SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MULTI-MEDIA CONFERENCING BETWEEN UNIVERSAL PLUG AND PLAY (UPnP) ENABLED TELEPHONY DEVICES AND WIRELESS AREA NETWORK (WAN) DEVICES

• US 20110141950A1
• Filed: 12/15/2010
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: PATIL, Mayuresh Madhukar
• Granted Patent: US 9,065,666 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/261
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2836 Protocol conversion between an external network and a home network controlling appliance services of a home automation network from a device located outside the home and the home network H04L12/2818; protocol conversion H04L69/08; adaptation of digital video signals for transport over a specific home network H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15

Abstract

A system and method of multi-media conferencing between Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) telephony devices and Wide Area Network (WAN) devices is provided. The method includes initiating a multi-media conferencing session with WAN devices by at least one telephony control point (TCP) in an UPnP telephony based home network via a session request. The session request includes session information, media capabilities of a telephony client device (TC) associated with the at least one TCP, a list of WAN devices or a conference group identifier associated with one or more WAN devices, and a subject of the multi-media conferencing session. The method further includes establishing the multi-media conferencing session between the TC and the WAN devices by a telephony server (TS) in the UPnP telephony based home network based on the session request.

Claims

1. A method of multi-media conferencing between Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) enabled telephony devices in an UPNP telephony based home network and a plurality of Wide Area Network (WAN) devices, wherein the UPnP enabled telephony devices comprises at least one telephony control point (TCP) and one or more telephony client devices (TCs) associated with the at least one TCP, comprising:

initiating a multi-media conferencing session with a plurality of WAN devices by at least one TCP via a session request; and

establishing the multi-media conferencing session between a first TC associated with at least one TCP and the plurality of WAN devices by a telephony server (TS) in the UPnP telephony based home network based on the session request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the session request includes a local session identifier, session information, media capabilities of the first TC, a list of WAN devices or conference group identifier associated with one or more WAN devices, and a subject of the multi-media conferencing session.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein initiating the multi-media conferencing session with the plurality of WAN devices by the at least one TCP comprises:

generating a session request associated with the multi-media conferencing session; and

forwarding the session request associated with the multi-media conferencing session to the TS.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein establishing the multi-media conferencing session between the first TC associated with the at least one TCP and the plurality of WAN devices by the TS comprises:

initiating the multi-media conferencing session with the plurality of WAN devices based on the session request using a WAN; and

providing multi-media data to the first TC and one or more of the plurality of WAN devices based on the media capabilities of the first TC.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein initiating the multi-media conferencing session with the plurality of WAN devices based on the session request comprises:

receiving the session request from the at least one TCP for initiating the multi-media conferencing session with the plurality of WAN devices;

retrieving the local session identifier, the list of WAN devices or the conference group identifier associated with the one or more WAN devices, media capabilities of the first TC, and session information from the received session request;

determining whether the session request is associated with the multi-media conferencing session based on the session information;

if so, forwarding a multi-media conference initiate request to each of the plurality of WAN devices from the list of the WAN devices; and

if not, terminating the multi-media conferencing session with the plurality of WAN devices.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein forwarding the multi-media conference initiate request to each of the plurality of WAN devices in the session request comprises:

generating the multi-media conference initiate request for establishing the multi-media conferencing session between the first TC and the plurality of WAN devices, wherein the multi-media conference initiate request comprises a group conference session identifier, media capabilities of the first TC, a session subject and the like; and

sending the generated multi-media conference initiate request to each of the plurality of WAN devices based on the list of WAN devices or the conference group identifier via the WAN.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein sending the generated multi-media conference initiate request further comprises:

receiving a confirmation message from the plurality of WAN devices in response to the multi-media conference initiate request;

processing the confirmation message associated with successful establishment of the multi-media conferencing session; and

notifying the at least one TCP through the processed confirmation message associated with successful establishment of the multi-media conferencing session.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein in establishing the multi-media conferencing session between the first TC and one or more of the plurality of WAN devices, the multi-media conferencing session is selected from the group consisting of a video conferencing session, an audio conferencing session, and an audio and video conferencing session.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein establishing the multi-media conferencing session between the first TC and one or more of the plurality of WAN devices based on the session request comprises:

receiving multi-media data from the plurality of WAN devices by the TS during the multi-media conferencing session; and

processing and forwarding the multi-media data to the first TC based on the media capabilities of the first TC during the multi-media conferencing session such that the multi-media data is outputted on the first TC in a compatible format.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a global modify session request by the at least one TCP during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session between the first TC and the plurality of WAN devices, wherein the global modify session request comprises subject information, media capabilities of the first TCP, at least one WAN device to be added/removed into/from the multi-media conferencing session;

retrieving information from the global modify session request received from the at least one TCP by the TS;

communicating modify session information to the plurality of WAN devices;

adding or removing at least one WAN device from the ongoing multi-media conferencing session based on the global modify session request; and

notifying the at least one TCP and other active WAN devices of the multi-media conferencing session regarding the addition and removal of the at least one WAN device from the ongoing multi-media conferencing session.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a join session request by the at least one TCP;

retrieving session identifier information from the join session request received from the at least one TCP by the TS;

determining whether the retrieved session identifier matches with the session identifier associated with the ongoing multi-media conferencing session;

if so, joining the ongoing multi-media conferencing session by the TS;

if so, allowing the first TC associated with the at least one TCP to join the ongoing multi-media conferencing session based on the join session request; and

if not, terminating the join session request received from the at least one TCP.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the multi-media conferencing session between the first TC and one or more of the plurality of WAN devices comprises:

providing dynamic session information associated with the ongoing multi-media conferencing information to the at least one TCP, wherein the dynamic information includes user leaving session information, user joining session information, and any changes in the subject of the multi-media conferencing session.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating global session information associated with the multi-media conferencing session by the at least one TCP or one of the WAN devices when the multi-media conferencing session is ongoing.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a local media update request by the at least one TCP during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session, wherein the local media update request comprises local media capability information, and information associated with a second TC;

retrieving information from the local media update request received from the at least one TCP by the TS;

determining a local media capability of the second TC associated with the at least one TCP based on the local media update request;

updating the local media capability information in memory associated with the TS; and

providing media content to the second TC during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session based on the updated local media capability information.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

updating the second TC regarding the updated local media capability information by the at least one TCP.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a local media update request by the at least one TCP during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session, wherein the local media update request comprises local media capability information associated with the first TC, and information associated with the first TC;

retrieving information from the local media update request received from the at least one TCP by the TS;

determining a local media capability of the first TC based on the local media update request;

updating the local media capability information in memory associated with the TS;

updating the first TC regarding the updated local media capability information by the at least one TCP;

blocking media content associated with the ongoing multi-media conferencing session by the TS based on the updated local media capability information; and

providing media content associated with the ongoing multi-media conferencing session to the first TC based on the updated local media capability information.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving dynamic session information from the TS by the at least one TCP; and

processing and forwarding the dynamic session information to the first TC by the associated at least one TCP, wherein the dynamic information includes user leaving session information, user joining session information, and any changes in the subject of multi-media conferencing session.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein for performing a method of multi-media conferencing between Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) enabled telephony devices in a UPNP telephony based home network and a plurality of Wide Area Network (WAN) devices, wherein the UPnP enabled telephony devices comprises at least one telephony control point (TCP) and one or more telephony client devices (TCs) associated with the at least one TCP, comprising:

initiating a multi-media conferencing session with a plurality of WAN devices by at least one TCP via a session request; and

establishing the multi-media conferencing session between a first TC associated with at least one TCP and the plurality of WAN devices by a telephony server (TS) in the UPnP telephony based home network based on the session request.

19. A UPNP telephony based home network system comprising:

at least one telephony control point (TCP) for initiating a multi-media conferencing session with a plurality of wireless area network (WAN) devices via a session request;

one or more telephony client devices (TCs) coupled to the at least one TCP; and

a telephony server (TS) coupled to the one of the one or more TCs and the at least one TCP for establishing the multi-media conferencing session between the one of the one or more TCs and the plurality of WAN devices based on the session request.

20. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 19, wherein the at least one TCP initiates the multi-media conferencing session with the plurality of WAN devices by generating a session request associated with the multi-media conferencing session, and forwarding the session request associated with the multi-media conferencing session to the TS.

21. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 20, wherein the session request includes a local session identifier, session information, media capabilities of the one or more TCs, a list of WAN devices or conference group identifier associated with one or more WAN devices, and a subject of the multi-media conferencing session.

22. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 21, wherein the TS establishes the multi-media conferencing session between the one of the one or more TCs and the plurality of WAN devices by initiating the multi-media conferencing session with the plurality of WAN devices based on the session request using a WAN, and providing multi-media conferencing data to the one of the one or more TCs and one or more of the plurality of WAN devices based on the media capabilities of the one or more TCs.

23. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 22, wherein in initiating the multi-media conferencing session with the plurality of WAN devices based on the session request, the TS receives the session request from the at least one TCP for initiating the multi-media conferencing session with the plurality of WAN devices, retrieves the local session identifier, the list of WAN devices or the conference group identifier associated with the one or more WAN devices, media capabilities of the one or more TCs, and session information from the received session request, determines whether the session request is associated with the multi-media conferencing session based on the session information, and generates and forwards a multi-media conference initiate request to each of the plurality of WAN devices from the list of the WAN devices or based on the conference group identifier associated with the one or more WAN devices, wherein the multi-media conference initiate request comprises a group conference session identifier, media capabilities of the one or more TCs, a session subject and the like.

24. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 23, wherein the TS receives a confirmation message from the plurality of WAN devices in response to the multi-media conference initiate request upon forwarding the multi-media conference initiate request, processes the confirmation message associated with successful establishment of the multi-media conferencing session, and notifies the at least one TCP through the processed confirmation message regarding successful establishment of the multi-media conferencing session.

25. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 24, wherein the multi-media conferencing session is selected from the group consisting of a video conferencing session, an audio conferencing session, and an audio and video conferencing session.

26. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 25, wherein in establishing the multi-media conferencing session between the one of the one or more TCs and the one or more of the plurality of WAN devices, the TS receives multi-media data from the plurality of WAN devices during the multi-media conferencing session, and processes and forwards the multi-media data to the one of the one or more TCs based on the media capabilities of the one or more TCs during the multi-media conferencing session such that the multi-media data is outputted on the one of the one or more TCs in a compatible format.

27. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 19, wherein the TS receives a global modify session request from the at least one TCP during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session between the one of the one or more TCs and the plurality of WAN devices, retrieves information from the global modify session request received from the at least one TCP, communicates modify session information to the plurality of WAN devices, adds or removes at least one WAN device from the ongoing multi-media conferencing session based on the global modify session request, and notifies the at least one TCP and other active WAN devices of the multi-media conferencing session regarding the addition and removal of the at least one WAN device from the ongoing multi-media conferencing session, wherein the global modify session request comprises subject information, media capabilities of the one of the one or more TCs, at least one WAN device to be added/removed into/from the multi-media conferencing session.

28. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 19, wherein the TS receives a join session request from the at least one TCP, retrieves session identifier information from the join session request received from the at least one TCP, determines whether the retrieved session identifier matches with a session identifier associated with the ongoing multi-media conferencing session, joins the ongoing multi-media conferencing session if match is found, allows the one of the one or more TCs to join the ongoing multi-media conferencing session based on the join session request, and terminates the join session request received from the at least one TCP if no match is found.

29. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 19, wherein the TS provides dynamic session information associated with the ongoing multi-media conferencing information to the at least one TCP, wherein the dynamic information includes user leaving session information, user joining session information, and any changes in the subject of the multimedia conferencing session.

30. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 19, wherein the at least one TCP updates global session information associated with the multi-media conferencing session during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session.

31. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 19, wherein the at least one TCP generates a local media update request during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session, wherein the local media update request comprises local media capability information, and information associated with the one or more TCs.

32. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 31, wherein the TS retrieves local media capability information from the local media update request received from the at least one TCP, determines a local media capability of said another of the one or more TCs associated with the at least one TCP based on the local media update request, updates the local media capability information in memory associated with the TS, and provides media content to said another of the one or more TCs during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session based on the updated local media capability information.

33. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 32, wherein the at least one TCP updates said another of the one or more TCs regarding the update local media capability information.

34. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 31, wherein the TS receives the local media update request from the at least one TCP during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session, retrieves information from the local media update request, determines a local media capability of the one of the one or more TCs associated with the at least one TCP based on the local media update request, updates the local media capability information in memory associated with the TS, blocks media content not associated with the local media capability during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session based on the updated local media capability information, and provides media content to the one of the one or more TCs during the ongoing multi-media conferencing session based on the updated local media capability information.

35. The UPNP telephony based home network system of claim 19, wherein the at least TCP receives the dynamic session information from the TS, and processes and forwards the dynamic session information to associated one or more TCs, wherein the dynamic information includes user leaving session information, user joining session information, and any changes in the subject of the multi-media conferencing session.