Method and system for merging multiple push-to-talk over cellular sessions

• US 20060035656A1
• Filed: 07/27/2005
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Sung-Jin, Sung, Sang-Kyung, Park, Joon-Goo
• Granted Patent: US 7,693,533 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4061 Push-to services, e.g. push-to-talk or push-to-video
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services

Abstract

A method for performing session merging between PoC sessions under the environment of multiple PoC sessions is provided. A merging PoC client sends a request for the session merging with a merged session to a PoC server managing a merging session to which the PoC client belongs. The PoC server managing the merging session sends a session merge request to a PoC server managing the merged session. Negotiation of a CF (Controlling PoC Function) for managing a session to be merged is performed between the PoC server of the merging session and the PoC server of the merged session. When an entire CF of the session to be merged is selected as the negotiation between the PoC servers is completed, the PoC server of the merged session sends an UPDATE message of modified media parameters to a PoC client of the merged session. The PoC server of the merging session sends, to a PoC client of the merging session, a NOTIFY message of a merge request notifying that the PoC server of the merging session is selected as the entire CF.

Claims

1. A method for merging sessions in a push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) network, the method comprising steps of:

requesting, by a PoC client, a PoC server to merge with another session;

sending, by the PoC server, a session merge request message to a PoC server of the other session and performing negotiation for session merging; and

performing the session merging.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the session merge request message includes at least one of a session merging indication, a media parameter, a session identity, and a contact address of the merging session.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the session merge request message includes a group identity of the PoC client.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the group identity is a group uniform resource identifier (URI).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of performing the session merging includes determining whether to perform a Controlling PoC Function (CF) after the session of the PoC client performs the session merging with any one of the PoC server and the PoC server of the other session.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step of performing the session merging, the negotiation is performed only by the PoC server of the other session.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step of performing the session merging, the negotiation is performed by determining responses of clients of the other session.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of performing the session merging includes sending, by the PoC server of the merged session, a response message to the PoC server of the merging session.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising sending information on the PoC server determined as the CF to the clients of the merging session.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of sending the information on the PoC server further includes sending, by the CF, information modified after the session merging, to the clients of the merging session.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending session information of the PoC client before the PoC client requests the PoC server for the session merging with the other session.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the session information is sent as an instant message.

13. A push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) network system, comprising:

at least one PoC client for requesting session merging;

a PoC server for sending a session merge request message;

a PoC server of another session for receiving the session merge request message from the PoC server, performing negotiation for the session merging, and determining a server intended to perform a Controlling PoC Function (CF) with the PoC server.

14. The PoC network system of claim 13, wherein the session merge request message includes at least one of a session merging indication, a media parameter, a session identity, and a contact address of the merging session.

15. The PoC network system of claim 13, wherein the session merge request message further includes a group identity of the PoC client.

16. The PoC network system of claim 15, wherein the group identity is a group uniform resource identifier (URI).

17. The PoC network system of claim 13, wherein the negotiation is performed only by the PoC server of the other session.

18. The PoC network system of claim 13, whrein the negotiation is performed by determining responses of clients of the other session.

19. The PoC network system of claim 13, wherein the PoC server of the other session sends a response message to the PoC server of the PoC client session.

20. The PoC network system of claim 13, wherein the PoC server determined as the CF sends the server information to the client of the merging session.

21. The PoC network system of claim 13, wherein the CF sends information modified after the session merging to the clients of the session.

22. The PoC network system of claim 13, wherein the PoC server of the PoC client session sends information of the PoC client session before requesting the session merging with the other session.

23. The PoC network system of claim 22, wherein the session information is sent as an instant message.