Abstract:
This invention relates to a method, system and communication terminal for utilising a MMS format for user interfaces for applications such as running animations or audio-recordings, or such as showing screen images guiding an operator through a specific menu sequence.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to a method for utilising a MMS format for user interfaces for applications such as running animations or audio-recordings, or such as showing screen images guiding an operator through a specific menu sequence. This invention further relates to a communication terminal for executing applications utilising a MMS format for providing a user with a multimedia assistance during for example the user&#39;s manoeuvring through a menu.  
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0002]     Lately, communication terminals have evolved to perform, in addition to voice communication, generation and transmission of text messages such as Short Messaging Services (SMS) messages as well as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages comprising a video, picture or audio sequence. In addition, operators transmit their logo for displaying on the communication terminal in accordance with position of the communication terminal. Furthermore, the communication terminals have evolved to include personal digital assistant (PDA) features such as calendar, address book, and even email functions.  
         [0003]     European patent application EP 1 197 901, which hereby is incorporated by reference in the present specification, discloses a hand-portable communication terminal comprising a control unit for running a reminder application and a display for presenting the reminders in a text window. The reminder application enables a user to transmit text reminders to a remote second communication terminal via a wireless network. Preferably these text reminders are transferred via the wireless network included in a message according to the SMS format. The user interfaces for applications run on a communication terminal, however, are generally based on a text format. Although the text format is a simple format, which does not require much processor time, the users of communication terminals demand improved interfaces and multimedia capabilities on their communication terminals.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     An object of the present invention is to provide a communication terminal capable of executing applications utilising the MMS format for internally storing various multimedia data. The communication terminal may be mobile or cellular phones, personal digital assistants or personal computers, used in a wireless communication network.  
         [0005]     A particular advantage of the present invention is provision of user interfaces which guide a user of a communication terminal through a specific sequence of operations.  
         [0006]     A particular feature of the present invention relates to the provision of a reminder system enabling a user of a communication terminal to record a reminder on a communication terminal in the MMS format, which reminder thereby may contain a recording of an audio or visual sequence captured by the communication terminal or received at the communication terminal and stored by the user.  
         [0007]     The above objects, advantage and feature 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 generating module for generating a recording;     c) storage module for storing said application and for storing said recording in a multimedia format; and     d) a multimedia playing module for playing said recording; and wherein 
 
 said control module is adapted to associate said recording with said application and to control said multimedia playing module to play said recording in conjunction with said control module executing said application. 
       
 
         [0012]     The term “a” or “an” should in this context be construed as one or more, or a single or plurality of elements.  
         [0013]     The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention may comprise a mobile or cellular phone, a personal office assistant or a personal computer. The communication terminal may be connected to a network such as wireless telecommunication network as well as a wired or wireless computer network such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN) or an internetwork (e.g. the Internet). Further, the communication terminal may be connected to an over the air (OTA), a cable or satellite television network, or to a power network. In practise, any type of communication network or potential communication network may be used for carrying messages between communication terminals.  
         [0014]     The multimedia playing module according to the first aspect of the present invention may be adapted to play the recording either through a display, a loudspeaker, or a combination thereof.  
         [0015]     The recording according to the first aspect of the present invention may comprise a text, a series of texts, a picture, a series of pictures, a video sequence, a series of video sequences, an audio track, a series of audio tracks, or any combination thereof. The multimedia format may be a multimedia messaging service (MMS) format. By encapsulating the recording in a MMS format a wide spread of new possibilities in user interfaces is provided.  
         [0016]     The application according to the first aspect of the present invention may comprise an executable program such as a power up/down sequence, incoming and outgoing call sequence, call termination sequence, network operator service initiation.  
         [0017]     Hence, combining the application and the recording in a MMS format provides an excellent possibility for generating a user interface for, e.g., a powering up sequence of a cellular phone, since the MMS format enables the network operator to provide information to the cellular phone in a multimedia format. Alternatively, the powering up sequence may comprise a multimedia section describing various types of information in regards to for example power left in the cellular phone or reception conditions of the antenna.  
         [0018]     The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention may further comprise a calendar module for enabling a user of the communication terminal to generate a reminder as a recording in the multimedia format. The reminder may thus comprise a multimedia message for alerting the user about certain activities. The introduction of an audio or video recording provides a significant improvement to the known types of reminders used in communication terminals, i.e. text type reminders.  
         [0019]     The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention may further comprise a media recording module for generating the recording in the multimedia format and for forwarding the recording to the multimedia generating module. The media recording module may comprise an input device such as a camera, a microphone, a keyboard, a scanner, a card reader, a biometric reader such as a fingerprint, iris or voice recognition device, an action sensitive display, or any combination thereof. The recording in the multimedia format for a particular application may be performed directly on the communication terminal. That is, the input device may be adapted to record an audio using a microphone on the communication terminal, an image or series of images using a camera on the communication terminal, or simply a text utilising a keyboard on the communication terminal. The elements, such as for example a camera, are generally available on cellular or mobile phones developed during the recent years and thus the present invention provides a supplement use of these elements to record reminders to be stored in a calendar.  
         [0020]     The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention may further comprise a memory communication device for connecting to an external memory module through an interface device, which external memory module is adapted to store the application and the recording in a multimedia format. External memory should in this context be construed as nonintegrated memory, that is the external memory may comprise a memory card such as a secure digital card, a compact flash card, a smart media card, and a multimedia card, read only memory card such as a SIM card or credit card, a smart card or a PC card, or a movable hard or floppy disk drive, or any combination thereof. Since the memory cards have constantly powered non-volatile memory, the data are stable on the cards. Further, since memory cards are solid state media no moving parts are included, and therefore they do not suffer from mechanical difficulties.  
         [0021]     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 one such as provided by a cable. The interface device may be adapted to communicate in accordance with a communication protocol such as bluetooth protocol, a transmission control protocol, Internet protocol, user datagram protocol, or any combination thereof.  
         [0022]     Alternatively to generating a personal recording the communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention may be connected to a server through a network, such as for example described above. The multimedia generating module may be adapted to receive the recording and/or associated application from the server, which recording and/or application is to be stored in the storage module and played by the multimedia playing module and executed by the control module, respectively. The applications may be updated versions of programs replacing existing outdated versions of programs. By connecting to a server the communication terminal may continuously be updated in regards to providing a communication tool i.e. the communication terminal, which operates according to the most recent and fastest applications.  
         [0023]     The above objects, advantage and feature 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 for utilising a recording in a multimedia format for an application executed on a communication terminal, and comprising: 
        (a) generating said recording in a multimedia format by means of a multimedia generating module;     (b) associating said recording with said application by means of said multimedia generating module;     (c) storing said recording and said application by means of a local storage module on said communication terminal; and     (d) executing said application and playing said recording by means of a control module and a media playing module.        
 
         [0028]     The generation of a recording according to the second aspect of the present invention may comprise receiving multimedia data from a server over a network and converting the multimedia data to the recording by means of the multimedia generating module. Alternatively or additionally, the generation of a recording may comprise receiving multimedia data from a multimedia recording module of the communication terminal and converting the multimedia data to the recording by means of the multimedia generating module. The method significantly improves applications to be run or communicated to a communication terminal since the user interface associated with an application may be supplied with multimedia support such as images, video or audio.  
         [0029]     The term “executed” should in this context be construed as run or played on the communication terminal. The application per se may in fact be executed on a server, while the communication terminal provides the user interfaces on the associated display.  
         [0030]     The multimedia format application according to the second aspect of the present invention may comprise a multimedia messaging service (MMS) format. The MMS format provides a standardized format for handling multimedia messages to be communicated between communication terminals interconnected through a wireless telecommunication network.  
         [0031]     The generation of the recording in a multimedia format according to the second aspect of the present invention may comprise capturing multimedia data by means of an input device and sequencing the multimedia data. The multimedia data may be captured using any form of digital or digitized analog recording apparatus. The multimedia data may be transferred to a communication terminal or server utilising any type of wired or wireless connection. The multimedia data may in fact as described with reference to the first aspect of the present invention be recorded by a communication terminal, this in effect, provides great versatility since each user of a communication terminal may generate personal applications such as for example reminders.  
         [0032]     The method according to the second aspect of the present invention may incorporate any feature of the communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention.  
         [0033]     The above objects, advantage and feature together with numerous other objects, advantages and features, which will become evident from below detailed description, is obtained according to a second aspect of the present invention by a system for utilising a recording in a multimedia format for an application executed on a communication terminal, and comprising:  
         [0034]     (a) a communication terminal comprising: 
        (i) a control module for executing an application comprising an executable program;     (ii) a multimedia generating module for generating a recording;     (iii) storage module for storing said application and for storing said recording in a multimedia format; and     (iv) a multimedia playing module for playing said recording; and wherein     said control module is adapted to associate said recording with said application and to control said multimedia playing module to play said recording in conjunction with said control module executing said application; and        
 
         [0040]     (b) a server for generating and forwarding said application and/or said recording to said communication terminal over communication network.  
         [0041]     The system according to the third aspect of the present invention may incorporate any features of the communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention and any features of the method according to second aspect of the present invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0042]     The above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be better understood through the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the appended drawing, wherein:  
         [0043]      FIG. 1  shows a communication terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0044]      FIG. 2  shows a communication system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0045]      FIG. 3  shows a flow chart of a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0046]     In the following description of the various embodiments reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which, by way of illustration, various embodiments are shown, 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.  
         [0047]     A communication terminal according to a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1  as designated in its entirety by reference numeral  100 . The communication terminal  100  comprises a messaging module  102  for transmitting and receiving any types of data packages through 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 e.g. alerts, meetings or special days; a media playback module  106  for outputting a recording either by display or loudspeaker or a combination thereof; a storage module  108  for storing recordings in a multimedia format; and a control module  110  for executing an application in conjunction with the media playback module  106  outputs an associated recording.  
         [0048]     The calendar module  104  cooperates with a media generating module  112  through the control module  110  for generating and associating a recording in a multimedia format such as the MMS format with an application to be executed by the control module  110 . The media generating module  112  receives a recording from a keyboard, a microphone, a camera, a scanner, a card reader, an iris reader, a fingerprint reader, an action sensitive display, or any combination thereof, which is designated in entirety by reference numeral  116 . Alternatively, the media generating module  112 , as will be described below with reference to  FIG. 2 , receives the recording from a server providing multimedia data to be associated with a specific application. The multimedia data may be a text, a series of texts, a picture, a series of pictures, a video sequence, a series of video sequences, an audio track, a series of audio tracks, or any combination thereof.  
         [0049]      FIG. 2 , shows a communication system designated in entirety by reference numeral  200  and comprising the communication terminal  100 , as described with reference to  FIG. 1 , communicating through a communication network  202  with a server  206 .  
         [0050]     The communication terminal  100  comprises an antenna  114  for connecting to a communication network  202  such as wireless telecommunication network as well as a wired or wireless computer network such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN) or an internetwork (e.g. the Internet). Further, the antenna  114  may be connected to an over the air (OTA), a cable or satellite television network, or to a power network.  
         [0051]     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 associated recordings in multimedia format, which are to be stored in the storage module  108  of the communication terminal  100  and to be executed by the control module  110  and by the multimedia playing module  106 . The applications and associated recordings may be updated versions of programs replacing existing outdated versions of programs. By connecting to the server  206  the communication terminal  100  is continuously updated. The communication tool  100  is thereby continuously enabled to operate according to the most recent and fastest applications.  
         [0052]     For example if the communication terminal  100  needs an updated application, maybe because the present power up sequence installed on the communication terminal  100  is determined by a clock function limiting use of the communication terminal  100 , then the server  206  provides an updated application to the communication terminal  100  through the communication network  202 . Furthermore, the server  206  upon request from the communication terminal  100  may forward a wide variety of applications to be stored on the storage module  108 . The applications and associated multimedia data may be games or new features for existing applications on the communication terminal  100 .  
         [0053]      FIG. 3  shows a flow chart of a method according to the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention designated in entirety by reference numeral  300 . The method  300  comprises a start  302  level during which the fundamental requirements such as file format and implementation procedure is established.  
         [0054]     Furthermore, the method  300  comprises a generation procedure  304  for generating a recording in a multimedia format and an association procedure  306  for associating the recording with an application to be run in a communication terminal. The generation procedure  304  comprises receiving multimedia data such as a text, a series of texts, a picture, a series of pictures, a video sequence, a series of video sequences, an audio track, a series of audio tracks, or any combination thereof. The association procedure  306  comprises determination of association of the multimedia data with an application. That is the association procedure  306  links the multimedia data to the application.  
         [0055]     The method  300  further, during a storing procedure  308 , stores the recording in the multimedia format and the application in a memory. The memory may be a local memory integrated on a communication terminal such as a cellular phone, or an external memory, for example, on a server. The local memory may be an erasable as well as static type memory or both types. In case the recording is stored on the external memory, the recording will be forwarded to the communication terminal, when the communication terminal requests this.  
         [0056]     The method  300  further comprises a executing procedure  310  for playing the recording in the multimedia format in association with the executing of the application. Hence the communication terminal may present a multimedia interface for a user, while the user for example is powering up his cellular phone. In addition, the communication terminal enables the user to record a message and store the message in a multimedia format locally on the communication terminal, which message may bc associate with a reminder application. That is, the reminder application utilises the multimedia format such as MMS to store a reminder, which may comprise a message containing multimedia data.  
         [0057]     Finally, the method  300  comprises a termination procedure  312  during which the method  300  makes itself available for generation of further multimedia format applications.