Inter-Working Function for Converged IP Messaging Thread Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Converged IP messaging services struggle to provide a unified conversational view for messages exchanged between users, especially when communicating across different messaging services like CPM and SMS, where session setup is not required, making it difficult to display and manage message threads effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that uses an Inter-Working Function (IWF) to convert message formats between CPM and SMS systems, inserting a thread ID into messages to enable seamless communication and display of message threads across different services, allowing users to view all messages related to a conversation in a single window without requiring explicit session initiation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If message formats are converted between CPM and SMS systems using an IWF, then interoperability between heterogeneous services is improved, but system complexity increases due to additional conversion infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
An Inter-Working Function (IWF) is introduced as an intermediary component between CPM and SMS systems. The IWF performs message format conversion and thread ID insertion/extraction, enabling seamless communication between heterogeneous messaging services without requiring changes to the core CPM or SMS system architectures.
2Ease of operation
If thread IDs are inserted into all messages to enable unified conversational view, then message thread management is improved, but information loss risk increases due to potential thread ID mismatches
Solution Approach 1:
Thread IDs are inserted into messages in advance by the IWF during the message conversion process, before the messages reach the recipient. This preliminary action ensures that thread identification information is already embedded in the message, enabling the receiving system to correctly group and display messages in unified conversational views without requiring complex real-time matching.
3Reliability
If explicit session initiation is required for message communication, then session management control is improved, but user operation complexity increases and conversational flow is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the session initiation requirement from the message communication process. By embedding thread IDs directly in messages and using them for conversational view grouping, the system eliminates the need for explicit session establishment steps, allowing users to simply send and receive messages while the system automatically manages the conversational context.
Data Source
AI summary
A mechanism to enable multiple message threads management in the context of the Converged IP Messaging (CPM) service and in the context of CPM inter-working with SMS is provided. A CPM user can simply start a message-based conversation with another CPM or Short Message Service (SMS) user without explicitly establishing a session beforehand. All messages that belong to a given conversation are displayed in the corresponding conversational view (i.e. window) in the CPM user device, even if the conversation is stopped and restarted at a later time, and even if there are multiple message threads available (currently active or stored) in the CPM device. Message structures and behavior of the CPM system elements to enable the functionalities above as well as a mechanism makes the message threads management possible even between a CPM user and an SMS user are also provided.