METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BRIDGING CALLS BETWEEN TWO DISPARATE PUSH-TO-TALK SYSTEMS

• US 20110151917A1
• Filed: 12/22/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mao, Wei, Bishop, Gregory D., Sadiq, Rummana S., Vanswol, Steven E., Thomas, Peter E., Korus, Michael F., Pappas, Scott J., Agulnik, Anatoly, Poe, Brian R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,406,798 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/519
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4061 Push-to services, e.g. push-to-talk or push-to-video
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A PTT bridging gateway between a first PTT system and a second disparate PTT system: receives an invitation to a first client to join a first group call for a first group comprising multiple member clients on the first PTT system, wherein the first client is one of the member clients of the first group; determines that the first client is mapped to a second group comprising multiple member clients on the second PTT system; and initiates a second group call to the multiple member clients on the second PTT system.

Claims

1. A method for bridging group calls between two disparate push-to-talk (PTT) systems, the method comprising:

at a PTT bridging gateway between a first PTT system and a second disparate PTT system;

receiving an invitation to a first client to join a first group call for a first group comprising multiple member clients on the first PTT system, wherein the first client is one of the member clients of the first group;

determining that the first client is mapped to a second group comprising multiple member clients on the second PTT system; and

initiating a second group call to the multiple member clients on the second PTT system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the invitation was generated by a PTT server in the first PTT system in response to receiving a PTT group call request from a different member of the first group, wherein the PTT group call request includes an identifier for the first group.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the invitation is absent the identifier for the first group.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first client is a virtual client that is located in the PTT bridging gateway.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the invitation was generated by a PTT server in the first PTT system in response to receiving a PTT group call request from a different member of the first group, wherein the PTT group call request includes a list comprising identifiers for the member clients of first group, including an identifier for the first client.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein initiating the second group call comprises sending a group call request to a PTT server in the second PTT server, which identifies the multiple member clients on the second PTT system.

7. A computer-readable storage element having computer readable code stored thereon for programming a computer to perform a method for bridging group calls between two disparate push-to-talk (PTT) systems, the method comprising:

at a PTT bridging gateway between a first PTT system and a second disparate PTT system;

receiving an invitation to a first client to join a first group call for a first group comprising multiple member clients on the first PTT system, wherein the first client is one of the member clients of the first group;

determining that the first client is mapped to a second group comprising multiple member clients on the second PTT system; and

initiating a second group call to the multiple member clients on the second PTT system.

8. A push-to-talk (PTT) bridging gateway between a first PTT system and a second disparate PTT system, the PTT bridging gateway comprising:

a first client;

an interface that receives an invitation to the first client to join a first group call for a first group comprising multiple member clients on the first PTT system, wherein the first client is one of the member clients of the first group; and

a processor that;

determines that the first client is mapped to a second group comprising multiple member clients on the second PTT system; and

initiates a second group call to the multiple member clients on the second PTT system.