Method for push-to-talk pre-emption

• US 20080194279A1
• Filed: 02/09/2007
• Published: 08/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nextel Communications Inc (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Nextel Communications Inc (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Choksi, Ojas T., Manroa, Arun
• Granted Patent: US 7,966,029 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4061 Push-to services, e.g. push-to-talk or push-to-video
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services

Abstract

Push-to-talk private call pre-emption may be applied in an application-to-person context or on a person-to-person context. A PTT subscriber may send a PTT server a pre-emption request indicating a desire to interrupt the application voice stream or another PTT subscriber, respectively. In an application-to-person context, the PTT server may revoke the floor from the application server and grant the floor to the requesting device. In a person-to-person context, the PTT server may send the other PTT subscriber a floor release request. Once the subscriber with the PTT floor releases it in response to the floor release request, the PTT server will be able to send an open floor signal back to the requesting subscriber.

Claims

1. A method for providing push-to-talk (PTT) pre-emption comprising:

establishing a PTT call between a subscriber device and an application server over a wireless network;

granting a PTT floor to the application server to provide an application voice/data stream to the subscriber device;

detecting a pre-emption request by the subscriber device to interrupt the application voice/data stream;

revoking the PTT floor from the application server in response to the pre-emption request; and

granting the PTT floor to the subscriber device in response to the pre-emption request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the application server implements a voice-enabled application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the voice-enabled application comprises an application selected from the list consisting of:

a navigation application, a speech-to-text application and a voice translation application.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-emption request is produced by at least one of depressing a PTT button on the subscriber device, depressing a soft button on a display of the subscriber device, and providing a voice command to the subscriber device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving location information spoken by a user of the subscriber device, and wherein the application voice/data stream is based on said location information.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a pre-emption signal to the application server in response to the pre-emption request.

7. A push-to-talk (PTT) server for providing PTT pre-emption comprising:

a network interface configured to connect the PTT server to an application server and a subscriber device;

a processor electrically coupled to the network interface; and

a memory electrically coupled to the processor, the memory containing processor-executable instructions, the server configured to;

establish a PTT call between the subscriber device and the application server over a wireless network,

grant a PTT floor to the application server to provide an application voice/data stream to the subscriber device,

detect a pre-emption request by the subscriber device to interrupt the application voice/data stream,

revoke the PTT floor from the application server in response to the pre-emption request, and

grant the PTT floor to the subscriber device in response to the pre-emption request.

8. The PTT server of claim 7, wherein the application server implements a voice-enabled application.

9. The PTT server of claim 8, wherein the voice-enabled application comprises an application selected from the list consisting of:

a navigation application, a speech-to-text application and a voice translation application.

10. The PTT server of claim 7, wherein the pre-emption request is produced by at least one of depressing a PTT button on the subscriber device, depressing a soft button on a display of the subscriber device, and providing a voice command to the subscriber device.

11. The PTT server of claim 7, further comprising receiving location information spoken by a user of the subscriber device, and wherein the application voice/data stream is based on said location information.

12. The PTT server of claim 7, further comprising providing a pre-emption signal to the application server in response to the pre-emption request.

13. A method for providing push-to-talk (PTT) pre-emption comprising:

establishing a PTT call between an originating subscriber device and a target subscriber device over a wireless network;

granting a PTT floor to the originating subscriber device;

detecting a pre-emption request by the target subscriber device;

sending a request to release the PTT floor to the originating subscriber device in response to the pre-emption request; and

sending an open floor signal to the target subscriber device in response to detecting that the PTT floor has been released by the originating subscriber devices.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the pre-emption request is produced by at least one of depressing a PTT button on the subscriber device, depressing a soft button on a display of the subscriber device, and providing a voice command to the subscriber device.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining a pre-emption priority for the target subscriber device prior to said sending the request to release the PTT floor.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the request to release the floor is detectable by a user of the originating subscriber device as one or more of an audible tone and a displayed message.

17. A push-to-talk (PTT) server for providing PTT pre-emption comprising:

a network interface configured to connect the PTT server to a wireless network;

a processor electrically coupled to the network interface; and

a memory electrically coupled to the processor, the memory containing processor-executable instructions, the server configured to;

establish a PTT call between an originating subscriber device and a target subscriber device over the wireless network;

grant a PTT floor to the originating subscriber device;

detect a pre-emption request by the target subscriber device;

send a request to release the PTT floor to the originating subscriber device in response to the pre-emption request; and

send an open floor signal to the target subscriber device in response to detecting that the PTT floor has been released by the originating subscriber devices.

18. The server of claim 17, wherein the pre-emption request is produced by at least one of depressing a PTT button on the subscriber device, depressing a soft button on a display of the subscriber device, and providing a voice command to the subscriber device.

19. The server of claim 17, further the server is further configured to determine a pre-emption priority for the target subscriber device prior to sending the request to release the PTT floor.

20. The server of claim 17, wherein the request to release the PTT floor is detectable by a user of the originating subscriber device as one or more of an audible tone and a displayed message.

21. A method for providing push-to-talk (PTT) pre-emption comprising:

establishing a PTT call between an originating subscriber device and a target subscriber device over a wireless network;

granting a PTT floor to the originating subscriber device;

detecting a pre-emption request by the target subscriber device;

sending a request to release the PTT floor to the originating subscriber device in response to the pre-emption request; and

granting the PTT floor to the target subscriber device in response to detecting that the PTT floor has been released by the originating subscriber devices.

22. A push-to-talk (PTT) server for providing PTT pre-emption comprising:

a network interface configured to connect the PTT server to a wireless network;

a processor electrically coupled to the network interface; and

a memory electrically coupled to the processor, the memory containing processor-executable instructions, the server configured to;

establish a PTT call between an originating subscriber device and a target subscriber device over the wireless network;

grant a PTT floor to the originating subscriber device;

detect a pre-emption request by the target subscriber device;

send a request to release the PTT floor to the originating subscriber device in response to the pre-emption request; and

grant the PTT floor to the target subscriber device in response to detecting that the PTT floor has been released by the originating subscriber devices.