HK1119345A1 - A method for implementing a multimedia messaging service, a server of a multimedia messaging system and a wireless terminal - Google Patents

Description

Multimedia message service implementation method, multimedia message server and wireless terminal

The invention relates to a method for transmitting a multimedia message between a server and a wireless terminal in a multimedia messaging system over a communication network comprising a wireless channel, wherein a multimedia message comprising one or more components and addressed to the wireless terminal is received at the server, and a user profile comprising information about properties of the wireless terminal is stored in the server. The invention also relates to a multimedia messaging system comprising: a server; a communication network comprising a radio channel and a radio terminal; means for receiving at the server a multimedia message comprising one or more components and addressed to the wireless terminal; and means for storing a user profile comprising information about attributes of the wireless terminal in the server. Furthermore, the invention relates to a server for use in a multimedia messaging system, the multimedia messaging system comprising: a communication network; means for receiving at the server a multimedia message comprising one or more components and addressed to the wireless terminal; and means for storing a user profile comprising information about attributes of the wireless terminal in the server, wherein the communication network comprises wireless channels and wireless terminals. The invention also relates to a wireless terminal for use in a multimedia messaging system, the multimedia messaging system comprising: a server; a communication network comprising a wireless channel; means for receiving at the server a multimedia message comprising one or more components and addressed to the wireless terminal; and means for storing a user profile comprising information about attributes of the wireless terminal in the server.

Wireless communication networks and internet networks are rapidly expanding, and the number of users of these networks is also increasing. It is possible to introduce advanced internet services into digital mobile stations, such as so-called media phones, of wireless communication networks, such as via Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology. WAP is an open standard designed to globally support most digital wireless communication networks, such as GSM (global system for mobile communications), GPRS (general packet radio service), PDC (personal digital cellular). CDMA IS-95 (code division multiple Access), TDMA IS-136 (time division multiple Access), and third generation networks such as WCDMA (wideband CDMA) and CDMA-2000. Since the WAP system has only recently been developed and since the specification of the WAP system in some cases only determines the framework of different implementations, there is no existing solution for implementing specific functions of the WAP system.

In the WAP system (fig. 1), a terminal or wireless terminal MS, referred to herein as a WAP terminal, communicates externally using the WAP protocol, which may communicate with a server 20 of the internet network. The connection between the WAP terminal and the internet network is effected by means of a WAP gateway 15, which is a means for transmitting messages between the WAP terminal MS and the internet network 18. The WAP gateway 15 converts the messages delivered by the WAP terminal MS to the internet network into messages conforming to an internet protocol such as the TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/internet protocol) protocol, when required. Accordingly, messages addressed from the internet network 18 to WAP terminals in the wireless network 12 are also converted in the WAP gateway to messages conforming to the WAP protocol (e.g., WSP, wireless session protocol), if desired.

As such, the WAP terminal MS may be any device that utilizes WAP protocols for external communication, such as a mobile station of a cellular network, or a computer terminal connected to the wireless network 12 via a mobile station of a cellular network, for example, or via a radio card detachably connected to the computer terminal, wherein the connection between the radio card and the computer terminal is made via an interface conforming to the PCMCIA (personal computer memory card international association) standard, for example.

The mode of communication supported by WAP and intended for transmitting information over a wireless channel is called a bearer. These include, for example, short messages (SMS, short message service), data calls (CSD, circuit switched data) and packet radio, i.e. GPRS service, USSD service (unstructured supplementary service data) and other bearers defined in the WAP specifications.

WAP systems are hierarchical systems in terms of their communication protocols. Both the WAP terminal and the WAP gateway comprise a WAP protocol stack, which is implemented by software and comprises certain WAP protocol layers. The WAP protocol layers include, for example, a WAE layer (wireless application environment layer), a WSP layer (wireless session protocol), a WTP layer (wireless transaction protocol), and a WDP layer (wireless datagram protocol). The corresponding WAP protocol layers of the WAP terminal and the WAP gateway communicate with each other to provide reliable data transmission between the WAP terminal and the WAP gateway using a specific bearer.

For a long time, users of computer terminals connected to the internet network have had the opportunity to retrieve multimedia components, such as graphics, text, short video clips and audio clips in electronic format, from a server of the internet network to their computer terminals. With the increase in data transmission rates and the improvement in mobile station attributes, interest in multimedia messaging services in wireless networks has increased. However, no solution for implementing multimedia messaging services has emerged, such as in connection problems with WAP systems.

International patent application WO 98/19438 discloses a solution for implementing a multimedia messaging service in a telecommunications network. The multimedia messaging system disclosed in document WO 98/19438 comprises a multimedia message storage in which multimedia messages addressed to a specific user are stored. The user is provided with the opportunity to communicate the multimedia properties of his terminal to a multimedia messaging system which partially or fully converts the multimedia message according to the properties of the user's terminal. The multimedia messaging system then sends the multimedia message to the user's terminal. In the arrangement presented in document WO 98/19438, attribute information about the user's terminal is sent to the multimedia messaging system at the stage when the user's terminal is notified of an incoming message, wherein the terminal and the multimedia messaging system perform connection set-up signalling (dynamic dialogue) to set up a connection for sending the multimedia component of the multimedia message. However, the properties of the user terminal do not necessarily need to be changed, wherein the transmission of the properties with each set-up of a connection causes unnecessary load on a data network, such as a mobile communication network for multimedia message transmission.

When implementing multimedia messaging services in conjunction with wireless communication networks, new problems arise due to the limited capacity of wireless terminals and wireless channels. For example, a mobile terminal may have limitations in its processing power and/or available memory, while a wireless communication network may have limited transmission bandwidth.

For third generation mobile communication networks, such as WCDMA, a multimedia messaging service has been proposed, which is implemented in a similar manner to the short message service, i.e. basically by pushing messages addressed to a wireless terminal and stored in a specific messaging service center into the wireless terminal immediately when they can continue to the wireless terminal. Problems arise when multimedia messages are sent to wireless terminals. Due to the limited storage capacity of a wireless terminal, such as a mobile station of a cellular network, multimedia messages do not necessarily fit into the available memory of the mobile station. Multimedia messages sent to a mobile terminal may also include components that cannot be processed by the mobile terminal, possibly due to technical limitations of the terminal (such as insufficient processing power, lack of video properties, lack of appropriate software), which unnecessarily waste radio resources when sent to the wireless terminal.

In multimedia messaging services developed for third generation mobile networks, it has been suggested that data transmission between a wireless terminal and a multimedia messaging system be necessary in respect of the properties of the wireless terminal, so that, when transmission of multimedia messages is concerned, it is ensured that the receiving terminal is able to receive and process the multimedia messages, taking into account the user's own special settings, if necessary. The transmission of attributes may be performed at different layers in the protocol stack, such as the application layer and the link layer.

In connection with the process of notifying the attributes, the wireless terminal sends information about the wireless terminal and the multimedia messaging client used therein to the multimedia messaging system. These attributes can be roughly divided into four different groups: 1) hardware attributes, 2) software attributes, 3) attributes of the multimedia service application (user agent) and 4) special multimedia message specific attributes.

Some of the aforementioned attributes include attributes that are invariant and depend primarily on the model and version of the terminal. The properties of some terminals depend on e.g. the application software owned by the terminal. Several such attributes are, for example, software-based decoders supported in the terminal, protocol attributes, etc. These attributes are relatively stable, but may change, for example, when a software update or an accessory is added to the wireless terminal. The attributes of the multimedia application include, for example, attributes of the MMS user media, settings that can be configured by the user, etc. The specific multimedia message specific properties are typically only related to the specific multimedia message and are transmitted with the transmission of the multimedia message in question.

In the development of multimedia messaging services for WAP systems, it has been suggested that a wireless session (WSP session) should be established for each multimedia message, wherein upon establishment of each such session, the attributes of the wireless terminal receiving the multimedia message are sent from the wireless terminal to a multimedia messaging service center. To achieve this, a so-called user agent profile (UAProf) has been developed, which comprises information about the properties of the wireless terminal (CPI, capability and preference information), such as information about the properties (capabilities) and settings (preferences) related to multimedia functions made by the user of the wireless terminal in question. As mentioned earlier in this specification, the properties of the mobile terminal are relatively stable, and thus the configuration unnecessarily increases the load of radio resources.

International patent publication WO 99/56431 proposes a method of handling Wireless Session Protocol (WSP) in which a communication terminal starts a WAP session by sending a request for certain data to a server. The request sent by the communication terminal to the server comprises an identification of the requested data and a terminal identification number previously assigned to the communication terminal by said server. When the server receives said request containing the terminal identification number, it retrieves the user profile information from the associated database memory. The user profile information indicates a data format that the communication terminal is capable of handling, and the server then responds to the request by sending the requested data to the communication terminal in a format defined in the stored user profile information. In this way, the communication terminal does not have to provide the server with information about its data processing attributes for each session established.

It should be noted that the process described in WO 99/56431 operates in the following manner: the data requested by the receiving terminal is transmitted to the terminal in a format that the terminal can process. It indicates, for example, whether the server should store the data to be downloaded in several different formats or whether it can convert the data from one format that is not suitable for a given communication terminal to another format that is suitable for the terminal in question. This approach works well, for example, in the case where some content is provided for download from a given server. Data suitable for download may then be stored in the server, for example, in a limited number of common data formats, or a conversion function may be provided to convert the stored data into any one of a number of common alternate formats. However, in multimedia message services, the server storing the multimedia messages (i.e. the multimedia message service center MMSC) can receive multimedia messages from a wide variety of very wide sources, and the types and formats of the multimedia components contained in those messages can also vary considerably. In other words, the server has no control over the type and format of data (multimedia message) it receives for forwarding. Furthermore, the properties of the terminals that want to receive multimedia messages may be very different. Therefore, it would be both difficult and expensive to compute power and complexity to provide a complex data conversion function that is able to match any possible multimedia component received at the MMSC to the properties of any possible receiving terminal.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for transmitting multimedia messages, in which unnecessary message transmission can be avoided. The method according to the invention is characterized in that the information contained in the user profile comprising attributes about the wireless terminal is used to determine whether a multimedia message comprises any components that the wireless terminal is capable of handling, and if such a component is included in the multimedia message, it is sent to the wireless terminal without the wireless terminal having to explicitly identify the component to the multimedia messaging system. A multimedia messaging system according to the invention is characterized in that the system comprises: means for determining whether the multimedia message includes any components that the wireless terminal is capable of processing, using information about attributes of the wireless terminal included in a user profile; and means for transmitting such a component to the wireless terminal without the wireless terminal explicitly identifying the component to the multimedia messaging system. The server of the multimedia messaging system according to the invention is characterized in that the server comprises: means for determining whether the multimedia message includes any components that the wireless terminal is capable of processing, using information about attributes of the wireless terminal included in the user profile; and means for transmitting such a component to the wireless terminal without the wireless terminal explicitly identifying the component to the multimedia messaging system. Furthermore, the wireless terminal according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises means for sending a request to the multimedia messaging system, said request being used to start the transmission of at least one component of the multimedia message to the wireless terminal, without identifying in said request components that the wireless terminal is able to process.

The invention is based on the idea that information about a wireless terminal is stored in a multimedia messaging system, advantageously in a multimedia messaging service center, and therefore it is not necessary to send attribute information for each message. According to the method of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a maximum time for which the attribute information is valid is set, wherein before sending a message to the wireless terminal, the system determines whether the attribute information is still relevant or whether information about the attributes of the wireless terminal should be updated before sending the message.

By applying the invention considerable advantages can be achieved when compared to prior art methods. When applying the method of the invention it is possible to reduce the data transmission between the wireless terminal and the multimedia messaging system, whereby the resources of the messaging system do not have to be wasted, while at the same time the utilization of the system may be increased. Furthermore, with the arrangement according to the invention it is possible to speed up the transmission of multimedia messages, since it is not always necessary to determine the properties of the wireless terminal.

In the system according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the wireless terminal does not have to request at the application layer the multimedia service center to send multimedia message components that can be processed by the wireless terminal. Thus, based on the attribute information of the receiving wireless terminal stored in the multimedia message transmission system, those components of the multimedia message that the receiving wireless terminal is capable of processing are transmitted to the wireless terminal. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce data transmission between the wireless terminal and the multimedia messaging system.

The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 shows a prior art model of a WAP system,

figure 2 shows the implementation of the method according to the invention in a WAP system,

figure 3 shows the basic components of a wireless terminal implementing the method according to the invention,

figure 4 is a block diagram showing functional modules of a multimedia messaging service center,

FIG. 5a shows the basic structure of a notification message, an

Fig. 5b shows the basic structure of the connection setup message.

The above description of the prior art refers to the WAP system according to fig. 1. In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in fig. 2, the multimedia messaging system is checked in case the wireless terminal MS communicating with the WAP protocol subscribes to the multimedia messaging service from the multimedia messaging service center MMSC. The multimedia messaging service center MMSC is a network element, a server that may be located in, for example, a cellular network or the internet. The multimedia messaging service center MMSC acts in a multimedia messaging system to: a device for storing in its memory a multimedia message addressed to a wireless terminal MS when it is not possible to get in contact with the wireless terminal MS to which the multimedia message in question is addressed. The multimedia message service center MMSC forwards the multimedia message to the wireless terminal MS when it can get in contact with it again. This situation occurs, for example, if the wireless terminal is switched off, or it is out of the coverage area of the wireless telecommunications network. It should be noted that the storage of multimedia messages in the server is absolute. In other words, when multimedia information addressed to a certain terminal is received by the MMSC, the message appears in the memory of the MMSC. The memory may be, for example, Random Access Memory (RAM) such as an MMSC, or some other physical memory device such as a hard disk drive. Thus, even in the case where the message addressed terminal is almost immediately reachable, temporary storage of the multimedia message in the MMSC is considered. In case the server has to store the multimedia message for a long period of time, some limitation may be placed on the maximum time the message can be stored. This may be determined by user options, e.g. of the addressed terminal. This message transfer mechanism is referred to as store-and-forward messaging. Corresponding arrangements are known in connection with short messages in GSM networks, wherein a short message service centre SMSC of the network performs store-and-forward transmission of the short message.

The multimedia messaging service center MMSC communicates with the wireless terminal MS via a WAP gateway 15. The multimedia messaging service center MMSC is advantageously physically located in the same part of the internet network as the WAP gateway 15. Typically, the communication between the multimedia messaging service center MMSC and the WAP gateway 15 is implemented according to the internet protocol (IP protocol). These include, for example, TCP/IP and HTTP 1.1.

When a multimedia message, possibly comprising one or more multimedia components and addressed to a wireless terminal subscribed to a wireless messaging service, arrives at the multimedia messaging service center MMSC, the multimedia messaging service center MMSC stores the multimedia message in its memory and sends a notification message 30 to the wireless terminal to indicate that the multimedia message has been stored. The multimedia component may be, for example, text, images, photographs, audio clips, or video clips in electronic format. A multimedia message may also include other types of multimedia components.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a content type, referred to herein as a Multimedia Message Indication (MMI), is used to implement the notification message 30. MMI is a content type defined by: it allows information to be transmitted in both textual and binary formats in the same content type. Advantageously, both an internet compatible XML (extensible markup language) text representation and a binary format conforming to WAP binary coding are defined for MMI content types. One possible basic structure of an MMI-type notification message 30 is shown in fig. 5a, where the notification message 30 comprises a "general information" field 36, a field 37 (two in the illustration of fig. 5 a) for indicating the properties of the multimedia components contained in the multimedia message, and a field 38 for requesting an update of the properties of the wireless terminal MS.

To implement the method according to the invention, fig. 4 shows in the form of a simplified block diagram a preferred embodiment of a multimedia messaging service center MMSC, which is provided with a first data storage means 56 (cache) in which information about the properties of the wireless terminal MS may be stored. Said first data storage means 56 are advantageously built in a memory area designated in the memory of the multimedia messaging service centre MMSC, which may be of fixed length or of variable length according to the needs at a given time. The information stored in the first data storage means 56 about the properties of the radio terminal MS includes, for example, hardware properties, software properties, properties of the multimedia service application, and possibly user settings of the radio terminal MS.

The operation of the method according to the preferred embodiment of the invention is described in more detail below with reference to the system shown in fig. 2. In case the multimedia message service center MMSC receives a multimedia message, the service center examines the address data of the message to determine the wireless terminal MS to which the message in question is addressed. The address information may be, for example, a telephone number, an IP phone, or a URL (uniform resource locator address). When the terminal intended to receive the message has been determined, the multimedia message service centre MMSC sends a notification message 30 to the wireless terminal MS via the WAP gateway 15 reporting that the multimedia message addressed to the wireless terminal MS has arrived at the multimedia message service centre MMSC.

The notification message 30 is advantageously sent using a so-called connectionless service supported by WAP. In connectionless services, such as the Short Message Service (SMS) known from the GSM system, the transmission of messages to the receiver does not require the establishment of a connection. However, in the transmission of multimedia messages to the radio terminal MS according to the invention, a connection-oriented service is advantageously employed.

The notification message 30 sent by the multimedia message service center MMSC to the wireless terminal MS includes specific information about the properties of the multimedia message in order to make a decision in the wireless terminal about the retrieval of the multimedia message. Advantageously, said notification message 30 comprises information 37 about the size and type of the multimedia message, or the size and type of the components it comprises, stored in the multimedia message service center MMSC. The type is either in the notification message 30 or using a MIME type in text format (such as image/jpeg, text/plain (plain), video/mpeg, audio/wav), or the corresponding binary equivalent defined in WAP. Furthermore, the notification message 30 may comprise information about the importance of the multimedia message, a so-called priority value. Typically, the notification message 30 comprises a URL or URI (Uniform resource indicator) about the sender of the multimedia message and the multimedia message, or some other identifier for multimedia message identification. If the multimedia message comprises more than one multimedia component, the notification message 30 may also comprise separate identifiers of the multimedia components of the multimedia message as well as other said information (type, size, address information, video format, audio format, etc.). The multimedia message 30 also includes a request to update the wireless terminal's attribute information 38 stored in the MMSC, if required.

Advantageously, the attribute information of the wireless terminal MS stored in the multimedia messaging service center MMSC is valid for a certain period of time. Thus, when a multimedia message to be forwarded to the wireless terminal MS arrives at the multimedia messaging service center MMSC, the MMSC advantageously checks whether the attributes relating to the wireless terminal MS in question have already been stored in the memory of the multimedia messaging service center MMSC, preferably before sending the notification message 30. If the attribute information is stored, the MMSC also checks if the attribute information is still valid. This may be done, for example, in such a way that the MMSC supplements the attribute information with information about the time (time stamp) at which the information was stored. In addition, a maximum valid time is defined for the attribute information. The multimedia message service centre MMSC compares the time stamp in the attribute information of the wireless terminal MS in question with the maximum validity time. If the comparison shows that the validity time has not expired, it does not have to request the transmission of the attribute information. If, however, the comparison shows that the attribute information is too old (although the attribute may not have to be changed at all), the multimedia message service centre MMSC requests the wireless terminal MS to update information about its attributes.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the multimedia messaging service centre MMSC deletes outdated information from the first data storage means 56, and it is then impossible to find the attribute information of the wireless terminal MS in question stored in-between. The deletion of the attribute information may also be caused by the storage capacity allocated to the attribute information being full, wherein the oldest information is preferably deleted. In this embodiment, the wireless terminal MS sends the attribute information when the multimedia message service center MMSC has requested it, even if the attribute is not changed at all.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention the multimedia messaging service center MMSC need not delete those attribute information whose timestamp indicates that it has expired. Thus, when the multimedia messaging service center MMSC receives information from the wireless terminal MS, outdated information is overwritten with the new information. If the wireless terminal MS has not sent even though the multimedia messaging service center MMSC has requested the attribute information, the MMSC assumes that the information relating to the wireless terminal in question is still valid. The multimedia messaging service center MMSC therefore preferably sets a new time stamp for the attribute information at the stage when the wireless terminal MS sends the connection setup message 40, as will be described in more detail below in this specification. Thus, in this embodiment, it is possible to further reduce message transmission, particularly if even though the timestamp indicates that the information has expired, the attributes have not actually changed.

For example, it is possible to indicate to the wireless terminal MS which of the above-described embodiments is implemented in the multimedia messaging service center MMSC in such a way that two different requests for updating wireless terminal attribute information are used in the notification information 30.

This can be utilized when informing the wireless terminal of the multimedia message and sending the multimedia message to the wireless terminal MS if the multimedia message service centre MMSC contains stored information about the properties of the wireless terminal MS in question and if the property information is still valid. In this case, the attribute information does not have to be updated, whereby the multimedia message service center MMSC sets up a value, such as the binary value 0, in the field 38 of the notification message corresponding to no update request. However, if a message about the properties of the wireless terminal MS in question is not currently stored in the memory of the multimedia messaging service center MMSC, or the information is invalid, the MMSC requests the wireless terminal MS to send information to the multimedia messaging service center MMSC by setting up a value corresponding to the update request, such as the binary value 1, in field 38. If it is desired that the wireless terminal MS should only send attribute information when it has changed, a value of 2, for example, is set in field 38. It is clear that other methods of transmitting the attribute update request to the radio terminal MS may be employed.

On receiving the notification message 30, the wireless terminal MS first starts to form a connection (WAP WSP CONNECT) with the multimedia messaging service center MMSC if there is no connection between the wireless terminal and the multimedia messaging service center MMSC at that time. Typically, the connection setup is made in such a way that the wireless terminal MS opens a WSP session with the WAP gateway 15 in the same known way as starting a session from WAP and, in turn, the WAP gateway 15 opens a connection, such as an IP, with the multimedia messaging service center MMSC. Information to be used for the WSP session to be opened on the bearer selected by the wireless terminal MS is sent from the wireless terminal MS to the WAP gateway 15 as a bearer indication-value in the WSP HEADER (WSP header) field, which is transmitted in the same known manner as WAP. The transmission of said information takes place during a negotiation phase between the wireless terminal MS and the WAP gateway 15, such as when the WSP session is opened in the connection setup message 40 (fig. 5 b). If an update request is set up in field 38 in the notification message 30, the radio terminal MS adds information about the properties of the radio terminal MS to the connection setup message 40. A Uaprof message that conforms to the WAP specifications may be used as, for example, the connection setup message 40. This information is attached in a header field 41, such as a profile header field or profile-diff header field, of a connection setup message, as defined by the Uaprof specification of WAP. The multimedia messaging service center MMSC is thus able to determine from the message header field that the message contains information about the terminal properties. In some applications it may be desirable to add explicit information to the connection setup message to indicate that the message contains terminal attribute information.

The information 42 required for establishing the session is sent in a connection setup message 40. The multimedia messaging service center MMSC receives the connection set-up message 40 and, if it detects that information about the properties of the wireless terminal MS has been sent in the message, the MMSC sends the information about the properties of the wireless terminal MS included in the message to the first data storage means 56. After the connection has been established, the multimedia messaging service centre MMSC has up-to-date information about the properties of the wireless terminal MS in question in the first data storage means 56. In addition to this attribute information, the first data storage means 56 stores therein information identifying the wireless terminals MS, whereby the multimedia messaging service center MMSC can determine which attribute information is associated with each wireless terminal. It is possible to use for example the international mobile equipment identity IMEI or some other unique identifier as the information identifying the wireless terminal MS.

The multimedia messaging service center MMSC responds to the connection setup message with an acknowledgement message, wherein the wireless terminal MS is informed whether it is possible to set up the connection. The connection setup may fail in situations such as when the user of the terminal addressed as the receiver has no user contract with the multimedia messaging service, the user connection is closed due to an unpaid bill, etc.

When the connection is established, it is possible to start the transmission of the multimedia message from the multimedia message service center MMSC to the wireless terminal MS. In order to optimize the radio resources, the wireless terminal MS may select the most appropriate bearer for the transmission of the respective multimedia component.

In the system according to the preferred embodiment of the invention the radio terminal MS makes a bearer selection decision based on some kind of information sent in said notification message 30. Such information typically includes information about the size and type of the multimedia message, or the multimedia components it contains. The selection of the bearer may be based on only one attribute of the multimedia message or on a plurality of multimedia components comprised therein. Thus, a bearer can be selected for each multimedia component contained in the multimedia message, e.g. based only on the size of the multimedia component. Furthermore, when making the decision, it is possible to take into account certain user-configurable rules, the priority of the multimedia message and certain properties of the wireless terminal MS, such as its free memory and its ability to handle different types of multimedia components and to render them on the display screen. Such processing capability depends on the hardware properties of the wireless terminal MS, and programs installed in the wireless terminal MS, among other factors. Multimedia messages can be retrieved from the multimedia message service center MMSC by means of GET methods, such as specified in WAP. In this method, the wireless terminal sends a GET request in binary format to the WAP gateway 15 to start transmitting the multimedia message components. The gateway 15 converts the GET request 31 into an internet protocol compliant GET request, such as GET request 32, and sends it to the multimedia messaging service center MMSC.

In this system according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the wireless terminal MS does not have to separately request the multimedia message service center MMSC at the application layer to send those multimedia message components that the wireless terminal MS is able to handle. These components do not therefore have to be identified in the GET request 31, but the multimedia message service centre MMSC chooses to transmit those multimedia message components defined in the attribute information of the receiving wireless terminal MS, which are stored in the first data storage means 56. Thus, in the case where the multimedia message comprises only components that the wireless terminal MS is able to handle, the GET request 31 does not necessarily comprise information about these components. Accordingly, in the case where the multimedia message comprises components that the wireless terminal MS is not able to handle, the following steps are performed in the system according to the preferred embodiment of the invention: if the wireless terminal MS or its user decides to receive components that the wireless terminal MS cannot directly process, the multimedia application of the wireless terminal MS requests the multimedia messaging service center MMSC to send those components. Therefore, these components are identified in the GET request 31. Such an operation may be required, for example, in the case where a user connects the wireless terminal MS to a computer, such as a laptop computer (not shown), which is capable of handling multimedia message components that the wireless terminal MS cannot handle but is only sent to the laptop computer as described.

On the other hand, if the user of the wireless terminal MS does not wish to receive all the components that the wireless terminal MS is able to handle, the user may for example change the attribute information of the wireless terminal MS in a corresponding manner, wherein said attribute information is sent to the multimedia messaging service center MMSC, as mentioned earlier in this description.

The multimedia message service center MMSC examines the contents of the converted GET request 32 it receives and begins the transmission of the multimedia message components. The multimedia message service center MMSC compares the components contained in the multimedia message to be sent to the wireless terminal MS with the attribute information of the wireless terminal MS stored in the first data storage means 56 in the multimedia message service center MMSC. Based on the comparison, the multimedia messaging service center MMSC selects which components are to be transmitted that are supported by the wireless terminal MS in question. In addition, the multimedia message service center MMSC checks whether the wireless terminal has requested that the MMSC also send other possible components of the multimedia message. If this is the case, the MMSC also chooses to send these components to the wireless terminal MS. It is then possible to start the transmission (33) of the selected components of the multimedia message to the WAP gateway 15 over the IP connection, which sends (34) the component/components to the wireless terminal MS over a bearer selected by the wireless terminal MS for the WSP session in question using either a connection-oriented service or a connectionless service.

If the multimedia message to be transmitted comprises more than one type of multimedia component, the wireless terminal MS will generally select different bearers for transmitting the different types of multimedia components in the manner described before. Thus, first those multimedia components are transmitted for which the wireless terminal MS has selected the bearer used in the ongoing WSP session for the multimedia component. The change of bearer may be performed by arranging the WSP session in a suspended state by an S-Suspend private primitive (S-Suspend private) and restarting it by an S-restart primitive (S-resume). Thus, the bearers used in the WSP session in question may also be changed. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the components of the multimedia message selected for transmission are matched to the bearer selected by the wireless terminal, such as in an MMSC. Thus, a proper correspondence is achieved between the multimedia components to be transmitted and the bearers used for their transmission.

Thus, with the method according to the invention, it is not necessary to send information about the properties of the wireless terminal MS in the transmission of each multimedia message, and it is therefore possible to reduce the message transmission on the radio channel compared to the methods of the prior art.

As mentioned earlier in this description, it is possible to define a fixed memory area for the first data storage means 56 in the multimedia messaging service center MMSC, or to extend the memory area when needed. If a fixed memory area is used, it may happen that not all the required attribute information of the wireless communication station fits into the first data storage means 56. Let us assume that the multimedia messaging service center MMSC receives multimedia information addressed to such a wireless terminal whose attribute information is not stored in the first data storage means 56. In this case, it is possible to operate in, for example, the following manner: the first data storage 56 searches the first data storage 56 for attribute information that has expired. After the MMSC has received the attribute information from the wireless terminal, the outdated information is overwritten with the information. If there is no attribute information that has expired, then the new attribute information is advantageously recorded on the attribute information whose time stamp is substantially the oldest.

Obviously, in practical applications, the memory locations allocated to the first data storage device 56 cannot be expanded indefinitely. The procedures mentioned above with respect to fixed memory may also need to be associated with an expandable memory area. This situation may occur in case the popularity of WAP communication has increased significantly, wherein multimedia messages may be to be sent to a large group of wireless terminals MS.

Even though it has been explained before that the wireless terminal MS transmits the attribute information only when the multimedia message service center MMSC requests it to transmit, it is apparent that the wireless terminal MS can transmit the attribute information even when the multimedia message service center MMSC does not request it to transmit. This may be required, for example, in the case where the wireless terminal MS detects that its properties have changed since the previous transmission of the property information to the multimedia messaging service center MMSC. The attributes may change, for example, with an upgrade in a software version or a change in hardware. In such a case, the attribute information is also preferably updated with the connection setup message 40.

The invention can also be implemented without WAP technology, in which case the implementation depends on the network in question. For example, the communication between the internet server implementing the function of the multimedia messaging service center MMSC and the wireless terminal MS can take place directly by packet switching using the IP protocol. The wireless tunnel can be traversed using IP protocols over a packet network GPRS, such as a GSM network. In this case the element connecting the radio network and the internet is the gateway GPRS support node GGSN and not the WAP gateway. In this case the selection of bearers according to the invention can be made between GPRS supported bearers including, for example, GPRS-SMS, GPRS data calls and other bearers specified by GPRS. Corresponding solutions are also possible in third generation networks.

Although in the above example a connection oriented service is used in the transmission of multimedia components to the radio terminal MS, it is clear that the invention can also be applied in the case of a connectionless transmission of multimedia components. Also in such an implementation the multimedia messaging service centre MMSC may examine the attribute information of the wireless terminals in the first data storage means 56 and select for transmission those components which the wireless terminal MS is capable of handling. If the multimedia message contains components that the wireless terminal MS cannot handle, the multimedia message service center MMSC may advantageously send information about these components to the wireless terminal, which the wireless terminal MS may independently request to send.

The invention can also be implemented by a program by making necessary modifications to the program code in the wireless terminal MS and in the multimedia messaging service center MMSC. The computer program product in question may be recorded on a data carrier, such as a memory, which may be transferred and executed in a microprocessor, such as a computer or a mobile phone. The procedural changes necessary to be made following the changes implemented in the MMI data structure are made in the WAP gateway interface of the multimedia messaging service center MMSC.

Fig. 3 shows the basic functional parts of a wireless terminal to which the method of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied. The wireless terminal MS comprises a processor MPU and components functionally connected to the processor: memory MEM, user interface UI and radio part RF. The processor MPU is preferably a microprocessor, microcontroller or digital signal processing unit (DSP, digital signal processor). The memory MEM preferably comprises a non-volatile memory (ROM, read-only memory) and a Random Access Memory (RAM). The radio part RF is able to transmit radio frequency signals, such as messages according to the WAP protocol, and receive radio frequency signals, such as multimedia messages, through the antenna ANT. The user interface UI preferably provides the user with a display and a keyboard in order to make it possible to operate the wireless terminal.

The software of the radio terminal MS, and also the software related to the implementation of the multimedia messaging service, is typically stored in a read only memory. According to this software, the processor MPU controls the functions of the wireless terminal MS, such as the utilization of the radio part RF, the display of messages on the user interface UI and the reading of inputs received from the user interface UI. Software, which can be implemented in various ways, preferably includes program blocks that are responsible for implementing different processes. These procedures include, for example, displaying multimedia components contained in the multimedia message to the user, and procedures related to transmission and reception of the message, such as checking update request information and preparing transmission attribute information. In the wireless terminal MS the multimedia messaging service is implemented by a processor MPU together with the software of the wireless terminal and the memory MEM. The processor MPU uses a random access memory as a temporary buffer memory when processing information.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the functional blocks of a multimedia messaging service center MMSC in connection with an implementation of the present invention. The multimedia message service centre MMSC comprises a WAP gateway interface 51 through which the multimedia message service centre MMSC communicates with the WAP gateway 15. Communication with other networks than the WAP system takes place via the external interface 52, and communication with other multimedia messaging service centres takes place via the MMSC interface 53. The first data storage 56 is a database in which information on the attribute of the wireless terminal is recorded and stored. The second data storage 54 is a database in which multimedia messages are recorded and stored. The control unit 55 controls the functions of the multimedia messaging service center MMSC. Furthermore, the multimedia messaging service center MMSC typically comprises some modules related to authentication and maintenance of the multimedia messaging service center MMSC, but are not shown in fig. 4 for clarity.

Multimedia messages addressed to the wireless terminal MS arrive at the multimedia messaging service center MMSC via one of its interfaces (51-53) and they are stored in the second data storage means 54. The notification message 30 sent to the wireless terminal MS is preferably generated in the WAP gateway interface 51 under the command of the control unit 55. The transmission of the notification message 30 takes place via the WAP gateway interface 51. Likewise, those multimedia messages retrieved by the wireless terminal MS from the multimedia message service center MMSC or the multimedia components contained in said multimedia messages are sent in sequence to the wireless terminal MS via the same path.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited solely to the above-described embodiments, but it can be modified within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (35)

1. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving and storing at a server a multimedia message addressed to a wireless terminal;

retrieving, at the server, information about attributes of a wireless terminal from a user profile for the wireless terminal stored in the server;

identifying at least one component of the multimedia message that can be processed by the wireless terminal based on the retrieved attributes of the wireless terminal; and

transmitting said at least one component to said wireless terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one component of the multimedia message is transmitted without receiving from the wireless terminal an identification of the at least one component that the wireless terminal is capable of processing.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one component of the multimedia message is sent to the wireless terminal without receiving a transmission request from the wireless terminal.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information about the properties of the wireless terminal comprises information about the available memory of the wireless terminal.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information about the properties of the wireless terminal comprises information about the capability of the wireless terminal to process certain types of components.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the capability of the wireless terminal to process a certain type of component is defined by at least one of the following attributes: a hardware attribute of the wireless terminal; software properties of the wireless terminal; software attributes of an accessory device attached to the wireless terminal.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a notification message is transmitted to the wireless terminal to indicate receipt of the multimedia message at the server, wherein the notification message includes an attribute information update request, and wherein

Information is received and stored to update the attributes of the wireless terminal.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a maximum validity time is defined for the information about the attributes of the wireless terminal stored in the server.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein it is determined whether a maximum validity time defined for the information about the wireless terminal's attributes stored in the server has been exceeded, and in case of this attribute information update request is included in the notification message.

10. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wireless terminal is a WAP terminal.

11. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the server is a multimedia messaging service centre.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein a Uaprof information transfer message is received regarding attributes of the wireless terminal.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the Uaprof messaging message is formed in compliance with WAP specifications.

14. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, in order to transmit a component of a multimedia message which cannot be processed by the wireless terminal in accordance with the information contained in the user profile about the properties of the wireless terminal, a transmission request is received from the wireless terminal identifying the component.

15. A multimedia message server, comprising:

receiving means for receiving a multimedia message addressed to a wireless terminal;

a data storage for storing a user profile containing information about at least one attribute of the wireless terminal;

control means for

Retrieving information about attributes of the wireless terminal stored in the data store;

determining at least one component of the multimedia message that can be processed by the wireless terminal; and

transmitting means for transmitting the at least one component to the wireless terminal.

16. The server according to claim 15, wherein the server is configured for transmitting at least one component of the multimedia message to the wireless terminal without receiving from the wireless terminal an identification of the at least one component that the wireless terminal is capable of processing.

17. The server according to claim 15, wherein the server is configured for transmitting at least one component of the multimedia message without receiving a transmission request from the wireless terminal.

18. A server, according to any one of claims 15, 16 and 17, wherein said information regarding the properties of said wireless terminal includes information regarding the available memory of said wireless terminal.

19. A server, according to any one of claims 15, 16 and 17, wherein said information regarding the properties of said wireless terminal includes information regarding the ability of said wireless terminal to process certain types of components.

20. The server according to claim 19, wherein the capability of the wireless terminal to process certain types of components is defined by at least one of the following attributes: a hardware attribute of the wireless terminal; software properties of the wireless terminal; software attributes of an accessory device attached to the wireless terminal.

21. The server according to claim 15, wherein the server is configured to send a notification message to the wireless terminal to indicate that the multimedia message is received at the server, wherein an attribute information update request is included in the notification message, and wherein the receiving means is configured to receive and store information from the wireless terminal to update the attribute of the wireless terminal.

22. The server according to claim 15, wherein a maximum validity time is defined for the information about the properties of the wireless terminal stored in the server.

23. The server according to claim 22, wherein the server is configured for determining whether a maximum validity time defined for information about the properties of the wireless terminal stored in the server has been exceeded, and wherein the property information update request with notification message is configured to include the property information update request in the notification message.

24. The server according to claim 15, wherein the wireless terminal is a WAP terminal.

25. The server according to claim 15, wherein the server is a multimedia messaging service center.

26. The server of claim 24, wherein the wireless terminal is configured for transmitting attributes about the wireless terminal in a Uaprof information transfer message.

27. The server according to claim 24, wherein the wireless terminal is configured for forming a Uaprof messaging message that conforms to the WAP specifications.

28. A wireless terminal, comprising:

receiving means for receiving a notification message to indicate receipt of a multimedia message at the server,

a transmitter for transmitting a request to the server, the request being used to initiate transmission of at least one component of the multimedia message from the server to the wireless terminal without identifying in the request components that the wireless terminal is capable of processing.

29. The wireless terminal of claim 28, wherein said information about the attributes of the wireless terminal is stored in the server and includes information about available memory of the wireless terminal.

30. The wireless terminal of claim 28, wherein said information about the properties of the wireless terminal is stored in the server and includes information about the capability of the wireless terminal to process certain types of components.

31. The wireless terminal of claim 30, wherein the capability of the wireless terminal to process certain types of components is defined by at least one of the following attributes: a hardware attribute of the wireless terminal; software properties of the wireless terminal; software attributes of an accessory device attached to the wireless terminal.

32. The wireless terminal of claim 28, wherein the wireless terminal is configured to send information about the attributes of the wireless terminal to the server in response to an attribute information update request in the notification message.

33. A wireless terminal according to claim 28, characterized in that the wireless terminal is a WAP terminal.

34. The wireless terminal of claim 33, wherein the request includes information to retrieve Uaprof information.

35. The wireless terminal of claim 29, wherein the wireless terminal is configured for forming a Uaprof information transfer message that conforms to the WAP specifications.