Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Description
Title of Invention: MESSAGE HANDLING METHOD AND
SYSTEM
Technical Field
[1] The present invention relates to a message handling method and system.
More par-
ticularly, the present invention relates to a message handling method and
system in
which a terminal can translate a message composed by the user into a target
language
and send the translated message to a recipient terminal., In addition, the
present
invention relates to a message handling method and system in which a terminal
can
translate a received message written in a language other than the language
selected by
the user into the language selected by the user and display the translated
message.
Background Art
[2] Recent advances in communication and semiconductor technologies have
enabled
worldwide popularization of mobile terminals. Accordingly, mobile terminals
have
become a necessity of modern life. Such mobile terminals enable a user to make
and
receive a voice call and to send and receive a message. The messages which a
terminal
may send and receive may include a Short Message Service (SMS) message, an
Instant
Messaging (IM) message, or the like.
Disclosure of Invention
Technical Problem
1131 A mobile terminal may support only a simple message handling function
that enables
a user to send a composed message to another terminal and to view a received
message. Users communicating with different languages may have difficulty in
sending and receiving messages to/from each other with mobile terminals that
support
only simple functions (e.g., a simple message handling function). For example,
to send
a message from a first user to a second user, the first user may have to write
a message
in a language understandable by both the first user and the second user.
Alternatively,
the first user may have to convert a composed message into a language
understandable
by the second user through a separate translation program and send the
translated
message to the second user. In addition, to understand a received message
written in a
language unfamiliar to the first user, the first user may have to convert the
received
message into a language understandable by the first user through a separate
translation
program. As described above, users using different languages may experience
difficulty in exchanging messages with existing mobile terminals.
Solution to Problem
1141 Aspects of the present invention are to address at least the above-
mentioned
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problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described
below.
Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a message
handling
method and system that enable a user to translate a composed message into a
target
language and send the translated message.
1151 Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a message
handling method and
system that enable a user to translate a received message written in an
unfamiliar
language into a preset language and view the translated message.
[6] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a message
handling method is
provided. The method includes composing, by a sender terminal, a message,
checking
whether a translation feature is activated for message translation,
transmitting, if the
translation feature is not activated, the composed message to a receiver
terminal, and
translating, if the translation feature is activated, the composed message,
and
transmitting the translated message to the receiver terminal.
1171 In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a message
handling
system is provided. The system includes a sender terminal, a translation
server, a
messaging server and a receiver terminal, wherein the sender terminal sends a
translation request for a composed message to the translation server, receives
a
translated message from the translation server and sends the translated
message to the
messaging server, wherein the translation server translates a requested
message and
sends the translated message to the sender terminal, wherein the messaging
server
transmits a message received from the sender terminal to the receiver
terminal, and
wherein the receiver terminal receives a translated message from the messaging
server.
1181 In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a message
handling
system is provided. The system includes a sender terminal, a messaging server,
a
translation server and a receiver terminal, wherein the sender terminal sends
a
translation request comprising a composed message and a target language
indication to
the messaging server, wherein the messaging server receives the translation
request
from the sender terminal, forwards the translation request to the translation
server,
receives a translated message from the translation server and sends the
translated
message to the receiver terminal, wherein the translation server translates a
requested
message into a language indicated by a target language indication and sends
the
translated message to the messaging server, and wherein the receiver terminal
receives
a translated message from the messaging server.
1191 Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will
become apparent
to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which,
taken in con-
junction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the
invention.
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Advantageous Effects of Invention
[10] The message handling method and system of the present invention
provide an instant
translation function when messages are sent and received. Hence, users using
different
languages may exchange messages in an easy way. In addition, to translate a
message
to be sent or a received message, the user of a mobile terminal does not have
to use a
separate translation program and may directly use a translation function of a
provided
messaging program, thereby enhancing user convenience.
Brief Description of Drawings
[11] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain
exemplary em-
bodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following de-
scription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[12] FIG. 1 illustrates a message handling system according to an exemplary
embodiment
of the present invention;
[13] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an
exemplary em-
bodiment of the present invention;
[14] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a message transmission method for a mobile
terminal
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[15] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a message reception method for a mobile
terminal according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[16] FIG. 5 is screen representations depicting SMS message transmission
according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
[17] FIG. 6 is screen representations depicting IM message transmission and
reception
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[18] Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference
numbers are used to
depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.
Mode for the Invention
[19] The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings
is provided
to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the
invention
as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific
details to
assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.
Ac-
cordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various
changes and
modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without
departing
from the scope and spirit of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-
known
functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.
[20] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are
not limited to
the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a
clear and
consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent
to those
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skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of
the
present invention is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the
purpose of
limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their
equivalents.
[21] It is to be understood that the singular forms a, an, and the include
plural referents
unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to
a
component surface includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
[22] In the description, the mobile terminal of the present invention is a
terminal capable
of sending and receiving messages, and may be a personal digital assistant
(PDA), a
mobile communication terminal, a smart phone, a tablet personal computer, a
notebook
computer, any computer, or the like. When a mobile terminal performs message
transmission, it may be referred to as a sender terminal; and when a mobile
terminal
performs message reception, it may be referred to as a receiver terminal. For
ease of
description, when it is unnecessary to distinguish an SMS message from an IM
message, the SMS message and the IM message are collectively referred to as a
message.
[23] FIG. 1 illustrates a message handling system according to an exemplary
embodiment
of the present invention.
[24] Referring to FIG. 1, the message handling system 1000 may include a
sender
terminal 10, a receiver terminal 20, a messaging server 300, and a translation
server
400.
[25] The sender terminal 10 is a mobile terminal sending a message. In
particular, if a
menu item for translation is selected after a message is composed, the sender
terminal
may send a translation request including the composed message and a target
language indication to the translation server 400, receive a translated
message in the
target language from the translation server 400, and send the translated
message to the
messaging server 300. The sender terminal 10 may provide a function for
editing the
translated message after reception thereof. For example, the sender terminal
10 may
allow a user to edit the translated message after the translated message is
received form
the translation server 400 and before the translated message is sent to the
messaging
server 300. As another example, if the instant translation feature is
activated, then
when a menu item for sending a composed message is selected, the sender
terminal 10
may send a translation request to the translation server 400, receive a
translated
message from the translation server 400, and send the translated message to
the
messaging server 300. For example, if the instant translation feature is
activated, then
the sender terminal 10 may automatically send a translation request to the
translation
server 400 when the sender terminal 10 is instructed to send composed
messages. The
sender terminal 10 may be configured to send the translated message alone for
various
reasons such as message size limitations and additional fees for long
messages.
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[26] When there is no need to consider message size limitations or
additional fees, the
sender terminal 10 may transmit both the composed (original) message text and
translated message text (e.g., the transmitted message may include text
corresponding
to the sender's native language and text corresponding to a language
understandable by
the intended recipient). To achieve this, the sender terminal 10 may provide
an option
for setting simultaneous transmission of the original message and the
translated
message. If such a simultaneous transmission option is set, then the sender
terminal 10
may insert a preset separator between the original message text and the
translated
message text for clear distinction between the original message text and the
translated
message text. For example, the sender terminal 10 may insert a preset
separator such
as, for example, '&' or '/' between the original message text and the
translated message
text. The sender terminal 10 may also send the original message text and the
translated
message text together without insertion of a separator. In order to enhance
readability
of the transmitted message, the receiver terminal 20 may use a language
analysis
program that is capable of recognizing language encodings so as to separate
the
original message text from the translated message text.
[27] When the translation server 400 and the messaging server 300 work in
cooperation,
the sender terminal 10 may send a translation request to the messaging server
300
instead of the translation server 400. The translation request may include the
composed
message text and a target language indication.
[28] The receiver terminal 20 is a mobile terminal receiving a message.
That is, the
receiver terminal 20 may receive a message from the sender terminal 10 via the
messaging server 300. The message may include at least one of original message
text
and translated message text. When the translation feature is not activated,
the receiver
terminal 20 may display the received message. When the received message
includes
both original message text and translated message text, the receiver terminal
20 may
display the original message text and translated message text in different
regions.
[29] When the translation feature is activated, the receiver terminal 20
may identify the
language of the received message and check whether the identified language is
the
same as a language preset by the recipient user. When the identified language
is
different from the preset language, the receiver terminal 20 may send a
translation
request for translation of the received message to the translation server 400.
To achieve
this, the receiver terminal 20 may send a translation request including the
received
message and a target language indication (e.g., the language of the recipient
user) to
the translation server 400, receive a translated message from the translation
server 400,
and display the received message and translated message. Thereafter, if a
retranslation
command is entered for translation of the translated message, the receiver
terminal 20
may send a retranslation request to the translation server 400. The
retranslation request
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may include the initially received message and a target language indication.
[30] The messaging server 300 may deliver a message from the sender
terminal 10 to the
receiver terminal 20. That is, the messaging server 300 enables the sender
terminal 10
and the receiver terminal 20 to exchange messages. The messaging server 300
may be
a Short Message Service Center (SMSC) handing SMS messages, an IM server
handling IM messages, or the like. When a translation request including a
source
message and a target language indication is received from the sender terminal
10, the
messaging server 300 may forward the translation request to the translation
server 400,
receive a translated message in the target language from the translation
server 400, and
send the translated message to the receiver terminal 20.
[31] The translation server 400 provides language translation services. The
translation
server 400 may translate a message received from the sender terminal 10 or
receiver
terminal 20 and send a translated message to the sender terminal 10 or
receiver
terminal 20. In other words, the translation server 400 may receive a request
for
translation of a message received from the sender terminal 10 or the receiver
terminal
20. After the translation server 400 translates the message, the translation
server 400
sends the translated message to the terminal from which the translation
request was
received. The translation server 400 may receive a target language indication
together
with a message to be translated. The translation server 400 may also work in
co-
operation with the messaging server 300. When the translation server 400 works
in co-
operation with the messaging server 300, the translation server 400 may
receive a
translation request from the messaging server 300.
[32] In the above description, although the messaging server 300 and the
translation
server 400 are depicted as being separate entities, the messaging server 300
and the
translation server 400 may be configured as a single entity. Although the
translation
server 400 is described as returning, in response to a translation request,
one translated
message to the sender terminal 10, the translation server 400 may return
multiple
translated messages to the sender terminal 10 to enable the sending user
(e.g., the user
operating the sending terminal) to select a suitable translated message.
Similarly, the
translation server 400 may return multiple translated messages to the receiver
terminal
20.
[33] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the mobile terminal 100 according to an
exemplary em-
bodiment of the present invention.
[34] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the mobile terminal 100 may include a
wireless commu-
nication unit 150, an input unit 140, a display unit 130, a storage unit 120,
and a
control unit 110. The mobile terminal 100 having the above described
configuration
may function as a sender terminal 10 sending a message or a receiver terminal
20
receiving a message depending on circumstances. In the following description,
the
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mobile terminal 100 may be used as a sender terminal 10 or a receiver terminal
20.
[35] The wireless communication unit 150 may establish a communication
channel with a
base station for a voice call, a data call, and/or a video call. To achieve
this, the
wireless communication unit 150 may include a radio frequency transmitter (not
shown) for upconverting the frequency of a signal to be transmitted and
amplifying the
signal, a radio frequency receiver (not shown) for low-noise amplifying a
received
signal and downconverting the frequency of the received signal, and a duplexer
(not
shown) for separating a transmit signal from a receive signal. In particular,
the wireless
communication unit 150 may send and receive messages. More specifically, in
the
event that the mobile terminal 100 acts as a sender terminal 10, the wireless
commu-
nication unit 150 may send, in response to an input for a translation request,
a
composed message to the translation server 400. For example, if a user
indicates via
the input unit 140 that the composed message is to be translated, the wireless
commu-
nication unit 150 may send the composed message to the translation server 400.
The
communication unit 150 may also send a target language indication together
with the
composed message. The target language may be pre-specified or be selected by
the
user upon request. Thereafter, the wireless communication unit 150 may receive
a
translated message from the translation server 400 and forward the translated
message
to the messaging server 300. If an editing function is provided, the mobile
terminal 100
may edit the translated message and the wireless communication unit 150 may
send the
edited message to the messaging server 300. For example, if an editing
function is
provided, the control unit 110 may edit the translated message. As another
example, if
an editing function is provided, the mobile terminal 100 may allow a user to
edit the
translated message via the input unit 140. When the translation server 400
interworks
with the messaging server 300, the wireless communication unit 150 may send a
translation request including the composed message and a target language
indication to
the messaging server 300.
[36] In the event that the mobile terminal 100 acts as a receiver terminal
20, the wireless
communication unit 150 may receive a message from the messaging server 300.
The
received message may include at least one of original message text and
translated
message text. When a retranslation command is entered for the received
message, the
wireless communication unit 150 may send a retranslation request to the
translation
server 400. The retranslation request may include the received message and a
target
language indication.
[37] The input unit 140 may include a plurality of alphanumeric and
function keys for
inputting alphanumeric information and for setting various functions. In
particular, the
input unit 140 may generate various input signals to handle messages. For
example, the
input unit 140 may generate a signal to enter a translation command for a
composed
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message, a signal to specify a target language for translation, a signal to
send a
translation request, a signal to edit a translated message, a signal to enter
a translation
command for a received message, a signal to turn on and off the translation
feature,
and a signal to enter a retranslation command for a received message. The
input unit
140 may be realized using at least one of a key pad of buttons, a ball
joystick, an
optical joystick, a wheel key, a touch key, a touch pad, a touch screen, a
combination
thereof, and the like.
[38] The display unit 130 displays various menus of the mobile terminal
100, information
input by the user, and information to be provided to the user. For example,
the display
unit 130 may display various screens such as a home screen of pages, a message
handling screen, and a call handling screen in the course of utilizing the
mobile
terminal 100. In particular, the display unit 130 may display screens such as
a message
composition screen, an editing screen for a translated message and a message
viewing
screen. Such screens are described later in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6. The
display
unit 130 may be realized using Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) devices, Organic
Light
Emitting Diodes (OLED), Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes (AMOLED),
or the like. If the display unit 130 has a touchscreen capability, the display
unit 130
may act as an input means.
[39] The storage unit 120 may store application programs and related data
for realizing
functions of the mobile terminal 100. For example, the storage unit 120 may
store an
Operating System (OS) for booting and operating the mobile terminal 100, and
other
application programs related to images, sounds and short-range wireless commu-
nication. In particular, the storage unit 120 may store indications for user
languages
and target languages. A user language refers to a language used by the user of
the
mobile terminal 100, and may be specified by the manufacturer or the user. A
user
language may be specified according to the Mobile Country Code (MCC) of the
user
identity card assigned to the mobile terminal 100. The user identity card is
used for
subscriber authentication and may be a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), a
Universal
Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), or a User Information Module (UIM). As
another
example, the user identity card may store an indication of a user irrespective
of the
MCC of the user identity card assigned to the mobile terminal 100. The target
language
corresponds to a user language of the user of the receiver terminal 20. A
target
language may be specified by the user or be selected from a target language
list, which
is output in response to a translation command. For example, assume that a
Korean
user and an American user exchange a message. As to the Korean user, a user
language
may be Korean and a target language may be English. As to the American user, a
user
language may be English and a target language may be Korean.
11401 The storage unit 120 may store a language analysis program that
determines a
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language used to write a message through Unicode analysis. The language
analysis
program analyzes a received message and notifies the control unit 110 of the
language
used to write the received message. The language analysis program may also be
used
to separate original message text and translated message text included in a
received
message.
[41] The control unit 110 may control the overall operation of the mobile
terminal 100
and control signal exchange between components thereof. In particular, the
control unit
110 may control message transmission and reception operations involving
message
translation. For example, in the event that the mobile terminal 100 acts as a
sender
terminal 10, the control unit 110 may check activation of the translation
feature in
response to a message transmission request. In other words, in response to a
message
transmission request, the control unit 110 may check to determine whether a
translation feature is activated. If the translation feature is not activated,
then the
control unit 110 may send a composed message to the receiver terminal 20
without
translation. If the translation feature is activated, then the control unit
110 may control
an operation to translate the composed message and send the translated message
to the
receiver terminal 20. For example, the control unit 110 may send a translation
request
to the translation server 400 or the messaging server 300. If the control unit
110 sends
a translation request to the messaging server 300, then the messaging server
300 may
forward the translation request to the translation server 400, receive a
translated
message from the translation server 400, and send the translated message to
the
receiver terminal 20. The message transmission operation of the control unit
110 is
described later with reference to FIG. 3.
[42] In the event that the mobile terminal 100 acts as a receiver terminal
20, when a
message is received, the control unit 110 may check activation of the
translation
feature. If the translation feature is not activated, then the control unit
110 may control
an operation to directly display the received message. If the received message
includes
both original message text and translated message text, then the control unit
110 may
separately display the original message text and translated message text. If
the
translation feature is activated, then the control unit 110 may identify the
language of
the received message and check whether the identified language is the same as
a user
language preset by the recipient user. If the identified language is different
from the
user language, then the control unit 110 may control an operation to translate
the
received message into the user language and display a translated message. The
message reception operation of the control unit 110 is described later with
reference to
FIG. 4.
[43] Although not shown in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 100 may further
include at least
one of a camera module for capturing still or moving images of a target
object, a
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broadcast reception module for receiving digital broadcasts, a digital music
playback
module like an MP3 player, a short-range communication module for short-range
com-
munication, and a proximity sensor module for contactless sensing. With the
digital
convergence trend, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the
mobile
terminal 100 may further include a unit comparable to the above-described
units, and
one unit thereof may be removed or replaced with another unit.
[44] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a message transmission method for a mobile
terminal
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[45] Referring to FIG. 3, the user of the sender terminal 10 composes a
message (to be
sent to the receiver terminal 20) using a message composition function at step
301. The
message may be written in a user language, and may be, for example, an SMS
message
or IM message.
[46] The control unit 110 of the sender terminal 10 checks whether the
translation feature
is activated at step 303. The translation feature may be activated by a user
by entering
a menu item for message translation, or automatically by default.
[47] If the translation feature is not activated, then in response to a
message transmission
request, the control unit 110 sends the composed message to the receiver
terminal 20
through the messaging server 300 at step 317. If the translation feature is
activated,
then the control unit 110 sends a translation request including the composed
message
and a target language indication to the translation server 400 at step 305.
Here, the
target language indication indicates a target language (e.g., English, French,
Japanese,
or Chinese), into which the message is to be translated. The target language
may be
specified and stored in advance or be selected using a popup window when the
translation request is made.
[48] The control unit 110 receives a translated message from the
translation server 400 at
step 307, and displays the translated message in a region of the display unit
130 at step
309. As an example, the composed message and translated message may be
displayed
together.
[49] The control unit 110 checks whether an edit command is entered for the
translated
message at step 311. If an edit command is not entered for the translated
message, then
the control unit 110 sends the translated message in response to a message
transmission command from the user at step 313. The translated message is sent
to the
messaging server 300, which then forwards the translated message to the
receiver
terminal 20. If an edit command is entered for the translated message, then
the control
unit 110 displays an editing screen at step 314. The user may edit the
translated
message using the input unit 140. Thereafter, in response to a message
transmission
command from the user, the control unit 110 sends the translated and edited
message at
step 315.
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11501 In the above description, the sender terminal 10 sends a translation
request to the
translation server 400. However, exemplary embodiments of the present
invention are
not limited thereto. For example, if the translation feature is activated, the
control unit
110 may send a translation request including the composed message and a target
language indication to the messaging server 300. The messaging server 300 may
then
forward the translation request to the translation server 400, receive a
translated
message from the translation server 400, and send the translated message to
the
receiver terminal 20. In the above description, the sender terminal 10 sends
only a
translated message to the receiver terminal 20. However, the sender terminal
10 may
also send a composed message and translated message together to the receiver
terminal
20. To achieve this, the sender terminal 10 may provide an option for setting
si-
multaneous transmission of the original message and translated message. If
such a si-
multaneous transmission option is set, then the sender terminal 10 may insert
a preset
separator between the original message and the translated message for clear
distinction
between the original message text and the translated message text. The sender
terminal
may insert a preset separator such as, for example, '&' or '/' between the
original
message text and the translated message text. The sender terminal 10 may also
send the
original message text and the translated message text together without
insertion of a
separator. The receiver terminal 20 may use a language analysis program to
separate
the original message text from the translated message text.
11511 FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a message reception method for a mobile
terminal according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
11521 Referring to FIG. 4, the receiver terminal 20 receives a message at
step 401. The
received message may be an SMS message, an IM message, or the like. Upon
reception of a message, the control unit 110 of the receiver terminal 20
checks whether
the translation feature is activated at step 403. If the translation feature
is not activated,
then the control unit 110 displays the received message on the display unit
130 at step
417. If the received message includes only one of the original message text
and the
translated message text, then the received message may be directly displayed.
If the
received message includes both the original message text and translated
message text,
then the control unit 110 may separately display the original message text and
translated message text.
11531 During display of the received message, the control unit 110 checks
whether a
translation command is entered for the received message at step 419. If a
translation
command is entered for the received message, then the control unit 110
proceeds to
step 409. If a translation command is not entered for the received message,
then the
control unit 110 may perform a requested operation at step 420. For example,
according to a user request, the control unit 110 may compose a response
message,
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delete the received message, or display an idle screen.
11541 If the translation feature is activated at step 403, then the control
unit 110 identifies
the language of the received message at step 405. To achieve this, the
receiver terminal
20 may be equipped with a language analysis program that identifies a language
used
to write a message through Unicode analysis. The control unit 110 checks
whether the
identified language is the same as a user language preset by the recipient
user at step
407. If the identified language is the same as the user language, the control
unit 110
proceeds to step 417. The received message may include only the translated
message
text or include both the original message text and translated message text. If
the
identified language of either the original message text or the translated
message text is
not the same as the user language, then the control unit 110 sends a
translation request
including the received message and a target language indication (e.g.,
identifying the
user language) to the translation server 400 at step 409. The control unit 110
receives a
translated message from the translation server 400 at step 411, and displays
the
received message and translated message on the display unit 130 at step 413.
11551 The control unit 110 checks whether a retranslation command is
entered for the
displayed message at step 415. If a retranslation command is entered, then the
control
unit 110 returns to step 409. In response to the retranslation command, the
control unit
110 may display a popup window for selecting a target language. Hence, step
409 may
be repeated with a new target language.
11561 FIG. 5 illustrates screen representations depicting SMS message
transmission
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the
following de-
scription, it is assumed that a translation command is entered using a menu
option after
message composition.
11571 Referring to FIG. 5, as illustrated in screen 510, the user may
compose a message 40
by executing a message composition function. If a preset menu key is entered
after
composition of the message 40, then as illustrated in screen 520, a menu
window 50
having options available for message composition may be output in a lower
region of
the display unit 130. For example, as illustrated in screen 520, the menu
window 50
may have an add-contact item 51, an attach-file item 52, a translate item 53,
a change-
typeface item 54, a list-view item 55 and a delete item 56. The menu window 50
is il-
lustrative only, and may have other items. If the translate item 53 is
selected from the
menu window 50, then the control unit 110 may send a translation request for
the
composed message 40 to the translation server 400. If a translated message is
received
from the translation server 400, then as illustrated in screen 530, the
control unit 110
may separately output the composed message 40 and the translated message 60 on
the
display unit 130. If a send button 75 is entered in screen 530, then the
control unit 110
may transmit the translated message 60 to the messaging server 300. If the
user
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13
changes the target language through a target language item 70 illustrated in
screen 530,
then the control unit 110 may send a translation request including the
composed
message 40 and a new target language indication to the translation server 400.
For
example, if the user selects French as a target language by manipulating the
target
language item 70, then the control unit 110 may send a translation request
including
the composed message 40 and a target language indication (i.e., indication
that the
target language is French) to the translation server 400, and receive a
translated
message in French therefrom.
[58] As illustrated in screen 530, if the user touches a region where the
translated message
60 is displayed, then the control unit 110 may control the display unit 130 to
display an
editing screen for editing the translated message 60 as illustrated in screen
540. As il-
lustrated in screen 540, the region where the translated message 60 is
displayed is
moved to an upper portion of the display unit 130, and a virtual keypad for
character
input is displayed in a lower region. If a send button 75 is entered in the
editing screen
(i.e., in screen 540), then the control unit 110 may transmit the translated
and edited
message to the messaging server 300.
[59] FIG. 6 illustrates screen representations depicting IM message
transmission and
reception according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In
the
following description, the instant translation feature is assumed to be
activated.
[60] Referring to FIG. 6, if the instant messaging function is executed, as
illustrated in
screen 610, then the control unit 110 of the sender terminal 10 controls the
display unit
130 to display a dialog screen. In the dialog screen, the user may compose an
IM
message in a message composition field 91 and enter a message transmission
command by touching an IM send button 90. The control unit 110 may then send a
translation request including the IM message and a preset target language
indication to
the translation server 400, receive a translated IM message from the
translation server
400, and send the composed IM message text and translated IM message text to
the
messaging server 300. The control unit 110 may control the display unit 130 to
remove
the virtual keypad and display the composed IM message text and translated IM
message text in an IM message display region 95. For example, as illustrated
in screen
620, the composed IM message text 81 (i.e., Korean) is displayed in the lower
portion
of a first speech balloon 80 and the translated IM message text 82 (i.e.,
English) is
displayed in the upper portion thereof in the IM message display region 95.
[61] If the receiver terminal 20 receives an IM message from the messaging
server 300,
then as illustrated in screen 630, the display unit 130 may display a second
speech
balloon 85 including the received IM message under the first speech balloon
80. In
screen 630, unlike the first speech balloon 80, the second speech balloon 85
includes
Korean IM message text 84 in the upper portion and English IM message text 83
in the
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lower portion. This is because, as to the receiver terminal 20, the user
language is
English and the target language is Korean.
[62] In a feature of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the
message
handling method and system provide an instant translation function when
messages are
sent and received. Hence, users using different languages may exchange
messages in
an easy way. In addition, to translate a message to be sent or a received
message, the
user of a mobile terminal does not have to use a separate translation program
and may
directly use a translation function of a provided messaging program, thereby
enhancing
user convenience.
[63] According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the
message handling
method may be implemented as computer programs and may be stored in various
computer readable storage media. The computer readable storage media may store
program instructions, data files, data structures and combinations thereof.
The program
instructions may include instructions developed specifically for the present
invention
and existing general-purpose instructions.
[64] The computer readable storage media may include magnetic media such as
a hard
disk and floppy disk, optical media such as a CD-ROM and DVD, magneto-optical
media such as a floptical disk, and memory devices such as a ROM and RAM. The
program instructions may include machine codes produced by compilers and high-
level language codes executable through interpreters.
[65] While the invention has been shown and described with reference to
certain
exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the
art that
various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from
the
spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their
equivalents.
