`
`a2) United States Patent
`US 7,181,231 B2
`(0) Patent No.:
`Feb. 20, 2007
`(45) Date of Patent:
`Le Bodic et al.
`
`(54) SYSTEM OF INTEROPERABILITY
`BETWEEN MMS MESSAGES AND SMS/EMS
`MESSAGES AND AN ASSOCIATED
`EXCHANGE METHOD
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Gwenaél Le Bodic, Puteaux (FR);
`Jean-Luc Ricoeur, Paris (FR)
`
`(73) Assignee: TCL Communication Technology
`Holdings Limited, Hong Kong (HK)
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 396 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 10/218,580
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Aug. 15, 2002
`
`(65)
`
`(30)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2003/0040300 Al
`
`Feb. 27, 2003
`
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`6,947,738 B2*
`9/2005 Skogetal.
`.....0.... 455/426.1
`2002/0019243 Al*
`2/2002 Zhang etal.
`.......0... 455/466
`
`2002/0077134 Al*
`6/2002 Mizell etal. 0... 455/466
`
`2002/0169883 Al* 11/2002 Bright et al. 0... 709/230
`
`......0... 455/466
`2003/0003930 Al*
`1/2003 Allison et al.
`
`6/2005 Lev etal. we. 455/566
`2005/0143136 Al*
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`WO
`
`WO 99/66746 A2
`
`12/1999
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`3 GPP TS 23.140 V 4.3.0 releash 4, Universal Mobile Telecommu-
`nications System (UMTS) Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS),
`Functional Description, Jul. 24, 2001, pp. 55-68, XP002202092.
`3 GPP TS 23.040 V 3.5.0, Universal Mobile Telecommunications
`System (UMTS), Technical Realization of the Short Message Ser-
`vice (SMS) Aug. 22, 2000, pp. 1-127, XP002202093.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner—Fan Tsang
`Assistant Examiner—M S A Elahee
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
`LLP
`
`Aug. 27, 2001
`
`(FR) vce ccceecneeeseseneees 01 11131
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`H04Q 7/20
`(52) U.S. Ch oes 455/466; 455/426.1; 370/316;
`370/349; 709/230
`(58) Field of Classification Search ................ 455/466,
`455/412.1, 566, 426.1; 709/230, 247; 370/352,
`370/316, 349; 379/114.26
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`A message system is associated with a message domain
`which includes a mobile radio network, a message server
`conforming to a first standard referred to as the Enhanced
`Message Service and/or Short Message Service standard
`and/or a message server conforming to a second standard
`referred to as the Multimedia Message Service standard. The
`message domain further includes a message gateway which
`includes a database including a table of message profiles of
`terminals belonging to the message domain andis able to
`convert a message sent in accordance with the first standard
`into a message in accordance with the second standard.
`
`6,295,292 Bl *
`
`9/2001 Voit et al... 370/352
`
`2 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 1
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 1
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 20, 2007
`
`Sheet 1 of6
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`
`message
`
`
`
`MMS Headers
`
`Message
`
`Presentation
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 2
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 2
`
`
`
`Sheet 2 of6
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 20, 2007
`
`FIG_3
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 3
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 3
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 20, 2007
`
`Sheet 3 of6
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`FIG_4
`
`
` Message
`gateway
` server
`
`POP3
`server
`
`Internal server
`
`Profile
`table
`
`
`
`PROFILE TABLE
`
`He Id
`
`Message
`
`Message
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`EMS(RelS)|SC SMS
`
`
`
`
`
`eeco
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 4
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 4
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 20, 2007
`
`Sheet 4 of6
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`FIG_6b
`
`TP Header
`
`TP-DA = Gateway
`Gateway
`
`
`
`
`[aer
`gateway Lee
`
`Initiator
`gateway
`
`Destination
`
`J
`Di
`
`J
`02
`
`Ex. 1025 - Page 5
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 5
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 20, 2007
`
`Sheet 5 of6
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`FIG_8a
`
`Initiator
`gateway (C}
`
`Destination
`gateway
`
`IL
`
`TPDU
`
`
`address
`
`MMSdestination
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 6
`
`||| |
`
`| |
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 6
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 20, 2007
`
`Sheet 6 of6
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`Destination
`
`gateway (C)}
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 7
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 7
`
`
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`1
`SYSTEM OF INTEROPERABILITY
`BETWEEN MMS MESSAGES AND SMS/EMS
`MESSAGES AND AN ASSOCIATED
`EXCHANGE METHOD
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is based on French Patent Application
`No. 01 11 131 filed Aug. 27, 2001, the disclosure of which
`is hereby incorporated by reference thereto in its entirety,
`and the priority of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C.
`§ 119.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention relates to messages sent and/or
`received by mobile radio terminals such as mobile tele-
`phones.
`2. Description of the Prior Art
`The exchange of Short Message Service (SMS) short
`messages has grown considerably in recent times. Conven-
`tionally, an SMS comprises a transport protocol data unit
`(TPDU), shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1.
`The TPDU includes a transport protocol (TP) header
`associated with the transport protocol used and TP userdata.
`The TP header contains transmission information such as the
`
`destination address (TP-DA), which can be a telephone
`numberor an electronic address, for example, the identifi-
`cation of the transport protocol used, which can bea file,
`hypertext, radio or other transport protocol, the length of the
`data of the message (TP-UDL), and other informationrelat-
`ing to the routing of the message, such as the time, the
`presence of a header in the data, etc. Someof this informa-
`tion is mandatory and someis optional. The SMS message
`data (TP User Data) includes a user data header (TP-UDH)
`followed by the messageitself, referred to as the user data
`(TP-UD).
`Asinitially developed, short messages includedonlytext,
`without any multimedia data such as music orpictures, for
`example, and did not contain a great deal of information.
`Accordingly, a single data unit (TPDU) wasable to transport
`the information to be transmitted. However, the develop-
`ment of Enhanced Message Service (EMS) short messages
`has recently expanded and has led to the issuing of a
`recommendation on this subject in the form of the SMS
`standard 3GPP TS 23.040. An enhanced message can con-
`tain much more information, which generally makes it
`essential to concatenate data units (TPDU)to transmit EMS
`via a mobile radio network.
`
`In an EMS message, the data header (TP-UDH)includes
`an indication of the length of the header (UDHL)and atleast
`one information element (IEI) followed by the data of the
`message (User Data). The information elements JE can
`contain multimedia data to be associated with the EMS
`
`2
`different from those of SMS and EMS messages, and are
`standardized in 3GPP Recommendation TS 23.140. MMS
`
`messages have a structure defined by the IETF Gn RFC
`2045) consisting in a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
`(MIME)file format, with a header and a message bodythat
`can contain pictures, music,
`text and a presentation of
`graphical elements on the screen as well as temporal syn-
`chronization of some elements. An MMS message can
`include much denser multimedia data than an EMS message
`and provide richer multimedia presentations, of the type
`available on computers, for example. MMS messages are
`generally transmitted in accordance with the wireless appli-
`cation protocol (WAP).
`The exchange of MMS messages presupposes the pres-
`ence in the mobile radio network of a particular server
`dedicated to MMS messages which is separate from the
`server dedicated to SMS and EMS messages. Furthermore,
`the sending and/or receiving of MMS messagesby a termi-
`nal is conditionalonthe installation of particular application
`software necessitating the allocation of high memory and
`processing capacities. Low-cost terminals and terminals of
`an older generation cannot support an application of this
`kind, although they can exchange SMS and EMS messages.
`The use of MMS messages is therefore restricted to
`terminals which are capable of supporting this kind of
`application, which significantly reduces the interest
`in
`exchanging such messages and is retarding the growth of
`this new type of message. Moreover, some terminals incor-
`porate the MMSapplication but reject the EMSapplication,
`although they retain the possibility of exchanging SMS.
`Furthermore, different versions of EMS messages have
`already been developed, later ones generally being compat-
`ible with earlier ones. Nevertheless, sending an EMS mes-
`sage from a terminal integrating a new version (for example
`release 5) to a terminal having only the old version (for
`example release 4) can lead to defective display of the
`content of the message.
`An objective of the invention is therefore to address the
`problem of interworking between the MMS message system
`and the SMS/EMS message system, as well as between
`different versions of the EMS message system, by proposing
`to adapt the content of messages transmitted to suit the
`reception possibilities of the terminal to which the message
`is addressed.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`To be more specific, the invention provides a method of
`exchanging messages betweena first mobile terminal which
`is part of a first message domain and at least one second
`mobile terminal which is part of a second message domain,
`each domain including at least one mobile radio network,
`one message server conformingto a first standard, referred
`to as the enhanced message service/short message service
`standard, and/or one message server conforming to a second
`standard, referred to as the multimedia message service
`enhanced message. Each information element JE contains an
`standard, which method includes the following steps:
`identification field (EI) followed by a field (EDL)indicat-
`initiation of a message conforming to the first standard
`ing the length of the element followed by the data of the
`60 fromafirst terminal to at least one second terminal not
`element (IED). Accordingly, the text (User Data) of the EMS
`message contains calls to the various IE defined in the
`header to be integrated into the data of the messagetrans-
`mitted.
`
`
`
`A new type of message has recently been developed,
`known as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages.
`MMSmessages, which are shown diagrammatically in FIG.
`2, have a transmission protocol and a structure completely
`
`65
`
`compatible with thefirst standard to whichtheinitiated
`message conforms;
`transmission of the message by the message server con-
`forming to the first standard to a message gateway
`including a database comprising a table of message
`profiles of terminals belonging to a message domain
`with which the gateway is associated;
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 8
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 8
`
`
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`3
`conversion by the message gateway ofthe initiated mes-
`sage conforming to the first standard into a message
`conforming to the second standard supported by the
`destination terminal;
`transmission of the converted message conforming to the
`second standard by the message gateway to the mes-
`sage server conforming to the second standard; and
`delivery of the message conforming to the second stan-
`dard by the server conforming to the second standard to
`the destination terminal.
`In a first embodiment of the invention an initiated mes-
`sage conforming to the first standard is converted into a
`message conforming to a second standard by the message
`gateway of the second domain of the destination terminal
`and the gateway determines the message standard or stan-
`dards supported by the destination terminallisted in its table
`of message profiles.
`In a second embodiment of the invention an initiated
`message conformingto thefirst standard is converted into a
`message according to the second standard by the message
`gatewayof the first domain of the terminal which initiated
`the message, the message conforming to the first standard
`including the address of the gateway in a header and
`including an information element indicating that data con-
`forming to the second standard is includedin the data of the
`message conforming to the first standard, the conversion of
`the message including extraction of the data conforming to
`the second standard.
`
`Tn one application of the invention the conversion is from
`a message conformingto a first version of the first standard
`to a message conforming to a second version of the first
`standard.
`According to one feature of the invention the table of
`profiles contained in the message gateway of a message
`domain is updated by sending from a terminal listed in the
`table to the message gateway an update short message
`including an information element containing the message
`profile or profiles of the terminal.
`In a first embodimentof the inventionthetable ofprofiles
`is updated automatically by the terminal at the time of a
`change of its message processing capacities.
`In a second embodiment of the invention the table of
`
`profiles is updated at the commandofa user of the terminal.
`In one application of the invention the message domains
`of the terminal initiating the message and the terminal to
`which the message is addressed are one and the same.
`The present invention also provides a message system
`associated with a message domain which includes a mobile
`radio network, a message server conforming to a first
`standard referred to as the Enhanced Message Service and/or
`Short Message Service standard and/or a message server
`conforming to a second standard referred to as the Multi-
`media Message Service standard, and a message gateway
`which includes a database including a table of message
`profiles of terminals belonging to the message domain and
`is able to convert a message sent in accordance withthe first
`standard into a message in accordance with the second
`standard.
`According to one feature of the invention the message
`gateway connects the message server conformingtothefirst
`standard and the message server conforming to the second
`standard of the same domain.
`According to another feature of the invention the message
`gateway of a first domain is connected to the message
`gateway of a second domain.
`The invention defines a Short Message Service short
`message initiated by a mobile radio terminal and containing
`
`4
`user data including a header including information elements
`and a data text, wherein each information element includes
`an identification field followed by a field indicating the
`length of the data of the information element followed by the
`data of the information element and the header includes a
`
`profile information element whose identifier is associated
`with the updating of a message profile and whose data
`indicates the messagestandard or standards supported by the
`terminal which initiated the message.
`The invention also defines an Enhanced Message Service
`enhanced messageinitiated by a mobile radio terminal and
`including user data including a headerincluding information
`elements and a data text, wherein each information element
`includesan identification field followed by a field indicating
`the length of the data of the information element followed by
`the data of the element and the header includes a Multimedia
`
`Message Service information element whose identifier indi-
`cates the presence of Multimedia Message Service informa-
`tion in the data of the message whose data indicates the
`length of the Multimedia Message Service information,
`which includes at least one Multimedia Message Service
`message header.
`The features and advantages of the present invention will
`be understoodbetterafter reading the following description,
`which is given by way of illustrative and non-limiting
`example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1, already described, shows diagrammatically the
`structure and parameters of an SMS/EMSmessage.
`FIG. 2, already described, shows diagrammatically the
`structure of an MMS message.
`FIG. 3 shows diagrammatically a message system asso-
`ciated with a given mobile radio network.
`FIG. 4 shows diagrammatically a message gateway
`according to the invention.
`FIG. 5 is an example ofa table of profiles managed by a
`message gateway according to the invention.
`FIG. 6a shows diagrammatically a profile indication
`SMS.
`
`FIG. 66 shows diagrammatically the path taken by a
`message corresponding to a message profile update.
`FIG. 7 shows diagrammatically all of the paths that a
`message could take.
`FIG. 8a shows diagrammatically the path taken by a
`message corresponding to direct SMS/EMS to MMSsend-
`ing.
`FIG. 85 shows diagrammatically an EMSsentto a ter-
`minal able to receive only MMS messages.
`FIG. 9 shows diagrammatically the path taken by a
`message corresponding to indirect SMS/EMSto MMSsend-
`ing.
`FIG. 10 shows diagrammatically the path taken by a
`message corresponding to direct MMS to SMS/EMSsend-
`ing.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
`
`10
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`Referring to FIG. 3, mobile terminals A and B send and
`receive messages via a mobile radio network. The messages
`can be SMS or EMS messages, MMS messages, electronic
`messages (e-mail), or other messages. The mobile radio
`networktransfers the messages from the sending terminalto
`the message server concerned. As a general rule, each
`mobile radio network has its own SMSserver, which is in
`
`65
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 9
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 9
`
`
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`5
`contact with the SMSservers of other networks and with its
`own MMSrelay server, which is generally connected to a
`WAPconnection gateway and is in contact with the MMS
`relay servers of other networks. On the other hand, there is
`no direct connection between the SMSserver and the MMS
`server of the same network.
`According to one essential feature of the invention, the
`message system of the network includes, over and above the
`dedicated SMS, MMSandotherservers, a message gateway
`connected to said SMS and MMSservers, and possibly other
`servers.
`
`The message gateway, which is shown diagrammatically
`in FIG. 4, manages interworking between different message
`systems, for example, although not exclusively, the SMS/
`EMS and MMS message systems. This kind of gateway
`includeslinks to a plurality of message servers conforming
`to different standards, for example an MMSserver, an SMS
`server, a POP3 (Post Office Protocol) server, an IMAP
`(Internet Message Access Protocol) server, an Internet server
`or any other server.
`The function of the message gateway is to convert mes-
`sages exchangedin its domain from onestandard to another,
`as and when required and as a function of the type of
`message sent and the reception capacities of the destination
`terminal. The expression “message domain”refers to all of
`the entities needed to provide a message service, 1.e. at least
`one network,at least one message server (SMS and/or MMS
`server), and at least one message gateway.
`In particular, the message gateway according to the inven-
`tion contains a database comprising a table of profiles of
`terminals accessing the domain concerned. FIG. 5 shows
`one example of this kind of table. Each terminalis listed and
`its messageprofile specified and a given message server is
`associated with each profile.
`Thus the terminal aaa supports only SMSshort messages
`either because it is a low-cost terminal or one of an older
`
`generation or because the user of the terminal prefers to
`receive only that type of message. Any message sent to the
`terminal aaa will necessarily be routed to the SMS server
`after the message gateway has converted it to the SMS
`format if this was not its original format.
`Similarly, the terminal ddd has application software only
`for exchanging MMS. Anymessagesentto this terminal ddd
`will necessarily be routed to the MMSserver, after the
`message gateway has convertedit to that format if it was not
`its original format. On the other hand, the terminal ccc can
`interpret MMS messages or EMS messages conforming to
`the “release 5” standard, whereas the terminal bbb can
`receive only “release 4” standard EMS messages, which
`may oblige the message gateway to convert a “release 5”
`standard EMS messagebefore transferring it to the terminal
`bbb.
`
`Other configurations for exchanging different types of
`messages can be envisaged, depending on the intended
`applications or the development of new message standards.
`The message profile assigned to each terminal of a
`message domainin the profile table of the message gateway
`can be defined in various ways. In particular, the profile can
`be:
`
`(1) predefined by the messageservice providerat the time
`of subscribing to said service, or
`(2) updated at the explicit request of the user, or
`(3) fixed automatically by the mobile terminal itself on
`detecting a change in the message processing capacity
`of the terminal.
`Thelatter two update modescan be effected by sending an
`SMSto the message gateway, for example. To this end, as
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`6
`shown in FIGS. 6a and 64, the SMS sent includes in its
`TP-DA the address of the gateway and advantageously
`contains in its data field a specific information element (IE)
`containing the message profile.
`The terminal A sends the profile update SMS as a con-
`ventional SMS routed by the SMSserverto the destination
`address,
`i.e.
`the message gateway. The latter is able to
`interpret an SMSofthis kind andto update its profile data
`table appropriately by extracting from the SMS the param-
`eter of the data field of the “profile” information element.
`The terminal A can sendthe profile update SMS message in
`a mannerthat is transparent for the user, or the message can
`be sent intentionally by said user, if his mobile equipment
`allows this. For example, a user whose terminal is techni-
`cally able to recetve MMScan decide to receive only SMS,
`or EMSif his terminalis able to, during a given period, for
`example because of roaming costs whentraveling abroad, or
`for any other reason.
`Several message exchange scenarios are describedbriefly
`hereinafter without prejudging their importance or their
`frequency of occurrence. FIG. 7 shows diagrammatically all
`the paths that any message can take. A terminal A is the
`initiator of a message in a first message domain D, com-
`prising a mobile radio network X and including a message
`gateway and at least one SMSserver and one MMSserver.
`A terminal B to which the message is addressed is part of
`another message domain D., comprising a mobile radio
`network Y and including a message gateway andat least one
`SMSserver and one MMSserver. According to the inven-
`tion, all messages entering a message domain, regardless of
`the message type, are received by the message gateway,
`which routes each message to the appropriate server of the
`destination domain.
`
`It is to be understood that the domains D, and D, and the
`networks X and Y can be one and the same. Note, however,
`that the same message domain can contain a plurality of
`mobile radio networks, depending on the administration of
`the message system in question.
`Consider first FIG. 8a,
`in which a terminal A is the
`initiator of an EMS message to a destination terminal B
`which supports only MMS messages,
`terminal A being
`aware of this limitation of the terminal B.
`
`The terminalA initiating the EMS message knowsthatits
`destination is a terminal which supports only the MMS
`standard, and therefore includes the MMSaddress of this
`destination in its EMS message, as shown in FIG.88.
`The EMS message sent then has the following features.
`On the one hand, the destination address (TP-DA) of the
`header (TP Header) of the EMSis the address of the message
`gateway of the message domain of the messageinitiator. On
`the other hand, the EMS message contains an information
`element in the user header (TP-UDH) indicating that the
`data of said message (TP-DU) contains MMSinformation,
`namely the address of the destination terminal. Accordingly,
`the message gateway of the domain of the terminal A
`initiating the message receives the EMS message, extracts
`the MSS address of the destination terminal B, and converts
`(C) the EMS message into a MIME format file message
`which can be interpreted by the destination terminal B, for
`example, by converting a bit map IE of the EMS message
`corresponding to picturesinto gif or jpg files associated with
`the MMS message, or by converting a music IE of the EMS
`message into WAV files associated with the MMS message.
`Consider now FIG.9 in which a terminal A is the initiator
`
`of an EMS message to a destination terminal B which
`supports only MMS messages, terminal A being unaware of
`this limitation of terminal B.
`
`AppleInc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 10
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 10
`
`
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`7
`The terminal A initiating the message sends it with no
`special precautions to the SMSserverof its message domain
`D1 which transmits it to the destination domain D, of the
`terminal B. Incoming messages are systematically received
`by the message gateway, which consults its profile table. If
`the profile of the destination terminal B had been ‘EMS’,
`then the message would have beentransferred directly to the
`SMSserver for delivery of the destination terminal B.
`However, becausethe profile of the destination terminal B is
`‘MMS’, the destination message gateway converts the EMS
`message into an MMS message before transmitting it to the
`MMSserverofthe destination domain D, for delivery to the
`destination terminal B.
`
`Consider finally FIG. 10, in which a terminal A is the
`initiator of an MMS messageto a destination terminal B
`which supports only SMS/EMS messages, whether terminal
`A is aware ofthis limitation of the terminal B or not.
`
`The MMSmessageinitiated by the terminal A is trans-
`mitted to the gateway of the message domain of the desti-
`nation as explained for the preceding situation. The gateway
`of the destination domain D, consults the profile table to
`determine which message system the destination terminal B
`of the message supports. If the standard associated with the
`terminal B is the SMS/EMSstandard, the message is con-
`verted to that standard and transferred to the SMSserver
`identified in the profile table of the destination terminal B to
`be delivered by a conventional method.
`Anothersituation, not shown explicitly, is the sending of
`an EMS message by an initiator terminal using application
`software more sophisticated than that of the destination
`terminal, which will not be in a position to process this kind
`of message, for example a destination terminal with the
`“EMSrelease 4” software unable to exploit all the data of an
`EMSinitiated by a terminal with the “EMS release 5”
`software. In this situation, the EMS messageis also trans-
`mitted by the SMSserver of the message initiator to the
`message gatewayof the destination domain. The destination
`message gateway checks which profiles the destination
`terminal supports and converts the message before sending
`it to the destination SMSserverso that it can be transmitted
`to its destination in the correct format.
`
`There is claimed:
`
`1. A Short Message Service communication method,
`intended for use in communicating a short message initiated
`by a first mobile radio terminal which is part of a first
`message domain, and which is capable of exchanging mes-
`sages with at least one second mobile terminal whichis part
`of a second message domain, each domain includingat least
`one mobile radio network, one first message server con-
`forming to a first message standard, and/or one second
`message server conforming to a second, different message
`standard, wherein:
`initiating a message, conforming to said first standard,
`from said first terminal to at least said second terminal
`not compatible with said first standard to which said
`initiated message conforms, but compatible with said
`second message standard;
`transmitting said message bysaid first message server to
`a message gateway including a database comprising a
`table of messageprofiles of terminals belonging to said
`second message domain with which said gateway is
`associated, including said second terminal;
`converting said initiated message, conformingto saidfirst
`message standard, by said message gateway into a
`message conforming to said second message standard
`supported by said second terminal;
`
`40
`
`45
`
`8
`transmitting the converted message standard by said mes-
`sage gateway to said second message server; and
`delivering said converted message standard by said sec-
`ond message server to said second terminal, wherein,
`whensaid first message standard is EMSor SMS, said
`second message standard is MMS, and, whensaid first
`message standard is MMS, said second message stan-
`dard is EMS or SMS; and
`wherein said table of profiles contained in said message
`gateway of said second message domain is updated by
`sending from said first mobile terminal listed in said
`table to said message gateway an update of the message
`including an information element containing the mes-
`sage profile or profiles of said terminal,
`wherein said message containing user data including a
`header including said information element and a data
`text, wherein said information element
`includes an
`identification field followed by a field indicating the
`length of the data of said information element followed
`by the data of said information elementand said header
`includesa profile information element whoseidentifier
`is associated with the updating of a messageprofile and
`whosedata indicates the message standard or standards
`supported by the terminal whichinitiated said message.
`2. An Enhanced Message Service
`communication
`method, intended for use in communicating an enhanced
`message initiated by a first mobile radio terminal which is
`part of a first message domain, and which is capable of
`exchanging messages with at least one second mobile ter-
`minal which is part of a second message domain, each
`domain includingat least one mobile radio network,onefirst
`message server conforming to a first message standard,
`and/or one second message server conforming to a second,
`different message standard, wherein:
`initiating a message, conforming to said first standard,
`from said first terminal to at least said second terminal
`not compatible with said first standard to which said
`initiated message conforms, but compatible with said
`second message standard;
`transmitting said message by said first message server to
`a message gateway including a database comprising a
`table of messageprofiles of terminals belonging to said
`initiated message domain with which said gateway is
`associated, including said second terminal;
`converting said initiated message, conforming tosaidfirst
`message standard, by said message gateway into a
`message conforming to said second message standard
`supported by said second terminal;
`transmitting the converted message standard by said mes-
`sage gateway to said second message server;
`delivering said converted message standard by said sec-
`ond message server to said second terminal, wherein,
`whensaid first message standard is EMSor SMS, said
`second message standard is MMS, and, whensaid first
`message standard is MMS, said second message stan-
`dard is EMS or SMS; and
`converting said initiated message conformingto saidfirst
`message standard into a message according to said
`second message standard by said message gateway of
`said first domain of the first terminal which initiated
`said message, said initiated message including the
`address of said message gatewayofsaid first domain in
`a header and including an information element indicat-
`ing that data conforming to said second message stan-
`dard is included in the data of said initiated message,
`
`AppleInc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 11
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 11
`
`
`
`US 7,181,231 B2
`
`9
`said conversion of said initiated message including
`extraction of said data conforming to said second
`message standard;
`wherein said enhanced message including user data
`includes a header with said information element and a
`data text, wherein said information element includes an
`identification field followed by a field indicating the
`length of the data of said information element followed
`by said data of said element and said header includes a
`
`10
`Multimedia Message Service information element
`whose identifier indicates the presence of Multimedia
`Message Service information in said data of said mes-
`sage whosedata indicates the length of said Multimedia
`Message Service information, which includes at least
`one Multimedia Message Service message header.
`
`AppleInc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 12
`
`Apple Inc.
`Ex. 1025 - Page 12
`
`