Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Auxiliary data signaling
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-13
2001-12-04
Hunter, Daniel (Department: 2684)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Auxiliary data signaling
C455S039000, C455S566000, C340S870030
Reexamination Certificate
active
06327479
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
1. Description of Related Art
The present invention relates to a procedure and to a system for the transmission of short messages in a telecommunication network. In particular, the invention relates to the transmission of short messages in an ISDN network (ISDN, Integrated Services Digital Network) and between an ISDN network and a GSM network (GSM, Global System for Mobile Communications).
2. Summary of the Invention
ISDN means a digital services network which has been developed from a digital telephone network by complementing it with ISDN features according to international recommendations and standards. ISDN subscriber lines may be either basic access lines or system lines. A basic access line gives the user two B-channels with a transmission capacity of 64 kbit/s for the transmission of speech, data or combined speech and data. In addition, the basic access line comprises a D-channel with a transmission capacity of 16 kbit/s. The D-channel is used for subscriber line signalling and possible packet-format transmission of user data. The channel structure of the line is thus 2B+D. The basic access line allows simultaneous use of e.g. an ISDN telephone and a data terminal. Structurally, the basic access line is a passive line and it permits the connection of max. eight terminal devices.
A GSM system consists of a mobile telephone, a system of base transceiver stations and a switching system as well as connections or interfaces for linkage to public telephone networks. The signalling between a wired telephone network and a mobile telephone network is implemented using common channel signalling (CCS). The same mobile telephone can be used in different GSM networks in Europe. Location tracing requires a great deal of signalling in the wired telephone network. For the mobile telephone to be usable, it needs to be provided with a subscriber card comprising a microprocessor and a storage unit, i.e. a SIM card (SIM, Subscriber Identity Module). Stored on the subscriber card are the customer information, the data stored by the customer, such as telephone numbers and the services available for the customer in the GSM network. The wireless link between the terminal device and the GSM system base station is completely digital.
Besides conventional telephone service, GSM makes a numerous variety of other services available to the user. The services have been mainly designed on the basis of the ISDN network specification, taking the limitations caused by the radio link and the mobility of the mobile telephone into account. One of the GSM services is the short message service, which enables the transmission of messages of max. 160 characters from the message transmission system to a mobile telephone and vice versa. The short message service provides numerous possibilities for more effective communication, users of GSM telephones can send short messages to each other or receive e.g. the title data of e-mail messages, and users can be sent chargeable services, such as weather information, in the form of short messages.
The ISDN standards do not comprise a definition of a short message service like that of the GSM network. There are also no standards defining the transmission of short messages between GSM and ISDN networks. Thus, there is the problem that, even if the terminal equipment and telephones were capable of generating short messages, the standardisation and network signalling do not permit the transmission of short messages. Therefore, it is desirable that, as the use of mobile telephones and short messages is becoming more widespread, there should be a possibility to send short messages even in wired telephone networks, e.g. ISDN networks.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the problem described above. A further object of the invention is to produce a new type of procedure and system in a telephone network that enables the transmission of short messages between a mobile communication network and a wired network as well as within a wired network. Another object of the invention is to describe a simple technical solution for the transmission of short messages between networks.
As for the features characteristic of the invention, reference is made to the claims.
The system of the invention for the transmission of a short message in a telecommunication network comprises a mobile communication network, which comprises a first short-message service centre. The mobile communication network is preferably a GSM network provided with a short message transmission capability. The system also comprises a telephone network that uses digital signalling and is connected to the mobile communication network by means known in themselves in telephony. The telephone network is preferably an ISDN telephone network. Connected to the mobile communication network and telephone network are a number of terminal devices, mobile stations and ISDN terminals, by means of which a short message is generated and sent to the intended receiver.
In the system of the invention, the first short-message service centre is connected to the telephone network via a first communication link.
According to the invention, when a short message is being generated, it is provided with the receiver's subscriber type identifier, which may be e.g. the subscriber number of the receiver. Next, the short message is transmitted to the first short-message service centre. The receiver's subscriber type and possibly telephone number are checked in the short-message service centre and, based on this, the short message is transmitted to the intended telephone network subscriber if the receiver is a subscriber in a telephone network, and if the receiver is a subscriber in a mobile communication network, the short message specifications for the mobile communication network, known in themselves, are used and the short message is transmitted via the first short-message service centre to the receiver.
As compared with prior art, the present invention has the advantage that it enables the transmission of short messages even between a mobile communication network and a telephone network. Thus, the short message service known in the mobile communication network can be extended to the wired telephone network as well.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the first short-message service centre, the system comprises one or more short-message service centres or corresponding devices or gateways that are used to match the transmission link between the first short-message service centre and the telephone network. Such an arrangement may be needed to match the short-message service centre with the telephone network. The communication between the first short-message service centre and the telephone network is preferably implemented using DSS1 (DSS, Digital Signalling System) or ISUP (ISUP, Integrated Services User Path) signalling.
As the setup of an ISDN call typically takes only a short time, it is possible to use the queuing feature of the telephone network if the subscriber or the short-message service centre is busy at the time the setup of a call addressed to them is started. The delay caused by the queuing is so short that it will not significantly affect the transmission of the short message, but it will flexibly eliminate “unnecessary” transmission failures due to a busy signal received when short messages are to be transmitted. Such use of the queuing function is previously known in the art and will therefore not be described in detail in this context.
If a short message is transmitted from an ISDN network to a GSM network or from a GSM network to an ISDN network, then the routing of the short message is handled by the first short-message service centre, which is connected to the mobile communication network. When a short message is sent from an ISDN terminal or to an ISDN terminal, a call is set up between the terminal and the first shot-message service centre in order to transmit the message to a second short-message service centre. The transmission of the short m
Altera Law Group LLC
Hunter Daniel
Nokia Networks Oy
Tran Pablo
LandOfFree
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