Method for managing sessions between network parties, methods, network element and terminal for managing calls

• US 20050021616A1
• Filed: 07/03/2001
• Published: 01/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Bouret, Christopher, Rajahalme, Jarno
• Granted Patent: US 7,647,374 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]

Abstract

The invention relates to a management of sessions between parties being connectable with a network. Thereby a first party registers to the network and invites a second party to a session. It is determined from a session information whether said session is to be retained by the network. The retaining comprises storing at least part of the session information for a subsequent re-establishment or release of the session by the network on behalf of said first party, releasing said retained session by the network towards the second party on behalf of the first party, when the first party deregisters from the network or loses connection to the network, re-establishing the retained session by the network towards the second party on behalf of the first party, when the first party repeatedly registers to said network or re-establishes connection with said network. Furthermore, the invention relates to methods and a network element for managing multiple simultaneous sessions between parties participating in one or a plurality of calls and to a corresponding terminal.

Claims

1. A method for managing sessions between parties being connectable to a network comprising the steps of:

a first party registering to said network,

said first party inviting a second party, to a session,

determining from a session information relating to said session whether said session is to be retained by the said network,

said retaining comprising storing of at least part of said session information for a subsequent re-establishment or release of the said session by said network on behalf of said first party,

releasing said retained session by said network towards said second party on behalf of said first party, when said first party deregisters from said network or loses connection with said network,

re-establishing said retained session by said network towards said second party on behalf of said first party, when said first party repeatedly registers to said network or re-establishes connection with said network.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said registering step triggers said re-establishing of all retained sessions on behalf of said first party by said network.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein responses relating to said re-establishing of all said retained sessions are collected by said network into a single response to said first party.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least said first party of said parties is a terminal, in particular a mobile terminal.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least said second party, is a session initiation protocol (SIP) signalling entity.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein said session initiation protocol (SIP) signalling entity is a group call server, or a session initiation protocol (SIP) terminal.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein said determining from said session information relating to said session whether said session is to be retained is based on an indicator carried in a response message to an invitation message for inviting a party to a session.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein said determining from said session information relating to said session whether said session is to be retained is based on an analysis of session information such as the identity of the said second party.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein said stored at least part of said session information is deleted when said first party leaves said session.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein said method is used for managing multiple simultaneous sessions between parties participating in one or a plurality of calls, and wherein each of said parties is destined for being in respective sessions with all of the other parties or at least some of the other parties, at least the sessions between a first party and further parties being respectively divided in

a first subsession between said first party and a network element, and

a second subsession between said network element and a call signaling entity serving a group call with at least one of said further parties,

thereby combining first subsessions in a combined session between said first party and said network element in a combined session and/or second subsessions between said network element and said call-signalling entity in a combined session.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said combining step of combining second subsessions involves combining of media streams from second subsessions between said network element and at least one of said further parties into a single media stream relating to the first subsession between said first party and said network element.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein said media stream combining is performed by a media proxy in association with said network element.

13. A method according to claim 10, wherein said call signaling entity is a group call server.

14. A method according to claim 10 wherein said call signaling entity is a session initiation protocol (SIP) proxy associated with one of said parties.

15. A method according to claims 1, wherein said method is used for managing multiple simultaneous session between parties participating in one or a plurality of group calls, and wherein each of said parties are destined for being in respective sessions with all of the other parties or at least some of the other parties, at least the sessions between a first party and further parties being respectively divided in sessions between a first party and further parties being respectively divided in

a first subsession between said first party and a network element, and

a second subsession between said network element and a group call server serving a group call with at least one of said further parties,

thereby combining first subsessions in a combined session between said first party and said network element.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein multiple sessions being initiated by said first party with a single combined message transmitted, from said first party to said network element, said combined message combining message content for said group call server thereby transmitting shared content in said combined message just once.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein said network element splitting said combined message into multiple messages, whereby each of said multiple messages being respectively sent from said network element to one of a plurality of group call servers.

18. A method according to claim 17, wherein each of said multiple messages being

a) either an individual message containing message content for one of the further parties only or

b) a further combined message containing message content for a plurality of further parties.

19. A method according to claim 15, wherein said network element collecting response messages sent from said group call servers in response to a requests message from said party, combining content of said response messages, thereby eliminating repeated content and generating a still further combined message, and transmitting said still further combined message to said first party.

20. A method according to claim 15, wherein said network element storing information in a register;

said information indicating remembered sessions for parties.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein said network element determining in response to a message of a registering party whether there are remembered sessions for said party and if there are remembered sessions sending messages to each group call server of the parties of said remembered sessions.

22. A method to claim 15, wherein a party or a group call server inserting information into a message indicating whether a particular session should be remembered or not.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein said information being inserted by means of an additional message header or an optional parameter to an existing message header.

24. A method to claim 15, wherein said sessions, subsessions and/or messages are session initiation protocol (SIP) sessions, subsessions and/or messages.

32. A terminal for use in a method according to claim 1 comprising:

combining means for combining messages to be sent from said first party via a network element; and

one or more call-signalling entities or group call servers to further parties in a combined message for use in a combined session, and

splitting means for splitting combined messages to be received from a network element being transmitted from one or more call-signalling entities or group call servers into a number of messages.

25. A network element for managing multiple simultaneous sessions between parties participating in one or a plurality of calls or group calls, wherein each of said parties are destined for being in respective sessions with all of the other parties or at least one or some of the other parties, said network element comprising separating means for separating respectively at least the sessions between a first party and further parties in

a first subsession between said first party and said network element, and

a second subsession between said network element and a call signaling entity or group call server serving a call or group call with at least one of said further parties,

wherein first subsession between said first party and said network element are combined in a combined session and/or second subsessions between said network element and a call-signalling entity or group call server are combined in a combined session.

26. A network element according to claim 25, comprising a register storing information about existing group calls to which parties have joined.

27. A network element according to claim 25, comprising splitting means for splitting said combined message into multiple messages and for sending each of said multiple messages respectively to one of a plurality of group call servers.

28. A network element according to claim 25, comprising collecting means for collecting response messages sent from said group call servers in response to request message from said first party, said collecting means being designed for eliminating repeated content and generating a still further combined message to be sent to said first party.

29. A network element according to claim 25, comprising a group service.

30. A network element according to claim 25, comprising call state control function, in particular proxy call state control function.

31. (Cancelled)

33. A terminal according to claim 31, wherein said combining means being designed for eliminating repeated message content.