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WO2009156959A1 - Appareil de messagerie - Google Patents

Appareil de messagerie Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2009156959A1
WO2009156959A1 PCT/IB2009/052721 IB2009052721W WO2009156959A1 WO 2009156959 A1 WO2009156959 A1 WO 2009156959A1 IB 2009052721 W IB2009052721 W IB 2009052721W WO 2009156959 A1 WO2009156959 A1 WO 2009156959A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
message
channel
communication
computer program
processor
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/IB2009/052721
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English (en)
Inventor
Langstaff Andrew
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Nokia Inc
Original Assignee
Nokia Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nokia Inc filed Critical Nokia Inc
Publication of WO2009156959A1 publication Critical patent/WO2009156959A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/10—Office automation; Time management
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L51/00—User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
    • H04L51/21—Monitoring or handling of messages
    • H04L51/226—Delivery according to priorities
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W72/00—Local resource management
    • H04W72/02—Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L51/00—User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
    • H04L51/58—Message adaptation for wireless communication
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/12—Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Definitions

  • Examples of this invention relate to an apparatus having a plurality of available communication processes.
  • computing devices are capable of communicating with other computing devices in more than one way. This is particularly true of hand-held computing devices which operate as mobile phones.
  • many mobile phones are capable of communicating by means of a cellular phone network and by means of wireless networking.
  • mobile phones are capable of using different protocols within these infrastructures to communicate.
  • many modern mobile phones are capable of communicating by GSM, GPRS or 3G.
  • Different communication channels have different characteristics. For example, some channels are quicker than others, some are more resource (i.e. power) intensive and some limit the format of the data which can be transferred (e.g. SMS is limited to text data). Also, some channels may charge a user of a computing device per byte of data downloaded while some others charge a user a flat rate irrespective of how much data is downloaded.
  • a first example of the present invention provides an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: selecting a communication process from a plurality of available communication processes for communicating a message, each process having associated therewith corresponding process characteristics; wherein selecting a communication process is performed in dependence on at least one process characteristic and an urgency of the message.
  • a second example of the present invention provides a method comprising: selecting a communication process from a plurality of available communication processes for communicating a message, each process having associated therewith corresponding process characteristics; wherein selecting a communication process is performed in dependence on at least one process characteristic and an urgency of the message.
  • a third aspect of the present invention provides apparatus comprising: transmitter means, capable of sending a message via more than one communication channel available to the apparatus, each channel having associated therewith corresponding channel characteristics; and, selector means, for selecting a communication channel over which to send the message, the selection occurring in dependence on the channel characteristics and characteristics of the message.
  • a fourth aspect of the present invention provides a method comprising: selecting a communication channel from a plurality of available communication channels for communicating a message, each channel having associated therewith corresponding channel characteristics; wherein selecting a communication channel is performed in dependence on at least one channel characteristic and a characteristic of the message; and the message further comprises: sending the message via the selected channel.
  • the message may be sent via a transmitter means, which may include any software and/or hardware suitable for effecting the transmission of a message according to any embodiments of the invention.
  • a fifth example of the invention provides a computer program arranged to enable an apparatus to carry out the following: selecting a communication process from a plurality of available communication processes for communicating a message, each process having associated therewith corresponding process characteristics; wherein selecting a communication process is performed in dependence on at least one process characteristic and an urgency of the message.
  • the processor of examples of the invention may comprise but is not limited to (1) one or more microprocessors, (2) one or more processor(s) with accompanying digital signal processor(s), (3) one or more processor(s) without accompanying digital signal processor(s), (3) one or more special-purpose computer chips, (4) one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAS), (5) one or more controllers, (6) one or more application- specific integrated circuits (ASICS), (7) one or more combination of hardware/firmware, or (7) one or more computer(s).
  • the memory may be formed of one or more memories (e.g., ROM, RAM, etc.) programmed in such a way to carry out the inventive function.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an example mobile computing device
  • Figure 2 is a block diagram representing the example mobile computing device of Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary arrangement of a communications selector of the mobile computing device of Figures 1 and 2;
  • Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an arrangement of a communications selector according to an example embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 5 is a flow diagram representing the operation of an example embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 6 is a flow diagram representing the channel selection process of Figure 5;
  • Figure 7 is a flow diagram representing an alternative channel selection process of Figure 5.
  • FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an arrangement of a communications selector according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
  • computing devices may use whichever communication channel is available. Where more than one channel is available a number of different techniques may be employed for selecting which channel to use to send a message. In order to ensure a good user experience, computing devices can operate so that communication channel selection is largely performed automatically notwithstanding that a manual override option may also be provided. Generally, automatic channel selection techniques may select a channel on the basis of certain characteristics, such as, for example, a channel's data transfer rate and/or data transfer cost. Where a message may be sent via more than one available communication channel, it may be the case that one channel is more suitable, given the characteristics of the message. For example, if a message is particularly urgent, a user may prefer that it is sent as soon as possible, irrespective of the data transfer cost. However, if a message is not urgent, the user may prefer that it is sent via a relatively inexpensive communication channel, irrespective of when the message is actually sent.
  • characteristics such as, for example, a channel's data transfer rate and/or data transfer cost.
  • a user of a computing device commands the device to download data, such as, for example, by instructing the device to connect to the internet
  • a computing device may choose to connect to the internet via the communication channel with the lowest data transfer cost.
  • computing devices may offer a manual override facility whereby a user of the computing device can manually select when a message is sent, and by which communication channel. Accordingly, a user may manually adapt message sending behaviour according to the characteristics of a message.
  • the following illustrates an example of this.
  • a user of a computing device needs to send an urgent email.
  • the computing device is capable of communicating with a GPRS cellular network, which charges a relatively high data transfer cost and a WiFi network, which charges a relatively low data transfer cost.
  • the computing device is in range of the GPRS channel but not in range of the WiFi channel.
  • the user instructs the computing device to send the email immediately via the GPRS channel and in so doing, accepts that the message has been sent more quickly than it could have been using the WiFi channel but at a higher data transfer cost.
  • the user elects not to send the email immediately and instead, waits until the computing device is back in range of the WiFi channel at which point the user sends the email.
  • the user has accepted that the email was not sent as quickly as it could have been if the GPRS channel was used.
  • the user has incurred a lesser data transfer charge by using the WiFi channel instead of the GPRS channel.
  • a user of a computing device may choose to draft a message so that its size is minimised. For example, a user may choose not to include all nontext data when communicating the message, thereby reducing the message size.
  • An effect of this behaviour is that the data transfer time and data transfer cost associated with communicating the message may be less than they would have been if the message size was not reduced.
  • This technique may be useful when a user's only option is to send a message via an expensive communication channel.
  • the user may forget to draft the message without non-essential data until it is too late, i.e. until after the message has been sent. Also, having to remember not to include nonessential information may promote a poor user experience.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an example mobile computing device 10 having a casing 12.
  • the casing 12 encapsulates a keypad 14, a screen 16, a speaker 18 and a microphone 20.
  • the device 10 further includes an antenna 22.
  • the mobile computing device 10 illustrated in Figure 1 may function as a phone and, in this instance, sends and receives telecommunication signals via antenna 22.
  • the mobile computing device 10 is arranged to utilise the antenna 22 to communicate in any number of communication channels.
  • the computing device is capable of communicating by means of GSM, GPRS, 3G and WiFi and the invention will be described with reference to these communication channels. It is to be realised however that the invention is not limited in this respect and is applicable to any devices capable of communicating in more than one channel or to a plurality of connected devices where each device is capable of communicating by means of a predetermined channel, different devices employing different channels.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of certain components of the example mobile computing device 10.
  • Device 10 includes a kernel 34 which forms part of the operating system of the example device 10 and comprises a plurality of programs. At least one processor 40 is also provided in the device 10.
  • the kernel 34 of this example is logically connected to device drivers 26, 28 and 30 which control the behaviour of, and communication with, respective devices: keyboard 14, display 16 and long term storage 24.
  • the device drivers are illustrated as being connected to kernel 34, it is to be realised that in certain situations these device drivers could be considered part of the kernel 34.
  • the kernel 34 is further connected to a memory manager 36 which is connected, and controls the operation of, system memory 38.
  • the example device 10 further comprises a plurality of user programs 32 which communicate with the kernel 34 so that the kernel 34 controls the manner in which the user programs 32 access hardware devices such as the keyboard 14 and display 16 and the manner in which memory is allocated from the system memory 38 to the user programs 32.
  • the memory manager 36 allocates memory to the user programs 32 in the manner herein described.
  • the user applications 32 include a calendar application 50 and a communications selector 54.
  • the communications selector 54 acts to prioritise messages received from the calendar application 50.
  • the communications selector 54 is connected to the kernel 12 which is, in turn, connected to various communications hardware 56 in the manner described above with reference to Figure 2.
  • the communications selector 54 is connected between the calendar application 50 and the communications hardware 56. Therefore, the communications selector 54 is able to select which communication channel will be used to relay any message received from the calendar application 50.
  • the following example illustrates how the communications selector 54 can receive messages from the calendar application 50 for sending using the kernel 12 and the communications hardware 56.
  • the calendar application 50 can be used by a user of the computing device 10 in one example to schedule a meeting involving one or more attendees. Also, the calendar application 50 can be used to notify the meeting attendees of meeting details. More specifically, the calendar application 50 of the example is capable of sending meeting notification messages to each attendee, via an appropriate available communication channel, after receiving instruction from the user of the computing device 10. Each meeting notification message contains information relating to the corresponding meeting, such as, the meeting venue or its date and time.
  • the communications selector 54 in this example selects an appropriate available communication channel, such as the GPRS channel, the 3G channel or the WiFi channel. Following communication channel selection, the message is sent via the selected channel using the kernel 12 and the communications hardware 56.
  • Figure 4 illustrates modifications made to Figure 3 in order to form a further embodiment. More specifically, the communications selector 54 is substituted with a modified communications selector 60. Additionally, a message queue 62 is connected to the modified selector 60. In operation, the modified communications selector 60 selects a communication channel for sending a message, in dependence on characteristics of the channel and the message. The message queue 62 receives messages from the modified selector 60 which cannot be sent immediately and holds them in a queue for a period of time until the modified selector 60 is ready to send them.
  • the modified communications selector 60 receives a message send request from the calendar application 50.
  • the calendar application 50 issues one or a number of meeting notification send requests to the modified communications selector 60 when a user of the computing device 10 schedules a new meeting and instructs the calendar application 52 to notify meeting attendees.
  • the meeting notification is designated as urgent; if not, it is not designated as urgent.
  • the user in this example is able to mark certain entries in the calendar application as urgent. For example, if a meeting is scheduled for more than twenty-four hours in the future but the user knows that one of the attendees is about to go on holiday then the user may mark the meeting notification to that attendee as urgent while meeting notifications to other attendees may be automatically designated non-urgent.
  • the calendar application 50 determines if meeting notification requests are urgent and in which case, informs the modified communications selector 60. Therefore, in block 102, the calendar application 50 determines if the message corresponding to the message send request is urgent based on the contents of the send request. However, it is also within the scope of the present invention that other elements may determine if a meeting notification message is urgent, such as, for example, the modified communications selector 60. Once the urgency of the meeting notification corresponding to the send request is determined, processing flows to block 104.
  • the computing device performs communication channel selection. It is the role of the modified communications selector 60 in this example to perform automatic channel selection.
  • the modified communications selector 60 selects a communication channel in dependence on its availability and its channel characteristics but also on the characteristics of the message being sent. In particular, a communication channel is selected in dependence on whether the message is urgent.
  • the result of automatic channel selection at block 104 causes processing to flow to either block 106 or to block 108. Processing flows to block 106 if the result of automatic channel selection is to send the message via a chosen channel. Alternatively, processing flows to block 108 if the result of automatic channel selection is to transfer the message to the message queue 62. In this latter case, the message is held in the queue 62 until the chosen communication channel becomes available.
  • the modified communications selector 60 periodically monitors the status of the chosen communication channel and processing remains at block 110 while the chosen channel is unavailable.
  • the modified communications selector 60 in this example includes a list of all of the available communication channels together with an indication of the speed of each of the channels. It is to be realised that the speed of the communication channels may depend on the availability of the channel. For example, the WiFi connection is the connection in the computing device 10 capable of the greatest bandwidth, but is available less often than the telephony services such as the GSM channel. Therefore, the modified communications selector 60 in this example will continually poll the communications hardware 56 to determine which available communication channel is the quickest.
  • the communications hardware 56 also keeps a record of the data transfer cost of each communication channel to the user. Therefore, if the user has a WiFi account which charges for the amount of data transferred, the user is able to input this data, for example, by using an appropriate GUI provided by the modified communications selector 60.
  • the communications selector 60 will then determine which of these communication channels in this example has the lower data transfer cost and use that channel (assuming that information has been provided for all of the channels; if information is not provided for a channel, the communications selector will assume that the channel has a high data transfer cost and avoid unnecessary use and associated expense to the user).
  • the WiFi channel is free or does not charge per byte of data transmitted, whereas the other three channels charge progressively higher data transfer costs according to the following sequence: the 3G channel, the GPRS channel and the GSM channel.
  • the availability of each channel increases in the following sequence: the WiFi channel, the 3G channel, the GPRS channel and the GSM channel.
  • the data transfer rate of each channel increases in the following order: the GSM channel, the GPRS channel, the 3G channel and the WiFi channel.
  • Processing begins at block 200 wherein the modified communications selector determines the availability of the WiFi communication channel. If the WiFi channel is available, processing flows to block 202 wherein the meeting notification corresponding to the send request is sent via the WiFi channel. Alternatively, if the WiFi channel is not available, processing flows to block 204 wherein the modified communications selector 60 determines the availability of the 3G communication channel. If the 3G channel is not available then processing flows to block 206, which will be discussed later. Alternatively, if the 3G channel is available, processing flows to block 208 wherein the urgency of the meeting request is considered. If the meeting notification is urgent, processing flows to block 210 wherein the meeting notification is sent via the 3G channel.
  • the modified communications selector 60 monitors the status of the 'chosen channel', under these circumstances the chosen channel is the WiFi channel.
  • the modified communications selector 60 determines the availability of the GPRS communication channel. If the GPRS channel is not available, processing flows to block 213 which will be discussed later. Alternatively, if the GPRS communication channel is available, processing flows to block 214 wherein the urgency of the meeting request is considered. If the meeting notification is urgent, processing flows to block 216 wherein the meeting notification is sent via the GPRS channel. Alternatively, if the meeting notification is not urgent, processing flows to block 212 wherein the meeting notification is transferred to the message queue 62 and dealt with as described above with reference to Figure 5, block 110. As before, with reference to block 110 of Figure 5, the 'chosen channel' in this example is the WiFi channel.
  • the urgency of the meeting notification is considered.
  • the 'chosen channel' in this example is the WiFi channel.
  • the modified communications selector 60 monitors the status of all the channels and not just the WiFi channel as has been the case previously.
  • a message send request comprising of a meeting notification send request is received by the modified communications selector 60 from the calendar application 50.
  • the meeting notification send request further comprises an indication of how urgent the corresponding meeting request is.
  • the meeting notification is only considered urgent if either the meeting is set to occur within twenty-four hours of the current date and time, or the user has designated the meeting notification as urgent.
  • the computing device 10 attempts to send the meeting notification via the communication channels in the following sequence: the WiFi channel, the 3G channel and the GPRS channel. It is noted that each subsequent channel in the sequence generally has a higher availability but also, a higher data transfer cost.
  • the modified communications selector 60 ensures that a message is sent immediately if it is possible to do so. Also, the modified communications selector 60 also ensures that in this embodiment a message is sent at the lowest data transfer cost possible at the time of sending.
  • the computing device 10 attempts to send the meeting notification via the WiFi communication channel because this channel has the lowest data transfer cost in this example.
  • the modified communications selector 60 queues the meeting notification in the message queue 62 until the WiFi channel is available.
  • the modified communications selector 60 can help to ensure that a message is sent immediately if it is possible to do so whilst incurring no, or a relatively small, data transfer cost. In the event that this is not possible the modified communications selector 60 delays sending the message until this is possible.
  • a modification may be made to the automatic channel selection process of Figure 6 to form a first alternative embodiment, as shown in Figure 7.
  • an additional communication channel selection stage has been added, as represented by blocks 300 to 306.
  • processing when processing is at block 206 and the modified communication channel determines that the GPRS communication channel is not available, processing now flows to block 300.
  • the modified communications selector 60 determines the availability of the GSM communication channel. If the GSM channel is not available then processing flows to block 213 and the urgency of the meeting notification is considered, as discussed above with reference to Figure 6. Alternatively, if the GSM channel is available then processing flows to block 302 wherein the urgency of the message is also considered. If the message is not urgent, processing flows to block 212 and the message is queued, as discussed above with reference to Figure 6. Alternatively, if the message is urgent then processing flows to block 304. At block 304, the modified communications selector 60 alters the message.
  • the modified communications selector 60 creates an SMS message containing essential information from the meeting notification, such as, for example, the meeting venue and the scheduled date and time.
  • processing flows to block 306 wherein the newly created SMS message is sent via the GSM communication channel to the relevant meeting attendee.
  • a single SMS message can generally contain a maximum of 160 characters, it may be necessary to create more than one SMS message in order to send the attendee the essential information from the meeting notification.
  • the computing device 10 in this example is only able to send an SMS message to a meeting attendee if the attendee's telephone number is stored on the computing device. Additionally, the user of the computing device 10 can also provide the attendee's telephone number via keypad 14.
  • the modified communications selector 60 queues the message until one of the channels (WiFi, 3G or GPRS) becomes available.
  • the modified communications selector 60 determines the availability of the GSM channel. If the GSM channel is available then the meeting notification is altered by being converted into an SMS message, containing the essential meeting information. The SMS message is then sent to the attendee via the GSM channel.
  • a technical effect of the first alternative embodiment is that an additional option to send an urgent message is provided. This is particularly useful when it is considered that the GSM channel is the one with the highest availability in this example embodiment.
  • sending an SMS message via the GSM channel may incur a relatively high data transfer cost, particularly if the quantity of essential meeting information requires multiple SMS messages to be sent.
  • FIG 8 shows a second alternative embodiment of the present invention, wherein the calendar application 50 has been substituted with a messaging application 70.
  • the messaging application 70 is an email program.
  • the email program issues an email send request to the modified communications selector 60 when a user of the computing device 10 composes a new email and instructs the messaging application 70 to send it.
  • the messaging application 70 provides a facility for the user to designate an email as urgent. More specifically, the user can designate an email as urgent by checking an on-screen checkbox when composing the email in this embodiment. If the user designates an email as urgent then this information is transferred to the modified communications selector 60 in the email send request after the user instructs the messaging application 70 to send the email.
  • a single SMS message can contain a maximum of 160 characters whereas there may be no practical character limit to the size of an email message. Therefore, if the second alternative embodiment operates as defined by the flow diagram of Figure 7, it is possible that under certain circumstances an urgent email message is converted into a number of SMS messages thereby enabling the email to be sent over a GSM channel. If the email is very large, perhaps comprising many hundreds or thousands of characters, the data transfer cost incurred by the user to send all the resulting SMS messages could be relatively large, particularly, when considering the data transfer costs of other channels, such as, the WiFi channel.
  • the modified communications selector 60 may be instructed to alter the message.
  • this operation involves forming an SMS message comprising essential meeting information for sending to a meeting attendee.
  • the data content of the email may be reduced to make the information it conveys more suitable for sending via one or more SMS messages. More specifically, in a modification to Figure 7, only the email header information is sent as an SMS message to the email recipient.
  • block 304 comprises removing all non-text data, particularly because text data is the only data format supported by the SMS message protocol.
  • the modified communications selector 60 queues a copy of the unaltered email for later delivery via any of the other channels (WiFi, 3G, GPRS) in addition to sending the altered message via the GSM channel in SMS format.
  • a technical effect of the second alternative embodiment is that the computing device 10 may select which communication channel to use to send an email by in dependence on the urgency of the email.
  • a user may draft one or a number of non-urgent emails while travelling, for example, from home to the office or vice-versa. Then, according to the second alternative embodiment, the computing device 10 may not send those non-urgent emails until it is able to send them at a relatively low data transfer cost via the user's home or office WiFi channel.
  • the computing device may try to send the email via a relatively more expensive channel, such as, for example, the 3G channel, the GPRS channel, or in SMS format via the GSM channel.
  • the data content of the message when a message is altered, for example by being converted into one or a number of SMS messages, the data content of the message could be changed.
  • data content be reduced by removing data relating to images, sounds and videos. This operation can reduce the quantity of data transmitted and thereby reduce the corresponding data transfer costs and/or time.
  • altering a message by reducing its data content may be implemented at other stages in the processing flow of example embodiments of the present invention. For example, on determining that an urgent message is to be sent by a channel having a relatively high data transfer cost, example embodiments could alter the message at that stage. More specifically, data relating to images, sounds and videos could be removed from the message.
  • non-text data may carry less essential information and yet account for a significant proportion of the overall size of a message.
  • the modified communications selector 60 may queue a copy of an unaltered message for later delivery in addition to sending any altered version of the message.
  • altering a message may comprise reducing data content quality. For example, an image attached to an email could be sent at a reduced quality if the email is urgent and the computing device is only able to send the message via a relatively expensive channel, such as, for example, the 3G channel or the GPRS channel.
  • the purpose of reducing the data content is to reduce the data transfer cost and/or time associated with sending the message.
  • the computing device may be capable of altering a message in dependence on the urgency of the message, without having to necessarily select a communications channel.
  • a message send operation may still be customised in dependence on the urgency of the message.
  • an urgent message might be communicated in an unaltered state
  • a non-urgent message might be altered before being communicated to reduce data transfer costs associated with communicating the message.
  • a user may specify essential and non-essential parts of a message and only the essential parts are sent if the message is urgent.
  • the message might be an email and if the email is urgent only essential parts of the email are communicated, thereby reducing the data transfer time associated with sending the email.
  • the essential parts of an email might be the email message without any attachments.
  • the above embodiments of the present invention have considered the calendar application and the messaging application as separate applications, it is within the scope of example embodiments of the present invention that a single application may perform the functions of both. Additionally, the examples of the present invention are not limited to use with only the messaging and calendar applications discussed above. The present invention may also be suitable for use with other applications, such as, for example, multimedia messaging (MMS) application.
  • MMS multimedia messaging
  • the concept of urgency has been considered as a binary variable, i.e. a message may be either urgent or non-urgent. It is also within the scope of example embodiments of the present invention that multiple urgency values may be defined. For example, the urgency of a message may have a scale of values between 0 and 3, wherein 0 is the least urgent and 3 is the most urgent. Then, each channel may require that a message has a different level of urgency in order to be sent via that channel.
  • channels are ordered or sequenced based on their data transfer cost and data transfer rate. It is within the scope of further embodiments of the present invention that different orders or sequences of communication channels may be used. Also, it is within the scope of the present invention that each communication channel may be ordered using other channel characteristics apart from data transfer cost and date transfer rate.
  • both message urgency and cost information for a particular channel could be combined by providing appropriate weighting factors to these characteristics. It would then be possible to decide which channel to use for sending each message according to the weighted information.
  • a message is sent in dependence on characteristics of a communication channel, such as, a data transfer cost or a data transfer rate, but also on characteristics of a message, such as, an indication of urgency.
  • characteristics of a communication channel such as, a data transfer cost or a data transfer rate
  • characteristics of a message such as, an indication of urgency.
  • other message characteristics may be used to influence the way in which a message is sent.
  • any of the following characteristics are suitable individually or in combination with each other and the urgency characteristic.
  • a characteristic of a message recipient could be used to assign special sending requirements to particular recipients, for example, a recipient may only be able to accept messages in SMS message format and not email format.
  • a characteristic of the message content could be used to determine how a message is sent, for example, only messages containing non-text data may be sent via the 3G channel.
  • a security classification of the message content could be used to determine how a message is sent, for example, some communication channels may be more secure than others and if a message is assigned a high security classification it may only be sent via the most secure channels.
  • user interaction may be possible, so that a user can override a default operation.
  • Embodiments of the invention can enable different communications processes to be selected for urgent messages than for non-urgent messages. This can be advantageous because message sending priorities may vary in dependence on message urgency. For example, transmission speed may be a higher priority than transmission cost for an urgent message while the opposite may be true for a non-urgent message.
  • a calendar application is provided and the message is associated with an entry in said calendar, the entry having a date and/or time and the urgency of the message is determined with reference to a time period before the date and/or time of the entry in the calendar. This can enable the apparatus itself to determine the urgency of a message associated with a calendar entry, optionally without requiring additional input from a user of the computing device.
  • Computing devices of embodiments of the invention may be capable of receiving an indication of the urgency of messages from a user of the computing device, so that a user can manually designate a message as being urgent. This may be useful when considering non- calendar related messages for which urgency may not be able to be calculated based on the time before an associated calendar entry.
  • a message queue can be provided in some embodiments, for queuing messages until a particular communication channel is available. This can allow that a computing device can delay sending a message until it is possible to send the message via a channel with no, or a low, data transfer cost.
  • the urgency of a message may in some embodiments be determined before queuing the message so that the computing device does not queue urgent messages and instead, attempts to send them as soon as possible. In this manner, a cheaper communication channel which is not currently available may be chosen for communicating a non-urgent message so that it can be delivered in the future when the chosen communication channel becomes available.
  • a message may be altered once if it is determined that the message may not be queued. This can assist in reducing the data transfer costs incurred during sending.
  • Selection means may be provided to perform selection of an appropriate communications process or channel.
  • the means may be any software or hardware, or combination of software and hardware, that is capable of deciding on a process or channel in a given scenario.
  • a communications process may represent a particular channel or group of channels, or it may be a technique or method for communicating.
  • the selection means may alter a message by reducing a data content of the message, for example by deleting non-text data from the message or by reducing the quality of data of the message.
  • the message is an email message and the selection means reduces a data content of the email to avoid delay in delivery of the email.
  • message characteristics may be considered when selecting a communications channel or process, and the message characteristics may comprise an indication of one or more of the following: the urgency of the message; characteristics of a message recipient; characteristics of the message content; or, a security classification of the message content.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Strategic Management (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation (AREA)
  • Human Resources & Organizations (AREA)
  • Economics (AREA)
  • Data Mining & Analysis (AREA)
  • Marketing (AREA)
  • Operations Research (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
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  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
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Abstract

La présente invention se rapporte à un dispositif de calcul qui présente une pluralité de processus de communication destinés à communiquer un message. Chaque processus de communication du dispositif de calcul se voit associer des caractéristiques de processus correspondantes. Le dispositif de calcul comprend un moyen de sélection destiné à sélectionner un processus de communication destiné à communiquer le message. En particulier, le moyen de sélection sélectionne le processus de communication selon les caractéristiques de processus et l’urgence dudit message. Les processus peuvent comprendre un processus de sélection d'un canal de communication du dispositif de calcul destiné à communiquer le message. En outre ou en variante, les processus peuvent comprendre un processus destiné à modifier le message avant de le communiquer.
PCT/IB2009/052721 2008-06-25 2009-06-24 Appareil de messagerie Ceased WO2009156959A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0811651.9 2008-06-25
GBGB0811651.9A GB0811651D0 (en) 2008-06-25 2008-06-25 Computing device
GBGB0815144.1A GB0815144D0 (en) 2008-06-25 2008-08-19 Computing device
GB0815144.1 2008-08-19

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2009156959A1 true WO2009156959A1 (fr) 2009-12-30

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/IB2009/052721 Ceased WO2009156959A1 (fr) 2008-06-25 2009-06-24 Appareil de messagerie

Country Status (2)

Country Link
GB (2) GB0811651D0 (fr)
WO (1) WO2009156959A1 (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2013142475A1 (fr) * 2012-03-23 2013-09-26 Sony Mobile Communications Ab Optimisation de transferts de données sur des réseaux
CN114281572A (zh) * 2021-12-28 2022-04-05 重庆允成互联网科技有限公司 一种跨服务业务生命周期管理方法及系统

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2002030133A2 (fr) * 2000-10-04 2002-04-11 Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) Systeme et procede de selection de reseau et de service dans une station de communication mobile
WO2004031488A2 (fr) * 2002-10-02 2004-04-15 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Gestion intelligente des connexions de dispositifs portables
WO2005039112A1 (fr) * 2003-10-16 2005-04-28 Koninklijke Philips Electronics, N.V. Selection et association automatiques de reseaux
EP1885141A1 (fr) * 2006-08-02 2008-02-06 Research In Motion Limited Procédés et applications de support d'une sélection du système d'accès radio par des stations portables multimodes
US20080162399A1 (en) * 2006-12-31 2008-07-03 Think Passenger, Inc. Consumer marketing platform

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2002030133A2 (fr) * 2000-10-04 2002-04-11 Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) Systeme et procede de selection de reseau et de service dans une station de communication mobile
WO2004031488A2 (fr) * 2002-10-02 2004-04-15 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Gestion intelligente des connexions de dispositifs portables
WO2005039112A1 (fr) * 2003-10-16 2005-04-28 Koninklijke Philips Electronics, N.V. Selection et association automatiques de reseaux
EP1885141A1 (fr) * 2006-08-02 2008-02-06 Research In Motion Limited Procédés et applications de support d'une sélection du système d'accès radio par des stations portables multimodes
US20080162399A1 (en) * 2006-12-31 2008-07-03 Think Passenger, Inc. Consumer marketing platform

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2013142475A1 (fr) * 2012-03-23 2013-09-26 Sony Mobile Communications Ab Optimisation de transferts de données sur des réseaux
CN114281572A (zh) * 2021-12-28 2022-04-05 重庆允成互联网科技有限公司 一种跨服务业务生命周期管理方法及系统

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Publication number Publication date
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GB0815144D0 (en) 2008-09-24

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