Abstract:
A mobile terminal having a limited browser for viewing content available on the Internet is provided. The mobile terminal in one embodiment comprises a conversion unit for converting web contents displayed by the limited browser into a multimedia message, the conversion unit comprising: a parser for parsing the web contents, an object extractor for extracting objects from the parsed web contents, and a multimedia message configurator for creating a multimedia message using the extracted objects.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(a), this application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0118770, filed on Dec. 7, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.  
       FIELD OF INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to multimedia messaging, and more particularly, to a system and a method for converting web contents into a multimedia message.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     A multimedia messaging service (hereinafter, referred to as “MMS”) allows a mobile terminal to send multimedia contents such as still images, moving images, characters or music. The MMS is developed from a short messaging service (SMS) for transmitting/receiving text and an enhanced messaging service (EMS) for transmitting/receiving simple graphics.  
         [0004]     A user can transmit/receive postcards, still images, moving images, moving-image cards, maps or name cards using the MMS. The MMS supports a delivery of content such as a cartoon, an animation or a moving-image advertisement, which require a broadband connection. The MMS can transmit/receive complex multimedia contents such that a variety of content can be enjoyed using the mobile terminal. Accordingly, the MMS is being expected to become a major messaging service for substituting for the SMS in a third-generation mobile communication network environment.  
         [0005]     In order to create and efficiently display a multimedia message, a multimedia message markup language is used. A representative example of the multimedia message markup language is synchronized multimedia integration language (SMIL), which may be defined as a multimedia integration language composed of several simple tags and attributes or a multimedia layout language suggested by world wide web consortium (W 3 C)&#39;.  
         [0006]     The SMIL defines a standard and a transmission technology for expressing synchronized multimedia contents including sound, moving images and text. The SMIL is not compiled into a single file. The multimedia files including sound, moving images and text are stored as individual files and the SMIL combines the multimedia files such that the multimedia files are displayed in a multimedia presentation format.  
         [0007]     A mobile communication terminal can wirelessly access the Internet over a wireless mobile communication network such as a cellular network. A user of the mobile terminal can surf/search web contents such as a web page using an Internet browser of a mobile terminal, such as a cellular telephone.  
         [0008]     Currently, web contents such as news or weather information cannot be forwarded to a third party while a user of a mobile terminal is wirelessly surfing and searching the web via the limited browser software installed on the mobile terminal. This is because the multimedia message markup language such as the SMIL requires text image, sound and video to be separately stored as independent objects, such that style information for each object cannot be converted to multimedia data.  
         [0009]     Unfortunately, the multimedia message markup language is not compatible with an Internet markup language, such as a Wireless Markup Language (WML) or an eXtended Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) utilized in mobile terminals. Since web contents implemented by the WML or the XHTML, which is the markup language including the style information, cannot be transmitted due to incompatibility with the multimedia message markup language, new methods and systems are needed to overcome the above-noted problems.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0010]     Features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.  
         [0011]     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, a unit for extracting web content displayed in a browser of a limited display device is provided. The unit comprises a parser for parsing the web content; and an object extractor for extracting one or more objects from the parsed web content such that the extracted objects can be included in a multimedia message transmitted over a wireless mobile communications network.  
         [0012]     The unit for extracting web content may further comprise a multimedia message configurator for the including the extracted objects in a multimedia message for transmission over a wireless mobile communications network. In one embodiment, the web content comprises wireless application protocol (WAP) contents and the multimedia message comprises synchronized multimedia integration language (SMIL) contents.  
         [0013]     In one embodiment, the object extractor comprises a text extractor for extracting a text object from the parsed web contents, an image extractor for extracting an image object from the parsed web contents; and a sound extractor for extracting a sound object from the parsed web contents. In one embodiment the WAP contents are implemented in a Wireless Markup Language (WML) or an eXtended Hypertext markup Language (XHTML).  
         [0014]     In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method for transmitting web contents displayed in a browser of a limited display device is provided. The method comprises parsing the web contents to detect objects associated with the web contents displayed in the browser of the limited display device; extracting the objects from the parsed web contents; and configuring a multimedia message to comprise the extracted objects. The extracting may comprise extracting a text object from the parsed web contents extracting an image object from the parsed web contents; and extracting a sound object from the parsed web contents.  
         [0015]     In accordance with yet another embodiment, a mobile terminal having a limited browser for viewing content available on the Internet is provided. The mobile terminal comprises a conversion unit for converting web contents displayed by the limited browser into a multimedia message, the conversion unit comprising a parser for parsing the web contents, an object extractor for extracting objects from the parsed web contents, and a multimedia message configurator for creating a multimedia message using the extracted objects. The mobile terminal may also comprise a multimedia message transmitter for transmitting the multimedia message.  
         [0016]     In one embodiment, the object extractor comprises at least one of a text extractor for extracting a text object from the parsed web contents; an image extractor for extracting an image object from the parsed web contents; and a sound extractor for extracting a sound object from the parsed web contents, wherein the WAP contents are implemented in at least one of WML or XHTML format.  
         [0017]     These and other embodiments of the present invention will also become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the embodiments having reference to the attached figures, the invention not being limited to any particular embodiments disclosed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram showing a mobile terminal, according to one embodiment.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram showing a web contents/multimedia message conversion unit in accordance with one embodiment.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating a method for converting web contents into a multimedia message according to one embodiment.  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  illustrates exemplary screen shots of a mobile terminal according to one embodiment. 
     
    
       [0023]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Features, elements, and aspects of the invention that are referenced by the same numerals in different figures represent the same, equivalent, or similar features, elements, or aspects in accordance with one or more embodiments of the system.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention is provided. Preferably, the mobile terminal  1  includes an RF transmission/reception unit  10 , a display unit  20 , a memory unit  30 , an input unit  40 , a web contents/multimedia message conversion unit  50 , and a control unit  60 .  
         [0025]     The RF transmission/reception unit  10  can allow the mobile terminal to communicate with an external device over a wireless mobile communication network. Specifically, the RF transmission/reception unit  10  can provide access to web contents over the mobile communication network. The RF transmission/reception unit  10  functions as a multimedia message transmitter for transmitting multimedia messages which can be implemented according to one embodiment of the invention, as provided below.  
         [0026]     The display unit  20  displays the operational status of various functions provided by the mobile terminal  1  on a display screen. Specifically, the display unit  20  displays a mobile Internet browser (for example, a wireless application protocol (WAP) browser) for surfing/searching web contents.  
         [0027]     The memory unit  30  stores software for driving the various functions provided of mobile terminal  1  and various kinds of data. The input unit  40  allows a terminal user to input various kinds of commands or information into the mobile terminal  1 . A web contents/multimedia message conversion unit  50  converts the web contents accessed by an Internet browser of the mobile terminal  1  into multimedia messages as provided below.  
         [0028]     In one embodiment, the control unit  60  controls the RF transmission/reception unit  10 , the display unit  20 , the memory unit  30 , the input unit  40 , and the web contents/multimedia message conversion unit  50 . In accordance with one embodiment, web contents/multimedia message conversion unit  50  will be described in detail with reference to  FIG. 2  as provided below.  
         [0029]     As shown, the web contents/multimedia message conversion unit  50  comprises a web contents parser  100 , an object extractor  200 , and a multimedia message configurator  300 . The object extractor  200  comprises a text extractor  230 , an image extractor  250  and a sound extractor  270 .  
         [0030]     The web contents which are desired to be transmitted from a first mobile terminal to a second mobile terminal are input to the web contents parser  100 . The web contents may be wireless application protocol (WAP) contents implemented by a Wireless Markup Language (WML) or an eXtended Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML).  
         [0031]     The web contents parser  100  parses the inputted web contents and arranges the parsed web contents in a tree structure, for example, as shown by reference numeral  150  in  FIG. 2 . The web contents arranged in the tree structure are inputted to the object extractor  200 . The text extractor  230 , the image extractor  250  and the sound extractor  270  of the object extractor  200  extract a text object, an image object and a sound object from the WAP contents arranged in the tree structure, respectively. In one embodiment the object extractor is a software module of a WAP browser, for example.  
         [0032]     The extracted text objects, image objects and sound objects are input to the multimedia message configurator  300 . The multimedia message configurator configures a multimedia message using the extracted objects. The configured multimedia message is preferably implemented from synchronized multimedia integration language (SMIL) contents using a SMIL as a multimedia message marlkup language. The multimedia message configurator  300  may be a software module of a multimedia message service function. The configured multimedia message can be transmitted to the second mobile terminal or other destination via the RF transmission/reception unit  10  shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0033]     Hereinafter, a method for transmitting web contents using a multimedia message according to one embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating a method for converting web contents into a multimedia message.  
         [0034]     Web contents which are desired to be transmitted from the mobile terminal to a destination by way of a multimedia message are parsed and arranged in a tree structure format for example (S 31 ). As such, at least one of a text object, image object and sound object are extracted from the web contents (S 32 ). The multimedia message is configured using the extracted text object, image object or sound object. In an exemplary embodiment, the multimedia message is constructed in SMIL format (S 33 ).  
         [0035]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a terminal user may, for example, transmit web contents which are displayed on an Internet browser screen  401  of a mobile terminal in form of a multimedia message. An exemplary display screen of a terminal which receives the transmitted multimedia message is illustrated on screens  402  and  403  where the transmitted multi media message displayed. In the exemplary illustration in  FIG. 4 , the multimedia message display screen  402  displays a text object and multimedia message display screen  403  displays and image object received in an MMS message sent from the transmitting mobile terminal.  
         [0036]     As described above, the present invention provides a technology for transmitting web contents displayed on a limited display of a mobile communication terminal. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily transmit a variety of web contents while wirelessly surfing the web.  
         [0037]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.