Title of Invention

A METHOD FOR PRINTING MMS MESSAGES FROM A REMOTE SOURCE

Abstract

The invention is about a method for printing Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages from a remote source by sending it to a printer, which is interfaced to the mobile network Figure [2]. Whenever the MMS from the mobile provider is received it will indicate to the processor of the printer by giving incoming MMS indication. The printer will fetch the MMS message and create a print job corresponding to the message and print it. In this way the MMS message sent by the mobile user will be available in hard copy.

Full Text

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to the field of mobile communication and specifically to messaging. Further, this invention relates to a system and method for printing the messages remotely. More particularly, this invention proposes a method for printing Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages from a remote source. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART Messaging technologies such as voice mail, e-mail, facsimile and pagers have revolutionized the communication means and the brought people around the world closer. One of the latest trends in communication is towards Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) that enables sending/reception of messages comprising a combination of text, sounds, images and video to/from mobile handsets having the facility for this service. Handsets having Multimedia Messaging Service capabilities have become the de facto standard and the new mobiles come with the MMS feature built in. MMS technology helps the mobile users to share text, pictures and movies with other users in the networks. It is also possible to have a PC at one end so that it can be used to store a MMS message and get a copy of the MMS image sent The general working of MMS messaging is shown in Figure 1. The user creates a message and sends to the special service provider number. It is understood that the user of the service can create the message and send it to the desired mobile user by entering the recipient number. This invention teaches that it is possible to get the print of the MMS images by choosing the address of the printer as the destination instead of a mobile number. Here the application allows the user to select photos and order prints of the MMS images. The provider then sends in reply URL to a location from where the user can download an application. When the user selects a particular image the application uploads the image to a server. The images are then read from the server storage location and a copy is printed. United States Patent 6744528 titled "Method and system for remote printing of documents" discusses a mobile device equipped with a wireless communication capability for generating electronic documents and has been incorporated by reference. The wireless communication tag includes such information as a print device destination address, and the capabilities of the print device matching the destination address. The mobile device receives the destination device information and sends it and a document via a network connection or a mobile communication device to a remote data processing center. Once the information and document are received the data processing center effects the transcoding or translation of the original message and then print the message. The present invention proposes to enhance the capability existing printer device by adding an interface to mobile network so that it can communicate with the mobile network to produce hard copies of the MMS messages sent by users to the printer. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the invention is therefore to provide a method for printing MMS messages from a remote source by sending it to a printer, which is interfaced to the mobile network. It is another object of the invention to provide a method for printing the message sent by Blue tooth mobile using the imaging profile and printer profile. It is also an object of the invention to provide a method in which the printer reads the MMS from the GSM module and issues a print job to produce the hard copy of the MMS picture. Accordingly, the invention provides a method for printing MMS messages from a remote source, the method comprising the steps of: a. continuously checking for an indication representing the reception of MMS at an interface to the printer; b. acquiring the MMS data from the remote source if the indication is received; c processing the said MMS data to get an MMS image; d. creating a print job for the image data; and e. producing the hard copy of the MMS message using the said image data. These and other objectives, features and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 shows the various steps involved in the MMS communication. FIGURE 2 portrays the Interfaces available for printer to communicate with mobile networks. FIGURE 3 shows the flow chart depicting the different steps for printing the MMS FIGURE 4 shows transferring the MMS using a GSM module. FIGURE 5 shows transferring the MMS using an MMSC module. FIGURE 6 shows transferring the MMS using a Bluetooth enabled module. FIGURE 7 shows common Flow of events at the printer side after MMS arrival. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood however that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. The following description and drawings are not to be construed as limiting the invention and numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art on how to make and/or use the invention. However in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail. As it is already mentioned the present invention employs a printer to print a hardcopy of the images received as a MMS from the mobile phone users. The MMS can be sent to the printer using any one of the three methods as shown in Figure 2 detailed below. 1. Using a GSM module Here the printer needs to be interfaced to a GSM module, which contains a MMS service enabled SIM card. The GSM module can be interfaced to the printer using any of the communication interfaces like Serial/ USB. Whenever the GSM module receives an MMS message it sends an interrupt/data to the printer indicating that a new MMS is available. The printer will then read the MMS from the GSM module. The printer will extract the image/printable data from the MMS message by stripping out the MMS headers and using the data in the MMS message as the data for the print job and issue a print job, which would print the MMS picture. Figure 3 shows the different steps involved in the process of printing the MMS. It can be seen that the user composes a MMS message using his mobile phone and sends it to the printer using the number of the GSM module connected to printer. It is shown clearly in Figure 4 that GSM module is connected to the printer processor using a communication link like serial connection/ USB connection. Whenever the GSM module receives an MMS from the mobile provider it indicates it to the processor by giving incoming MMS indication. This indication can be in form of a interrupt signal or new message identification data to the printer. The printer will then request for the MMS data from the GSM module. The GSM module will fetch the same from the mobile service provider and send the same to the printer processor. The printer s/w will then process the MMS data and extract the Image data. This image data will be used by the printer to create a new print job to be printed. This is understood from Figure 7. 2. Using an MMSC (Multimedia Messaging Service Center) In this case the printer is connected on the same network that the MMSC. In this scenario the printer receives request to print a MMS message from a MMSC on the network. The printer will be connected to the MMSC using network connectivity. The MMSC will inform the printer as soon as a MMS is to be printed by indicating this to the printer. Once the printer gets a print request it acquires the MMS data from the MMSC and generates a copy of the MMS picture. Referring to Figure 5 it is clear when there is a new MMS received by the MMSC for the printer it indicates the printer about the arrival of the new MMS message. The printer will then communicate with the MMSC and get the data for the MMS message. The printer will then process this data and extract the Image data from the received MMS data. Using the Image data the printer will then issue a print request thus producing a copy of the MMS message. 3. Using a Bluetooth enabled mobile. For this case the printer can be issued a MMS print request by using a Bluetooth mobile using the imaging profile and printer profile. As seen from Figure 6 the printer is Blue tooth enabled. The user will create an MMS message and send it to the printer using the Bluetooth imaging profile. The printer will receive the MMS message from the user mobile using Image data transfer over Bluetooth using the Imaging profile of Bluetooth. Instead of storing this received image the printer will process this MMS data to extract the image data from the MMS message. Using this image data the printer will create a print job. To summarize, the general idea is to get a hardcopy of the MMS message and therefore the user needs to create an MMS message on the phone and send the same to the printer for printing. Figure 7 shows the general actions at the printer side. It is evident that whenever the MMS from the mobile provider is received it will indicate to the processor by giving incoming MMS indication. The printer will fetch the MMS message and create a print job corresponding to the message. In this way the MMS message sent by the mobile user will be available in hard copy. It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that other control methods and apparatuses can be derived from the combinations of the various methods and apparatuses of the present invention as taught by the description and the accompanying drawings and these shall also be considered within the scope of the present invention. Further, description of such combinations and variations is therefore omitted below. Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are possible and are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims unless they depart there from. WE CLAIM 1. A method for printing MMS messages from a remote source, the method comprising the steps of: a) continuously checking for an indication representing the reception of MMS at an interface to the printer; b) acquiring the MMS data from the remote source if the indication is received; c) processing the said MMS data to get an MMS image; d) creating a print job for the image data; and e) producing the hard copy of the MMS message using the said image data. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the interface is a GSM module capable of receiving the message from the remote source. 3. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the GSM module contains MMS service enabled SIM card. 4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the interface is a Multimedia Messaging Service Center (MMSC) connected to the network of the remote source. 5. The method according to any of the preceding claims wherein the remote source is a mobile phone. 6. The method according to any of the preceding claims wherein the communication link between the interface and the printer is a serial connection or USB connection. 7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the remote source is blue tooth enabled mobile. 8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the print request is issued using an imaging profile and a printer profile. 9. The method according to any of the preceding claims wherein the MMS from the remote source is addressed to a printer and is received at its interface. 10. A method for printing MMS messages from a remote source substantially as herein above described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

164-che-2005-abstract.pdf

164-che-2005-claims filed.pdf

164-che-2005-claims grant.pdf

164-che-2005-correspondnece-others.pdf

164-che-2005-correspondnece-po.pdf

164-che-2005-description(complete)filed.pdf

164-che-2005-description(complete)granted.pdf

164-che-2005-drawings.pdf

164-che-2005-form 1.pdf

164-che-2005-form 26.pdf

164-che-2005-form 9.pdf