MULTIMEDIA CONTENT PROVIDING METHOD AND MOBILE STATION

• US 20090124196A1
• Filed: 07/20/2006
• Published: 05/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Moon, Sung Uk, Nakamura, Takehiro, Ishii, Minami
• Application Number:
  US11/996,396
• Publication Number:
  US 20090124196A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.60
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1881 with schedule organisation, e.g. priority, sequence management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services

Abstract

The present invention effectively controls a reception of a multimedia content from a MBMS bearer service based on a priority level associated with each of the MBMS bearer service which transmits a plurality of the multimedia contents. A multimedia content providing method according to the present invention provides a multimedia content to a plurality of mobile stations by a broadcast communication or a multicast communication, and includes the steps of: suspending, at the mobile station, a reception of a multimedia content from a low priority bearer service having a lower priority level than a desired bearer service, when a reception of a multimedia content from the desired bearer service is started while a multimedia content from a maximum receivable number of a bearer service or a multimedia content from a predetermined number of a bearer service is being received; and restarting, at the mobile station, the suspended reception of the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service, after the reception of the multimedia content from the desired bearer service is completed.

Claims

1. A multimedia content providing method for providing a multimedia content to a plurality of mobile stations by a broadcast communication or a multicast communication, comprising the steps of:

suspending, at the mobile station, a reception of a multimedia content from a low priority bearer service having a lower priority level than a desired bearer service, when a reception of a multimedia content from the desired bearer service is started while a multimedia content from a maximum receivable number of a bearer service or a multimedia content from a predetermined number of a bearer service is being received; and

restarting, at the mobile station, the suspended reception of the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service, after the reception of the multimedia content from the desired bearer service is completed.

2. The multimedia content providing method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

performing, at the mobile station, a joining processing to the low priority bearer service in order to receive the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service;

establishing, at the mobile station, a radio bearer for the low priority bearer service to which the mobile station has performed the joining processing; and

receiving, at the mobile station, the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service to which the mobile station has performed the joining processing, via the radio bearer;

wherein,

in the suspending step of the reception, the mobile station suspends the reception of the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service, by performing a leaving processing from the low priority bearer service after releasing the radio bearer for the low priority bearer service; and

in the restarting step of the reception, the mobile station restarts the suspended reception of the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service, by establishing the radio bearer for the low priority bearer service after performing the joining processing to the low priority bearer service.

3. A multimedia content providing method for providing a multimedia content to a plurality of mobile stations by a broadcast communication or a multicast communication, comprising the steps of:

starting, at the mobile station, only a reception of a multimedia content from a determined bearer service, which is determined based on a priority level associated with each of a plurality of bearer services, when a reception start of a multimedia content from the plurality of the bearer services makes the number of bearer services, from which the mobile station receives the multimedia content, to exceed a maximum receivable number or a predetermined number; and

starting, at the mobile station, a reception of a multimedia content from a bearer service whose reception has not been started, after the reception of the multimedia content from the determined bearer service is completed.

4. The multimedia content providing method according to claim 3, wherein:

in the starting step of only the reception of the multimedia content from the determined bearer service, the mobile station only starts the reception of the multimedia content from the determined bearer service via a radio bearer, by establishing the radio bearer for the determined bearer service to which the mobile station has performed a joining processing, after performing the joining processing to the determined bearer service in order to receive the multimedia content from the determined bearer service; and

in the starting step of the reception of the multimedia content from the bearer service whose reception has not been started, the mobile station starts the reception of the multimedia content from the bearer service whose reception has not been started, by performing the joining processing to the bearer service whose reception has not been started and by establishing the radio bearer for the bearer service whose reception has not been started, after releasing the radio bearer for the determined bearer service and after performing a leaving processing from the determined bearer service.

5. A mobile station for receiving a multimedia content provided by a broadcast communication or a multicast communication, comprising:

a suspending unit configured to determine a reception suspension of a multimedia content from a low priority bearer service having a lower priority level than a desired bearer service, when a reception of a multimedia content from the desired bearer service is started while a multimedia content from a maximum receivable number of a bearer service or a multimedia content from a predetermined number of a bearer service is being received; and

a restarting unit configured to determine a reception restart of the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service, after the reception of the multimedia content from the desired bearer service is completed.

6. The mobile station according to claim 5, further comprising:

a reception unit configured to perform a joining processing to the low priority bearer service in order to receive the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service, to establish a radio bearer for the low priority bearer service to which the mobile station has performed the joining processing, and to receive, via the radio bearer, the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service to which the mobile station has performed the joining processing;

wherein,

the suspending unit is configured to determine the reception suspension of the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service by performing a leaving processing from the low priority bearer service after releasing the radio bearer for the low priority bearer service; and

the restarting unit is configured to determine the reception restart of the multimedia content from the low priority bearer service by establishing the radio bearer for the low priority bearer service after performing the joining processing to the low priority bearer service.

7. A mobile station for receiving a multimedia content provided by a broadcast communication or a multicast communication, comprising:

a starting unit configured to determine a reception start of a multimedia content from a determined bearer service, which is determined based on a priority level associated with each of a plurality of bearer services, when a reception start of a multimedia content from the plurality of the bearer services makes the number of bearer services, from which the mobile station receives the multimedia content, to exceed a maximum receivable number or a predetermined number; and

a restarting unit configured to determine a reception start of a multimedia content from a bearer service whose reception has not been started, after the reception of the multimedia content from the determined bearer service is completed.

8. The mobile station according to claim 7, wherein

the starting unit is configured to only start the reception of the multimedia content from the determined bearer service via a radio bearer, by establishing the radio bearer for the determined bearer service after performing a joining processing to the determined bearer service in order to receive the multimedia content from the determined bearer service;

and

the restarting unit is configured to determine the reception start of the multimedia content from the bearer service whose reception has not been started, by performing the joining processing to the bearer service whose reception has not been started, and by establishing the radio bearer for the bearer service whose reception has not been started, after releasing the radio bearer for the determined bearer service and performing a leaving processing from the determined bearer service.