METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING COMMUNICATION SESSIONS

• US 20100254370A1
• Filed: 04/03/2009
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rice, Christopher, Jana, Rittwik, Murray, John
• Granted Patent: US 8,374,172 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234309 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or from Quicktime to Realvideo conversion of standards in analog television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25 Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/437 Interfacing the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. for transmitting client requests to a VOD server flow control in data networks H04L47/10; streaming protocols, e.g. RTP or RTCP, H04L65/65; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests in data packet switching networks H04L67/60

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server operably couplable to an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network and an Interactive Television (ITV) system, where the server includes a controller to receive a session transfer request from a first communication device operably connected to the ITV system and presenting media content where the session transfer request includes identification information associated with a second communication device operably connected to the ITV system, and transmit an INVITE message to the second communication device and transmit a media adjustment message to a Media Resource Function Processor (MRFP) of the IMS network, where the media content is adjusted and transmitted to the second communication device based on receipt of the media adjustment message, where the adjusted media content is generated by the MRFP based on the identification information associated with the second communication device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium of a Serving Call Session Control Function (S-CSCF) operably coupled to an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem network, the storage medium comprising computer instructions to:

receive at the S-CSCF an INVITE message associated with a call to a first communication device from a second communication device;

transmit from the S-CSCF the INVITE message to an application server and to the first communication device, the application server being operably connected with an Interactive Television (ITV) system;

receive at the S-CSCF a determination of satisfaction of an identification threshold performed by the application server based on the INVITE message; and

transmit from the S-CSCF a NOTIFY message to a set top box operably connected with the ITV system when the second communication device satisfies the identification threshold, the NOTIFY message comprising identification information associated with the second communication device.

2. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the set top box presents the identification information based on the received NOTIFY message.

3. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions to transmit from the S-CSCF the NOTIFY message to a third communication device when the second communication device satisfies the identification threshold.

4. The storage medium of claim 3, wherein the third communication device is a pager.

5. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions to simultaneously transmit from the S-CSCF the INVITE message to the application server and to the first communication device.

6. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first and second communication devices are Voice Over Internet phones.

7. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the application server retrieves URI data associated with the second communication device.

8. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein satisfaction of the identification threshold is determined by the application server based on a user profile associated with the first communication device.

9. A server operably couplable to an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network and an Interactive Television (ITV) system, the server comprising a controller to:

receive a session transfer request from a first communication device operably connected to the ITV system and presenting media content, the session transfer request comprising identification information associated with a second communication device operably connected to the IPTV system;

determine whether the session transfer request satisfies a transfer threshold;

transmit an INVITE message to the second communication device when the session transfer request satisfies the transfer threshold; and

transmit a media adjustment message to a media server for adjusting the media content and transmitting the adjusted media content to the second communication device, the adjusted media content being generated based on the identification information associated with the second communication device.

10. The server of claim 9, wherein the media server is a Media Resource Function Processor of the IMS network.

11. The server of claim 9, wherein the second communication device presents the adjusted media content.

12. The server of claim 11, wherein the session transfer request comprises a header having SIP URI data associated with the second communication device.

13. The server of claim 12, wherein the controller is adapted to determine whether the session transfer request satisfies the transfer threshold based on a user profile associated with the first communication device.

14. A server operably couplable to an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network and an Interactive Television (ITV) system, the server comprising a controller to:

receive a session transfer request from a first communication device operably connected to the ITV system and presenting media content, the session transfer request comprising identification information associated with a second communication device operably connected to the ITV system; and

transmit an INVITE message to the second communication device and transmit a media adjustment message to a Media Resource Function Processor (MRFP) of the IMS network, wherein the media content is adjusted and transmitted to the second communication device based on receipt of the media adjustment message, the adjusted media content being generated by the MRFP based on the identification information associated with the second communication device.

15. The server of claim 14, wherein the controller is adapted to determine whether the session transfer request satisfies a transfer threshold based on a user profile associated with the first communication device.

16. The server of claim 14, wherein the session transfer request comprises a header having SIP URI data associated with the second communication device.

17. The server of claim 14, wherein the INVITE message and the media adjustment message are transmitted simultaneously.

18. The server of claim 14, wherein the media content is adjusted by the MRFP using transcoding.

19. A server operably couplable to an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network and an Internet Protocol Television (ITV) system, the server comprising a controller to:

receive a session transfer request from a first communication device operably connected to the ITV system and presenting media content, the session transfer request comprising identification information associated with a second communication device operably connected to the ITV system;

transmit the session transfer request to an application server;

receive an INVITE message from the application server when the session transfer request satisfies a transfer threshold; and

transmit the INVITE message to the second communication device, wherein the media content is adjusted by a Media Resource Function Processor (MRFP) of the IMS network and transmitted to the second communication device by the MRFP based on receipt of a media adjustment message from the application server, the adjusted media content being generated by the MRFP based on the identification information associated with the second communication device.

20. The server of claim 19, wherein the media content is adjusted by the MRFP using transcoding.

21. A method, comprising:

receiving a session transfer request from a first communication device operably connected to an Interactive Television (ITV) system and presenting media content, the session transfer request comprising identification information associated with a second communication device operably connected to the ITV system;

transmitting an INVITE message to the second communication device; and

transmitting a media adjustment message to a Media Resource Function Processor (MRFP) of an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, wherein the media content is adjusted and transmitted to the second communication device based on receipt of the media adjustment message, the adjusted media content being generated by the MRFP based on the identification information associated with the second communication device.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the media adjustment message is transmitted from an application server operably connected to the ITV system

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the INVITE message is transmitted from a Serving Call Session Control Function.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the first communication device is a set top box.

25. The method of claim 21, comprising determining at the application server whether the session transfer request satisfies a transfer threshold based on a user profile associated with the first communication device.