GRACEFUL DEGRADATION FOR VOICE COMMUNICATION SERVICES OVER WIRED AND WIRELESS NETWORKS

• US 20090103477A1
• Filed: 09/17/2008
• Published: 04/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Voxer IP LLC (Voxer, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rebelvox LLC (Voxer, Inc.)
• Inventors: Katis, Thomas E., Panttaja, Mary G., Ranney, Matthew J., Panttaja, James T.
• Granted Patent: US 7,751,362 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/00 Speech or audio signals analysis-synthesis techniques for redundancy reduction, e.g. in vocoders; Coding or decoding of speech or audio signals, using source filter models or psychoacoustic analysis in musical instruments G10H
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4053 without floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355

Abstract

A communication device for gracefully extending the range and/or capacity of voice communication systems. The communication device includes a persistent storage device configured persistently store the voice media either generated when using the communication device or received over the network at the communication device. When the usable bit rate on the network is poor and below that necessary for conducting a live conversation, the communication device transmits voice media from persistent storage and stores received voice media in persistent storage at the available usable bit rate on the network. Although latency may be introduced during the back and forth transmissions of a conversation, the persistent storage of both transmitted and received media of a conversation provides the ability to extend the useful range of wireless networks beyond what is required for live conversations. In addition, the capacity and robustness in not being affected by external interferences for both wired and wireless communications is improved.

Claims

1. A communication device for extending the usable range and/or capacity of a network, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive voice media generated while using the communication device, the communication device configured to be connected to a network through a network connection between the network and the communication device;

an encoder configured to encode the voice media to generate a full bit rate representation of the media generated while using the communication device;

a storage device configured to storing the full bit rate representation of the voice media generated while using the communication device and to store voice media received over the network connection;

a transmitter configured to ascertain if the usable bit rate on the network connection falls below a bit rate threshold, the bit rate threshold defining a minimum bit rate throughput sufficient for maintaining near real-time communication,

the transmitter further configured to transmit the voice media generated using the communication device from the storage device when the ascertained usable bit rate is below the bit rate threshold, the voice media being transmitted by the transmitter at a bit rate below the bit rate threshold, thereby effectively extending the usable range and/or capacity of the network connection for voice communication when the ascertained usable bit rate falls below the bit rate threshold; and

a rendering device configured to render the voice media stored in the storage device, the rendering device configured to provide the ability to render the voice media received over the network connection when the voice media received over the network connection is of sufficient completeness that it will be decipherable when rendered.

2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is further configured to ascertain if the usable bit rate on the network connection falls below the bit rate threshold by:

receiving one or more reports each including a measured transfer rate at which bits transmitted over the network connection safely arrive at a recipient over a predetermined period of time;

computing the usable bit rate on the network connection based on the received one or more reports; and

comparing the computed usable bit rate with the bit rate threshold.

3. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the minimum bit rate throughput sufficient for maintaining near real-time communication is at least 80% of the bit rate throughput needed to transmit and decode the full bit rate representation of the voice media at the same rate the voice media was originally encoded.

4. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is further configured to:

ascertain when the usable bit rate on the network connection exceeds the bit rate threshold; and

transmit the full bit rate representation of the voice media generated using the communication device without introducing latency when the ascertained usable bit rate exceeds the bit rate threshold.

5. The communication device of claim 4, wherein the transmitter transmits the full bit rate representation of the voice media by:

(i) defining a transmission loop;

(ii) ascertaining the voice media generated using the communication device available for transmission in the defined transmission loop; and

(iii) transmitting the full bit rate representation of the available voice media generated using the communication device during the transmission loop.

6. The communication device of claim 5, wherein the transmitter is further configured to define successive transmission loops and repeat (i) through (iii) for each transmission loop.

7. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the transmitter transmits the voice media generated while using the communication device from storage by varying the amount of latency during the transmission as needed so that the transmission bit rate substantially meets the usable bit rate on the network connection when the ascertained usable bit rate falls below the bit rate threshold.

8. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the transmitter transmits the voice media generated using the communication device from storage by:

defining a transmission loop;

determining if the ascertained usable bit rate is not sufficient to transmit the available voice media in the defined transmission loop;

ascertaining time-sensitive voice media among all the available voice media ready for transmission, the time-sensitivity of the voice media being determined by an intent of a recipient to review the voice media upon receipt; and

transmitting only the available time-sensitive voice media if the ascertained usable bit rate is sufficient to transmit only the available time-sensitive voice media.

9. The communication device of claim 8, wherein the transmitter transmits the voice media generated using the communication device from storage further by:

determining if the ascertained usable bit rate is not sufficient to transmit only the available time-sensitive voice media;

generating a reduced bit rate representation of the available time-sensitive voice media; and

transmitting the reduced bit rate representation of the available time-sensitive voice media.

10. The communication device of claim 9, wherein the transmitter is further configured to generate the reduced bit rate representation by using fewer bits per unit of time when packetizing the available time-sensitive voice media.

11. The communication device of claim 9, wherein the transmitter is further configured to generate the reduced bit rate representation by using (a) one or more different codec settings, (b) one or more different codecs, (c) a compression algorithm;

or (d) any combination of (a) through (c) when packetizing the media for transmission.

12. The communication device of claim 9, wherein the transmitter is further configured to generate the reduced bit rate representation by increasing the packetization interval used to transmit the available time-sensitive voice media.

13. The communication device of claim 9, wherein the transmitter is further configured to generate the reduced bit rate representation by adjusting the transmission rate at which packets containing the available time-sensitive voice media are transmitted.

14. The communication device of claim 9, wherein the transmitter is further configured to generate the reduced bit rate representation by performing one or more of the following:

(i) using fewer bits per unit of time when packetizing the reduced bit rate representation of the available time-sensitive voice media relative to the full bit rate representation;

(ii) increasing the packetization interval when transmitting the available time-sensitive voice media;

(iii) adjusting the rate at which packets containing the available time-sensitive voice media are transmitted;

or

(iv) any combination of (i) through (iii).

15. The communication device of claim 8, wherein the transmitter is further configured to:

defining successive transmission loops; and

performing the functions provided in claims 8, 9 and 14 as needed for each of the successive transmission loops.

16. The communication device of claim 1, further comprising a data quality store configured to note any missing, corrupted or reduced bit rate versions of the voice media received over the network connection and a data store management element configured to transmit from the communication device over the network connection requests for retransmission of any voice media noted in the data quality store.

17. The communication device of claim 16, wherein the data store management element is further configured to remove the notation from the data quality store as the requests for retransmission are satisfied.

18. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the storage device and the transmitter cooperate to effectively extend the usable range of the network connection when the ascertained usable bit rate falls below the bit rate threshold to just above the point before the usable bit rate on the network connection is substantially reduced to nothing.

19. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the storage device and the transmitter further cooperate to:

ascertain when the usable bit rate on the network connection is substantially reduced to nothing;

store voice media generated using the communication device when the usable bit rate on the network connection is substantially reduced to nothing;

delay the transmission of the voice media generated using the communication device when the usable bit rate on the network connection is substantially reduced to nothing; and

transmit the voice media from storage after the delay as the usable bit rate on the network connection increases.

20. The communication device of claim 1, further comprising a conversation management element configured to define a conversation and to ascertain the voice media generated using the communication device and the voice media received over the network connection associated with the conversation.

21. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the storage device is further configured to persistently store the voice media generated using the communication device and the voice media received over the network connection in a time-based format.

22. The communication device of claim 1, further comprising a rendering control element configured to provide the ability to render the voice media stored in the storage device in a time-shifted mode by retrieving the media from the storage device and rendering the retrieved media on the communication device.

23. The communication device of claim 1, further comprising a rendering control element configured to provide the ability to render the voice media received over the network connection as it is received over the network connection in a near real-time mode.

24. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the storage device is further configured to persistently store a full bit rate representation of the voice media received over the network connection at the communication device.

25. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the network connection is a wireless network connection and the transmitter transmits the voice media generated using the communication device from the storage device at the bit rate below the bit rate threshold, thereby effectively extending the usable range and/or capacity of the wireless network connection.

26. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the network connection is a wired network connection and the transmitter transmits the voice media generated using the communication device from storage at the bit rate below the bit rate threshold to effectively extends the usable capacity of the wired network connection.

27. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the communication device comprises one of the following:

land-line phone, wireless phone, cellular phone, satellite phone, computer, radio, server, satellite radio, tactical radio or tactical phone.

28. The communication device claim 1, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit, in addition to the voice media, one or more of the following types of media:

video, text, sensor data, position or GPS information, radio signals, or a combination thereof.