U.S. patent application number 14/451069 was filed with the patent office on 2014-11-20 for method for transmitting short messages.
The applicant listed for this patent is IPCOM GMBH & CO. KG. Invention is credited to Ralf FISCHER, Martin HANS, Frank KOWALEWSKI, Gunnar SCHMIDT, Holger SHULZ.
Application Number | 20140342764 14/451069 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 7890280 |
Filed Date | 2014-11-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140342764 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
FISCHER; Ralf ; et
al. |
November 20, 2014 |
METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING SHORT MESSAGES
Abstract
A method for transmitting short messages (5) in a
telecommunications network (10) is proposed, which enables
especially simple, convenient downloading of data fields (15, 20,
25, 30) of the short message (5) from a network operator (70). A
notice is sent to a subscriber (60) of the telecommunications
network (10) as a function of a short message (5) transmitted to
the telecommunications network (10) for the subscriber (60). With
the notice, data that include items of information about the makeup
and/or content of the short message (5) are transmitted to the
subscriber (60).
Inventors: |
FISCHER; Ralf; (Bad
Salzdetfurth, DE) ; HANS; Martin; (Hildesheim,
DE) ; KOWALEWSKI; Frank; (Salzgitter, DE) ;
SHULZ; Holger; (Berlin, DE) ; SCHMIDT; Gunnar;
(Wolfenbuettel, DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
IPCOM GMBH & CO. KG |
Pullach |
|
DE |
|
|
Family ID: |
7890280 |
Appl. No.: |
14/451069 |
Filed: |
August 4, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13955868 |
Jul 31, 2013 |
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14451069 |
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12836052 |
Jul 14, 2010 |
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13955868 |
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09857675 |
Jun 7, 2001 |
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PCT/DE99/01733 |
Jun 14, 1999 |
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12836052 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/466 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 51/38 20130101;
H04W 4/18 20130101; H04W 88/184 20130101; H04M 1/72552 20130101;
H04W 4/14 20130101; H04L 51/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/466 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/14 20060101
H04W004/14; H04M 1/725 20060101 H04M001/725 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 8, 1998 |
DE |
198 56 441.4 |
Claims
1. A method performed by a subscriber station in a radio
telecommunications network for receiving a short message addressed
to the subscriber station having a multimedia content including at
least one of audio data and image data, the method comprising:
receiving from a central station a notification message, the
notification message including information about a makeup and/or
content of the short message; evaluating the content of the
notification message, selecting apart of the short message for
further processing; as a result of the evaluating, sending a
selection message to the telecommunications network, the selection
message instructing the telecommunications network to transmit the
selected part only of the short message to the subscriber
station.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber station displays
the information about the makeup and/or content of the short
message on a display device.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the subscriber station displays
the information about the makeup and/or content of the short
message on the data field in menu-controlled fashion, corresponding
menu structures being generated at the subscriber station as a
function of the information about the makeup and/or content of the
short message.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the subscriber station displays
the information about makeup and/or content of the short message on
the display device by means of a directory structure from which at
least a part of the short message can be selected for
processing.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber station processes
the information about the makeup and/or content of the short
message.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber station comprises
an identity module issued by the network operator or a service
provider for recognizing the information about the makeup and/or
content of the short message.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber station transmits
a command message to the telecommunications network to request at
least one data field of the short message.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the subscriber station prepares
the command message as a function of at least one user input at an
input unit.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the subscriber station prepares
the command message automatically as a function of the information
about the makeup and/or content of the short message.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein the subscriber station prepares
the command message as a function of a power scope of the
subscriber station assigned to the subscriber and/or as a function
of command criteria that are specified by the subscriber.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein the subscriber station requests
from the telecommunications network at least one data field of the
short message by means of a command message embodied as a selection
message.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein at least two data fields of the
short message are requested by the subscriber station by the
selection message.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein at least two data fields of the
short message that are requested by the subscriber by the selection
message are received chronologically separately at the subscriber
station.
14. The method of claim 7, wherein the subscriber station transmits
to the telecommunications network the command message embodied as a
delete message.
15. The method of claim 7, wherein the subscriber station transmits
to the telecommunications network the command message embodied as a
forwarding message.
16. The method of claim 7, wherein the subscriber station transmits
the command message to the telecommunications network in form of a
short message to the central station.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the command message prepared
directly by the subscriber station.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the command message and the
notification message are prepared by an identify module of the
subscriber issued by a network operator or a service provider.
19. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification message
includes a first data field of the short message, which includes
the data having the items of information about the makeup and/or
the content of the short message, wherein the subscriber station
receives the notification message with a first item of header
information and a message, the first item of header information
including at least one item of information about the content of the
message, the message including the item of information about the
makeup and/or content of the short message, wherein the subscriber
station receives the notification message with a second item of
header information and user data, the first item of header
information including an item of information about the presence of
the second item of header information, and the second item of
header information including at least one item of information about
the type of evaluation of the notification message to be
performed.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the second item of header
information and user data are an element of the message.
21. A method performed by a subscriber station in a radio
telecommunications network for receiving a short message addressed
to the subscriber station having a multimedia content including at
least one of audio data and image data, the method comprising:
receiving from a central station a notification message, the
notification message including information about a makeup and/or
content of the short message and further receiving at least one
item of information about the type of evaluation of the
notification message to be performed; evaluating the content of the
notification message, thereby selecting a part of the short message
for further processing; as a result of the evaluating, sending a
selection message to the telecommunications network, the selection
message instructing the telecommunications network to transmit the
selected part only of the short message to the subscriber
station.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the subscriber station displays
the information about the makeup and/or content of the short
message on a display device.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the subscriber station displays
the information about the makeup and/or content of the short
message on the data field in menu-controlled fashion, corresponding
menu structures being generated at the subscriber station as a
function of the information about the makeup and/or content of the
short message.
24. The method of claim 22, wherein the subscriber station displays
the information about the makeup and/or content of the short
message on the display device by means of a directory structure
from which at least a part of the short message can be selected for
processing.
25. The method of claim 21, wherein the subscriber station
processes the information about the makeup and/or content of the
short message.
26. The method of claim 21, wherein the subscriber station
comprises an identity module issued by the network operator or a
service provider for recognizing the information about the makeup
and/or content of the short message.
27. The method of claim 21, wherein the subscriber station
transmits a command message to the telecommunications network to
request at least one data field of the short message.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein the subscriber station prepares
the command message as a function of at least one user input at an
input unit.
29. The method of claim 21, wherein the subscriber station requests
from the telecommunications network a data field of the short
message by means of a command message embodied as a selection
message.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein at least two data fields of the
short message are requested by the subscriber station by the
selection message.
31. The method of claim 29, wherein at least two data fields of the
short message that are requested by the subscriber by the selection
message are transmitted chronologically separately to the
subscriber station.
32. The method of claim 27, wherein the subscriber station
transmits to the telecommunications network the command message
embodied as a delete message, and at least one data field of the
short message is deleted as a function of the delete message.
33. The method of claim 27, wherein the subscriber station
transmits to the telecommunications network the command message
embodied as a forwarding message, and at least one data field of
the short message is forwarded as a function of the forwarding
message to a forward subscriber which is the telecommunications
network.
34. The method of claim 27, wherein the subscriber station
transmits the command message to the telecommunications network in
form of a short message to the central station which is a network
operator, a notification message is sent to the central station as
a function of the command message, and with the notification
message data is transmitted to the central station that includes
items of information about the makeup and/or content of the command
message.
35. The method of claim 34, wherein the command message and the
notification message are prepared by an identity module of the
subscriber issued by a network operator or a service provider.
36. The method of claim 34, wherein the central station transmits
to the telecommunication network the command message in form of a
short message service message by a global system for mobile
communications standard, and the notification message which is in
the form of a first item of header information and/or second item
of header information.
37. The method of claim 21, wherein the notification message
includes a first data field of the short message, which includes
the data having the items of information about the makeup and/or
the content of the short message, wherein the subscriber station
receives the notification message with a first item of header
information and a message, the first item of header information
including at least one item of information about the content of the
message, the message including the item of information about the
makeup and/or content of the short message, wherein the subscriber
station receives the notification message with a second item of
header information and user data, the first item of header
information including an item of information about the presence of
the second item of header information, and the second item of
header information including at least one item of information about
the type of evaluation of the notification message to be performed.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is continuation of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 13/955,868, filed Jul. 31, 2013; which is a continuation
of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/836,052, filed Jul. 14,
2010, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/857,675, filed Jun. 7, 2001, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,894,832,
which is a 35 U.S.C. 371 national stage filing of International
Application No. PCT/DE99/01733, filed Jun. 14, 1999, which claims
priority to German Patent Application No. 198 56 441.4 filed on
Dec. 8, 1998 in Germany. The contents of the aforementioned
applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention is based on a method for transmitting short
messages.
[0003] Short message services are already known that serve to send
a short message to a subscriber of a telecommunications network
without requiring that a telecommunications connection to the
subscriber be made beforehand. This is of particular importance in
mobile radio systems, since subscribers in such systems are often
unreachable. Incoming short messages for the subscriber are stored
in memory by a network operator of the telecommunications network
and forwarded to the intended subscriber at a later time. The
subscriber is informed of the arrival of a short message intended
for him so that he can then download the short message from the
network operator.
[0004] One example of a short message service using the GSM
Standard (Global System for Mobile Communications) is the Short
Message Service (SMS). In a short message, up to 160 7-bit ASCII
(American Standard Code for Information Interchange) text
characters can be transmitted.
[0005] Transmitting longer texts is possible with the aid of
chained short messages. Since the GSM Standard provides only for
text transmission for the short messages, then if binary data, such
as audio data, image data or the like, are to be transmitted, they
must be converted into the text format and converted back again
into the binary format after being received. Access is possible
only to the entire content of a short message, however. As a
result, it can happen that data that the addressed subscriber does
not want are also transmitted to him with the short message. He
does not gain an overview of the contents of the short message
until after downloading the entire short message from the network
operator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The method according to the invention for transmitting short
messages has the advantage over the prior art that a notice is sent
to a subscriber of the telecommunications network as a function of
a short message transmitted to the telecommunications network for
the subscriber, and with the notice, data that include items of
information about the makeup and/or content of the short message
are transmitted to the subscriber. In this way, the subscriber not
only learns that a short message has arrived for him at the network
operator. He furthermore receives further items of information
about the short message that make it possible to decide whether the
entire short message or only parts of the short message should be
downloaded from the network operator. Thus the subscriber can
access contents of short messages simply and conveniently.
[0007] It is especially advantageous if as the notice, a textbased
first part of the short message, which includes the data having the
items of information about the makeup and/or content of the short
message, is transmitted to the subscriber. In this way, it is
assured that the notice is readable by as many subscribers of the
telecommunications network as possible, the subscribers already
being designed to receive text-based short messages. This is
especially true for mobile radio devices, embodied by the GSM
(Global System for Mobile Communications) Standard, as subscribers
in a GSM mobile radio network that is designed to receive and
display text-based short messages by the SMS (Short Message
Service). Thus from the text-based notice, the subscriber can
ascertain whether short messages on hand in the network operator
can be read by the subscriber at all, or which parts of such short
messages are readable by the subscriber. The subscribers can then
select for downloading only those parts of the short messages on
hand for the subscribers in the network operator that are readable.
This saves transmission capacity.
[0008] A further advantage is that with the items of information
about the makeup and/or content of the short message, indications
about the sender of the data stored in memory in the short message
are transmitted to the subscriber. Thus the subscriber obtains a
further criterion for deciding whether to download the short
message on hand at the network operator.
[0009] It is especially advantageous that by means of a selection
message transmitted to the telecommunications network, at least one
part of the short message is requested by the subscriber from the
telecommunications network, and that the at least one requested
part of the short message is transmitted to the subscriber. Thus it
is not necessary to download the entire short message from the
network operator, but only the part the subscriber wants. This can
be done especially simply by means of the selection message and
leads to a saving of transmission capacity.
[0010] Another advantage is that a delete message is transmitted by
the subscriber to the telecommunications network, and that as a
function of the delete message, at least one part of the short
message is deleted. In this way, the subscriber can also effect a
selective deletion of parts of the short message, so that parts of
the short message that the subscriber cannot read or does not want
can be deleted and do not unnecessarily take up memory space in the
network operator.
[0011] Another advantage is that the items of information about the
makeup and/or content of the short message are read out at the
subscriber from the notice received and shown on a display device.
In this way, the user or subscriber himself can evaluate the makeup
and/or content of the short message and select one or more parts of
the short message for further processing especially
conveniently.
[0012] It is also advantageous that the items of information about
the makeup and/or content of the short message are processed
directly in a subscriber station of the subscriber. This makes
processing independently of the network operator possible, if for
processing only modules of the subscriber station but not a module
of the network operator, such as an identity module, in particular
a SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module), are used.
[0013] However, processing, independently of the subscriber
station, of the items of information about the makeup and/or
content of the short message by means of an identity module, which
is for instance made available by the network operator, is also
advantageous. Then the notice can be evaluated independently of the
type of subscriber station, and thus high compatibility and at the
same time versatility of subscriber stations in terms of their
functionality and processing modules can be achieved.
[0014] Another advantage is that with the notice, a first item of
header information and a message are transmitted to the subscriber,
the first item of header information including at least one item of
information about the content of the message, and the message
including the items of information about the makeup and/or content
of the short message. In this way, the type of further processing
of the message can be controlled in the subscriber station or by
the identity module, so that the items of information about the
makeup and/or content of the short message can be recognized as
such and processed appropriately.
[0015] Another advantage is that with the message, a second item of
header information and user data are transmitted to the subscriber,
the first item of header information including an item of
information about the presence of the second item of header
information, and the second item of header information including at
least one item of information about the type of evaluation of the
notice to be performed. In this way, a differentiated control of
the further processing of the message is possible.
[0016] It is also advantageous that as the short message, a message
from an electronic mail service, in particular an Internet e-mail
message, is transmitted to the telecommunications network. In this
way, the access to messages in an electronic mail service can also
be achieved especially simply and conveniently in a
telecommunications network.
[0017] Another advantage is that the notice is transmitted to the
subscriber in the form of an SMS (Short Message Service) message by
the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) Standard. In this
way, for all GSM terminal devices that support the SMS, the
possibility is afforded, by way of the notice, of gaining at least
knowledge about the makeup and/or content of the short message on
hand, since all these terminals are capable of receiving and
playing back SMS messages of this kind. Thus high compatibility for
receiving the notice in SMS-capable subscriber stations of variable
functionality is achieved.
[0018] It is also advantageous that the acknowledgement message is
transmitted to the telecommunications network in the form of a
short message for the sender, and a notice is sent to the sender as
a function of the acknowledgement message, and with the notice,
data that include items of information about the makeup and/or
content of the acknowledgement message are transmitted to the
sender. The short message and the associated notice of claim 1 can
thus be employed in manifold ways, so that uniform message
transmission in the telecommunications network can be assured.
[0019] Another advantage is that the acknowledgement message in the
form of an SMS message by the GSM Standard and the notice in the
form of a first item of header information and/or second item of
header information are transmitted for the sender to the
telecommunications network. By this means as well, readability of
the acknowledgement message in all SMS-capable senders is
assured.
[0020] It also advantageous that by means of a command message
transmitted to the telecommunications network, at least one data
field of the short message is processed by the subscriber as a
function of the content of the command message. In this way, the
notice, via the short message, not only makes an item of
information about the short message possible but also enables its
remote-controlled processing by the subscriber.
[0021] A particular advantage is that the command message is
prepared automatically at the subscriber as a function of the items
of information about the makeup and/or content of the short
message. This enhances user or subscriber convenience
considerably.
[0022] It is especially advantageous as well that the command
message is prepared as a function of the power scope of a
subscriber station assigned to the subscriber and/or as a function
of command criteria that are specified by the subscriber. In this
way, the remote-controlled processing of the short message is
automatically adapted to the capabilities of the subscriber or to
the needs of the user or subscriber, which is important for
instance in loading one or more parts of the short message into the
subscriber station and in deleting or forwarding parts of the short
message that the subscriber station cannot read or does not
want.
[0023] Another advantage is that the command message is transmitted
to the telecommunications network in the form of a short message
for a central station, in particular of an network operator, and a
notice is sent to the central station as a function of the command
message, and with the notice, data that include items of
information about the makeup and/or content of the command message
are transmitted to the central station. In this way, for sending
commands in the telecommunications network as well, the form of the
short message and of the associated notice in accordance with claim
1 is employed, so that in the telecommunications network,
uniformity is attained for sending various types of information,
such as commands, acknowledgments and purely postal mail services,
with regard to the principle of an initially sent notice, by way of
a short message correspondingly on hand in the telecommunications
network in accordance with claim 1, and uniform principles for
evaluating the short message on the basis of the initially sent
notice can be made available.
[0024] It is also advantageous that the command message and the
notice are prepared directly in a subscriber station of the
subscriber. In this way, a network operator-independent preparation
of the command message can be achieved solely by means of modules
of the subscriber station, without modules of the network operator
such as an identity module.
[0025] A preparation of the command message and the notice that is
independent of modules of the subscriber station is conversely
possible by means of an identity module that is made available for
instance by the network operator. Then the command message can be
prepared regardless of the type of subscriber station, and thus
high compatibility and at the same time versatility of subscriber
stations in terms of their functionality and processing modules can
be achieved.
[0026] It is also advantageous that the command message in the form
of an SMS message by the GSM Standard and the notice in the form of
a first item of header information and/or second item of header
information are transmitted for the central station to the
telecommunications network. This assures readability of the command
message in every SMS-capable central station.
[0027] A further advantage is that the items of information about
the makeup and/or content of the short message are generated from
indications about the makeup and/or content of at least two parts
of the short message, and the indications are obtained from these
parts. In this way, the first part of the short message need not be
provided with items of information about the makeup and/or content
of the entire short message, and thus it can be better used for
transmitting the corresponding short message itself.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the
drawing and described in further detail in the ensuing
description.
[0029] FIG. 1 shows a first block circuit diagram for transmitting
short messages in a telecommunications network;
[0030] FIG. 2 shows a general makeup of a transmission frame;
[0031] FIG. 3 shows one concrete example of a makeup of a
transmission frame;
[0032] FIG. 4, a second block circuit diagram for transmitting
short messages in a telecommunications network; and
[0033] FIG. 5, the makeup of a notice having items of information
about the makeup and/or content of a short message.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0034] In FIG. 1, 60 designates a first subscriber and 65 a second
subscriber of a telecommunications network 10, which is embodied in
particular as a radiotelecommunications network, for example as a
mobile radio network. The first subscriber 60 and the second
subscriber 65 are each embodied as a telecommunications device, in
particular as a radio unit, for example as a mobile radio device,
service radio device, as a radio handset, or the like. In FIG. 1, a
network operator 70 of the telecommunications network 10 is also
shown; it can also be called a telecommunications device, and in
particular a radio unit. The central station can also be assigned
to an external service provider that is other than the network
operator. However, below for the sake of example it will be
assigned to the network operator 70.
[0035] In a first exemplary embodiment in accordance with FIG. 1,
in the second subscriber 65, a short message 5 for the first
subscriber 60 is prepared and is broadcast, suitably addressed, to
the network operator 70 via the telecommunications network 10.
[0036] In a second exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, the same
reference numerals identify identical elements. Unlike the first
exemplary embodiment, the second subscriber 65 communicates with
the network operator not via the telecommunications network 10 but
rather via a data network 80, which by way of example can take the
form of the Internet, and a net connection unit 85. The short
message prepared in the second subscriber 65 is sent to the network
operator 70, with suitable addressing, via the data network 80 and
the net connection unit 85, for instance in the form of electronic
mail, such as e-mail.
[0037] In both exemplary embodiments, the network operator 70
stores the short message 5 in memory and sends a message to the
first subscriber 60 informing the subscriber about the presence of
a short message 5 addressed to it. This message can be sent to the
first subscriber 60 for example once the network operator 70
ascertains an activation of the first subscriber 60. If after
receiving the aforementioned message the first subscriber 60 asks
the network operator 70 to transmit the short message 5, then the
network operator 70 first sends a notice to the first subscriber 60
that informs the first subscriber 60 of the makeup and/or content
of the short message 5. This mechanism is also called a polling
service. Next, the first subscriber 60 can download the short
message 5 either partially or entirely from the network operator
70, so that the short message 5 is transmitted partially or
completely by the network operator 70 to the first subscriber
60.
[0038] However, it can also be provided that the notice is sent
directly to the first subscriber 60, without a message having been
sent beforehand, or as soon as an activation of the first
subscriber 60 is ascertained. This mechanism is known as push
service.
[0039] In FIG. 2, the makeup of a short message 5 of this kind is
shown. The short message 5 is transmitted in a transmission frame 1
from the second subscriber 65 to the network operator 70. The
transmission frame 1 includes a first data field 15, a second data
field 20, and optionally a third data field 25 and a fourth data
field 30. The first data field 15 includes a first ID code 35,
which identifies the makeup of the short message 5. In addition, a
second ID code 40, which identifies the content of the short
message 5, can be provided in the first data field 15. The first ID
code 35 and the second ID code 40 can also be combined into a
single ID code that identifies the makeup and/or content of the
short message 5. Also stored in the first data field 15 are data in
a first data format. In the second data field 20, data in a second
data format, different from the first data format, are stored. Data
whose data format can differ from the data format of the first data
field 15 or the second data field 20, but need not necessarily do
so, are also stored in the optionally present further data fields
25, 30.
[0040] If more than two data fields are provided in the
transmission frame 1, then data in different formats are stored at
least in two of the data fields, but the position of these data
fields in the transmission frame 1 does not matter.
[0041] Dashed lines in FIG. 2 indicate that the first data field 15
can additionally include a first data-field-specific ID code 45,
which identifies the makeup and/or content of the first data field
15. Correspondingly, the second data field 20 can include a second
data-field-specific ID code 50, which identifies the makeup and/or
content of the second data field 20. The third data field 25 can
correspondingly include a third data-field-specific ID code 55,
which identifies the makeup and/or content of the third data field
25, and the fourth data field 30 can include a fourth
data-field-specific ID code 75, which identifies the makeup and/or
content of the fourth data field 30.
[0042] The first ID code 35 can include indications about the
number of data fields 15, 20, 25, 30 in the short message 5. In
addition or as an alternative, the first ID code 35 can include
data about the data formats of the data stored in the data fields
15, 20, 25, 30. In addition or alternatively, indications about the
size of the data fields 15, 20, 25, 30 can be included in the first
ID code 35. In that case, the second ID code 40 can include
indications about the type of data stored in the data fields 15,
20, 25, 30. For instance, the second ID code 40 can include
indications as to whether audio data or image data are stored in a
data field.
[0043] It can now be provided that the network operator 70, upon
the request of the first subscriber 60, will forward the first data
field with the first ID code 35 and the second ID code 40 as a
notice to the first subscriber 60, so that on the basis of the
information, transmitted in the first ID code 35 and the second ID
code 40, about the makeup and/or content of the short message 5,
the first subscriber 60 can check which data fields of the short
message 5 it is capable, on the basis of its functionality, of
downloading and/or playing hack from the network operator 70. Also
in the first subscriber 60, a decision can be made as to which of
the readable data fields of the short message 5 are to be
downloaded at all from the network operator 70, if not all the
readable data fields of the short message 5 are of interest to the
first subscriber 60, for the sake of economy of transmission
capacity. If by the request of the first subscriber 60 the entire
first data field 15 with the first ID code 35 and the second ID
code 40 is to be transmitted to the first subscriber 60, then it
should as much as possible be assured that the data stored in the
first data field 15 are in a data format that is readable by all
the subscribers of the telecommunications network 10. This is true
particularly whenever the data stored in the first data field 15,
together with the data in the first ID code 35 and in the second ID
code 40, are in a text format; the SMS (Short Message Service)
format by the GSM Standard (Global System for Mobile
Communications), for instance, is attractive, since it is readable,
in a telecommunications network embodied by the requirements of the
GSM system, by the subscribers or mobile radio devices of this
subscriber that are embodied by the GSM Standard. Then the first
data field 15 can correspond to the data field already prescribed
for the SMS by the GSM Standard and can be limited in its size to
the 160 7-bit ASCII (American Standard Code for Information
Interchange) text characters. It is possible to transmit relatively
long notices, with the aid of chained SMS short messages. The other
data fields 20, 25, 30 need not be limited in their size.
[0044] The data-field-specific ID codes 45, 50, 55, 75 can also
include indications about the data formats in the respective
associated data field 15, 20, 25, 30 and/or about the size of the
respective associated data field 15, 20, 25, 30 and/or about the
type of data in the respective data field 15, 20, 25, 30. If it is
agreed that the data in the first data field 15 are in the GSM-SMS
text format, and this data field is limited for instance to 160
7-bit ASCII text characters, then the first data-field-specific ID
code 45 can also be omitted. It can be provided that only data in a
single data format are stored in each data field 15, 20, 25, 30.
However, it can also be provided that in at least one of the data
fields, data in a plurality of data formats are stored, in
particular in the second data field 20 and/or optionally in one or
more further data fields 25, 30. Naturally, it can also be provided
that the short message 5 includes more than the four data fields
shown in FIG. 2.
[0045] It can also be provided that the notice from the network
operator 70 to the first subscriber 60, in response to the request
by the subscriber to the network operator 70, about the makeup
and/or content of the short message 5 is prepared by evaluation of
the data-field-specific ID codes 45, 50, 55, 75 and is then sent to
the first subscriber 60, so that in this case, the first ID code 35
and the second ID code 40 are not needed, and the first data field
15 does not have to be sent to the first subscriber 60, either.
Proceeding in this way is especially attractive in the second
exemplary embodiment, in which the network operator 70 receives the
short message 5, arriving from the data network 80 that is other
than the telecommunications network 10, and this short message
generally does not meet the standards of the telecommunications
network 10 and thus cannot be read by all the subscribers of the
telecommunications network 10. In that case, the network operator
70 generates a notice about the makeup and/or content of the
incoming short message 5 that is readable by all the subscribers of
the telecommunications network 10. The short message 5 received
from the data network 80 can, however, also have a structure other
than the transmission frame 1 described, depending on the standards
on which the data network 80 is based, yet must still be recognized
and evaluated by the network operator, optionally after conversion
by the network connection unit 85 into a transmission frame 1 as
described, so that the applicable notice can be prepared at the
first subscriber 60. The notice generated in this way about the
makeup and/or content of the short message 5 can thus be sent to
the first subscriber 60 in a data format that is readable by all
the subscribers of the telecommunications network 10; for that
purpose, once again, the GSM-SMS text format, using a data field
with 160 7-bit ASCII text characters, can for instance be provided
in particular.
[0046] A concrete example of a transmission frame 1 for a short
message 5 will now be described in conjunction with FIG. 3. The
short message 5 is embodied as a multimedia short message. In FIG.
3, identical reference numerals identify the same elements as in
FIG. 2. According to FIG. 3, the first data field 15, second data
field 20 and third data field 25 are provided in the transmission
frame 1. No data-field-specific ID codes are provided in the
individual data fields 15, 20, 25. The first data field 15 includes
text data in the ASCII text format; the second data field 20
includes audio data, for instance in the WAV (Wave) format; and the
third data field 25 includes image data, for instance in the GIF
format (Graphic Interchange Format). The first data field 15 with
the text data is text-formatted in accordance with the GSM-SMS. A
dashed line between the first ID code 35 and the second ID code 40
in FIG. 3 indicates that the first ID code 35 and the second ID
code 40 can be combined into one common ID code. This kind of
common ID code 35, 40 indicates both the number of data fields 15,
20, 25 and the content and size of the second data field 20 and
third data field 25. Hence the common ID code 35, 40 can look like
this:
[0047] "Multipart/2/Audio/7654/Image/12345".
[0048] This common ID code 35, 40 states that what is involved is a
short message from a plurality of data fields, as indicated by the
code word "Multipart". The numeral "2" indicates that besides the
first data field 15, which is always present, having the text data
and a length of 160 7-bit ASCII text characters, there are also two
further data fields 20, 25 in the transmission frame 1 of the short
message 5. "Audio" is named as the first data type in the common ID
code 35, 40; thus the common ID code 35, 40 tells that the data
stored in the second data field 20 are audio data. The second data
type is named "Image" in the common ID code 35, 40; thus the common
ID code 35, 40 tells that the data stored in the third data field
25 are image data. Following the data type in the common ID code
35, 40 is the size of the associated data field 20, 25 in each
case, so that the common ID code 35, 40 tells both the length of an
audio file having the audio data, transmitted in the second data
field 20, which is 7654 bytes, and the length of an image file with
the image data, transmitted in the third data field 25, which is
12345 bytes. For the first data field 15, no indications are
required in the common ID code 35, 40, since in the example
described, it always includes text data, which are compatible with
the GSM-SMS text format and which are limited in number to 160
7-bit ASCII text characters. Provision can additionally be made so
that the common ID code 35, 40 also indicates the data format for
the data in the second data field 20 and in the third data field
25. For the audio data in the second data field 20, the WAV format
could then be indicated as a data format in the common ID code 35,
40. For the image data in the third data field 25, the GIF format
could be indicated as the data format in the common ID code 35, 40.
However, it is also possible that the indications "Audio" and
"Image" of the aforementioned common ID code 35, 40 simultaneously
describe the content and the format of the data stored in the
corresponding data fields 20, 25 as well, on the condition then
that audio data always be present in a predetermined format, such
as the WAV format, and that image data also always be present in a
predetermined format, such as the GIF format, in the corresponding
data field of the transmission frame 1. Based on the common ID code
35, 40 transmitted to the first subscriber 60, a decision can be
made by the first subscriber whether it makes sense at all, or is
desirable, to download the second data field 20 and/or the third
data field 25 from the network operator 70. If the first subscriber
60 lacks audio capacity, or in other words has no capability of
processing or playing back audio data, then it makes no sense to
download the audio data from the second data field 20 from the
network operator 70. If the first subscriber 60 has no image
capability, that is, image data cannot be processed or played back
in the first subscriber 60, then again it makes no sense to
download image data from the third data field 25 from the network
operator 70.
[0049] For selecting the data fields of the transmission frame 1 of
the short message 5 that are to be downloaded from the network
operator 70, provision can be made for displaying the common ID
code 35, 40 on a display device of the second subscriber 60. Thus
the items of information about the makeup and/or content of the
short message 5 can be read out from the received notice by the
subscriber 60 and shown on the display device.
[0050] The display can be in the form of a simple, optionally
scrollable text display on the display device, as is usual for
received SMS text messages. However, it can also be provided that
the items of information about the makeup and/or content of the
short message 5 are first evaluated by the first subscriber 60. In
the case where menu-controlled operation is possible in the first
subscriber 60, a new menu item or submenu item can be generated on
the basis of this evaluation and incorporated into the existing
menu structure, so that the items of information about the makeup
and/or content of the short message 5 can be displayed,
menucontrolled, on the display device. In addition or as
alternative, the evaluation of the items of information about the
makeup and/or content of the short message 5 can also be done with
a view to displaying this information on the display device in the
form of a directory structure, which lists the contents of the data
fields of the short message 5 in the form of data files in a
directory. From such a directory structure, access can then be
gained conveniently to individual data files of the short message,
for instance by using the cursor.
[0051] The evaluation of the items of information about the makeup
and/or content of the short message 5 can be done directly by an
evaluation unit using suitable software programs in the subscriber
station of the first subscriber 60, and thus independently of the
network operator 70. The prerequisite for this is naturally that
the software programs required are also installed in the subscriber
station and that the evaluation unit makes the requisite hardware
platform available for executing the software programs. Otherwise,
except for the pure text display of the notice on the display
device, for instance by the appropriate mobile radio standard, no
evaluation of the items of information about the makeup and/or
content of the short message 5 in the subscriber station is
possible.
[0052] In addition or as alternative to the described evaluation of
the items of information about the makeup and/or content of the
short message 5 directly in the subscriber station, it can also be
provided that network operator-dependent evaluation be done. To
that end, an access authorization card, issued to the user of the
subscriber station by the network operator, in the form of an
identity module can be used. This card, which can for instance be
embodied as a chip card, and in particular a SIM card (Subscriber
Identity Module), then includes an evaluation device in which
software programs for evaluating the items of information about the
makeup and/or content of the short message 5 can be run, programs
that are also stored in memory on the card. The access
authorization card is connected to the subscriber station via a
special interface, such as an SAT (SIM Application Toolkit)
interface. This interface enables the network operator 70, via the
access authorization card, with a suitable hardware platform and
software implementation, to trip actions in the subscriber station
or to transcribe data to the subscriber station. Thus depending on
the contract the user has with the network operator, a suitable
evaluation device and corresponding software programs, which make
options on evaluating the items of information about the makeup
and/or content of the short message 5 possible. The software
programs can also be updated on the card, upgraded, or at least
partly deleted or blocked by the network operator 70, via the
telecommunications network 10. If the evaluation is performed by
means of the access authorization card, then the evaluation is
possible regardless of the power scope of the subscriber station
itself, and naturally the display of the items of information about
the makeup and/or content of the short message 5 is done, as
before, on the display device of the subscriber station;
appropriate data are transmitted between the subscriber station and
the access authorization card via the interface described.
[0053] Provision can also be made to enable the items of
information about the makeup and/or content of the short message 5
to be evaluated on a further card, independently of both the
subscriber station and the network operator 70. Such a card can be
made available by a suitable service provider. Reference numeral 70
in this case designates the service provider. Like the access
authorization card, this further card can be inserted into its own
card slot that has a card reader in the subscriber station of the
first subscriber 60. However, a card reader connected externally to
the subscriber station can also be provided for the card issued by
the service provider.
[0054] For evaluating the items of information about the makeup
and/or content of the short message 5, these items of information
must be delivered to the evaluation unit of the subscriber station
and/or of the evaluation device on the access authorization card.
The evaluation unit or device must then be capable of recognizing
the data, transmitted with the notice, as items of information
about the makeup and/or content of the short message 5 and of
distinguishing them from purely text messages, for instance. To
that end, the notice, which is represented in FIG. 5 as a first
data field 15, includes a first item of header information 90,
which includes an item of information about the further content of
the notice. The first item of header information can include the
item of information according to which the notice contains items of
information about the makeup and/or content of the short message 5.
The evaluation unit or device thus recognizes the notice as a
notice about a short message 5 on hand in the network operator 70
and is then capable of selecting the software programs required for
a specified evaluation of these items of information and of
performing that evaluation. However, the first item of header
information 90 is not necessary if the evaluation unit or device
makes it possible only to evaluate items of information about the
makeup and/or content of the short message 5.
[0055] It can also be provided, as shown in FIG. 5, that there be a
second item of header information 95 in the notice. The first item
of header information 90 then contains only an item of information
about the presence of the second item of header information 95, for
instance in the form of a set bit. The second item of header
information 95 in that case contains items of information about the
type of evaluation of the notice that is to be performed. The
evaluation to be performed can comprise merely displaying the
notice in text form on the display device. If the notice involves
items of information about the makeup and/or content of the short
message 5, then the second item of header information 95 can also
specify a menu-controlled display, especially with a directory
structure, of these items of information for the evaluation to be
performed. Thus the second item of header information 95 is
necessary especially whenever a choice must be made between a
plurality of evaluation options, implemented in the evaluation unit
or device, for the items of information about the makeup and/or
content of the short message 5.
[0056] The first item of header information 90 and optionally the
second item of header information 95 then adjoin the first ID code
35 and the second ID code 40 in the first data field 15 as shown in
FIG. 5.
[0057] By the display of the items of information about the makeup
and/or content of the short message 5 on the display device of the
subscriber station, the user, for instance by menu control, can
initiate a further processing of the short message 5, or of parts
of the short message 5, such as one or more data fields of the
short message 5. This can be done by user input at an input unit of
the subscriber station, for instance using the cursor. The user can
then input or specify command criteria by which the short message 5
is to be processed, in accordance with his needs. If there are
video data in the short message, then the user can for instance
specify that these data of the short message 5 be deleted in the
network operator 70, either because he does not want to view them
or because his subscriber station does not permit their display. In
that case on the basis of the user input, a command message with a
suitable processing command is then prepared and sent to the
network operator 70. It is also possible according to the invention
for the command message to be transmitted to the telecommunications
network 10 in the form of a short message 5 for the network
operator 70; a notice is sent to the network operator 70 either
beforehand or together with the command message. The notice can
have the makeup described and can include items of information
about the makeup and/or content of the command message. To that
end, as described, it can be provided with a first item of header
information 90 and optionally a second item of header information
95, in order to bring about the presence of a command message by
means of the first item of header information 90 and optionally to
bring about evaluation and processing, as desired by the first
subscriber 60, of the command message by means of the second item
of header information 95 on the part of the network operator 70, if
a choice can be made between a plurality of different types of
evaluation and/or processing. If only the first item of header
information 90 indicating the presence of a command message is
present, then that item of header information is evaluated and
processed by the network operator 70 in a way specified in the
network operator 70.
[0058] The command message can be in the form of an SMS message by
the GSM Standard, and then the notice can be limited to the first
item of header information 90 and optionally the second item of
header information 95. If only the first item of header information
90 is provided in the notice, then the network operator 70 can for
instance merely specify that the command message be displayed on a
display device of the central station of the network operator 70,
this display serving as evaluation or processing of the command
message. Processing of the short message, present in the network
operator 70 for the first subscriber 60, can then be brought about
by an operator on the basis of the command message.
[0059] If the second item of header information 95 is present in
the notice for the command message, then processing desired by the
first subscriber 60 of the short message present for the first
subscriber 60 in the network operator 70 can also already be
specified, so that this processing is automatically initiated in
the network operator 70.
[0060] However, the command message can additionally or
alternatively to manual user input also be prepared automatically
in the first subscriber 60 on the basis of the evaluated items of
information about the makeup and/or content of the short message 5.
Then both in the automatic and the manual preparation of the
command message, provision can be made so that only those commands
for processing the short message 5 that are in accordance with the
power scope of the first subscriber 60, or the corresponding
subscriber station, can in fact be generated. If the first
subscriber 60 lacks video capability, for instance, then no command
message can be generated for downloading video data in the short
message 5 to the first subscriber 60. On the contrary, a command
can even be automatically incorporated into the command message
that the applicable video data in the short message 5 should be
deleted at the network operator 70. The command message can also be
automatically prepared in accordance with command criteria
specified by the user and/or the network operator 70. To that end,
at the first subscriber 60, in the evaluation unit of the
associated subscriber station and/or in the evaluation device of
the access authorization card, a so-called profile that contains
the applicable command criteria is put in memory. The command
criteria can be specified for various items of information about
the makeup and/or content of the short message 5, and as a function
of these items of information about the makeup and/or content of
the short message 5, applicable command criteria can be generated,
so that for instance in the case of items of information about
video data present in the short message 5, a command criteria is
provided which generates a command message to delete these video
data from the short message 5. The profile can also be stored at
least in part at the network operator 70 itself. If the network
operator 70 detects video data in a short message 5 on hand for the
first subscriber 60, then if a command criteria is correspondingly
present, the network operator can itself perform the deletion
immediately, without informing the first subscriber 60 about these
video data. A specification about using the push service or the
polling service can also be included in the profile at the network
operator 70. If a plurality of data types is present in the short
message 5 on hand at the network operator 70 for the first
subscriber 60, it can for instance be provided that the push
service and the polling service each be used for different types of
data, such as the push service for video data and the polling
service for audio data.
[0061] In accordance with the evaluation of the items of
information about the makeup and/or content of the short message 5,
the command message can also be prepared independently of the
network operator, by means of the evaluation unit of the first
subscriber 60, and/or dependent on the network operator by means of
the evaluation device on the access authorization card. However, it
can also be provided that the command message is prepared
independently of the network operator and independently of the
subscriber station of the first subscriber 60, by means of a
suitable evaluation device on the card of a service provider, if
the evaluation of the items of information about the makeup and/or
content of the short message 5 is already done in this way as
well.
[0062] The short message 5 could also include a transmission frame
1 comprising precisely two data fields 15, 20; in the first data
field 15, the text data with the common ID code 35, 40 are then
present, as described, while in the second data field 20, a
plurality of data types or media are combined. However, it can also
be provided that N data types or media, to be transmitted in the
short message 5, are distributed to N or N+1 data fields in the
transmission frame 1 of the short message 5. In that case, the
first subscriber 60 can download all the data fields of the short
message 5 from the network operator 70 either individually or all
together.
[0063] In the first subscriber 60, an evaluation of the transmitted
common ID code 35, 40 can also already be performed, so that their
display on the display device of the first subscriber 60 already
indicates which data fields of the short message 5 can be
downloaded at all from the network operator 70, based on the
functionality of the first subscriber 60.
[0064] The second subscriber 65 generates a short message 5 in the
described transmission frame 1. The generation of a transmission
frame 1 in the second subscriber 65 can be done simply by linking
together the individual data fields 15, 20, 25, 30, optionally
adding to each of them a respective one of the data-field-specific
ID codes 45, 50, 55, 75. The network operator 70 in turn receives
and stores short messages 5 in memory in the transmission frame 1
described. If the first subscriber 60 has the appropriate
functionality, provision can be made for the transmission frame 1
to downloaded in its entirety from the network operator 70 and
transmitted to the first subscriber 60. In this case, the first
subscriber 60 receives the short message 5 in the transmission
frame 1 described, optionally stores it in memory, and/or plays it
back in visual and/or acoustical form. The first subscriber 60
receives at least a single data field of the transmission frame 1,
optionally stores it in memory, and/or plays it back visually
and/or acoustically. An evaluation of received data fields 15, 20,
25, 30 in the network operator 70 and in the first subscriber 60
can for instance be done on the basis of the data-field-specific ID
codes 45, 50, 55, 75 if these have been transmitted with the
associated data fields 15, 20, 25, 30, or on the basis of the first
ID code 35 and/or second ID code 40 if they have been
transmitted.
[0065] The transmission frame 1 of the invention is not limited to
use in a radiotelecommunications network but can also be used in a
landline telecommunications network 10, in which case the
subscribers 60, 65 and the network operator 70 are also connected
by landline. Provision can also be made for one of the two
subscribers 60, 65 to be in communication via a landline
telecommunications network 10, and for the other of the two
subscribers 60, 65 to be in communication via a wireless
telecommunications network 10, with the network operator 70, so
that the transmission frame 1 is suitable for transmitting short
messages 5 both in the landline telecommunications network and the
wireless telecommunications network 10.
[0066] After the short message 5 arrives at the network operator 70
of the telecommunications network 10, the network operator 70
checks whether signalling items of information, which identify an
activation of the first subscriber 60 are being received from the
first subscriber 60. The network operator 70 thereupon sends a
message to the first subscriber 60 that informs the first
subscriber 60 of the presence of a short message 5 sent to the
subscriber and stored in memory at the network operator 70. A
decision can thereupon be made at the first subscriber 60 whether
indications about the makeup and/or content of the short message 5
should be requested from the network operator 70. If so, then a
corresponding request signal is transmitted from the first
subscriber 60 to the network operator 70 via the telecommunications
network 10. The network operator 70 thereupon generates a notice
that includes items of information about the makeup and/or content
of the short message 5 and sends this notice to the first
subscriber 60 via the telecommunications network 10. The notice can
for instance include the first text-based data field 15 in the
transmission frame 1 of the short message 5; this data field
includes the first ID code 35 and the second ID code 40 of FIG. 2
and FIG. 3. However, it can also be provided that the first data
field 15 of the short message 5 includes neither the first ID code
35 nor the second ID code 40, but only the first
data-field-specific ID code 45. The network operator 70 can then
prepare the notice about the makeup and/or content of the short
message 5 by evaluating all the data-field-specific ID codes 45,
50, 55, 75, and can for instance generate a text-based data field
for transmitting the thus-prepared notice, which data field is
readable by as much as possible all the subscribers in the
telecommunications network 10. This text-based data field can be in
accordance with the GSM-SMS text format, with a size of up to 160
7-bit ASCII text characters. The notice generated by the network
operator 70 can thus include items of information about the makeup
of the short message 5, which items of information can for instance
include indications about the number of data fields 15, 20, 25, 30
and/or about the data formats of the data stored in the data fields
15, 20, 25, 30, and/or about the size of the data fields 15, 20,
25, 30. The notice generated by the network operator 70 can also
include items of information about the content of the short message
5, which can contain indications about the presence of different
data types in the various data fields 15, 20, 25, 30 of the short
message 5. In the case where the notice includes the first ID code
35 and the second ID code 40, the items of information about the
makeup of the short message 5 are transmitted with the first ID
code 35, and the items of information about the content of the
short message 5 are transmitted with the second ID code 40, in the
applicable notice from the network operator 70 to the first
subscriber 60. The notice transmitted from the network operator 70
to the first subscriber 60 can include additional indications about
the second subscriber 65 as the sender of the data stored in the
short message 5. In this way, the first subscriber 60 is informed
who the sender of the short message 5 is. Based on the notice
transmitted from the network operator 70 to the first subscriber 60
via the telecommunications network 10, a decision can be made in
the first subscriber 60 as to which data fields 15, 20, 25, 30 of
the short message 5 are readable at all by the first subscriber 60,
and which of the readable data fields should be downloaded from the
network operator 70. To that end, the first subscriber 60 sends a
corresponding command message, embodied as a selection message, to
the network operator 70 via the telecommunications network 10, in
which message at least one of the data fields 15, 20, 25, 30 of the
short message 5 is requested from the network operator 70 of the
telecommunications network 10. The data fields of the short message
5 that are requested by the first subscriber 60 are then
transmitted from the network operator 70 to the first subscriber 60
via the telecommunications network 10 and there, optionally after
preprocessing, are played back on a playback device, not shown in
FIG. 1. If two or more data fields are requested by the first
subscriber 60 by means of the selection message, then they can be
transmitted from the network operator 70 to the first subscriber 60
either simultaneously or chronologically separately.
[0067] It can also be provided that in the first subscriber 60,
after reception and playback of the notice about the makeup and/or
content of the short message 5, one or more data fields are
selected, which are to be deleted at the network operator 70 or
forwarded to a further subscriber of the telecommunications network
10 or of the data network 80, for instance because they cannot be
read or played back by the first subscriber 60. To that end, in the
case of a deletion request, the first subscriber 60 sends a command
message embodied as a delete message to the network operator 70 via
the telecommunications network 10; the data fields of the short
message 5 that are to be deleted are indicated in the delete
message. The network operator 70 then, in accordance with the
indications in the delete message, deletes the applicable data
fields of the short message 5 from a memory, not shown in FIG. 1.
In the case of the forwarding request, the first subscriber 60
sends a command message, embodied as a forwarding message, to the
network operator 70 via the telecommunications network 10, and the
data fields of the short message 5 that are to be forwarded are
indicated in the forwarding message. By suitable addressing, it is
also indicated in the forwarding message to which subscriber or
subscribers the data fields are to be forwarded. Then in accordance
with the indications in the forwarding message, the network
operator 70 forwards the applicable data fields of the short
message 5 to the addressed subscriber or subscribers; different
data fields of the short message 5 can be forwarded to different
subscribers or to the same subscribers.
[0068] It is understood that in the first subscriber 60, it is
possible by means of the selection message for all the data fields
15, 20, 25, 30 of the short message 5 to be requested for
downloading at the network operator 70. It is equally possible by
means of the delete message for all the data fields 15, 20, 25, 30,
or in other words the entire short message 5, to be released for
deletion at the network operator 70.
[0069] The request of data fields will now be described concretely
taking as an example the transmission frame 1 shown in FIG. 3. In
response to the message about the presence of a short message 5
sent to it, the first subscriber 60, as a request signal, sends the
command "get MMK Content" (MMK stands for Multimedia Short Message)
to the network operator 70. The first subscriber 60 thereupon
receives a notice from the network operator that describes the
makeup and/or content of the multimedia short message 5 in
accordance with FIG. 3. As an example, this notice is then the same
one described above, that is, "Multipart/2/Audio/7654/Image/12345".
From this notice, the first subscriber 60 can now tell how many
data fields 15, 20, 25 comprise the multimedia short message 5. In
the example described, it is found that the multimedia short
message 5 comprises three data fields 15, 20, 25. The first
subscriber 60 thereupon finds that the data stored in the first
data field 15 are ASCII text data, the data stored in the second
data field 20 are audio data, and the data stored in the third data
field 25 are image data. The notice from the network operator 70
could additionally include indications that the audio data are in
the WAV format and the image data are in the GIF format, for
instance, in the applicable data fields 20, 25 of the short message
5. With the selection message "Get MMK (x)", the x.sup.th data
field 15, 20, 25 can now be requested from the network operator 70,
where x=1, 2 or 3. Thus after the selection message "get MMK (2)",
the audio data of the second data field 20 are sent to the first
subscriber 60 by the network operator 70. A plurality of data
fields can be requested from the network operator by a selection
message "get MMK (x, y, . . . )".
[0070] It can also be provided that after receiving a short message
5, made up as described, from the second subscriber 65, the network
operator 70 generates an acknowledgement message to acknowledge the
reception of the short message 5 and sends it to the
telecommunications network 10 for the second subscriber 65 as in
the first exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1. The acknowledgement
message can likewise take the form of a short message made up as
described; a notice is sent to the sender as a function of the
acknowledgement message, and with the notice, data can be
transmitted to the sender that include items of information about
the makeup and/or content of the acknowledgement message. As in the
command message described, it can be provided that the
acknowledgement message is transmitted as an SMS message by the GSM
Standard and that the notice is transmitted as a first item of
header information 90 and optionally as a second item of header
information 95 to the telecommunications network 10 for the second
subscriber 65.
[0071] If only the first item of header information 90 is provided
in the notice, then at the second subscriber 65 it is possible for
instance merely to provide for displaying the acknowledgement
message on a display device of the subscriber station of the second
subscriber 65, to serve as the evaluation or processing of the
acknowledgement message.
[0072] If the second item of header information 95 is present in
the notice for the acknowledgement message, then processing of the
acknowledgement message desired by the network operator 70 can
already be specified, so that it is automatically initiated at the
second subscriber 65.
[0073] Analogously, an acknowledgement message can also be output
by the network operator 70 to the telecommunications network 10 for
the first subscriber 60, with which message the network operator 70
can acknowledge the reception of a command message.
[0074] Correspondingly, an acknowledgement message can also be
output to the telecommunications network 10 by the first subscriber
60 for the network operator 70, with which message the first
subscriber 70 can acknowledge the reception of a message.
[0075] It can also be provided that the evaluation of the items of
information about the makeup and/or content of the short message 5
and/or that the preparation of command messages be done at least in
part in an external unit remote from the subscriber station of the
first subscriber 60, and the display device for displaying the
items of information about the makeup and/or content of the short
message 5 can also be provided in the external unit, in particular
in the form of a monitor.
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