (MMS), Short Message Service (SMS), and other services that can provide free or discounted packet data transmission, etc. are expected, but until now no specific service plan has been established. Since it is a state, a service plan for this situation is required.

In order to meet the above-described needs, an object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for freely processing or discounting transmission of multimedia messages between a calling terminal and a called terminal located within the coverage of a small base station.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a system for freely processing or discounting a fee for a multimedia message transmitted by a calling terminal to a called terminal, wherein the calling terminal is connected to a base station controller to form its own coverage through an Internet line. A system information message including a small base station and transmitting originating service area identification information to the calling terminal, establishing a session for transmitting the multimedia message when the session setting request is received from the calling terminal, and sending a routing message (SRI). A mobile communication network which transmits an SRI response message including the destination switching center address information when receiving the message and a called location information response message including the called service area identification information when receiving the called location information request message; When the service request message including the calling terminal location information including the calling service area identification information and the subscriber information and the MMS (Multimedia Messaging System) calling request message are received through the session, the receiving terminal requests the location information of the called terminal. After receiving the called terminal location information including area identification information, comparing the calling terminal location information with the called terminal location information, and determines the transmission fee of the multimedia message according to whether the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information match. An MMS server for processing as either free or discount or for general billing; When the location information is requested from the MMS server, the SRI message and the called location information request message are transmitted to the mobile communication network to receive the SRI response message and the called location information response message. Location information query server for transmitting to the MMS server; And it provides a multimedia message transmission system using a small base station characterized in that it comprises a billing server for processing the transmission fee as any of the free or discount or as a general billing.

According to another object of the present invention, in the method for freely processing or discounting a fee for a multimedia message transmitted by a calling terminal to a called terminal, (a) when the calling terminal is located within the coverage of a small base station, Transmitting system information including originating service identification information to the calling terminal in a mobile communication network including a small base station; (b) establishing a session in the mobile communication network when the originating terminal requests to establish a session for transmitting the multimedia message; (c) transmitting, at the calling terminal, a service request message including calling terminal location information and subscriber information including the calling service area identification information and a multimedia messaging system (MMS) calling request message to the MMS server through the session; (d) the MMS server confirms whether the calling terminal has joined the small base station service and the calling location, and requests a location information query server for the location information of the called terminal to receive the called terminal location information including the called service area identification information. Receiving from the information inquiry server; (e) determining, by the MMS server, whether the calling terminal location information matches the called terminal location information; (f) if the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information in step (e) coincide, allowing the MMS server to freely or discount the transmission fee of the multimedia message at a billing server; And (g) if the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information do not match in step (e), causing the MMS server to process the transmission fee as a general charging at the charging server. A multimedia message transmission method using a small base station is provided.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the calling terminal and the called terminal are located within the coverage of the small base station, the fee for the multimedia message transmitted by the calling terminal to the called terminal is free or discounted. The increase in users can be expected, and the lock-in effect of subscribers can be expected through the provision of new additional services using small base stations.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First of all, in adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are used as much as possible even if displayed on different drawings. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related well-known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a calling terminal 112, a called terminal 114, a mobile communication network 120, an MMS server 130, a location information inquiry server 140 and a billing server 150. .

The calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 are terminals that subscribe to a small base station service according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, a personal communication service (PCS) phone, and a GSM (Global) System for Mobile (Wi-CDMA) phone, Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) phone, CDMA-2000 phone, Mobile Broadband System (MBS) phone, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) phone, and WiBro phone. Here, the small base station service is a transmission rate of the multimedia message transmitted by the calling terminal 112 to the called terminal 114 when the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 are located within the coverage of the small base station 122. Free or discounted service.

In the present invention, the calling terminal 112 sends a multimedia message, and the called terminal 114 receives a multimedia message sent from the calling terminal 112. In the present invention, if the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 are located within the coverage of the small base station 122 to be described later, the calling terminal 112 is free or discounted for the transmission of the multimedia message.

The mobile communication network 120 performs a function of mediating transmission and reception of a multimedia message between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 through data transmission and reception with the MMS server 130 and data transmission and reception with the location information inquiry server 140. .

In the present invention, the mobile communication network 120 includes a small base station 122, a Radio Network Controller (RNC) 124, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 126, a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 128, and Home location register 129.

In the present invention, the mobile communication network 120 including the small base station 122 is limited to the asynchronous network, but in the case of actually applying the present invention, the mobile communication network 120 is not limited thereto and includes a synchronization network.

The small base station 122 is connected to the base station controller 124 through an internet line to form a coverage of the small base station 122 itself.

In the present invention, the small base station 122 is a base station when the calling terminal 112 is located within the coverage of the small base station 122 when the power is connected or when the calling terminal 112 enters the coverage of the small base station 122. The system information message received from the controller 124 is transmitted to the calling terminal 112. Here, the system information message includes service area identification information (SAI: Service Area) of the calling terminal 112 including cell ID identification information, small base station ID information, and base station controller ID information in which the calling terminal 112 is located. Originating service area identification information and originating switching center address information (SGSN address information or MSC address information).

In the present invention, including the switching station address information in the system information message, the small base station ID information and the base station controller ID information may be duplicated for each switching station. In this case, the small base station ID information and the base station controller ID information correspond to the switching station address information. This is to distinguish the information used within a specific exchange.

 The RNC 124 performs a function for radio resource management of the mobile communication network 120 and a management function of a conventional base station and a small base station 122 in the mobile communication network 120, and transmits system information to the small base station 122. Send a message. Here, when the mobile communication network 120 is a synchronous network, the function of the RNC 124 as described above is performed by a base-station transmission system (BTS).

SGSN 126 is a node in charge of data packet transmission with mobile communication terminal in service area, and has functions such as packet routing and transmission, mobility management, logical link management, authentication and charging, The location register performs a function of storing the user's location information (cell, visitor location register, etc.), user profile (international mobile station identification number: IMSI), and the like registered in the SGSN 126.

When the SGSN 126 receives the connection request message from the calling terminal 112, the SGSN 126 updates the location information of the calling terminal 112 stored in the home location register 129 and communicates with the MMS server 130 from the calling terminal 112. When the session establishment request is requested, the GGSN 128 requests a session establishment with the MMS server 130.

Also, when the SGSN 126 receives the incoming location information request message from the location information inquiry server 140, the SGSN 126 includes a destination terminal including cell ID information, small base station ID information, and base station controller ID information in which the destination terminal 114 is located. The incoming location information response message including the incoming service area identification information which is the service area identification information of 114) is transmitted to the location information inquiry server 140.

In this case, when the mobile communication network 120 is a synchronous network, the functions of the SGSN 126 may be shared by the mobile switching center (MSC) and the packet control function (PCF).

The GGSN 128 is a node in charge of the connection function between the mobile communication network 120 and the external packet data network. The GGSN 128 converts a protocol of the packet data received from the SGSN 126 and transmits the protocol to the external packet data network.

When the GGSN 128 receives a request for establishing a session with the MMS server 130 from the SGSN 126, the GGSN 128 establishes a session with the MMS server 130 to enable data transmission and reception between the originating terminal 112 and the MMS server 130. . Here, when the mobile communication network 120 is a synchronous network, the function of the GGSN 126 as described above is performed by a PDSN (Packet Data Serving Node).

The home location register 129 receives the location information of the mobile communication terminal including the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 from the visitor location register (not shown) and performs functions such as registration recognition, registration deletion, and update. do. In addition, the home location register 129 stores profile information of a mobile communication terminal that is waiting for a call.

The home location register 129 updates the location information of the calling terminal 112 by the SGSN 126 receiving the connection request message from the calling terminal 112, and sends the SRI (Send Routing Info) from the location information inquiry server 140. When the message is received, the SRI response message including the destination exchange station address information, which is the exchange station address information of the region where the destination terminal 114 is located, is transmitted to the location information inquiry server 140.

As described above, the mobile communication network 120 including the small base station 122 transmits a system information message to the calling terminal 112, and when receiving a connection request message from the calling terminal 112, it transmits the location information of the calling terminal 112. When the session is requested from the originating terminal 112 to update, the session for transmitting the multimedia message is established, that is, the session with the MMS server 130 is set.

In addition, when the mobile communication network 120 receives the SRI message from the location information inquiry server 140, the mobile communication network 120 transmits an SRI response message including the destination exchange address information to the location information inquiry server 140, and the call is received from the location information inquiry server 140. When receiving the location information request message, the location information of the called terminal 114, that is, the service area identification information of the called terminal 114 including the cell ID information, the small base station ID information, and the base station controller ID information where the called terminal 114 is located. The destination location information response message including the incoming destination service area identification information is transmitted to the location information inquiry server 140.

The MMS server 130 is responsible for transmitting and receiving multimedia messages, performs multimedia message format conversion and address format conversion, and performs a short message transmission function for notifying the receiving terminal 114 of the fact that the multimedia message has been received. The MMS server 130 receives a multimedia message from a system server that wants to push a multimedia message to a destination terminal 114, such as a content server (not shown), and receives the received multimedia message by a method of pushing the received multimedia message. 114). To this end, the MMS server 130 should be provided with a push server (not shown) separately or connected to a push server (not shown) provided in the mobile communication system. In addition, the MMS server 130 generates and transmits various guide messages such as reception confirmation and transmission confirmation to the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114, and has a multimedia message storage and management function. In addition, it supports billing data generation, performance information exchange of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114, a multimedia format and type conversion function, and a multimedia message screening function.

In the present invention, the MMS server 130 downloads and stores small base station service subscriber information from a CDS (Client Database Server) (not shown).

When receiving the MMS call request message including the telephone number (eg, # 01012094528) of the called terminal 114 including the service request message and the identifier from the caller terminal 112 through the session set in the mobile communication network 120, The subscriber information included in the MMS server access request message confirms whether the calling terminal 112 subscribes to the small base station service, and includes the calling terminal location information included in the HTTP message, that is, the cell ID information where the calling terminal 112 is located, and the small base station. The originating position is confirmed through the ID information and the base station controller ID information. Here, the service request message is a message for requesting the multimedia message service to the MMS server 130, and includes the calling terminal location information and the subscriber information including the calling service area identification information and the calling exchange station address information. In the present invention, if the MMS server 130 uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the service request message will be an HTTP request message.

When the MMS server 130 confirms that the telephone number of the called terminal 114 includes an identifier, the MMS server 130 is positioned to allow the calling terminal 112 to handle the transmission fee of the multimedia message transmitted to the called terminal 114 for free or discount. It requests the location information of the called terminal to the information inquiry server 140 and receives the called terminal location information which is the location information of the called terminal 114 from the location information inquiry server 140. Here, the destination terminal location information includes the destination service area identification information and the destination exchange station address information.

The MMS server 130 compares the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information to match the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information, that is, the called terminal 114 of the small base station 122 where the calling terminal 112 is located. When located within the coverage, the charging terminal 150 frees or discounts the transmission fee of the multimedia message transmitted by the calling terminal 112 to the called terminal 114.

On the other hand, the MMS server 130 is inconsistent with the calling terminal location information and the destination terminal location information, that is, when the calling service area identification information and the destination service area identification information is inconsistent, and when the calling exchange station address information and the destination exchange station address information is inconsistent If the called terminal 114 is not located within the coverage of the small base station 122 where the calling terminal is located, including one or more of the following, the server charges the transmission fee of the multimedia message transmitted by the calling terminal 112 to the called terminal 114. In step 150, the mobile device handles the general billing or stops the transmission of the multimedia message to the called terminal.

When the location information inquiry server 140 receives the location information of the destination terminal 114 from the MMS server 130, the location information inquiry server 140 transmits an SRI message to the mobile communication network 120, thereby receiving an SRI response including the destination exchange address information from the mobile communication network 120. After receiving the message and sending the destination location information request message to the mobile communication network 120 to receive the destination location information response message including the destination service area identification information from the mobile communication network 120, the destination service area identification information and destination exchange station The destination terminal location information including the address information is transmitted to the MMS server 130.

The billing server 150 processes the transmission fee of the multimedia message transmitted from the calling terminal 112 to the called terminal 114 at no charge or discount or as general billing.

2 and 3 are flowcharts illustrating a process of free or discount processing of multimedia message transmission according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

When the calling terminal 112 enters the coverage of the small base station 122 or when the calling terminal 112 is located within the coverage of the small base station 122 when the power of the small base station 122 is connected, the mobile communication network 120 ) Transmits a system information message including the calling service area identification information and the calling switching center address information to the calling terminal 112 (S205).

When the mobile communication network 120 receives the connection request message from the calling terminal 120, the mobile communication network 120 updates the location information of the calling terminal 112 and receives a request for establishing a session with the MMS server 130 from the calling terminal 120. A session with the server 130 is established (S210, S215, S220, S225).

When the calling terminal 112 transmits the service request message and the MMS calling request message to the MMS server 130 through the mobile communication network 120, the MMS server 130 subscribes to the small base station service of the calling terminal 112 and makes a call. The location is confirmed and the location information inquiry server 140 requests the location information of the called terminal 114 (S230, S235, S240, S245). Here, the service request message includes the calling terminal location information and the subscriber information including the calling service area identification information and the calling switching center address information, and the MMS calling request message includes the telephone number of the called terminal 114 including the identifier (for example, # 01012094528).

The location information inquiry server 140, which has received the location information of the destination terminal 114 from the MMS server 130, transmits an SRI message to the mobile communication network 120, thereby receiving an SRI response including the destination exchange address information from the mobile communication network 120. After receiving the message and sending the destination location information request message to the mobile communication network 120 to receive the destination location information response message including the destination service area identification information from the mobile communication network 120, the destination service area identification information and destination exchange station The destination terminal location information including the address information is transmitted to the MMS server 130 (S250, S255, S260, S265, S270).

The MMS server 130 compares the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information to determine whether the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information match, that is, the destination terminal 114 is a small base station in which the calling terminal 112 is located ( It is determined whether it is located within the coverage of 122) (S275).

If the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information does not match at step S275, that is, if the called terminal 114 is not located within the coverage of the small base station 122 where the calling terminal 112 is located, the MMS server 130 charges the general account. By generating a call detail record (CDR) and transmitting it to the billing server 150, the billing server 150 processes the transmission fee of the multimedia message transmitted from the calling terminal 112 to the called terminal 114 as general billing. In step S280, the multimedia message transmission to the called terminal 114 is stopped.

In step S275, if the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information match, that is, if the called terminal 114 is located within the coverage of the small base station 122 where the calling terminal 112 is located, the MMS server 130 is free or discounted. The billing CDR is generated and transmitted to the billing server 150 so that the billing server 150 frees or discounts the transmission fee of the multimedia message transmitted to the called terminal 114 at step S285.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the present invention is applied to the field of a small base station service, and when the calling terminal and the called terminal are located within the coverage of the small base station, the fee for the multimedia message transmitted by the calling terminal to the called terminal is free or discounted. As a result, the number of users using the small base station can be expected to increase, and a new lock-in effect of the subscriber can be expected by providing a new additional service using the small base station.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

2 and 3 are flowcharts illustrating a process of free or discount processing of multimedia message transmission according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

112: calling terminal 114: called terminal

120: mobile communication network 122: small base station

124: RNC 126: SGSN

128: GGSN 129: Home Location Register

130: MMS server 140: Location Information Lookup Server

150: billing server

Claims (9)

Claims [1] A system for freely processing or discounting a charge for a multimedia message sent by a calling terminal to a called terminal. A small base station connected to the base station controller through an internet line to form its own coverage, and transmitting a system information message including the originating service area identification information to the calling terminal, and receiving a session setup request from the calling terminal. A session for transmitting a message is established, and when an SRI (Send Routing Info) message is received, an SRI response message including the destination exchange address information is transmitted, and when a destination location information request message is received, the destination location information including the destination service area identification information is received. A mobile communication network transmitting a response message; When the service request message including the calling terminal location information including the calling service area identification information and the subscriber information and the MMS (Multimedia Messaging System) calling request message are received through the session, the receiving terminal requests the location information of the called terminal. After receiving the called terminal location information including area identification information, comparing the calling terminal location information with the called terminal location information, and determines the transmission fee of the multimedia message according to whether the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information match. An MMS server for processing as either free or discount or for general billing; When the location information is requested from the MMS server, the SRI message and the called location information request message are transmitted to the mobile communication network to receive the SRI response message and the called location information response message. Location information query server for transmitting to the MMS server; And A billing server that processes the transfer fee as either free or discounted or general billing Multimedia message transmission system using a small base station comprising a. The method of claim 1, The origination service region identification information includes cell ID (identification) information, small base station ID information, and base station controller ID information where the originating terminal is located, and the terminating service region identification information includes cell ID information where the called terminal is located. And a small base station ID information and a base station controller ID information. The method of claim 1, The system information message and the calling terminal location information further include calling switching center address information, and the called terminal location information further includes called switching center address information. The method of claim 1, The MMS server, if the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information match, the billing server to process the transmission fee of the multimedia message as either free or discount, characterized in that the small base station using the base station . The method of claim 1, The MMS server, if the originating terminal location information and the destination terminal location information is inconsistent, the billing server to process the transmission fee of the multimedia message in the billing server as a general billing, characterized in that for transmitting the multimedia message using a small base station system. The method of claim 1, The MMS call request message includes a telephone number of the called terminal including an identifier. Claims [1] A method for freely processing or discounting a fee for a multimedia message sent by a calling terminal to a called terminal. (a) when the calling terminal is located within the coverage of the small base station, transmitting system information including calling service identification information to the calling terminal in a mobile communication network including the small base station; (b) establishing a session in the mobile communication network when the originating terminal requests to establish a session for transmitting the multimedia message; (c) transmitting, at the calling terminal, a service request message including calling terminal location information and subscriber information including the calling service area identification information and a multimedia messaging system (MMS) calling request message to the MMS server through the session; (d) the MMS server confirms whether the calling terminal has joined the small base station service and the calling location, and requests a location information query server for the location information of the called terminal to receive the called terminal location information including the called service area identification information. Receiving from the information inquiry server; (e) determining, by the MMS server, whether the calling terminal location information matches the called terminal location information; (f) if the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information in step (e) coincide, allowing the MMS server to freely or discount the transmission fee of the multimedia message at a billing server; And (g) if the calling terminal location information and the called terminal location information do not match in step (e), causing the MMS server to process the transmission fee as general charging at the charging server; Multimedia message transmission method using a small base station comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein The origination service region identification information includes cell ID (identification) information, small base station ID information, and base station controller ID information where the originating terminal is located, and the terminating service region identification information includes cell ID information where the called terminal is located. And a small base station ID information and a base station controller ID information. The method of claim 7, wherein The system information message and the originating terminal location information further include source switching center address information, and the destination terminal location information further includes destination switching center address information.

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