KR19990082117A - Wireless messaging system - Google Patents

Abstract

The wireless messaging system (FIG. 1) includes a wired messaging network 102 for entering an E-mail message for delivering an E-mail message between wired network nodes and delivering it to the wireless messaging unit 116. The wireless messaging server 104 is coupled to the wired messaging network 102 and receives and processes e-mail messages that are input from the wired messaging network 102 for delivery to the wireless messaging unit 106. The wireless messaging network 106 is coupled to the wireless messaging server 104 and forwards the E-mail message to the wireless messaging unit.

Description

Wireless messaging system

Wireless messaging systems, such as conventional radio paging systems, have been used for years to deliver messages to portable communication receivers or pagers. In a radio paging system, a message input device such as a telephone for a beep, voice, numeric message and a page input terminal for an alphanumeric message, or a message input device such as a personal computer, Enter a new message. A page input terminal or a message entered from a personal computer is routed such that the on-site paging message is routed through the PBX and the local or wide area paging message is routed through the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to the paging terminal, And delivers it to the portable communication receiver designated by the message sender.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [

According to one aspect of the present invention, a wireless messaging system includes a wireless messaging network for communicating an E-mail message between wired network nodes and for entering an E-mail message for delivery to a wireless messaging unit. The wireless messaging server is coupled to the wireless messaging network and receives, processes, and delivers the incoming E-mail message from the wireless messaging network to the wired messaging unit. The wireless messaging network is coupled to the wireless messaging server and forwards the E-mail message to the wireless messaging unit.

The present invention relates generally to message delivery systems, and more particularly to a wireless message delivery system for delivering messages originated in a wired message delivery system to a wireless messaging unit.

1 is a block diagram of a wireless message delivery system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an electrical block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless messaging server according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an electrical block diagram illustrating memory partitioning in a wireless messaging server according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a system software context diagram for a wireless message delivery system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a wireless messaging server software architecture diagram for a wireless messaging system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a message processor software architecture diagram for a wireless messaging server according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a message parsing software architecture diagram for a wireless messaging server according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a wireless message dispatch software architecture for a wireless messaging server according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9 illustrates a typical E-mail message sent from a wired messaging network 102 in a conventional SMTP E-mail message format.

10 illustrates an E-mail radio message using an E-mail alias for addressing a wireless messaging unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

11 is an E-mail context configuration diagram addressing a wireless messaging unit using E-mail alias addressing in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 12 illustrates an E-mail radio message using sub-domain paging to address a wireless messaging unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 13 is an E-mail context configuration diagram addressing a wireless messaging unit using sub-domain paging in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 14-20 are flow diagrams illustrating the operation of a wireless messaging server in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram of a wireless message delivery system 100 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The wireless messaging system 100 includes a wired messaging network 102, a wireless messaging server 104 (only two of which are shown by way of example), and a wireless messaging network 106. The wired messaging network 102 may include a combination of a LAN 108 (regional network), a WAN 110 (wide area network), or a LAN 108 and a WAN 110 network as shown. Although only one LAN 108 network and one WAN 110 network are shown, a plurality of LAN 108 and / or WAN 110 networks may be used in accordance with methods known to those skilled in the art of E- May be interconnected. The wireless messaging network 106 may include a LAWN 112 (regional wireless network), a WAWN 114 (wide area wireless network), or a combination of a LAWN 112 and a WAWN 114 network. Although only one LAWN 112 network and one WAWN 114 network are shown, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art of distributing wireless messages, such as paging messages, to wireless messaging units 116, such as pagers or information service receivers, A plurality of LAWN 112 networks and / or WAWN 114 networks may be interconnected according to methods.

Typical functions and operations of the LAN 108 (local network) shown in FIG. 1 are typically performed by computers located in a single room, a building, or a spatially located location within a university campus, To share common resources on a computer network according to methods known to those skilled in the art. Computers that are spatially located in one place are shown in Figure 1 as E-mail users, of which only two are shown by way of example. Typical resources shared on the LAN 108 network include a file on a file server, a printer on a printer server, and an E-mail message service on an E-mail server. The LAN 108 network may represent a wired network node using a physical network such as ARCNET, Ethernet, Token-ring, Local Talk, or other network media. Connect computers to the network. The LAN 108 network includes a TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), AppleTalk ^TM , IPX / SPX Any of a number of networking protocols such as Inter-Packet Exchange / Sequential Packet Exchange, Net BIOS (Network Basic Input / Output System) or other packet structures. LAN 108 may also be used to organically or physically subnetwork the LAN 108 network using a router (not shown). The definition of the LAN 108 network described herein refers to the geographic location of computers and is of the wired media type used to interconnect computers for communication.

The general function and operation of WAN 110 (wide area network) is that computers share common resources, but computers are defined herein as not spatially located in one place. The typical resources to share are similar or similar to those found in the LAN 108 network. However, in a WAN 110 network, different physical or other physical networks such as X.25, Frame Relay, ISDN, modem dial-up, or other medium may be used to connect other computers or other local networks to the WAN 110 network . Figure 1 illustrates public and private wide area networks such as Compuserve ^TM , America Online ^TM , MIT computer network, Motorola ^TM computer network, Prodigy ^TM , and the like. The above-described WAN 110 network may operate independently or may be interconnected via a known worldwide Internet computer network. Similarly, the LAN 108 network may be interconnected to the WAN 110 network via a worldwide Internet computer network, as shown, according to methods known to those skilled in the art.

The general function of the LAWN 112 (local wireless network) is to provide local wireless messaging services, where the term " area " refers to a single transmitter on-site wireless messaging system, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > a < / RTI > multi-transmitter wireless messaging system. The message is input into LAWN 112 using a message input device such as a telephone, alphanumeric input messaging device, or computer terminal. The messages are typically interconnected from the message input device to the paging terminal via the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The paging terminal receives, processes (processes) and transmits messages according to methods known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Message processing includes several known paging schemes such as the Post Office Communication Standard Advisory Protocol (POCSAG), the Golay Sequential Code Protocol (GSC), the FLEX signal processing protocol, the ERMES signal processing protocol, And encoding the message into one of the signal processing protocols. Once encoded, the wireless message is transmitted within LAWN 112 to at least one wireless messaging unit 116, such as one or more pagers or data communication receivers.

The general operation of the WAWN 114 (wide area wireless network) is similar to that of the LAWN 112 network, except that its effective area is larger than a single selected city area, and covers a plurality of separate urban areas, And may include a plurality of local wireless networks interconnected to provide global wireless messaging services.

1, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the LAN 108 network and / or the WAN 110 network are connected to the LAWN 112 using a wireless messaging server 104 (WMS) Network and / or the WAWN 114 network. Messages, such as e-mail messages originating from the LAN 108 network and / or the WAN 110 network, are processed and delivered to the LAWN 112 network and / or the WAWN 114 network And received by the wireless messaging server 104.

The interface between the wireless messaging server 104 and the wireless messaging network 106 may be implemented using one or more known physical interconnection media such as serial direct connection, serial ViaModem / PSTN, Ethernet, Token-Ring, LocalTalk, Lt; / RTI > The protocols used to enter the message into the LAWN / WAWN include, for example, TAP (Telocator Alphanumeric Paging), TFC / TAP (Teleporter Format Transformation / Telocator Alphanumeric Paging), TNPP A telneter network paging protocol), a TDP (teller data paging), and a TI (teller inter-switch) protocol.

2 is an electrical block diagram of a wireless messaging server 104 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The wireless messaging server 104 may comprise a processor 200, such as a personal computer or a high performance computer workstation; Mass storage media 212 such as hard disk drives, recordable optical disk drives, removable cartridge hard disk drives, and the like; A keyboard 208; A CRT monitor or a video display 210 such as a dot matrix or other similar flat screen display. The mass storage medium 212 is coupled to the processor 200 via an I / O port 214 (input / output port) as is well known. The keyboard 208 and video display 210 are also coupled to the processor 200 via an I / O port 214 as is well known. The keyboard 208 is used to input information into one or more databases as described below that are required for the operation of the wireless messaging server 104. Keyboard 208 and video display 210 may be used by an operator of wireless messaging server 104 to monitor the delivery of messages and recover message processing data, such as used for billing, ) To monitor usage. The keyboard 208 and video display 210 may additionally be used such that the operator of the wireless messaging server 104 provides status messages to the message sender.

As shown in FIG. 2, the processor 200 includes, for example, a CPU 202 (central processing unit) that controls the operation of the wireless messaging server 104. A read only memory (ROM) 218, which stores firmware for controlling the basic operation of the processor 200, is coupled to the CPU 202. The CPU 202 is also coupled to a random access memory (RAM) 216, which temporarily stores the received E-mail message and stores the firmware used to process the E-mail message, as described below. The random access memory 216 and the read only memory 218 are coupled to an address / data / control bus 216 that provides access to the random access memory 216 and the read only memory 218 in a manner known to those of ordinary skill in the art. (220). CPU 202 is also coupled to I / O port 214, which provides communication with mass storage media 212, keyboard 208, and video display 210, as described above. The CPU 202 is also coupled to an E-mail input interface 204 that can receive E-mail messages generated in the wired messaging network 102.

The CPU 202 may use any of a number of different network configurations and protocols, such as those described in Table I, to be described later, to provide an output interface (not shown) that conveys the wireless messages generated at the wireless messaging server 104 to the wireless messaging network 106 (Not shown).

application protocol network Page Submission (Alpha / New Meric) TAP Serial Connection Modem Dial-up Serial Connection TNPP Serial Connection Modem Serial Connection TDP Serial Connection Modem Dial-up Serial Connection TIS TCP / IP - Ethernet TCP / IP - Token Ring TCP / IP - SLIPTCP / IP - PPP Page Submission (binary) TFC / TAP Serial Connection Modem Dial-up Serial Connection TNPP Serial Connection Modem Serial Connection TDP Serial Connection Modem Dial-up Serial Connection TIS TCP / IP - Ethernet TCP / IP - Token Ring TCP / IP - SLIPTCP / IP - PPP

Mail message is received at the E-mail input interface 204 via one of the input network types determined in Table I, an E-mail message is sent to the central processing unit (CPU) 202 And temporarily stored in the mass storage medium 212 under control. The mass storage medium 212 also stores one or more databases that are used by the CPU 202 to deliver wireless messages generated by the wireless messaging server 104 to the wireless messaging unit 116, as described below. In processing the e-mail message, the CPU 202 recovers the E-mail message from the mass storage medium 212 and, using the active routine in the random access memory 216, Mail message to the wireless messaging network 106 via the output interface 206 using more or fewer networks and protocols.

As described above, in addition to processing and delivering an E-mail message generated in the wired messaging network 102 to the wireless messaging network 106, Mail input interface 204 between a number of networks and protocols, and may also switch the output interface 206 between multiple networks and protocols as described in Table II.

For example, the processor 200 is in California, Sunnyvale geotinde such as sparks (Sparc 5 ^TM or Sparc 10 ^TM) Workstation manufactured from Sun Microsystems of material, which includes a keyboard 208 and video display 210 . The processor 200 preferably includes a random access memory of at least 16 Mbytes and may include a random access memory of up to 64 Mbytes depending on the estimated E-mail message capacity in the system. Similarly, the mass storage device may be an internal hard disk drive provided to the workstation, typically 500 megabytes, but may be larger or smaller depending on system requirements, or may be located externally. Processor 200 preferably employs a Unix ^TM multitasking operating system that supports SMTP E-mail.

3 is a block diagram illustrating memory partitioning in a wireless messaging server 104 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The memory partitioning occurs in both the mass storage medium 212 and the random access memory 216 as shown by way of example in FIG.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mass storage medium 212 includes several files, described below, that are used to process an E-mail message as a wireless message. Preferably, the operating system software 315 provides a preemptive multitasking environment, and the e-mail, file input / output, and networking services are implemented using a UNIX operating computer as described above. The wireless messaging server software 320 is an actual executable control program that is loaded into the random access memory (RAM) 216 and controls the processing of an E-mail message into a wireless message.

The target database 325 provides target identifier lookup information and is illustrated by way of example in Table II below. The target identifier lookup information includes information such as at least one selected selected wireless call user address and a wireless messaging unit address (WMU address) corresponding to the optional wireless call user identifier, all of which are specific wireless Is used to uniquely identify the wireless messaging unit (116) within the messaging network (106). The wireless messaging unit address is also referred to as the phaser cap code or unit ID. The target identifier lookup information also includes a wireless messaging unit type (WMU type) that specifies the type of message information that can be received by the wireless messaging unit 116. As can be seen in Table II, the WMU type may be a pneumatic message (new), an alphanumeric message (alpha), or an information service message (data), but other wireless message types may also be used. The target identifier lookup information also includes a service name that identifies the service network name to which the E-mail message is sent. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the target identifier has the form of the name and last name of the wireless message recipient, but other types of target identifier identifiers may be used. Also, as described below, if the information in the target identifier provided in the E-mail message is sufficient to enable the wireless messaging server 104 to derive the WMU address, WMU type, and service name, the need for a target database may be mitigated have.

Target database Target identifier WMU address WMU type Service name name castle GERALD TALTON 11325 New Meric P-NET GERALD TALTON 11328 Alpha S-PAGE RICHARD GEIL 223425 Alpha default BOB WIENER 123546 data P-TEL

The service names described in Table II provide cross references (tags) to various databases, including connection and protocol information needed for communication with the LAWN 112 network and / or the WAWN 114 network, as described below. The WMU address provides the actual address of the wireless messaging unit 116 in the LAWN 112 network and / or the WAWN 114 network specified above. The WMU type provides a level of verification and encoding capability for the wireless messaging unit 116, such as whether the wireless messaging unit 116 is a paging or alphanumeric pager or a data or information service receiver.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the error log 328 is used to log all wireless message dispatch errors by the message transmission process 420 to the wireless service described below. These errors are read into the status information from the message transmission process 420 to the wireless service.

The message log switch 330 is one of the WMS system manager 402 system configuration commands used to control whether or not message logging by the WMS (wireless messaging server) system manager 402 described later is enabled.

The message log 335 is a memory storage area used to log parsed message information, such as the target identifier, sender information, as described below, which includes the E-mail address and, in some cases, the sender's name or other information Such as a time / date stamp, a message spool file reference number, an acknowledgment flag, an evaluated success indication, and the like.

The spool directory 337 includes, for example, a plurality of message spool files in which an E-mail message, shown in Figure 3 as E-mail message 1 through E-mail message N, is copied for later analysis as status information Directory.

The service database 340 stores service level parameters as described by way of example in Table III below.

Service name Service password Message size limit Last used date Total message execution Service constant record Connection constant record default 240 2/16/95 13456 One 2 S-Page hello 400 4/12/94 1201 2 One M-Comm xxxx 0 4/10/94 802 One 3

Service database 340 includes service name and parameters such as service password, message size limit, recent usage date, message execution total, service constant database 345 described in Table V below, and connection constant database 350 ) Reference records, and the like. The service name identifies the LAWN 112 network and / or the WAWN 114 network within which the wireless message is to be transmitted within the wireless messaging network 106 and, if not otherwise specified, the service name is " default " And at least one default network identifier that identifies the network. Other wireless messaging networks, such as those listed in the table, may also be listed and identified with unique service names. The service password allows the wireless messaging server 104 to access the wireless messaging network 106, particularly the LAWN 112 network and / or the WAWN 114 network where wireless messages are transmitted. The message size limit indicates the maximum number of characters in an E-mail message that can be transmitted in a wireless message. Excess characters in the E-mail message will be truncated by the wireless messaging server 104. The last usage date and message execution count are statistics maintained by the wireless messaging server 104 providing service level usage information. The service constant record number and the connection constant record number refer to the records in the service constant database and the connection constant database.

Record number Connection type port Phone number Network address Backup connection One M / dev / cua 9,4567,890 2 D / dev / cub One 3 M / dev / cua 9,234565 4 N 145.67.34.1

The connection constant database 350, described by way of example in Table IV, specifies how to connect to the named service, for example, the LAWN 112 network and / or the WAWN 114 network. This type of connection can be varied through various types of records that specify network connection types such as leased lines or dial-up connections for services, modem (M), direct (D) or network (N) connections. The record may provide a backup reference to another network connection type if the first network connection type can not be accessed, as shown in record 2 of Table IV. If the regular connection is not made at this time, Method.

The service constant database 345 of Table V provides the wireless message delivery protocol soft-coding constants including the protocol type and including the string and timer values used in the protocol of the wireless messaging network 106. [

Record # Prococole type Init delay Init string TNPP address TNPP packet size One TAP 2 ID = 2 TNPP 3 <ESC> PG1

As described in Table V above, there is a control field that determines which field corresponding to the column of the table contains information. In the above example, since the record 1 is the TAP protocol type, only the TAP protocol type includes the "Init delay" and "Init string" fields. In the case of protocol 2, since the protocol type is TNPP, only the TNPP protocol parameters are specified.

Referring to FIG. 3, the random access memory 216 includes several process images used to process an E-mail message as a wireless message. For example, a mail transmission process 365, illustrated as a Mail 1 transmission to a Mail N transmission, is performed when a LAN 108 network or WAN 110 network connection is complete and is configured to accept a network submission of an E- And a mail sending process 365. [ The WMU message process 370, shown as WMU message 1 through WMU message N, is a temporarily allocated block of memory associated with an E-mail message processed as a wireless message or page. As will be described later, one E-mail message may be processed as a plurality of wireless messages or pages. The code section associated with the mail sending process 365 is shared with the code image named wireless messaging server software 320. [ This is the actual code that is computed with the changed data to cause the E-mail message to be converted into a wireless message (WMU message) and sent to the wireless messaging network 106. The operating system software 315 image provides task switching, file services, and other basic operating system services.

The mail sending process 365 receives the E-mail message on the wireless messaging server 104 and loads the software from the mass storage media 212 into the random access memory 216 and computes the code to generate the wireless messaging server software 320 ). The wireless messaging server software 320 image processes the messages in the random access memory space associated with the WMU message 370 as indicated by WMU message 1 through WMU message N. [ During processing of the message, the unprocessed E-mail message is copied to the spool directory 337. The unprocessed E-mail message is used during processing of the wireless messaging server software 320. During such processing, wireless messaging server software 320 logs the appropriate processing variables into message log 335, as described below, when message log switch 330 is active. This processing uses the target database 325 and the target identifier found in the E-mail message to send a message to the wireless messaging unit 116 address (not shown in FIG. 3) for each target identifier and the LAWN 112 network Or the WAWN 114 network service name. After the decomposition, the service stop switch 355 is checked. When the service stop switch 355 is set, a service stop message 360 is sent to the message sender in the E-mail message containing the message sender's E-mail address, and the processing is stopped. Otherwise, a wireless message is sent to the wireless messaging network 106. This is done by cross-referencing the LAWN 112 network or the WAWN 114 network service name in the service database 340. The service database 340 includes a record of various LAWN 112 and / or WAWN 114 network services, statistical information and reference records for the service constant database 345 and the connection constant database 350. The service constant database 345 includes various protocol constants used in the protocol between the wireless messaging server 104 and the wireless messaging network 106. The connection constant database 350 includes various protocol constants used in the protocol for establishing a connection with the wireless messaging network 106. If there is a difficulty in successfully sending the message to the wireless messaging network 106, an error related to the problem is logged in the error log 328 and an error report is sent to the sender of the E-mail message.

4 is a system software context diagram 400 for a wireless message delivery system 100 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 4 illustrates the overall software context in which the wireless messaging server software 320 operates. The wireless messaging server software 320 receives an E-mail message referenced as a " message " in FIG. 4 from the wired messaging network 102. Message causes wireless messaging server software 320 to cause or not to cause a wireless message submission to wireless messaging network 106, as described below. Upon occurrence of a wireless messaging submission to the wireless messaging network 106, the wireless messaging network 106 responds with a message submission status to the wireless messaging server software 320, as described below. If any problems have been encountered when sending a message to the wireless messaging network 106, a message problem as described below is transmitted to the wired messaging network 102. Optionally, message validation, as described below, may be sent to the wired messaging network 102 when the message has been successfully transmitted to the wireless messaging network 106. The WMS system manager 402 shown in FIG. 4 is a person who inputs various system configuration commands to be used in the wireless messaging server software 320, which will be described later. The system configuration command may or may not cause the system configuration state to be sent to the WMS system manager 402, as described below. In addition, in some cases, the wireless messaging server software 320 provides the WMS system manager 402 with status information, as described below, regarding the current state of the wireless messaging server 104.

5 is an overall software architecture 500 for a wireless messaging system 100 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 5 illustrates an exploded view of the wireless messaging server software 320 with its components. In an embodiment of the present invention, a target database 325, a service database 340, a service constant database 345, A message processing process 410, a wireless service message transmission process 420, and a WMS system configuration process 430, all of which are associated with the WMS system 350. When the message processing process 410 is activated by receiving an E-mail message from the wired messaging network 102, referred to below as " message " in FIG. 5, the message processing process 410 sends the message to the one Or more radio message request. During the message processing process 410, the target database 325 is consulted, as shown in FIG. If a message can not be broken down into one or more wireless message requests, or if a problem occurs in the message processing process 410, a message problem is sent to the wired messaging network 102. Also, if a message success indication is received in the message processing process 410 from the message transmission process 420 to the wireless service, optional message verification required by the E-mail message originator may be sent to the wired messaging network 102 have. The message processing process 410 in some instances sends status information to the WMS system manager 402, as described below.

The message transmission process 420 to the wireless service connects and transmits a wireless message submission to the wireless messaging network 106 upon receipt of a wireless message request. The wireless service message transmission process 420 first refers to the service database 340, the service constant database 345 and the connection constant database 350 to send a wireless message submission to a wireless messaging network 106 and transmits the data. As a result of the wireless message submission, a message submission state is generated by the wireless messaging network 106, which is interpreted by the message transmission process 420 to the wireless service and sent back to the message processing process 410 with a message success indication, Loses. When a successful message submission state is returned from the wireless messaging network 106, the most recent usage date is updated to the current date, and the message execution sum is increased by the number of successful shots. The updated record is recorded again in the service database 340 later.

The WMS system configuration process 430 allows the WMS system manager 402 to monitor information stored in the target database 325, the service constant database 345, and the access constant database 350, as described below. The WMS system configuration process 430 can add, change, and delete information stored in the target database 325, the service constant database 345, and the access constant database 350, as described below, by the WMS system manager 402 Thereby allowing the WMS system manager 402 to configure the wireless messaging system 100. [ The state information recorded in the service database 340 by the message transmission process 420 to the wireless service is read from the service database 340 by the WMS system configuration process 430 and is transmitted to the WMS system manager 402 ).

6 is a message processor software architecture diagram for a message processing process 410 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The message processing process 410 includes a message parsing process 610, a log message processing process 650, and a wireless message dispatching process 660. The message parsing process 610 first copies the entire E-mail message referenced as the " message " in FIG. 6 to the spool directory 337 and then splits each portion of the message into various information fields, A sender's information field including the sender &apos; s E-mail address and optionally the sender's name, a message field of the recipient that may be zero or more, an actual wireless message to send, an E-mail message set by the sender, A validation flag indicating whether the message verification is to be sent to the sender of the E-mail message, etc., but is not limited thereto.

The log message processing process 650 is essentially an information switch. When the logging switch 630 is set by the above-described system configuration command, all the information input is passed to the message pars log 640. The message parse log 640 sends one of the status information to the WMS system manager 402. The log message processing process 650 also labels various fields obtained from the message parsing process 610. Labeling makes it easier to inspect the message pars log 640.

The wireless message dispatch process 660 decomposes the various recipient information into a wireless messaging service name and a wireless messaging unit address, which is implemented by applying a set of rules detailed in conjunction with FIG. 17 below. Another example of an input format is shown in Figs. The target database 325 is optionally referenced to the matching target entry. The wireless message request is then sent for each successfully decommitted recipient. For each wireless message request, a message success indication is received again, as described above. When a message success indication is received for all successfully decomposed recipients, an evaluated success indication is displayed indicating three different levels of success: success, partial success, and failure. If no recipient can be disassembled or the evaluated success indication is unsuccessful, a message problem is sent to the wired messaging network 102. Also, as described above, a verification flag is set indicating that the message originator has requested an e-mail message verification, and message validation is sent to the wired messaging network 102 if the evaluated success indication is successful.

7 is a message parsing software architecture diagram illustrating a message parsing process 610 for a wireless messaging server 104 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The message parsing process 610 includes a message distribution process 710, a flag evaluation / verification process 750, a recipient lookup process 740, a wireless message extraction process 730, and a sender lookup process 720. The message distribution process 710 acts as a message distribution point to the message spooler 620 for the E-mail message, referred to below as " message " in FIG. 7, and to the process described below. The flag evaluation / verification process 750 includes a case non-response keyword " verify " that the message sender enters as an e-mail message verification request upon successful message delivery from the wireless messaging server 104 to the wireless messaging network 106 , And extracts it from the "Subject:" field of the message as shown in FIG. If the keyword " verify " is found, the verification flag is set, otherwise the verification flag is not set. Recipient discovery process 740 reviews the " To: " field of the message to find the appropriate recipient. The wireless message extraction process 730 examines the format and sender information of the message as described below and generates the actual wireless message to transmit to the wireless messaging network 106. The sender locator process 720 extracts sender information from the " From: " field of the message.

Figure 8 is a wireless message delivery architecture illustrating a wireless message delivery process 660 for a wireless messaging server 104 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The wireless message dispatch process 660 includes an OSS message send process 810 (service stop message), a WMU address and service discovery process 820, a wireless message dispatch process 840, a service disrupt flag 830. The service stop flag 830 acts as a simple switch. When the service stop flag 830 is set, the OSS message sending process 810 is activated and a preset message problem indicating " service stop " is sent to the e-mail message sender to the wired messaging network 102. Otherwise, if the service stop flag 830 is not set, the wireless message dispatch process 840 is activated instead. The wireless message dispatch process 840 receives the sender information, the wireless message, and the verification flag from the message parser process 610 and waits for all recipient / WMU probe pairs described below. Upon receiving the sender information, the wireless message, and the verify flag from the message parsing process 610, the wireless message dispatch process 840 examines the receiver / WMU probe pair. If no recipient has an exact WMU probe, a message problem is sent to the wired messaging network 102. Otherwise, if there is one WMU probe for a receiver, a wireless message request is sent to all receivers identified by one receiver / WMU probe pair, and the wireless message transmission process 840 for each wireless message request A message success indication is received. In the receiver / WMU probe pair, the term receiver refers to the target identifier. The wireless message dispatch process 840 includes three values: a success that occurs when all message success indications are true, a partial success that occurs when at least one message success indication is true, and a failure that occurs when a message success indication is not true Lt; / RTI &gt; As described above, the evaluated success indication generated is a summary of whether all wireless message requests were successful. Finally, if the verify flag input is set and all message success indications are true, message validation is sent back to the wired messaging network 102.

Figure 9 illustrates a typical E-mail message sent from a wired messaging network 102 in a conventional SMTP E-mail message submission protocol. Other e-mail message submission protocols, such as, for example, an X.400 message, a Mail Handling System ^TM (MHS) message in Novell ^TM , a Microsoft Mail ^TM message, etc. may be sent from the wired messaging network 102, It is not limited.

9, the SMTP E-mail message includes a message including an SMTP E-mail header 910, a first blank line 920 acting as an SMTP header / body separator, an SMTP E- Lt; / RTI &gt; The SMTP E-mail header 910 includes Internet RFC 822, " Format Standard for ARPA Internet Text Messages "; RFC 821, "Standard for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol"; A "From:" field, a "To:" (receive :) field, and optionally a "From:" field as described in RFC 1123, "Extensions to RFC 821 and RFC 822" And one or more lines representing various SMTP-standard mail fields, such as " Subject &quot; fields. As described above, each SMTP-standard mail field typically has a field name followed by a colon and the structure of the data associated with that field. The SMTP header / body breaker is the first blank line found when scanning an E-mail message from top to bottom. The SMTP e-mail body 930 is shown as part of an e-mail message that a message sender enters to send an e-mail message to a message recipient. The SMTP e-mail body 930 does not have a particular format and may include greetings, messages, and concluding comments as shown by way of example.

9, the SMTP E-mail header 910 includes a date field indicating the date of transmission of the E-mail message, a send field indicating the name of the sender of the E-mail message, a name of the E-mail recipient And a subject field indicating the subject of the E-mail message. As described above, the SMTP e-mail header 910 is separated from the SMTP e-mail body 930 by a first blank line 920, which acts as an SMTP header / body separator. The SMTP e-mail body 930 represents the actual e-mail message that is sent, including, for example, the name of the message recipient, the message, and the name of the message sender. There is no particular significance in using the blank line in the SMTP E-mail body 930 when used according to the prior art described above.

10 illustrates an example of an E-mail paging addressing scheme using E-mail aliasing to address wireless messaging unit 116 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The e-mail paging addressing scheme using the e-mail alias uses the basic structure of the SMTP E-mail message as described above and, in addition, Structure. The e-mail body 930 has a unique structure including a target identifier and a wireless message.

The SMTP E-mail header 910 has the same structure as the conventional SMTP E-mail message shown in FIG. 9, but unlike the SMTP E-mail message of FIG. 9, the "To: E-mail address that provides the E-mail / Paging service without being addressed directly to the message recipient of the wireless messaging server 104 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown by way of example in FIG. 10, the fixed E-mail address shown with the contents of the "To" field is "pager@pts.mot.com", where the first SMTP address portion "pager @ Quot; refers to an alias that activates the wireless messaging server 104 through the use of an alias pipe, and a second address portion, " pts.mot.com, " refers to an e-mail message to be delivered to the specified wireless messaging network 106.

Following the first blank line 920 of the SMTP E-mail message, the SMTP E- mail body 930 is located. Where the SMTP E-mail body 930 includes a target identifier list 1010 containing three distinguishable parts: one or more target identifiers as described above, a delimiter 1020, a wireless message 1030 to be transmitted . The target identifier list 1010 section is identified in the SMTP e-mail body 930 as the non-blank line of the first sequence. The target identifier list 1010 includes at least one wireless messaging unit address, as described above, and further examination of the target e-mail list 1010 section of the SMTP e-mail body 930 may include, for example, Identifier types can be identified at the same time. In the first target identifier, names of formats such as " richard geil ", such as " first name ", are listed. The first target identifier assumes that the wireless messaging server 104 can search the target database 325 to find one corresponding WMU address and wireless messaging service. The specified second target identifier provides a WMU address in the " address " format, e.g., " 9834 ", in which the wireless messaging service name is omitted. Defects shown If there is one address, it is assumed to be the "default" service name. The next two target identifiers listed in the format "address.service name" specify the WMU address and service name, for example, "345612.s-page" and "882363.m-comm" To the S-Page and M-comm wireless messaging services. The example of "address.service name" does not require assumptions or inquiries about the service provider name.

The boundary symbol 1020 is defined as the first of one or more consecutive blank lines following the target identifier list 1010 and separating the target identifier list 1010 from the message. The bounding symbol 1020 is represented by a predetermined keystroke sequence, which includes, for example, the generation of two or more carriage return / newline characters in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, with the " return / enter & . The actual radio message is loaded into the SMTP E-mail body 930 following the demarcation symbol 1020.

Figure 11 is a contextual diagram of a context configuration for addressing a wireless messaging unit 116 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention using e-mail alias addressing to address mail routing and a relaying computer as a relay processor, Mail from an associated local mail domain and sub-domain implemented in a mail relay computer, which is implemented as a mail relay computer, from an SMTP mail superdomain, and also a mail relay computer that appropriately routes the E-mail message. 11 illustrates that an SMTP mail superdomain 1110, e.g., shown as " mot.com " is connected to a modified local mail-domain 1120 shown as " pts.mot.com ". It is preferred that modifications to the typical SMTP E-mail local mail-domain 1120 are uniquely added to an alias file, for example, shown as a "/ etc / aliases" file, Is accomplished by adding the term " pager ". Below the local mail-domain 1120, there is shown a wireless messaging server 104 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention shown below other regional mail sub-domain 1130 and also local mail-domain 1120 . The host name assigned to the wireless messaging server 104 is, for example, " wms " as enumerated in the host table residing in the local mail-domain 1120. The wireless messaging server 104 also has something added to the alias file, where the "pager" is defined as a mail sending program pipe to the wireless messaging server software 320.

12 illustrates an E-mail paging addressing scheme that uses the E-mail sub-domain method to address wireless messaging unit 116 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 12, an SMTP E-mail message using E-mail sub-domain addressing may include a first blank line 1220 representing an SMTP E-mail header 1210, an SMTP header / body separator, And is formatted to include the SMTP E-mail body 1230. The SMTP E-mail header 1210 has the same basic structure as the SMTP E-mail header 910 shown in FIG. 10, but the SMTP E- There is an important difference. The information previously included in the target identifier list 1010 of the SMTP E-mail header 910 shown in FIG. 10 may be legitimate with the SMTP sub-domain shown as " @ pager.pts.mot.com & Relocated and reformatted to SMTP E-mail address. 9, the SMTP E-mail header 1210 includes a "Date:" field, a "From:" field, a "To:" field, And one or more lines representing various SMTP-standard mail fields, such as &lt; RTI ID = 0.0 &gt; 9, the target identifier is located in the "To:" field of the SMTP E-mail header 1210. Each target identifier is decomposed as described above in FIG. 10, but the current target identifier represents the actual E-mail address. The concept of e-mail / paging conclusively integrates more closely with e-mail, making it easier for e-mail message senders to learn how to use them. The SMTP header / body separator 1220 is the same as the SMTP header / body separator 920 of the standard SMTP E-mail message. The SMTP E-mail body 1230 is used as the message to be sent to the wireless messaging unit 116 identified by the target identifier as described above.

FIG. 13 is a context diagram of addressing a wireless messaging unit 116 using sub-domain paging in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 13 shows a mail-domain having basically the same configuration as that shown in Fig. However, unlike FIG. 11, the connection configuration between the SMTP mail superdomain 1110 and the wireless messaging server 104 is different as described below. In the alternative embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 13, the host file shown as the file name " / etc / hosts " in the local mail-domain 1120 corresponds to the host name " wms " Use aliases for. Adding an alias effectively creates a new sub-domain for local mail-domain 1120, e.g., " pager.pts.mot.com " In addition, the host name of the wireless messaging server 104 is set to reflect the host alias. Finally, the wireless messaging server 104 is instructed to send an on-demand mail message, such as " /etc/sendmail.cf ", to the wireless messaging server software 320 so that any E-mail sent to the SMTP sub- The configuration file is installed.

14-20 are flow diagrams illustrating the operation of the wireless messaging server 104 in accordance with preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention.

14, the wireless messaging server software 320 is implemented in response to an E-mail message sent to the wireless messaging server 104. [ Upon computation of the wireless messaging server software 320, the E-mail message is delivered via a file that can be computed. The wireless messaging server software 320 initiates the parsing of the delivered E-mail message. The first step of the parsing process is to extract the recipient and the wireless message to send from the E-mail message. In step 1404, the recipient is first extracted from the "To:" field of the SMTP E-mail header 910, 1210. This is accomplished by first selecting the contents of the " Receive " field and, in step 1406, if the " Receive " field does not exist, : (Apparently-To :) " field is selected as the content of the " received " field. Otherwise, if the " receive " field is present in the SMTP E-mail header 910,1210, then the contents of the " receive " field are selected at step 1406. [

Next, at step 1410, an E-mail message is retrieved from the beginning of the message by looking for the appearance of the first blank line 920, which is represented by a sequence of two end-of-line characters as described above, E-mail body 930 is extracted. Next, in step 1412, the E-mail address included in the " received: " or " estimated-recipient: " field is identified. If the E-mail address is identified as " pager @ " in step 1412, E-mail-alias e-mail paging is selected. In this case, the body of the E-mail message is scanned for the first appearance of one or more blank lines 1020, and then the wireless message 1030 is extracted at step 1414. The target identifier 1010 for the wireless message is then extracted at step 1416 by scanning for the first occurrence of one or more blank lines 1020 from the top of the SMTP e-mail body 930. The target identifier is set to the target identifier sequence 1010 as described above.

If the E-mail address of the "received:" or "estimated-recipient:" field does not specify the recipient as "pager @", the SMTP sub-domain format for E-mail / paging is selected in step 1412 . In this case, in step 1418, the wireless message is set to the SMTP E-mail body 930 to be extracted as described above. Next, each E-mail address in the "To:", "CC:", "BCC:" fields is searched for the "@pager" sub-domain identifier. In step 1420, the found E-mail address is extracted from the " @pager " E-mail domain and set equal to the target identifier.

The wireless message processing continues with Fig. 15, which is a flow chart focused on extracting message sender information and optionally the message sender's name for identification to wireless messaging unit 116. Fig. First, at step 1424, the e-mail address of the message originator is extracted from the SMTP header " From: " field. Next, the SMTP header " Subject: " field is scanned for the case-unanswered keyword " from " in step 1426 and the format of the SMTP header " - It is checked whether the name of the sender identifying the request from the sender of the message to be attached to the mail message is located. In step 1428, if the format of the E-mail address is to have text that includes a text section included in parentheses, such as " E-mail address (name) ", then in step 1430, This is extracted in parentheses and stored in the username variable. If the format of the E-mail address is text having text that is enclosed by a sign that is greater than the sign of greater than, for example, " name <E-mail address> ", then in step 1432, The name is extracted from the text outside the user name variable and stored in the user name variable. Otherwise, if the format of the two "outgoing:" fields does not apply, then in step 1434, the actual content of the "outgoing:" field is extracted as the message sender's name and stored in the username variable. In step 1426, if the SMTP header does not contain the case-unrecognized keyword " from &quot;, no information is stored in the username variable. By appending the username variable to the wireless message, in step 1436, the final wireless message is generated.

The wireless message processing continues at step 1438 with FIG. 16, which illustrates a flow chart illustrating ancillary management features such as message parsing logging. The wireless messaging server 104 checks at step 1440 whether message parsing logging is turned on as indicated by the message log switch 330 being set. If the message log switch 330 is set, then in step 1442, the currently processed information associated with the wireless message and the wireless message is logged in the message pars log. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the logged information includes an E-mail address and a message in the form of a selective name, a target identifier, a wireless message, an indication of a set verification flag, a time / date stamp for input, And includes caller information. More or less information may be logged as needed by the wireless messaging server system manager 402. [

The wireless messaging server 104 checks in step 1444 whether the " service stop " flag is set. If the "service stop" flag is set, then in step 1446 the service stop message 360 is sent to the message sender as an E-mail message that explains that the wireless messaging server 104 is not in service state, 1448). The service stop message 360 may include the reason why the wireless messaging server 104 has stopped the service. If the "service stop" flag is not set in step 1444, the wireless messaging server 104 continues processing in step 1612 shown in FIG.

Wireless message processing will continue in FIG. 17, which illustrates decomposition of the target identifier into a wireless messaging unit 116 address and service name. As shown in FIG. 17, the target identifier decomposition begins with placing the first target identifier, which is one of the target identifier lists, in step 1450. In step 1452, if the number is explicitly given as the first character of the target identifier, such as when the name and surname are omitted, the number is assumed to be an explicit wireless messaging unit address as seen in Table II above do. If the number is specified, then the "default" service name is also assumed, but the service name may be a period (such as a period) followed by a wireless messaging unit 116 address, such as "14576.s-page" ) Character, followed by the service name to be explicitly specified. The target identifier is further searched for a period character. If a period character is found, the remainder of the target identifier is assumed to be the service name for the wireless messaging unit 116 address. If no period character is found, the "default" service name is assumed. In any case, one (1) wireless messaging unit (116) code and corresponding service name are found for the target identifier of that type as a result of the target identifier decomposition. If the first character of the target identifier is not a number, the target database 325 is searched to match the target identifier. If no matching target name is found (none), at step 1454, an e-mail response is generated / added to the message originator indicating a "target identifier not found" error. If one wireless messaging unit and service name are found for the target identifier, at step 1456, a wireless addressing unit address and service name are added to the list of wireless messaging unit 116 addresses. If more than one wireless messaging unit 116 address and service name is found (> 1), then in step 1460 a plurality of wireless messaging unit message responses are generated / Target identifier> is the actual target identifier to be searched. If the processing of the target identifier list is not terminated at step 1460, the next target identifier is located at step 1462, and steps 1452, 1454, 1456, and 1458 are repeated. When the processing of the target identifier list is terminated in step 1460, the program flow continues to step 1464 shown in FIG.

18 is a flow chart illustrating a decision process for determining what type of E-mail message to send or prepare to send to a message originator if there is a problem in decomposing the target identifier into a wireless messaging unit 116 address and service name . As described below, an E-mail message that is sent back to the originator of the message is also sent to the WMS system manager 402. FIG. 18 also shows determining whether to actually transmit a wireless message or to stop the operation based on the fact that there is no decomposed target identifier and the service name was not found. The first action is to check in step 1464 whether an E-mail response message was generated in the previous address resolution step. If there is no E-mail response message in step 1464, the wireless messaging server 104 sends a wireless message in step 1474. [ If a wireless message was generated in step 1464, at least one decomposition issue is reported in the message. Next, at step 1466, the discovery inquires whether it was successful in generating the target identifier or service name. If the decomposition was not successful in step 1466 and there is no target identifier or service name to send a wireless message, a "page failure" E-mail response message is sent to the message sender in step 1470 to indicate that decomposition is necessary, In step 1472, the operation is stopped. If at least one decomposition was successful, at step 1468, a "wireless message decomposition failure" E-mail response message is prepared and the wireless messaging server 104 sends a wireless message at step 1474. In the wireless message transmission process, all events in the process are logged to a log file at step 1476. This log file is used to determine whether all wireless messages have been successfully transmitted.

Figure 19 is a flow diagram that evaluates the result of sending the wireless message described in Figure 18 and sending a response to a message originator in an E-mail message that includes a message originator E-mail address. If all wireless message submissions were successful in step 1478, then in step 1480 it is checked whether the affirmative reply e-mail feature is enabled, and if not, in step 1502 the operation is aborted . If the affirmative response e-mail feature is enabled in step 1480, an affirmative response message is generated in step 1482, the successfully delivered wireless message and the activated target identifier are listed in the response message and the message originator E- Mail message containing the e-mail address. Next, when debug logging is checked and debug logging is enabled in step 1486, a success indication is logged in the log file in step 1486, and the operation is aborted in step 1502.

In step 1478, if an indication that the wireless message submission was unsuccessful is received, then the wireless messaging server 104 checks in step 1488 whether any of the wireless message submissions were successful and sends the message submission a partial success Classify. If any of the wireless message submissions were successful, the wireless messaging server 104 sends a partial message failure message indicating which wireless messaging unit 116 was activated and not activated, and in step 1490, The server 104 also attaches a system use command to the partial message failure message, sends a partial message failure message to the message sender in the E-mail message containing the message originator E-mail address, (402). A system use command is attached to the message whenever an E-mail message is sent to the message sender and the wireless message system manager 402. Next, when debug logging is checked and debug logging is enabled in step 1492, a partial failure indication is logged in the log file in step 1494 and the operation is stopped in step 1502. [ If debug logging is not enabled at step 1492, the operation is aborted at step 1502.

In step 1488, if no wireless message submissions were successful, the wireless messaging server 104 sends a message failure message indicating that not all wireless messaging units have been activated, and in step 1496, the wireless messaging server 104 also attaches a system use command to the message failure message, sends a message failure message to the message originator in the E-mail message containing the message originator E-mail address, and also sends the E-mail message to the system administrator. Next, when debug logging is checked and debug logging is enabled in step 1498, a failure indication is logged in a log file in step 1500 and the operation is stopped in step 1502. [ If debug logging is not enabled in step 1498, the operation is aborted in step 1502.

The success indication is that all the target identifiers are fully decomposed and all the radio messages are successfully submissions, and there is a reason why the target identifier decomposition failure is checked. The failure is interpreted as having no successful wireless message at all. This leaves some sort of partial success. This classification is logged in the log file when the debug logging feature is enabled.

20 is a SENDMAIL parsing rule structure diagram showing various important rules used for parsing E-mail using the UNIX e-mail relaying and routing program SENDMAIL. The SENDMAIL program uses the rules stored in the configuration file "/etc/sendmail.cf" to determine how to route and reformat the mail. The configuration file "/etc/sendmail.cf" contains a set of rules used to match the format of the e-mail address in the To: field of the e-mail. If a rule for matching the current format of the e-mail address is found, then a corresponding action on that matching condition is generated. The rules are arranged in numbered sets. The processing of the SENDMAIL program begins by evaluating which mailer program will be used to route mail. First, the e-mail address parsing rule set 3 (2001) is applied. Rule set 3 (2001) is commonly used to reject e-mail addresses and apply them to standard formats. Next, we use rule set 0 (2002) to find out which mailer program is used to route the e-mail message. Here the WMS system modifies the e-mail system to capture all e-mails addressed to any SMTP e-mail sub-domain "@pager". At the top of rule set 0 (2002), an additional rule for finding the matching e-mail address with "@pager" in the address is added. All e-mails of this type are routed to the newly defined mailer program. Mailer programs are defined using standard mailer-specific rules and activate WMS software. Thus, the two basic variations that need to be implemented for the configuration file " /etc/sendmail.cf " to support sub-domain paging are as follows: 1) At the top of rule set 0 (2002) , And 2) adds a limitation of the new mailer program to activate the WMS software. Another goal of the SENDMAIL program is to rewrite the e-mail address appropriately. This applies first to rule set 3 2001 for the sender and then to set 1 2004 followed by rule set 2005 associated with the disassembled mailer and then to the contents of the From: Set 4 (2007) is applied. Next, for each recipient, apply rule set 3 2001, then set 2 2003, then the rule set 2006 associated with the disassembled mailer, and then the contents of the From: field The erasing rule set 4 (2007) is applied to the rewrite rule set 4 (2007).

In summary, there is provided a wireless messaging system having a wired messaging network for delivering an E-mail message between wired network nodes and entering an E-mail message for delivery to at least one wireless messaging unit. The wireless messaging system communicates with a wireless messaging server that receives and processes E-mail messages entered from a wired messaging network for delivery to at least one wireless messaging unit. The E-mail message includes a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) address, a portion of which represents a wireless selective calling user identifier. The wireless messaging network is also coupled to a wireless messaging server that communicates at least one radio selective paging message to the wireless messaging unit in response to correlation between the at least one predetermined radio selective calling user address and the wireless selective paging user identifier.

The wireless messaging system communicates using at least one of a local (LAN) messaging network, a wide area (WAN) messaging network, a local wireless (LAWN) messaging network, a wired messaging network such as a wide area wireless (WAWN) messaging network. Also, in a preferred embodiment, the wired messaging network delivers an E-mail message to a wireless messaging server using an RFC-822 SMTP E-mail compliant E-mail system. The wireless messaging system preferably uses the TCP / IP protocol to transmit E-mail messages within the wired messaging network. Alternatively, the message communication may be implemented using a protocol such as X.400 or the like with minor modifications as provided herein.

The wireless messaging server includes an E-mail input interface that is coupled with a wired messaging network to receive an E-mail message input from a wireless messaging network for delivery to a wireless messaging unit. The processor coupled with the e-mail input interface processes the E-mail message input from the wired messaging network to (1) a wireless selectable call user identifier comprising a wireless messaging unit address specifying the wireless messaging unit, (2) an SMTP address Determining at least a network identifier identifying the wireless messaging network from at least a portion of the E-mail message; and (3) determining at least a target identifier for communicating at least a portion of the information content of the E-mail message associated with the SMTP address to the at least one wireless selective- And adds it to one radio selective paging message. After the above steps are performed, the output interface combines at least one radio selective paging message to the wireless messaging network identified by the network identifier to convey the E-mail message to the wireless messaging unit designated by the wireless messaging unit address .

Finally, the wireless messaging server includes a memory for storing a plurality of wireless select paging user identifiers and associated wireless messaging unit addresses and wireless network identifiers.

The E-mail message containing the wireless messaging unit address is processed using the default network identifier stored in memory. This is possible because the default wireless messaging network associated with the wireless messaging unit address stored in memory is associated with the E-mail message received by the processor. The processor determines the wireless messaging unit address and, in response, retrieves the default network identifier identifying the wireless messaging network from memory. Subsequently, the output interface transmitter associated with the processor delivers at least one radio selective paging message to the wireless messaging unit designated by the associated wireless messaging unit address in the wireless messaging network identified by the network identifier. At least one radio selective calling user identifier identifies an intended recipient of the at least one radio selective paging message.

Additionally, the memory stores the wireless messaging unit type associated with each of the plurality of wireless selective paging user identifiers. This parameter is used to identify the unique characteristics of the target unit, e.g. display qualification, presentation means (audio, video, hard copy).

In a preferred embodiment, the processor determines at least one radio selective calling user identifier from the E-mail message and, in response, retrieves from the memory the network identifier identifying the associated wireless messaging unit address and the wireless messaging network. As described above, the output interface conveys at least one radio selective paging message to the wireless messaging unit designated by the associated wireless messaging unit address in the wireless messaging network identified by the network identifier.

As an additional feature, the wireless messaging unit may accept a request to automatically attach a caller identification to at least one optional paging message. This allows the recipient of the wireless message to identify the sender or source of the message.

Another characteristic of wireless messaging systems is the message reception, forwarding, and transmission verification characteristics. In this case, the E-mail message includes a message originator E-mail address used by the wireless messaging server to generate a response status message to the originator of the E-mail message. The acknowledgment status message indicates success or failure when transmitting at least one radio selective paging message to the wireless messaging unit. Additionally, the acknowledgment status message may indicate success or failure in transmitting at least one radio selective paging message to the wireless messaging network.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an E-mail message includes an E-mail address of the form user@pager.entity.ext with a user, a pager, an entity.extent.ext parameter . Examples of such addressing and message delivery methods have been described with reference to Figures 9-20. In particular, an E-mail message may include informational content including at least one text message, an audio message, and a video message.

When using addressing of the form user@pager.entity.ext, the entity.ext parameter represents the destination node of the wireless messaging network to which at least one radio selective paging message is sent. Similarly, the phaser parameter represents the wireless messaging domain of the SMTP E-mail address.

Upon detecting the phaser parameter in the user@pager.entity.ext format, the processor processes the SMTP E-mail address to determine the wireless messaging unit address associated with the user parameter and the network identifier associated with the entity.ext parameter. The processor also extracts the information content of the E-mail message associated with the SMTP address in response to the detection of the phaser parameter and generates an information portion of the at least one radio selective paging message.

Following identification and extraction, the processor assembles at least one radio selective paging message that includes at least a portion of the information content of the wireless messaging unit address and the E-mail message for immediate near-delay transmission or delayed remote transmission. In the former case, at least one radio selective paging message may be transmitted in real time by the local wireless messaging system. In the latter case, it is preferred that at least one radio selective paging message is transmitted (transmitted) to the remote paging system for immediate or delayed transmission.

The user parameter represents a particular user and is selected from one of a user name, a user name alias, a wireless messaging unit address, and a wireless selective calling messaging unit identifier. Also, a particular user may have a selected list of wireless messaging users that include a group of users.

Referring to an alternative addressing form, the E-mail message includes an E-mail address of the form paging-identifier@entity.ext with a paging-identifier, entity, and entity.ext parameter. As in the preferred embodiment, the E-mail message may include informational content including text messages, audio messages, and video messages.

As described above, the entity.ext parameter represents the destination node of the wireless messaging network to which at least one radio selective paging message is sent. However, in an alternative form of addressing, the paging-identifier parameter is indicative of a radio selective calling messaging unit identifier that is compatible with the SMTP E-mail system compliant with RFC-822 and recognizable by the wireless messaging server. Once the wireless messaging server recognizes that the paging-identifier parameter has a corresponding wireless selective calling messaging unit identifier, the processor processes the SMTP E- mail address to determine the wireless messaging unit address and entity.ext parameter associated with the paging- And determines the associated network identifier. The processor also extracts the information content of the E-mail message associated with the SMTP address and generates an information portion of at least one radio selective paging message. Near and far transmission or transmission is done in the same way regardless of the type of addressing used.

Similarly, as with the user parameters of the preferred embodiment, the paging-identifier represents a particular user and is selected from one of a user's name, a username alias, a wireless messaging unit address, or a wireless selective calling messaging unit identifier. Also, a particular user may have a selected list of wireless messaging users that include a group of users.

Claims (36)

A wired messaging network for forwarding an E-mail message between wired network nodes and for entering an E-mail message for delivery to at least one wireless messaging unit; A wired messaging network coupled to the wired messaging network, the wired messaging network including a single mail transfer protocol (SMTP) address, wherein the portion of the address indicates a wireless select paging user identifier, for input to the wired messaging network for delivery to the at least one wireless messaging unit A wireless messaging server for receiving and processing E-mail messages; A wireless messaging server coupled to the wireless messaging server for communicating at least one wireless selective paging message to the wireless messaging unit in response to correlation between the at least one selected wireless selective calling user address and the wireless selective calling user identifier; The wireless messaging system comprising: 2. The wireless messaging system of claim 1, wherein the wired messaging network is a local (LAN) messaging network. 2. The wireless messaging system of claim 1, wherein the wired messaging network is a wide area (WAN) messaging network. 2. The wireless messaging system of claim 1, wherein the wireless messaging network is a local wireless (LAWN) messaging network. 2. The wireless messaging system of claim 1, wherein the wireless messaging network is a wide area wireless (WAWN) messaging network. The wireless messaging system of claim 1, wherein the wired messaging network delivers an E-mail message to the wireless messaging server using an RFC-822 SMTP E-mail compliant E-mail system. . 7. The wireless messaging system of claim 6, wherein the E-mail system transmits an E-mail message in a wired messaging network using a TCP / IP protocol. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless messaging server An E-mail input interface coupled to the wired messaging network for receiving an E-mail message input from the wireless messaging network for delivery to the wireless messaging unit; Mail message; and a processor coupled to the E-mail input interface for processing the E-mail message entered from the wired messaging network, the wireless selective calling user identifier comprising a wireless messaging unit address specifying the wireless messaging unit, Mail message from at least a portion of the at least one wireless selective-messaging unit to determine at least one network identifier that identifies the wireless messaging network from at least a portion of the E- To the wireless selective paging message of the wireless selective paging message; And And an output interface for forwarding the E-mail message to the wireless messaging unit designated by the wireless messaging unit address by combining at least one wireless selective paging message to the wireless messaging network identified by the network identifier The wireless messaging system comprising: 9. The method of claim 8, Wherein the E-mail message further comprises at least one radio selective calling user identifier, The wireless messaging server comprising a memory for storing a plurality of wireless selective paging user identifiers and associated wireless messaging unit addresses and wireless network identifiers, The wireless messaging system further comprising: 10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the E-mail message comprises the wireless messaging unit address; The memory storing a default network identifier that identifies a default wireless messaging network associated with the wireless messaging unit address; The processor processes the received E-mail message to determine the wireless messaging unit address, and in response, retrieves the default network identifier that identifies the wireless messaging network from the memory; And The output interface communicating at least one wireless select paging message to the wireless messaging unit designated by the associated wireless messaging unit address in the wireless messaging network identified by the network identifier The wireless messaging system comprising: 10. The wireless messaging system of claim 9, wherein the at least one wireless selective paging user identifier identifies an intended recipient of the at least one wireless selective paging message. 10. The wireless messaging system of claim 9, wherein the memory stores a wireless messaging unit type associated with each of the plurality of wireless selective paging user identifiers. 10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the processor is coupled to the memory to process the received E-mail message to determine the at least one wireless selective-paging user identifier, and in response thereto, associates the associated wireless messaging unit address and the network identifier From the memory; And The output interface forwards the at least one radio selective paging message to a wireless messaging unit designated by an associated wireless messaging unit address in the wireless messaging network identified by the network identifier. 10. The wireless messaging system of claim 9, further comprising means for accepting a request for the wireless messaging unit to automatically attach a caller identification to the at least one optional paging message. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of: generating a response status message to the originator of the E-mail message indicating a success or failure when the E-mail message delivers the at least one radio selective paging message to the wireless messaging unit. And a message originator E-mail address used by the server. 16. The wireless messaging system of claim 15, further comprising an indication of success or failure when the response status message transmits the at least one wireless selective paging message to the wireless messaging network. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the E-mail message includes a user, a pager, and an E-mail address of the form user@pager.entity.ext with an entity.extension.ext parameter. Wireless messaging system. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the E-mail message is a text message; Audio message; And information content including at least one of a video message and a video message. 18. The wireless messaging system of claim 17, wherein the entity. Extension parameter indicates a destination node in a wireless messaging network to which the at least one radio selective paging message is sent. 18. The wireless messaging system of claim 17, wherein the phaser parameter represents a wireless messaging domain of an SMTP E-mail address. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the processor processes the SMTP E-mail address in response to detecting the phaser parameter, and determines the network identifier associated with the wireless messaging unit address and entity. Extension parameter associated with the user parameter The wireless messaging system comprising: 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the processor is responsive to detecting the phaser parameter to extract information content of the E-mail message associated with the SMTP address to generate an information portion of the at least one radio selective- Lt; / RTI &gt; 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the processor is configured to collect the at least one wireless selective paging message that includes at least a portion of the information content of the e-mail message and the wireless messaging unit address for immediate transmission by a wireless messaging server Wireless messaging system. 21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the processor is configured to send, for transmission by a remote wireless messaging server, the wireless messaging unit address, the network identifier, and the at least one wireless selection And collecting the paging message. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the user parameter represents a particular user, the user name; Username alias; The wireless messaging unit address; And the wireless selective call messaging unit identifier. 26. The wireless messaging system of claim 25, wherein the particular user comprises a predetermined list of wireless messaging users including user groups. 9. The wireless messaging system of claim 8, wherein the E-mail message includes a paging-identifier and an E-mail address of the form paging-identifier@entity.ext with the entity.extension parameter. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the E-mail message is a text message; Audio message; And information content including at least one of a video message and a video message. 28. The wireless messaging system of claim 27, wherein the entity. Extension parameter indicates a destination node in a wireless messaging network to which the at least one wireless selective paging message is sent. 28. The wireless messaging system of claim 27, wherein the paging-identifier parameter is compatible with an SMTP E-mail system that complies with RFC-822 and represents a wireless selective call messaging unit identifier recognizable by the wireless messaging server. . 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the processor processes the SMTP E-mail address in response to detecting the wireless selective call messaging unit identifier to determine the wireless messaging unit address and the entity associated with the paging- Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 &gt; identifier. &Lt; / RTI &gt; 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the processor is responsive to detecting the paging-identifier parameter to extract information content of the E-mail message associated with the SMTP address to generate an information portion of the at least one wireless selective- Wireless messaging system. 31. The system of claim 30, wherein the processor is configured to collect the wireless messaging unit address and at least a portion of the information content of the E-mail message for immediate transmission by the wireless messaging server. The wireless messaging system comprising: 31. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, wherein the processor is configured to send, for transmission by a remote wireless messaging server, the wireless messaging unit address, the network identifier, and at least a portion of the information content of the E- &Lt; / RTI &gt; 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the paging-identifier represents a particular user, Username aliases; The wireless messaging unit address; And the wireless selective call messaging unit identifier. 36. The wireless messaging system of claim 35, wherein the particular user comprises a predetermined list of wireless messaging users including user groups.