HK1085341B - Method, system and communication terminal for utilising a multimedia messaging service format for applications - Google Patents

Description

Method, system and communication terminal for using multimedia message service format for applications

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for using the MMS format for the user interface of an application, such as running an animation or audio recording, or presenting a screen image guiding the operator, for example by means of a specific menu sequence. The invention further relates to a communication terminal for executing an application for providing multimedia assistance to a user through a menu using e.g. the MMS format during operation of the user.

Background

Recently, communication terminals have been developed to perform the generation and transmission of text messages such as Short Message Service (SMS) messages and Multimedia Message Service (MMS) messages containing video, image and audio sequences in addition to voice communication. Further, operators transmit their logo (logo) for display on the communication terminal according to the location of the communication terminal. Furthermore, communication terminals have evolved to include Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) features such as calendar, address book, and even email functions.

European patent application, EP1197901, discloses a portable communication terminal comprising a control unit for running a reminder application (reminder application) and a display for presenting the reminder in a text window, EP1197901 being hereby incorporated by reference in this specification. The reminder application enables a user to send a text reminder (reminder) to a remote second communication terminal over a wireless network. These text prompts are preferably sent over the wireless network including in a message according to the SMS format. However, the user interface of an application running on a communication terminal is typically based on a text format. Although the text format is a simple format and does not require much processor time, users of communication terminals demand improved interfaces and multimedia capabilities on their communication terminals.

Summary of The Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a communication terminal capable of executing an application that stores different multimedia data internally using an MMS format. The communication terminal may be a mobile or cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant or a personal computer for use in a wireless communication network.

A particular advantage of the present invention is that it provides a user interface that guides the user of a communication terminal through a specific sequence of operations.

A particular feature of the invention relates to the provision of a reminder system that enables a user of a communication terminal to record reminders in MMS format on the communication terminal, the reminders thus possibly comprising a recording of an audio or video sequence captured by the communication terminal or received at the communication terminal and stored by the user.

The above objects, advantages and features together with numerous other objects, advantages and features, which will become evident from below detailed description, are obtained according to a first aspect of the present invention by a communication terminal comprising:

a) a control module for executing an application comprising an executable program;

b) a multimedia generation module for generating a recording;

c) a storage module for storing the application and storing the recording in a multimedia format; and

d) a multimedia playing module for playing the record; and wherein

The control module is adapted to associate the recording with the application and to control the multimedia playback module to play the recording in conjunction with the control module executing the application.

The terms "a" or "an" should be interpreted in context with one or more, or single or plural, units.

The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention may comprise a mobile or cellular telephone, a personal office assistant or a personal computer. The communication terminal may be connected to a network, such as a wireless communication network and a wired or wireless computer network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) or an internetwork (e.g., the internet). In addition, the communication terminal may be connected to an Over The Air (OTA), a cable or satellite television network, or a power grid. In fact, any type of communication network or potential communication network may be used to communicate messages between communication terminals.

The multimedia playback module according to the first aspect of the invention is adapted to play back the recording via a display, a loudspeaker or a combination thereof.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the recording may comprise text, a series of text, an image, a series of images, a video sequence, a series of video sequences, an audio track (audio track), a series of audio tracks, or any combination thereof. The multimedia format may be a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) format. A wide extension of the new possibilities in the user interface is provided by encapsulating the record in MMS format.

The application according to the first aspect of the present invention may comprise executable programs such as power on/off sequences, incoming and outgoing call sequences, call termination sequences, network operator service initiation.

Thus, combining the application with the recording in the MMS format provides a great possibility to generate a user interface, such as a power-on sequence to a cellular phone, because the MMS format enables the network operator to provide information to the cellular phone in a multimedia format. Alternatively, the power-on sequence may contain a multimedia part describing different types of information about, for example, the power remaining in the cellular phone or antenna reception conditions.

The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention further comprises a schedule module enabling a user of the communication terminal to generate a prompt for the recording as a multimedia format. The prompt may thus comprise a multimedia message for alerting the user to certain activities. The introduction of audio or video recordings has led to a great improvement over the known types of prompts used in communication terminals, i.e. text type prompts.

The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the invention further comprises a media recording module for generating a recording in a multimedia format and forwarding the recording to the multimedia generating module. The media recording module may contain an input device such as a camera, microphone, keyboard, scanner, card reader, biometric reader such as a fingerprint, iris, or voice recognition device, motion sensing display, or any combination thereof. The recording of the multimedia format for a specific application can be performed directly on the communication terminal. That is, the input device may be adapted to record audio using a microphone on the communication terminal, to record an image or a series of images using a camera on the communication terminal, or to record text using only a keyboard on the communication terminal. These units, such as cameras, are commonly available on cellular or mobile phones developed during the last years and thus the present invention provides a supplementary use of these units to record reminder messages stored in a calendar.

The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the invention further comprises a memory communication device for connecting to an external memory module via the interface device, the external memory module being adapted to store applications and recordings in a multimedia format. The external memory in this context should be interpreted as non-integrated memory, i.e. the external memory may comprise a memory card such as a secure digital card, a compactflash card, a smart media card, and a multimedia card, a read-only memory card such as a SIM card or a credit card, a smart card or a PC card, or a removable hard or floppy disk drive, or any combination thereof. Since the memory card has a nonvolatile memory that stabilizes power, data is stable on the card. Furthermore, since memory cards are solid-state media, no moving parts are included, so they do not suffer from mechanical difficulties.

The interface device according to the first aspect of the present invention may comprise a wired or wireless connection link. The connection link may be established by a wireless connection, such as an infrared connection or a radio frequency modulated connection, or a wired connection provided by a cable, for example. The interface device is adapted to communicate in accordance with a communication protocol, such as a bluetooth protocol, a transmission control protocol, an internet protocol, a user datagram protocol, or any combination thereof.

Instead of generating a personal record, the communication terminal according to the first aspect of the invention may be connected to a server via a network, such as the network described above. The multimedia generation module is adapted to receive the recording and/or the associated application from the server, the recording and/or the application being stored in the memory module and played by the multimedia playback module and executed by the control module, respectively. The application may be an updated program version that replaces an existing outdated program version. By connecting to the server, the communication terminal can be continuously updated according to the communication tools provided, i.e. the communication terminals that operate according to the most recent and fastest applications.

The above objects, advantages and features together with numerous other objects, advantages and features, which will become evident from below detailed description, are obtained according to a second aspect of the present invention by a method of applying a multimedia format recording to an application executed on a communication terminal, and the method comprising:

(a) generating a recording of the multimedia format by a multimedia generation module;

(b) associating the recording with the application through the multimedia generation module;

(c) storing the record and application by a local storage module on the communication terminal; and

(d) and executing the application and playing the record through a control module and a media playing module.

The generating of the recording according to the second aspect of the invention comprises receiving multimedia data from a server via a network and converting the multimedia data into the recording via a multimedia generation module. Alternatively or additionally, the generating of the recording may comprise receiving multimedia data from a multimedia recording module of the communication terminal and converting the multimedia data into the recording by means of a multimedia generating module. This approach greatly improves the applications to be run or delivered to the communication terminal, since the user interface associated with the application can provide multimedia support, such as images, video or audio.

In this context, the term "executing" should be understood as running or playing on the communication terminal. When the communication terminal provides the user interface on the associated display, the application itself may actually be executed on the server.

The multimedia format application according to the second aspect of the invention may comprise a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) format. The MMS format provides a standardized format for handling multimedia messages transmitted between interconnected communication terminals over a wireless telecommunications network.

The generation of a multimedia format recording according to the second aspect of the invention may comprise capturing multimedia data via an input device and ordering the multimedia data. The multimedia data is captured using any form of digital or digitized analog recording device. The multimedia data may be transmitted to the communication terminal or server using any type of wired or wireless connection. In fact, as described with reference to the first aspect of the invention, the multimedia data may be recorded by the communication terminal, which in practice provides great versatility, since each user of the communication terminal may generate personal applications such as alert messages.

The method according to the second aspect of the present invention may incorporate any of the features of the communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention.

The above objects, advantages and features together with numerous other objects, advantages and features, which will become evident from below detailed description, are obtained according to a second aspect of the present invention by a system for applying a multimedia format recording to an application executing on a communication terminal, the system comprising:

(a) a communication terminal, comprising:

(i) a control module for executing an application comprising an executable program;

(ii) a multimedia generation module for generating a recording;

(iii) a storage module for storing the application and storing the multimedia format record; and

(iv) a multimedia playing module for playing the record; and wherein

The control module is adapted to associate the recording with the application and control the multimedia playback module to play the recording in conjunction with the control module executing the application.

(b) A server for generating and forwarding said application and/or said record to said communication terminal via a communication network.

The system according to the third aspect of the present invention may incorporate any feature of the communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention and any feature of the method according to the second aspect of the present invention.

Brief Description of Drawings

The above and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 illustrates a communication terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a communication system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 3 shows a flow chart of a method according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Description of The Preferred Embodiment

In the following description of the different embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration different embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

A communication terminal according to a presently preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig. 1 and designated in its entirety by reference numeral 100. The communication terminal 100 includes a message module 102 for sending and receiving any type of data packets over a wireless communication network; a calendar module 104 for enabling a user of the communication terminal 100 to perform general calendar operations, such as storing or retrieving any form of time-related data, such as alerts, meetings or special dates; a media playback module 106 for outputting the recording via a display or via a speaker, or a combination thereof; a storage module 108 for storing multimedia format records; and a control module 110 for executing an application in conjunction with the media playback module 106 outputting the associated recording.

The calendar module 104 cooperates with the media generation module 112 via the control module 110 for generating a recording in a multimedia format, such as an MMS format, and associating it with an application executed by the control module 110. The media generation module 112 receives records from a keyboard, microphone, camera, scanner, card reader, iris reader, fingerprint reader, motion sensing display, or any combination thereof, which input devices are designated throughout by reference numeral 116. Alternatively, as will be described below with reference to fig. 2, the media generation module 112 receives a record from a server that provides multimedia data to be associated with a particular application. The multimedia data may be text, a series of texts, an image, a series of images, a video sequence, a series of video sequences, an audio track, a series of audio tracks, or any combination thereof.

Fig. 2 illustrates a communication system designated in its entirety by reference numeral 200 and comprising a communication terminal 100, as described with reference to fig. 1, the communication terminal 100 communicating with a server 206 via a communication network 202.

The communication terminal 100 comprises an antenna 114 for connection to a communication network 202, the communication network 202 being for example a wireless telecommunication network and a wired or wireless computer network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) or an internetwork (e.g. the internet). Further, the antenna 114 may be connected to an over the air interface (OTA), a cable or satellite television network, or a power grid.

The server 206 is connected to the communication terminal 100 through the communication network 202 via a first wireless link 204 and a second wired or wireless link 208. The server 206 provides applications and related multimedia format recordings to be stored in the storage module 108 of the communication terminal 100 and executed by the control module 110 and the multimedia playback module 106. The application and associated record may be an updated program version that replaces an existing outdated program version. The communication terminal 100 is constantly updated by connecting to the server 206. Thus constantly enabling the communication tool 100 to function according to the latest and fastest applications.

For example, if the communication terminal 100 needs an updated application, possibly because the current power-on sequence installed on the communication terminal 100 is determined by a clock function that limits the use of the communication terminal 100, the server 206 provides the updated application to the communication terminal 100 through the communication network 202.

Further, upon receiving a request from the communication terminal 100, the server 206 may forward a wide variety of applications to be stored on the storage module 108. The application and associated multimedia data may be a game or a new feature to an existing application on the communication terminal 100.

Fig. 3 illustrates a flow chart of a method in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, designated generally throughout by reference numeral 300. The method 300 comprises a start-up stage 302 during which basic requirements such as file formats and implementation procedures are established.

Further, the method 300 comprises a generating procedure 304 for generating a recording in a multimedia format and an associating procedure 306 for associating the recording with an application to be run in the communication terminal. The generating process 304 comprises receiving multimedia data, such as text, a series of texts, an image, a series of images, a video sequence, a series of video sequences, an audio track, a series of audio tracks, or any combination thereof. The association process 306 includes determining an association between the multimedia data and the application. It is the association process 306 that links the multimedia data to the application.

During the storing process 308, the method 300 further stores the recording and the application in the multimedia format in the memory. The memory may be a local memory integrated on a communication terminal, such as a cellular phone, or an external memory, e.g. on a server. The local memory may be erasable as well as static type memory or both. If the record is stored on the external memory, the record will be transferred to the communication terminal when the communication terminal requests the record.

The method 300 further includes an execution process 310 for playing the multimedia format recording in conjunction with the execution of the application. The communication terminal may thus present the user with a multimedia interface when the user powers on his cell phone, for example. In addition, the communication terminal enables a user to record a message and store the multimedia format message locally on the communication terminal, the message being associated with a reminder application. That is, the alert application stores the alert message, which may include a message containing multimedia data, in a multimedia format, such as MMS.

Finally, the method 300 includes a termination process 312 during which the method 300 makes itself available for the generation of more multimedia format applications.

Claims (25)

1. A communication terminal, comprising:

(a) a multimedia generation module for generating a multimedia format record;

(b) a schedule module for enabling a user of the communication terminal to generate a prompt in the multimedia format;

(c) a storage module for storing the prompt and storing the multimedia format record;

(d) a control module for executing the prompt comprising an executable program; and

(e) a multimedia playing module for playing the record; and wherein

The control module is adapted to associate the recording with the cue and control the multimedia playback module to play the recording in conjunction with the control module executing the cue.

2. A communication terminal according to claim 1, comprising a mobile or cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a personal computer, or any combination thereof.

3. A communication terminal according to any of claims 1 or 2, adapted to be connected to a wireless telecommunications network or a wired or wireless computer network.

4. A communications terminal according to claim 3, wherein said wired or wireless computer network is a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), the internet or any combination thereof.

5. A communication terminal according to any of claims 1 to 2, adapted to be connected to an over the air interface (OTA), a cable or satellite television network, a power network, or any combination thereof.

6. A communication terminal according to any of claims 1 to 2, wherein the recording comprises text, a series of texts, an image, a series of images, a video sequence, a series of video sequences, an audio track, a series of audio tracks, or any combination thereof.

7. A communication terminal according to any of claims 1 to 2, wherein the multimedia format is a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) format.

8. The communication terminal of claim 1 or 2, wherein the executable program is a power on/off sequence, an incoming and outgoing call sequence, a call termination sequence, a network operator service initiation, or any combination thereof.

9. A communication terminal according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a media recording module for generating multimedia data and forwarding the multimedia data to the multimedia generation module.

10. The communication terminal of claim 9, wherein the media recording module comprises an input device.

11. The communication terminal of claim 10, wherein the input device is a camera, a microphone, a keyboard, a scanner, a card reader, a biometric reader, a motion sensing display, or any combination thereof.

12. A communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a memory communication device connected to an external memory module via an interface device, the external memory module being adapted to store said prompt and said recording in a multimedia format.

13. The communication terminal according to claim 12, wherein the external memory module comprises a memory card, a read-only memory card, a smart card or a PC card, or a removable hard or floppy disk drive, or any combination thereof.

14. The communication terminal of claim 13, wherein the memory card is a secure digital card, a compactflash card, a smart media card, or a multimedia card.

15. The communication terminal of claim 13, wherein the read only memory card is a SIM card or a credit card.

16. A communications terminal according to any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the interface device comprises a wired or wireless connection link.

17. The communication terminal according to any of claims 12 to 15, wherein said interface device is adapted to communicate according to a bluetooth protocol, a transmission control protocol, an internet protocol, a user datagram protocol, or any combination thereof.

18. A communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein the communication terminal is adapted to connect to a server via the network.

19. A communication terminal according to claim 18, wherein said communication terminal is adapted to receive said recording and/or prompting from said server to be stored in said storage module and played by said multimedia playing module and executed by said control module, respectively.

20. A method of using a recording in a multimedia format as a reminder for a calendar application executing on a communication terminal, the method comprising:

(a) generating a recording of the multimedia format by a multimedia generation module;

(b) associating, by a control module, the record with the prompt;

(c) storing the record and the prompt by a storage module on the communication terminal; and

(d) and executing the prompt and playing the record through the control module for controlling the multimedia playing module.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said step of generating a recording comprises receiving multimedia data from a server over a network and converting said multimedia data into said recording by said multimedia generation module.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein said step of generating a recording further comprises receiving multimedia data from a multimedia recording module of said communication terminal and converting said multimedia data into said recording by said multimedia generating module.

23. A method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the multimedia format prompt comprises a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) format.

24. The method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein said multimedia data is transmitted to said communication terminal or server using a wired or wireless connection.

25. A system for using a recording in a multimedia format as a reminder for a calendar application executing on a communication terminal, the system comprising:

(a) a communication terminal, comprising:

(i) a control module for executing a prompt comprising an executable program;

(ii) a multimedia generation module for generating a recording in a multimedia format;

(iii) a storage module for storing the prompt and storing the multimedia format record; and

(iv) a multimedia playing module for playing the record; and wherein

Said control module is adapted to associate said recording with said cue and to control said multimedia playback module to play said recording in conjunction with said control module executing said cue; and

(b) a server for generating said prompt and/or said record and forwarding said prompt and/or said record to said communication terminal via a communication network.