Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Auxiliary data signaling
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-05
2002-10-01
Trost, William (Department: 2683)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Auxiliary data signaling
C455S414200, C455S433000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06459904
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communications networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for delivering short message service (SMS) messages to a subscriber, particularly in a wireless communication network including a plurality of short message service centers (SMSC).
2. Background of Related Art
In order to accommodate a society which is becoming increasingly mobile, and to meet the ever-increasing need for communications, the telecommunication industry in particular has been providing wireless communication services.
The wireless communication services traditionally included voice cellular phone and paging services in which a user can make a telephone call or send/receive a page including a numeric message indicating a telephone number over a wireless network. More recently, paging services have been, expanded to offer alphanumeric paging, which allows a short text based message to be sent to and displayed at a handheld pager.
However, voice cellular telephone and the paging services each require an intended subscriber to be on-line or active to receive a telephone call or transmitted paging message. In other words, these services do not typically offer the capability of storing the messages for a temporarily unavailable subscriber.
In the early 1990s, as a result of the growing popularity of digital wireless technology, a standard for digital wireless networks was introduced in Europe. That standard, now known as the global standard for mobiles (GSM), included a service called short messaging service (SMS). An SMS allows transmission of short messages, typically up to 160 characters, to and from communication devices, e.g., cellular telephone handsets, telephones or computers with appropriate modems. In North America, the SMS is currently implemented on digital wireless/mobile networks, such as a PCS network based on the GSM standard, code division multiple access (CDMA) and/or time division multiple access (TDMA) methods. Short message services are gaining in popularity, particularly in the United States.
Short message services are advantageous over text based paging services because of the capability of bi-directional communication. Such bi-directional communication allows, for example, notification to the originating device of the success or failure of the short message delivery.
Moreover, each SMS network typically includes a short message service center (SMSC) which acts as a store-and-forward mechanism providing guaranteed delivery of short messages to a subscriber, even if the subscriber is inactive when the message was transmitted, by delivering the short messages once the subscriber becomes active. Delivery of all short messages is guaranteed regardless of whether or not the intended subscriber is “on-line” because the transmitted short message is stored within the one SMSC assigned to each intended subscriber, and delivered to the intended subscriber from their assigned SMSC when the subscriber becomes available.
A variety of services have been introduced using SMS networks including, for example, integrated electronic mail and fax, integrated paging, interactive banking, and information services such as stock quotes and airline schedule delivery.
Unfortunately, conventional SMS networks have been somewhat limited in their utility because they are based on the concept of a single SMSC assigned to service any one particular subscriber. Thus, a particular subscriber is limited to a single message delivery channel between itself and the SMSC that services it. Moreover, because of the singular SMSC architecture of conventional SMS networks, it is difficult if not impossible to upgrade or perform maintenance on an SMS network without affecting and/or suspending the short message service at least with respect to the subscribers assigned to that SMSC.
In operation, an SMSC receives a short message from any source intended to be delivered to a particular subscriber. When the intended subscriber is not available because, for example, it is turned off or is outside of the service area of the SMS network, the attempt to deliver the short message at that time will fail. In this case, the short message will be retained in the SMSC assigned to that intended subscriber for a later delivery attempt. Thereafter, when the subscriber finally becomes available, e.g., is turned on or has moved into the service area of the SMS network, the relevant portions of the network (e.g., the mobile servicing center (MSC) and the home location register (HLR)) notify the SMSC to initiate delivery of the stored (i.e., previously failed) short messages.
A conventional SMS network notifies only the servicing SMSC that an intended subscriber can again receive short messages. Thus conventional SMS networks do not have more than one SMSC assigned to any one particular subscriber.
In order to fully appreciate the above shortcomings of a conventional SMS network, an exemplary conventional SMS network will now be described in detail. Although the following example is described using terms and protocols mainly as defined by the North American standard IS-41, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the example is applicable to any networks that offer store-and-forward type short message service.
FIG. 5
shows an exemplary structure of a SMS network
500
. The SMS network
500
typically includes one short message service center (SMSC)
501
. The SMSC
501
typically includes a storage subsystem to store short messages that had failed to be delivered. The SMSC
501
typically further includes various interfaces (not shown) to receive short messages originating from various sources and protocols, such as a Voice Mail System (VMS)
508
, paging networks using, e.g., Telocator Numeric Paging Protocol (TNPP)
509
, devices using the Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) protocol
510
via TCP/IP, e-mail systems using the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP)
511
, and/or devices using the Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol (TAP)
512
. Some of the various sources of the short messages may be gateways to other networks.
The SMSC
501
may further include a gateway/interworking block (not shown) that enables the SMSC
501
to communicate with the rest of the SMS network
500
, such as a Home Location Register (HLR)
503
or a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)
505
, using the Signaling System No. 7 (SS
7
)
502
. The methods and mechanism of communication in the SMS network
500
are defined by the mobile application part (MAP) layer, which uses the services of the SS
7
transaction capabilities application part (TCAP) as the signaling infrastructure of the SMS network
500
. The protocol for the signaling is referred to as the IS-41 protocol under the American standard as published by the Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) or as the GSM MAP under the European standard published by European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI).
The Home Location Register (HLR)
503
includes a database that permanently stores and manages subscriptions and service profiles of users having a subscription to the SMS network
500
. Although only one HLR
503
is shown, the SMS network
500
may include two or more HLRs. The SMS network
500
also typically includes several visitor location registers (VLR)
504
. A VLR
504
is a database temporarily holding information about visiting subscribers who move into its service area. Thus, a VLR
504
contains information regarding routing information for all subscribers within its service area, and informs the relevant HLR
503
of the availability and routing information regarding its subscribers. The mobile switching center (MSC)
505
obtains subscriber information from the VLR
504
to service visiting subscribers.
The mobile switching center (MSC)
505
performs switching and call control functions, and receives short messages from the SMSC
501
for delivery to the appropriate mobile subscriber
507
(shown, e.g., as a cellular phone handset). It is to be un
Hart Reuben D.
Lorello Timothy J.
Bollman William H.
TeleCommunication Systems Inc.
Tran Congvan
Trost William
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