SUPPORTING DEVICE-TO-DEVICE COMMUNICATION IN A RICH COMMUNICATION SERVICE CONTEXT

• US 20140057667A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 02/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: FURBECK, David Stuart, BLANKENSHIP, Yufei Wu
• Granted Patent: US 10,028,204 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/500
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture to support device-to-device communication in a rich communication service context are disclosed. Some example methods disclosed herein include sending, to a network node, first device-to-device capability information for a first device, the first device-to-device capability information being associated with device-to-device functionality supported by the first device, and receiving, from the network node, second device-to-device capability information for a second device associated with a contact stored in the first device, the second device-to-device capability information being associated with device-to-device functionality supported by the second device. Other example methods disclosed herein include receiving, from a first device, first device-to-device capability information for the first device, and sending, to the first device, second device-to-device capability information for a second device associated with a contact stored in the first device.

Claims

1. A method for a first device, the method comprising:

sending, to a network node, first device-to-device capability information for the first device, the first device-to-device capability information being associated with device-to-device functionality supported by the first device; and

receiving, from the network node, second device-to-device capability information for a second device associated with a contact stored in the first device, the second device-to-device capability information being associated with device-to-device functionality supported by the second device.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first device-to-device capability information indicates whether the first device is able to discover one or more other devices in proximity to the first device.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first device-to-device capability information indicates whether the first device is to be discoverable by the one or more other devices in proximity to the first device.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising using the second device-to-device capability information to indicate in an address book whether the second device is discoverable.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first device-to-device capability information includes discovery capability information, and the method further comprises specifying the discovery capability information in the address book of the first device.

6. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein the discovery capability information includes at least one of:

a first discovery capability specifying that the first device is able to discover one or more other devices, and that the first device is discoverable by the one or more other devices;

a second discovery capability specifying that the first device is able to discover the one or more other devices, and that the first device is not discoverable by the one or more other devices;

a third discovery capability specifying that the device is not to discover the one or more other devices, and that the first device is discoverable by the one or more other devices;

or

a fourth discovery capability specifying that the first device is not to discover the one or more other devices, and that the first device is not discoverable by the one or more other devices.

7. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein specifying the discovery capability information in the address book of the first device comprises:

associating the first discovery capability information for the first device with a first contact in the address book.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first device-to-device capability information includes communication capability information, and the method further comprises specifying the communication capability information in the first device.

9. A method as defined in claim 8, wherein the communication capability information includes at least one of:

a first communication capability specifying that the first device is able to perform device-to-device communication via only a first radio access technology (RAT);

a second communication capability specifying that the first device is able to perform device-to-device communication via a plurality of RATs;

or

a third communication capability specifying that the first device does not perform device-to-device communication via any RAT.

10. A method as defined in claim 8, wherein specifying the communication capability information in the address book of the first device comprises:

associating first communication capability information for the first device with a first contact in the address book; and

associating second communication capability information for the first device with a second contact in the address book, the second communication capability information being different from the first communication capability information.

11. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based on at least one of the first device-to-device capability information or the second device-to-device capability information, whether the second device is discoverable by the first device;

when the second device is discoverable by the first device, detecting whether the second device is in proximity to the first device; and

when the second devices is detected to be in proximity to the first device, setting an indicator in the address book of the first device to indicate that a proximity service associated with the second device is available.

12. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

discovering the second device;

determining proximity information between the first device and the second device; and

reporting the proximity information to a location service processor.

13-36. -36. (canceled)

37. A method for a network, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first device, first device-to-device capability information for the first device, the first device-to-device capability information being associated with device-to-device functionality supported by the first device; and

sending, to the first device, second device-to-device capability information for a second device associated with a contact stored in the first device, the second device-to-device capability information being associated with device-to-device functionality supported by the second device.

38. A method as defined in claim 37, wherein the first device-to-device capability information indicates whether the first device is able to discover one or more other devices in proximity to the first device.

39. A method as defined in claim 37, wherein the first device-to-device capability information indicates whether the first device is to be discoverable by the one or more other devices in proximity to the first device.

40. A method as defined in claim 37, wherein the first device-to-device capability information includes discovery capability information, and the discovery capability information includes at least one of:

a first discovery capability specifying that the first device is able to discover one or more other devices and that the first device is discoverable by the one or more other devices;

a second discovery capability specifying that the first device is able to discover the one or more other devices, and that the first device is not discoverable by the one or more other devices;

a third discovery capability specifying that the device is not to discover the one or more other devices, and that the first device is discoverable by the one or more other devices;

or

a fourth discovery capability specifying that the first device is not to discover the one or more other devices and that the first device is not discoverable by the one or more other devices.

41. A method as defined in claim 37, wherein the first device-to-device capability information includes communication capability information, and the communication capability information includes at least one of:

a first communication capability specifying that the first device is able to perform device-to-device communication via only a first radio access technology (RAT);

a second communication capability specifying that the first device is able to perform device-to-device communication via a plurality of RATs;

or

a third communication capability specifying that the first device does not perform device-to-device communication via any RAT.

42. A method as defined in claim 37, wherein the first device-to-device capability information is stored in a first presence document associated with the first device, and the method further comprises:

receiving, from the first device, a privacy filtering rule associated with the device-to-device functionality supported by the first device;

storing the privacy filtering rule with presence authorization rules associated with the first presence document; and

evaluating the privacy filtering rule when providing presence information, including at least a portion of the first device-to-device capability information, to a third device.

43. A method as defined in claim 37, further comprising:

receiving proximity information from the first device, the proximity information indicating whether the second device is in proximity to the first device; and

augmenting positioning information determined for the second device with the proximity information received from the first device to determine a position of the first device.

44-57. -57. (canceled)