Method and apparatus for providing dispatch-type services in a cellular communication system

• US 20040127233A1
• Filed: 12/31/2002
• Published: 07/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Harris, John M., Jayapalan, Jay, Fleming, Philip Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 7,319,879 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/458
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/00 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services

Abstract

An interconnect communication system is provided that provides for dispatch-type services including Instant Access call set up, talkgroup creation and management, and in-band floor arbitration and mode switching that employ in-band signaling tones. By providing talkgroup creation and management and in-band floor arbitration that are transparent to the underlying network, the talkgroup creation and management and in-band floor arbitration may be implemented in a legacy system without the need to modify the network and regardless of the type of network employed. Furthermore, by providing Instant Access call set up procedures and mode switching procedures that are capable of utilizing modified versions of known messages, the procedures may be implemented in a legacy system in a simplified manner, minimizing the impact of an addition of such procedures to a legacy network.

Claims

1. A method for establishing an Instant Access voice call in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first mobile station, a request to initiate an Instant Access voice call, wherein the request proposes a mode of the Instant Access voice call;

in response to receiving the request, paging a second mobile station with a paging message, wherein the paging message informs of the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call; and

determining, based on a response to the paging message by the second mobile station, whether to establish the proposed mode of the voice call.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to initiate an Instant Access voice call further identifies the second mobile station.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to initiate an Instant Access voice call further identifies a talkgroup of which the second mobile station is a member.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to initiate an Instant Access voice call comprises a call origination message that includes a Service Option (SO) data field and wherein a value embedded in the SO data field informs of the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the paging message comprises a Service Option (SO) data field and wherein a value embedded in the paging message SO data field informs of the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to receiving the request, assigning a traffic channel to the first mobile station.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining comprises:

failing to receive a response to the paging message from the second mobile station within a predetermined period of time; and

determining, based on the failure to receive a response, to not establish the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining comprises:

failing to receive a response to the paging message from the second mobile station within a predetermined period of time; and

determining, based on the failure to receive a response, to negotiate a traditional interconnect voice call.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the request received from the first mobile station comprises a first request that proposes a first mode of Instant Access voice call and wherein the method further comprises:

in response to paging the second mobile station, receiving, from the second mobile station, a second request to initiate an Instant Access voice call, wherein the second request proposes a second mode for the Instant Access voice call; and

in response to receiving the second request, inquiring of the first mobile station whether the first mobile station accepts the proposed second mode of the Instant Access voice call.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to paging the second mobile station, receiving a response from the second mobile station indicating an acceptance by the second mobile station of the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call; and

upon receiving the response from the second mobile station, assigning a traffic channel to the second mobile station.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a response to the paging message from the second mobile station, wherein the response indicates whether the second mobile station accepts the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the request received from the first mobile station comprises a first request that proposes a first mode of Instant Access voice call, wherein the response to the paging message received from the second mobile station indicates a rejection of the first mode of the Instant Access voice call, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, from the second mobile station, a second request to initiate an Instant Access voice call, wherein the second request proposes a second mode for the Instant Access voice call; and

in response to receiving the second request, inquiring of the first mobile station whether the first mobile station accepts the proposed second mode for the Instant Access voice call.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the response to the paging message comprises a Special Service Option (SSO) data field and wherein a value embedded in the SO data field informs whether the second mobile station accepts the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the response indicates that the second mobile station accepts the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and wherein the method further comprises:

assigning a first traffic channel to the first mobile station; and

assigning a second traffic channel to the second mobile station.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the response indicates that the second mobile station does not accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and further comprising negotiating a traditional interconnect voice call between the first mobile station and the second mobile station.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising signaling the first mobile station to alert a user of the first mobile station that an attempt is being made to establish an Instant Access voice call with the second mobile station.

17. A method for initiating, by a mobile station, an Instant Access voice call in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user of a mobile station, a first request to initiate a proposed mode of Instant Access voice call;

in response to receiving the first request, generating a second request to initiate a proposed mode of Instant Access voice call; and

conveying the second request to an infrastructure.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the second request comprises a call origination message having a Service Option (SO) data field and wherein generating further comprises embedding a value in the SO data field that informs of the proposed mode the Instant Access voice call.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising receiving a response to the second request informing of an attempt to establish the Instant Access voice call.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the mobile station comprises a first mobile station and wherein the method further comprises receiving a response to the second request, wherein the response informs whether a second mobile station accepts the proposed mode for the Instant Access voice call.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the response comprises a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signal and wherein the method further comprises determining, based on the received DTMF signal, that an Instant Access voice call has been established.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising identifying the second mobile station based on the Dual Tone Multi-Frequency signal.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising, upon receiving the Dual Tone Multi-Frequency signal, alerting a user of the first mobile station to begin speaking.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising receiving an assignment of a traffic channel in response to conveying the second request.

25. A method for establishing, by a mobile station, an Instant Access voice call in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

receiving a paging message requesting participation in a proposed mode of an Instant Access voice call; and

determining, based on the received paging message, whether to accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein determining comprises determining not to accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and further comprising not responding to the received paging message.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein determining comprises determining not to accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and further comprising conveying a request that proposes a different mode for the Instant Access voice call.

28. The method of claim 25, further comprising conveying a page response indicating whether the mobile station accepts the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the paging response comprises a Special Service Option (SSO) data field and wherein a value embedded in the SSO data field informs of whether the mobile station accepts the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the step of determining comprises a step of determining to accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and wherein the method further comprises, in response to conveying the page response, receiving an assignment of a traffic channel.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of determining comprises a step of determining to accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and wherein the method further comprises muting a microphone of the mobile station.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising steps of:

receiving voice data; and

upon receiving voice data, unmuting the microphone.

33. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of determining comprises a step of determining to accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and wherein the method further comprises disabling a microphone of the mobile station.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising steps of:

receiving voice data; and

upon receiving voice data, enabling the microphone.

35. A method for providing in-band speaker arbitration by a mobile station in a wireless communication session involving multiple participants, the method comprising:

receiving a first in-band signaling tone corresponding to a request by a second mobile station to reserve a floor of the communication session; and

in response to receiving the first in-band signaling tone, conveying a second in-band signaling tone that controls access by the second mobile station to the floor of the communication session.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the first in-band signaling tone comprises a first Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signal and the second in-band signaling tone comprises a second DTMF signal.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the first in-band signaling tone comprises a first TTY/TTD (TeleTYpewriter/Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) signal and the second in-band signaling tone comprises a second TTY/TTD signal.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein the second in-band signaling tone grants a reservation of the floor of the communication session to the second mobile station.

39. The method of claim 35, wherein the second in-band signaling tone fails to grant a reservation of the floor of the communication session to the second mobile station.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the second in-band signaling tone denies a reservation of the floor of the communication session to the second mobile station.

41. The method of claim 35, wherein the conveying of a second in-band signaling tone comprises echoing the first in-band signaling tone.

42. The method of claim 35, wherein the first in-band signaling tone identifies the second mobile station.

43. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

informing the second mobile station, by the first mobile station, of a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency signal associated with the second mobile station.

44. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

creating a talkgroup by one of the first mobile station and the second mobile station, which talkgroup comprises at least the other mobile station; and

conveying, by the creator of the talkgroup to the other mobile station, talkgroup information associated with the talkgroup.

45. A method for converting a voice call from one of a dispatch mode voice call or an interconnect mode voice call to the other mode voice call, the method comprising:

receiving, by a mobile station via a traffic channel, a request to switch over to the other mode voice call, wherein the request comprises an in-band signaling tone; and

determining, by the mobile station, whether to switch to the other mode voice call based on the received request.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the in-band signaling tone comprises a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signal.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein the in-band signaling tone comprises a TTY/TTD (TeleTYpewriter/Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) signal.

48. The method of claim 45, further comprising, in response to receiving the request, automatically switching, by the mobile station, to the other mode voice call.

49. The method of claim 45, further comprising, in response to receiving the request, alerting a user of the mobile station to the switch of mode of the voice call.

50. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

upon determining whether to switch to the other mode voice call, conveying, by the mobile station, a response to the request to switch over to the other mode voice call;

upon determining to switch to the other mode voice call, switching, by the mobile station, to the other mode of the voice call; and

upon determining not to switch to the other mode voice call, maintaining, by the mobile station, the current mode of the voice call.

51. A method for converting a voice call from one of a dispatch mode voice call or an interconnect mode voice call to the other mode voice call, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user of a mobile station, a request to switch a mode of the voice call;

in response to receiving the request, generating, by the mobile station, an in-band signaling tone; and

conveying, via a traffic channel, a request to switch over to the other mode voice call, wherein the request comprises the in-band signaling tone;

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the in-band signaling tone comprises a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signal.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein the in-band signaling tone comprises a TTY/TTD (TeleTYpewriter/Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) signal.

54. The method of claim 51, further comprising:

receiving a response to the request to switch over to the other mode voice call; and

determining whether to switch to the other mode voice call based on the received response.

55. The method of claim 51, further comprising:

upon determining to switch to the other mode voice call, switching to the other mode voice call; and

upon determining to switch to the other mode voice call, alerting the user of the a mobile station to the switch of modes of the voice call.

56. A method for creating a talkgroup by a first mobile station comprising:

selecting, by the mobile station, a second mobile station as a member of the talkgroup;

storing, by the mobile station, an association between a first mobile station (MS) identifier associated with first mobile station and a second MS identifier associated with the second mobile station; and

conveying talkgroup information by the first mobile station to the second mobile station, wherein the talkgroup information comprises the first MS identifier in association with the second MS identifier.

57. The method of claim 56, further comprising assigning, by the first mobile station, a talkgroup identifier to the talkgroup and wherein the method further comprises storing the talkgroup identifier in association with each of the first mobile station identifier and the second mobile station identifier.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the talkgroup information further comprises the talkgroup identifier.

59. The method of claim 56, further comprising:

assigning, by the mobile station, a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) tone to the second mobile station; and

storing the assigned DTMF tone in association with the second mobile station.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein the talkgroup information further comprises the assigned Dual Tone Multi-Frequency tone.

61. The method of claim 56, further comprising maintaining control of the membership of the talkgroup in the mobile station.

62. The method of claim 61, further comprising:

deleting, by the mobile station, a member of the plurality of members from the talkgroup; and

informing the plurality of members by the mobile station of the deletion of the member.

63. The method of claim 61, further comprising:

adding, by the mobile station, a new member to the talkgroup; and

informing the plurality of members by the mobile station of the addition on the new member.

64. A mobile station capable of participating in an Instant Access voice call, the mobile station comprising:

a memory that stores service option values corresponding to modes of an Instant Access call;

a processor coupled to the memory that receives, from a user of the mobile station, a first request to initiate a proposed mode of Instant Access voice call, in response to receiving the first request, generates a call origination message having a Service Option (SO) data field, embeds a value in the SO data field that informs of the proposed mode the Instant Access voice call, and conveys the call origination message to an infrastructure.

65. The mobile station of claim 64, wherein the processor further receives a response to the second request informing of an attempt to establish the Instant Access voice call and, based on the received response, alerts a user of the mobile station of the attempt to establish the Instant Access voice call.

66. The mobile station of claim 64, wherein the mobile station comprises a first mobile station and wherein the processor further receives a response to the second request, and determines, based on the response, whether a second mobile station accepts the proposed mode for the Instant Access voice call.

67. The mobile station of claim 66, wherein the mobile station further comprises a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) detector coupled to the processor, wherein the response comprises a DTMF signal, wherein the DTMF detector receives the DTMF signal and converts the DTMF signal to a corresponding value and conveys the value to the processor, and wherein the processor determines, based on the value received from the DTMF detector, that an Instant Access voice call has been established.

68. The mobile station of claim 67, wherein the processor identifies the second mobile station based on the value corresponding to the Dual Tone Multi-Frequency signal and by reference to the memory.

69. The mobile station of claim 67, wherein the processor, upon receiving the value corresponding to the Dual Tone Multi-Frequency signal, alerts a user of the first mobile station to begin speaking.

70. The mobile station of claim 64, wherein, in response to conveying the second request, the mobile station receives an assignment of a traffic channel.

71. A mobile station capable of participating in an Instant Access voice call comprising:

a memory that stores Service Option (SO) values corresponding to proposed modes of an Instant Access call; and

a processor coupled to the memory that receives a paging message having an SO data field and determines, based on a value embedded in the SO data field and by reference to the memory, that the mobile station is being requested to participate in a proposed mode of an Instant Access voice call.

72. The mobile station of claim 71, wherein the processor further determines not to respond to the received paging message.

73. The mobile station of claim 71, wherein the processor further determines not to accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and assembles and conveys a request that proposes a different mode for the Instant Access voice call.

74. The mobile station of claim 71, wherein the processor further assembles a page response indicating whether the mobile station accepts the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and transmits the page response.

75. The mobile station of claim 74, wherein the paging response comprises a Special Service Option (SSO) data field and wherein the processor, with reference to the memory, embeds a value in the SSO data field that informs of whether the mobile station accepts the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call.

76. The mobile station of claim 74, wherein the processor further determines to accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and wherein the mobile station receives an assignment of a traffic channel in response to transmitting the page response.

77. The mobile station of claim 74, wherein the processor further determines to accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and wherein the processor further mutes a microphone of the mobile station.

78. The mobile station of claim 77, wherein the mobile station receives voice data and the processor, upon receiving the voice data, unmutes the microphone.

79. The mobile station of claim 74, wherein the processor further determines to accept the proposed mode of the Instant Access voice call and wherein the processor further disables a microphone of the mobile station.

80. The mobile station of claim 79, wherein the mobile station receives voice data and the processor, upon receiving the voice data, enables the microphone.

81. A first mobile station that performs in-band speaker arbitration in a wireless communication session involving multiple participants, the mobile station comprising:

an in-band signaling tone detector that receives a first in-band signaling tone corresponding to a request by a second mobile station to reserve a floor of the communication session, converts the received in-band signaling tone to a corresponding first value, and routes the first value to a processor;

a memory that stores values corresponding to in-band signaling tones and programs associated with interpreting the values;

a processor coupled to the in-band signaling tone detector and to the memory that receives the value from the in-band signaling tone detector, determines, based on the first value and by reference to the memory, that the value corresponds to a request by a second mobile station to reserve a floor of the communication session, and instructs an in-band signaling tone generator to generate a second in-band signaling tone that controls access to the floor of the communication session; and

an in-band signaling tone generator coupled to the processor that generates the second in-band signaling tone.

82. The first mobile station of claim 81, wherein the in-band signaling tone detector comprises a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) detector that detects DTMF tones, wherein each of the first and second in-band signaling tones comprises one or more DTMF tones, and wherein the in-band signaling tone generator comprises a DTMF generator that generates DTMF tones.

83. The first mobile station of claim 81, wherein the in-band signaling tone detector comprises a TTY/TTD (TeleTYpewriter/Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) detector that detects TTY/TTD tones, wherein each of the first and second in-band signaling tones comprises one or more TTY/TTD tones, and wherein the in-band signaling tone generator comprises a TTY/TTD generator that generates TTY/TTD tones.

84. The first mobile station of claim 81, wherein the second in-band signaling tone grants a reservation of the floor of the communication session to the second mobile station.

85. The first mobile station of claim 81, wherein the second in-band signaling tone fails to grant a reservation of the floor of the communication session to the second mobile station.

86. The first mobile station of claim 85, wherein the second in-band signaling tone signal denies a reservation of the floor of the communication session to the second mobile station.

87. The first mobile station of claim 81, wherein the second in-band signaling tone is the same as the first in-band signaling tone and the first mobile station echoes the first in-band signaling tone back to the second mobile station

88. The first mobile station of claim 81, wherein the memory further stores a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signal associated with the second mobile station and wherein the processor identifies the second mobile station based on the first DTMF signal and by reference to the memory.

89. The first mobile station of claim 81, wherein the first mobile station conveys, to the second mobile station, a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency signal associated with the second mobile station.

90. The first mobile station of claim 81, wherein the processor further creates a talkgroup, which talkgroup comprises at least the second mobile station, and conveys to the second mobile station talkgroup information associated with the talkgroup.

91. A mobile station capable of converting a voice call from one of a dispatch mode voice call or an interconnect mode voice call to the other mode voice call, the mobile station comprising:

an in-band signaling tone detector that receives an in-band signaling tone corresponding to a request to switch over to the other mode voice call, converts the received in-band signaling tone to a corresponding value, and routes the first value to a processor;

a memory that stores values corresponding to in-band signaling tones and programs associated with interpreting the values;

a processor coupled to the in-band signaling tone detector and to the memory that receives the value from the in-band signaling tone detector, determines, based on the value and by reference to the memory, that the value corresponds to a request to switch over to the other mode voice call, and determines whether to switch to the other mode voice call based on the received request.

92. The mobile station of claim 91, wherein the in-band signaling tone detector comprises a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) detector that detects DTMF tones and wherein the in-band signaling tone comprises a DTMF signal.

93. The mobile station of claim 91, wherein the in-band signaling tone detector comprises a TTY/TTD (TeleTYpewriter/Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) detector that detects TTY/TTD tones and wherein the in-band signaling tone comprises a TTY/TTD tone.

94. The mobile station of claim 91, wherein the processor, in response to receiving the request, automatically switches to the other mode voice call.

95. The mobile station of claim 91, wherein the processor, in response to receiving the request, alerts a user of the mobile station to the switch of mode of the voice call.

96. The mobile station of claim 91, wherein the processor, upon determining whether to switch to the other mode voice call, conveys a response to the request to switch over to the other mode voice call, upon determining to switch to the other mode of the voice call, switches to the other mode voice call, and upon determining not to switch to the other mode voice call, maintains the current mode of the voice call.

97. A mobile station capable of converting a voice call from one of a dispatch mode voice call or an interconnect mode voice call to the other mode voice call, the mobile station comprising:

a user interface that receives a user request from a user of the mobile station to switch over to the other mode voice call;

a memory that stores values corresponding to in-band signaling tones and programs associated with interpreting the values;

a processor coupled to each of the memory and the user interface that receives the user request and generates a request to switch over to the other mode voice call; and

an in-band signaling tone generator coupled to the processor that receives the request to switch over to the other mode voice call and converts the received request to a corresponding in-band signaling tone.

98. The mobile station of claim 97, wherein the in-band signaling tone generator comprises a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) generator that generates DTMF tones and wherein the in-band signaling tone comprises a DTMF signal.

99. The mobile station of claim 97, wherein the in-band signaling tone generator comprises a TTY/TTD (TeleTYpewriter/Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) generator that generates TTY/TTD tones and wherein the in-band signaling tone comprises a TTY/TTD tone.

100. The mobile station of claim 97, wherein the mobile station comprises a first mobile station and wherein the first mobile station transmits the in-band signaling tone to a second mobile station via a traffic channel.

101. A first mobile station that is capable of creating a talkgroup, the mobile station comprising:

a memory that stores a plurality of mobile station (MS) identifiers, wherein a first MS identifier of the plurality of MS identifiers is associated with the first mobile station and a second MS identifier of the plurality of MS identifiers is associated with a second mobile station; and

a processor coupled to the memory that selects at least the second mobile station as a member of the talkgroup, associates, in the memory, the second MS identifier with the first MS identifier, and conveys, to the second mobile station, talkgroup information, wherein the talkgroup information comprises the first MS identifier in association with the second MS identifier.

102. The mobile station of claim 101, wherein the processor further assigns a talkgroup identifier to the talkgroup and stores the talkgroup identifier in the memory in association with each of the first mobile station identifier and the second mobile station identifier.

103. The mobile station of claim 102, wherein the talkgroup information further comprises the talkgroup identifier.

104. The mobile station of claim 101, wherein the processor further assigns a Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) tone to the second mobile station and stores, in the memory, the assigned DTMF tone in association with the second mobile station identifier.

105. The mobile station of claim 104, wherein the talkgroup information further comprises the assigned Dual Tone Multi-Frequency tone.

106. The mobile station of claim 101, wherein the processor further deletes the second mobile station from the talkgroup and informs the second mobile station of the deletion.

107. The method of claim 101, wherein the processor further adds a third mobile station from the talkgroup and informs each of the second mobile station and the third mobile station of the addition.