Abstract:
A method and a telecommunications message server apparatus is presented to store and forward file thumbnails to telecommunication messaging clients which have been temporarily unavailable.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    None. 
       FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    None. 
       SEQUENCE LISTING 
       [0003]    None. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    This pertains to a telecommunications message server and method which provides file thumbnail delivery to messaging clients that are temporarily unavailable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    A file “thumbnail” is a small representation of a file that is used to identify a file by its contents. A file thumbnail is particularly useful in telecommunications file transfer when the file to be transferred is a photo or a video clip. A user can, for example, accept or decline the file transfer based upon what is initially seen in the file thumbnail, potentially saving time and money from an unwanted full file transfer. 
         [0006]    The Rich Communications Suite (RCS) telecommunications standards documents provide for a file thumbnail to sometimes be used in conjunction with a file transfer. Not every client and not every carrier network supports receipt and display of a file thumbnail. Also, In a File Transfer (FT) Store and Forward (S&amp;F) situation, where the file is stored for possible later delivery to an offline or otherwise unavailable user, the standards specifically indicate that the thumbnail “shall not include the FT thumbnail since it is not known if the recipient or recipients network has this capability.” This has the consequence of providing an inconsistent service level to the telecommunications client because under the current specification, the recipient client receives a thumbnail image when client is immediately available but the same client does not get the thumbnail if the client is not immediately available. Because of deficiencies in the delivery method and the server, the recipient client does not always get the thumbnail file they are otherwise capable of receiving. The method and device of the above inventors solve these deficiencies. 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0007]    This method retains a file thumbnail at a telecommunications message server stores the thumbnail and forwards the thumbnail to a telecommunications client at a later time. The recipient client could, for example, be a wireless mobile device that has recently powered up. Under the new method when the client becomes available and the server determines, by any of several methods if the messaging client is available and capable of accepting file thumbnails, the server sends the thumbnail to the recipient client. When the recipient client becomes available and it is determined the recipient client supports thumbnail service the server includes the thumbnail in the file transfer request to the recipient client. After viewing the thumbnail the recipient client can then decide to allow the associated file transfer, or not, by methods known in the art. In the preferred embodiment, where the messaging server maintains the record of which subscribers have registered, the SIP INVITE command can be used by the messaging server to deliver the thumbnail to the recipient wireless device client when it becomes available. 
         [0008]    In networks where the registration is not received by the message server, the server can optionally initiate a SIP SUBSCRIBE to the local Presence Server to obtain the recipients capabilities. For networks without a presence server, the server can also initiate a SIP OPTIONS on behalf of the file transfer sender to obtain the recipients capabilities. This allows the message server to make an informed decision as to if the thumbnail should be included in the file transfer request. In this case the SIP OPTIONS request/response can be used between the RCS server and the recipient. A MSRP SEND command may be optionally used to transmit the associated file. 
       GLOSSARY 
       [0000]    
       
         200 OK Standard response after successful SIP request (the second step of SIP “three way handshake.”) 
         AS Application Server 
         DIAMETER A common telecommunication protocol as defined in IETF RFC 6733 
         FT File Transfer 
         HSS Home Subscriber Server 
         IETF Internet Engineering Task Force 
         IMS IP Multimedia Services 
         INVITE SIP Message that indicates a client is being invited to participate in a session (the first step of SIP “three way handshake”) 
         MDN Mobile Directory Number 
         MSRP Message Session Relay Protocol as defined by IETF RFC 4975 
         MSRP OK MSRP acknowledgement message 
         MSRP SEND MSRP SEND command 
         PNR Push Notification Request 
         PNA Push Notification Answer 
         Presence Server An entity that accepts, stores and distributes information regarding the willingness and ability of a user to communicate with other users on the network 
         PUBLISH A SIP command that publishes an event, such as the availability of a messaging client, to a Presence Server 
         RCS Rich Communication Suite 
         RCS-5 Rich Communication Suite version 5 
         RCS-e Rich Communication Suite version e, commonly used in Europe. 
         RCS in-a-box A network configuration where the RCS server also includes emulation of other portions of the IMS network (such as emulation of HSS) 
         RCS Server RCS Store and Forward Telecommunications Server 
         RFC A Request for Comments Document published by the Internet Engineering Task Force 
         SIP Session Initiation Protocol 
         SMPP Short Message Peer to Peer Protocol which is a telecommunications protocol typically used between message servers or a message server to a value added service provider. 
         S&amp;F Store and Forward 
         SNA Subscriber Notification Answer 
         SNR Subscriber Notification Request 
         SUBSCRIBE a SIP Command used to request current state and state updates from a remote node 
         UDR User Data Request—A DIAMETER command on the Sh interface between the HSS and the AS 
         UDA User Data Answer Command in the DIAMETER protocol 
         X-CSCF Any of the I-CSCF (Interrogating—Call Session Control Function), P-CSCF (Proxy—Call Session Control Function) and S-CSCF (Serving—Call Session Control Function). 
       
     
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0040]      FIG. 1  shows retention and delivery of a file transfer thumbnail in a file transfer store and forward scenario where the RCS Server is receiving the registration from the recipient (either direct client registration [RCS in-a-box] or 3 rd  party registration [RCS Server in IMS Core]). 
           [0041]      FIG. 2  shows the retention and delivery of a file transfer thumbnail in a file transfer store and forward scenario where the message server (such as an RCS Server shown in the diagram) is informed the recipient has registered. In this case the RCS Server is not copied on the recipient&#39;s capabilities and opts to initiate a SIP OPTIONS to determine if the recipient supports Thumbnail for File Transfer. 
           [0042]      FIG. 3  shows the retention and delivery of a file transfer thumbnail in a file transfer store and forward scenario where the RCS Server is informed the recipient has registered. In this case the RCS Server is not copied on the recipient&#39;s capabilities and opts to initiate a SIP SUBSCRIBE to the Presence Server to determine if the recipient supports Thumbnail for File Transfer. A SIP INVITE command is used to deliver the thumbnail to Client 2 in the diagram. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0043]    This method stores a file thumbnail at a telecommunications message server in the event the destination client device is not immediately available. In the preferred embodiment the destination client is a wireless mobile device and the Rich Communications Suite and the SIP and MSRP protocols are used to transfer the file thumbnail and associated file to and from an RCS server. The file thumbnail is retained for delivery at the server until the recipient client becomes available and the server determines, by any of several new methods, if the messaging client is available and is accepting file thumbnails. In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the registration occurs on the message server, which might know immediately from an onboard database, the thumbnail capabilities of the recipient client as well as when the client becomes available. When the recipient client becomes available and it is determined the recipient client supports thumbnail service, the server includes the thumbnail to the recipient client. The SIP INVITE command, for example, could be used to communicate the thumbnail to the recipient client. The MSRP SEND command could be repeatedly used to transmit the body of the associated file, if requested by the client. 
         [0044]    For networks without a presence server, as in  FIG. 2  the message server (shown as RCS Server in the figure) can store the thumbnail with the file on the message server. The message server can initiate a SIP OPTIONS to obtain the recipients capabilities after it is notified of the client registration. This allows the message server to make an informed decision as to if the thumbnail should be included in the File Transfer request, shown as a later SIP INVITE in the diagram. Note that the SIP OPTIONS request/response is only between the message server and the recipient client (Client 2 in the diagram). 
         [0045]    The SIP INVITE command is used to communicate the thumbnail to the recipient client, if the client supports that capability, and one or more MSRP SEND commands can optionally be used to transmit the body of the file if requested. 
         [0046]    In some networks the registration is handled by the IMS Core with use of a separate Presence Server. In this case the message server stores the thumbnail with the associated file. When the message server is notified by the IMS Core of the availability of the client and based upon, for example, the message server local policy and local knowledge of the recipient, the RCS Server may initiate a SIP SUBSCRIBE to the local Presence Server to obtain the recipients capabilities as shown in  FIG. 3 . The Presence Server responds with a SIP NOTIFY containing the recipient&#39;s capabilities. The SIP INVITE is again used to transmit the thumbnail and one or more MSRP SEND commands can be used to transmit the file if requested by the client.