Supporting device-to-device communication in a rich communication service context

• US 10,028,204 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Blankenship, Yufei Wu, Furbeck, David Stuart
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Yuwen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Paul P
• Application Number:
  US13/837,199
• Publication Number:
  US 20140057667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,950 Days
• Field of Search: 455419, 4554351, 455466, 455500, 455518, 455519, 455566, 370259, 370260, 370310, 370328, 370329, 370352, 370354, 370355, 370401, 370465, 37910006, 379 671, 707712, 709203, 709204, 709206, 709217, 709227, 709240
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture to support device-to-device communication in a rich communication service context are disclosed. Some example methods disclosed herein include sending, to a network node, first device-to-device capability information for a first device, the first device-to-device capability information being associated with device-to-device functionality supported by the first device, and receiving, from the network node, second device-to-device capability information for a second device associated with a contact stored in the first device, the second device-to-device capability information being associated with device-to-device functionality supported by the second device. Other example methods disclosed herein include receiving, from a first device, first device-to-device capability information for the first device, and sending, to the first device, second device-to-device capability information for a second device associated with a contact stored in the first device.

Claims

1. A method for a first mobile device, the method comprising:

sending, from the first mobile device to a network node, first device-to-device capability information for the first mobile device, the first device-to-device capability information including operating parameters for the first mobile device to wirelessly communicate directly with another device, wherein the first device-to-device capability information includes an indicator indicating whether the first mobile device is able to discover one or more other devices in proximity to the first mobile device using proximity discovery based on device-to-device radio signals, and the first device-to-device capability information also includes communication capability information of the first mobile device, the communication capability information of the first mobile device including a first radio access technology (RAT) through which the first mobile device is able to directly communicate with another device;

receiving, from the network node, second device-to-device capability information for a second mobile device associated with a contact stored in the first mobile device, the second device-to-device capability information including parameters for the second mobile device to wirelessly communicate directly with another device, wherein the second device-to-device capability information includes an indicator indicating whether the second mobile device permits one or more other devices to discover the second mobile device using proximity discovery based on device-to-device radio signals, and the second device-to-device capability information also includes communication capability information of the second mobile device, the communication capability information of the second mobile device including a second RAT through which the second mobile device is able to directly communicate with another device;

storing the second device-to-device capability information for the second mobile device in an address book in the first mobile device;

determining, at the first mobile device, based on the second device-to-device capability information stored in the address book and the first device-to-device capability information, whether the second mobile device is discoverable by the first mobile device and whether the first RAT matches the second RAT;

in response to determining that the second mobile device is discoverable by the first mobile device and that the first RAT matches the second RAT, determining, by the first mobile device, whether the second mobile device is in proximity to the first mobile device using the first RAT; and

in response to determining that the second mobile device is in proximity to the first mobile device, setting an indicator in the address book of the first mobile device to indicate that a proximity service associated with the second mobile device is available,

wherein the proximity service involves the first mobile device to establish a device-to-device communication link to directly communicate media file sharing with the second mobile device.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first device-to-device capability information indicates whether the first mobile device permits one or more other devices to discover the first mobile device.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising using the second device-to-device capability information to indicate in the address book whether the second mobile device is discoverable.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first device-to-device capability information includes discovery capability information, and the method further comprises specifying the discovery capability information in the address book of the first mobile device.

5. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein the discovery capability information includes at least one of:

a second discovery capability specifying that the first mobile device is able to discover the one or more other devices, and that the first mobile device does not permit the one or more other devices to discover the first mobile device;

or

a third discovery capability specifying that the first mobile device is not to discover the one or more other devices, and that the first mobile device permits the one or more other devices to discover the first mobile device.

6. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein specifying the discovery capability information in the address book of the first mobile device comprises:

associating a first discovery capability information for the first mobile device with a first contact in the address book.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising specifying the communication capability information of the first mobile device in the first mobile device.

8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein specifying the communication capability information in the address book of the first mobile device comprises:

associating first communication capability information for the first mobile device with a first contact in the address book; and

associating second communication capability information for the first mobile device with a second contact in the address book, the second communication capability information being different from the first communication capability information.

9. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

discovering the second mobile device;

determining proximity information between the first mobile device and the second mobile device; and

reporting the proximity information to a location service processor.

10. A method for a network, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first mobile device, first device-to-device capability information for the first mobile device, the first device-to-device capability information including operating parameters for the first mobile device to wirelessly communicate directly with another device, wherein the first device-to-device capability information includes an indicator indicating whether the first mobile device is able to discover one or more other devices in proximity to the first mobile device using proximity discovery based on device-to-device radio signals, and the first device-to-device capability information also includes communication capability information of the first mobile device, the communication capability information of the first mobile device including a first radio access technology (RAT) through which the first mobile device is able to directly communicate with another device; and

sending, to the first mobile device, second device-to-device capability information for a second mobile device associated with a contact stored in the first mobile device, the second device-to-device capability information including operating parameters for the second mobile device to wirelessly communicate directly with another device, wherein the second device-to-device capability information includes an indicator indicating whether the second mobile device permits one or more other devices to discover the second mobile device using proximity discovery based on device-to-device radio signals, and the second device-to-device capability information also includes communication capability information of the second mobile device, the communication capability information of the second mobile device including a second RAT through which the second mobile device is able to directly communicate with another device, and the second device-to-device capability information for the second mobile device stored in an address book in the first mobile device,

and wherein the first mobile device, based on the second device-to-device capability information stored in the address book and the first device-to-device capability information, determines whether the second mobile device is discoverable by the first mobile device and whether the first RAT matches the second RAT, wherein the first mobile device, in response to determining that the second mobile device is discoverable by the first mobile device and that the first RAT matches the second RAT, determines whether the second mobile device is in proximity to the first mobile device using the first RAT, and wherein the first mobile device, in response to determining that the second mobile device is in proximity to the first mobile device, sets an indicator in the address book of the first mobile device to indicate that a proximity service associated with the second mobile device is available,

wherein the proximity service involves the first mobile device to establish a device-to-device communication link to directly communicate media file sharing with the second mobile device.

11. The method as defined in claim 10, wherein the first device-to-device capability information indicates whether the first mobile device permits one or more other devices to discover the first mobile device.

12. The method as defined in claim 10, wherein the first device-to-device capability information includes discovery capability information, and the discovery capability information includes at least one of:

a first discovery capability specifying that the first mobile device is able to discover the one or more other devices and that the first mobile device permits the one or more other devices to discover the first mobile device;

a second discovery capability specifying that the first mobile device is able to discover the one or more other devices, and that the first mobile device does not permit the one or more other devices to discover the first mobile device;

a third discovery capability specifying that the first mobile device is not to discover the one or more other devices, and that the first mobile device permits the one or more other devices to discover the first mobile device;

or

a fourth discovery capability specifying that the first mobile device is not to discover the one or more other devices and that the first mobile device does not permit the one or more other devices to discover the first mobile device.

13. The method as defined in claim 10, wherein the first device-to-device capability information is stored in a first presence document associated with the first mobile device, and the method further comprises:

receiving, from the first mobile device, a privacy filtering rule associated with a device-to-device functionality supported by the first mobile device;

storing the privacy filtering rule with presence authorization rules associated with the first presence document; and

evaluating the privacy filtering rule when providing presence information, including at least a portion of the first device-to-device capability information, to a third mobile device.

14. The method as defined in claim 10, further comprising:

receiving proximity information from the first mobile device, the proximity information indicating whether the second mobile device is in proximity to the first mobile device; and

augmenting positioning information determined for the second mobile device with the proximity information received from the first mobile device to determine a position of the first mobile device.