Providing talk burst authority in group communication system supporting PTT service

• US 20060035657A1
• Filed: 07/27/2005
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lim, Guk-Chan
• Granted Patent: US 7,761,108 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/56 based on priority criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/08 Trunked mobile radio systems

Abstract

A method for managing a talk burst in a PTT service system comprises: allocating, by a PTT server, master authority to a particular PTT client; and controlling, by the PTT server, another PTT clients according to a talk burst management procedure selected by the PTT client having the master authority. The PTT server allocates the master authority to the PTT client initiating a session and the PTT client having the master authority freely controls the talk burst management procedure, so that session establishment can be smoothly controlled.

Claims

1. A method for managing a talk burst in a group communication comprising:

allocating, by the PTT server, master authority to a particular PTT client; and

controlling, by the PTT server, other PTT clients according to a talk burst management procedure determined by the PTT client having master authority allocated thereto.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the PTT server allocates the master authority to a PTT client that requested session establishment or to a PTT client having master authority transfers its master authority to a third party PTT client.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the talk burst management procedure comprises at least one of:

a procedure that allocates a talk burst once to each PTT client having a session therefor;

a procedure that releases a talk burst of a particular client that monopolizes over a certain period of time;

a procedure that forbids a talk burst of a particular PTT client;

a procedure that allocates master authority to a third party PTT client; and

a procedure by which the talk burst allocated to a third party PTT client is forcibly released and the PTT client having master authority has priority for a next talk burst.

4. A method for managing a talk burst in a group communication comprising:

inviting, by a particular PTT client, one or more other PTT clients;

allocating, by a PTT server, master authority to the particular PTT client that invited the other PTT clients;

determining a talk burst management procedure by the PTT client having master authority allocated thereto; and

controlling, by the PTT server, a talk burst with respect to the PTT clients having a session established therefor according to the determined talk burst management procedure.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining a talk burst management procedure comprises:

setting a procedure that allocates a talk burst to the PTT clients invited to the session.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the procedure that allocates the talk burst comprises:

setting a priority of the talk burst or the number of times that a talk burst is allocated.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining the talk burst management procedure comprises:

releasing a talk burst of a PTT client that monopolizes the talk burst over a certain period of time.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining the talk burst management procedure comprises:

forbidding a talk burst with respect to the particular PTT client or releasing a session with respect to a corresponding PTT client.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining the talk burst management procedure comprises:

transferring, by the PTT client having master authority, its master authority to a third party PTT client.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining the talk burst management procedure comprises:

forcibly releasing, by the PTT client having master authority, the talk burst allocated to a third party PTT client and allowing the PTT client having the master authority to have priority of a next talk burst.

11. A server of a group communication system, comprising:

a transceiver to send and receive communication signals;

a processor cooperating with the transceiver; and

a storage medium containing instructions executable by the processor to perform the steps of,

providing master authority to a particular user terminal,

receiving floor control commands from the particular user terminal to handle floor control procedures for other user terminals having a session established thereof, and

sending the floor control commands to the other terminals to perform floor control procedures.

12. The server of claim 11, wherein the master authority is provided to the particular user terminal that requested session establishment with other user terminals.

13. The server of claim 11, wherein the floor control procedures include providing floor grants and floor denials to one or more other user terminals.

14. The server of claim 11, wherein the floor control procedures allow fair access to multiple user terminals.

15. The server of claim 11, wherein the master authority is transferred from the particular user terminal to a different user terminal.

16. The server of claim 15, wherein the transferred master authority is released and returned to the particular user terminal.

17. The server of claim 11, wherein the group communication system supports a push-to-talk function.

18. A user terminal of a group communication system, comprising:

a transceiver to send and receive communication signals;

a processor cooperating with the transceiver; and

a storage medium containing instructions executable by the processor to perform the steps of,

receiving master authority from a server and sending floor control commands to other user terminals via the server to handle floor control procedures for other user terminals having a session established thereof, or

receiving floor control commands via the server from another user terminal that has been given master authority from the server.

19. The user terminal of claim 18, wherein the master authority is received after requesting session establishment with other user terminals.

20. The user terminal of claim 18, wherein the floor control procedures include receiving floor grants and floor denials from the server.

21. The user terminal of claim 18, wherein the floor control procedures allow fair access to multiple user terminals.

22. The user terminal of claim 18, wherein the received master authority is transferred to a different user terminal.

23. The user terminal of claim 22, wherein the transferred master authority is released and returned from the different user terminal.

24. The user terminal of claim 18, wherein the group communication system supports a push-to-talk function.