METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING NETWORK SUPPORT FOR OTHER MEDIA DURING IMS EMERGENCY SESSIONS

• US 20140301248A1
• Filed: 10/31/2012
• Published: 10/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Lindholm, Fredrik, Sultana, Shabnam
• Application Number:
  US14/348,706
• Publication Number:
  US 20140301248A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/259
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

According to a first aspect there is provided a method of operating an entity within an IMS network. The method comprises, receiving a message sent by a UE, determining if media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions involving the UE,and sending a response to the UE, the response indicating if media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions involving the UE.

Claims

1. A method of operating an entity within an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, the method comprising:

receiving a message sent by a user equipment (UE);

determining whether media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions involving the UE; and

sending a response to the UE, the response indicating whether media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions involving the UE.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the determining whether media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions involving the UE comprises any of:

determining whether media other than voice is supported for IMS emergency sessions by an available Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP);

determining whether media other than voice is supported for IMS emergency sessions by an access network through which the UE is accessing the IMS network; and

determining whether media other than voice is supported for IMS emergency sessions by entities within the IMS network that serve the UE.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein, the determining whether media other than voice is supported by an available PSAP comprises:

determining whether there is a PSAP serving an area in which the UE is currently located that supports media other than voice during IMS emergency sessions.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, and further comprising:

responsive to determining that media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions involving the UE, including in the response sent to the UE an indication that media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions involving the UE.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the indication that media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions involving the UE comprises a feature tag included within a header field of the response sent to the UE.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the response sent to the UE includes an indication of types of media that can be supported for IMS emergency sessions involving the UE.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the message received from the UE includes an indication that the UE supports media other than voice for IMS emergency sessions.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the indication that the UE supports media other than voice for IMS emergency sessions comprises a feature tag included within a header field of the message received from the UE.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the message received from the UE includes an indication of types of media that the UE supports for IMS emergency sessions.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the entity is any of a Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) and a Serving Call Session Control Function (S-CSCF), and the message received from the UE is a request for an IMS emergency registration.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein, the entity is a S-CSCF, and the determining whether media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions is based on the user profile of a user of the UE.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the entity is any of a Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) and an Emergency Call Session Control Function (E-CSCF), and the message received from the UE is a request for establishment of an IMS emergency session.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the entity is a PSAP and the message received from the UE is a request for establishment of an IMS emergency session.

14. An apparatus to operate as an entity within an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver operative to receive a message sent by a UE;

a processor operative to determine whether media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions that involve the UE, and to generate a response that indicates whether media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions that involve the UE; and

a transmitter operative to send the response to the UE.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein to determine that media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions that involve the UE, the processor is operative to:

determine whether media other than voice is supported for IMS emergency sessions by an available Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP);

or

determine whether media other than voice is supported for IMS emergency sessions by an access network through which the UE is accesses the IMS network;

or

determine whether media other than voice is supported for IMS emergency sessions by entities within the IMS network that serve the UE.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein, to determine whether media other than voice is supported by an available PSAP, the processor is operative to

determine whether there is a PSAP that serves an area in which the UE is currently located that supports media other than voice during IMS emergency sessions.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein responsive to media other than voice being determined to support IMS emergency sessions that involve the UE, the processor is further operative to include an indication that media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions that involve the UE in the response.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the processor is further operative to include a feature tag within a header field of the response as the indication that media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions that involve the UE.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the processor is further operative to include in the response an indication of types of media that can be supported for IMS emergency sessions that involve the UE.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the entity is any of a Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) and a Serving Call Session Control Function (S-CSCF), and the message received from the UE is a request for an IMS emergency registration.

21. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20, wherein, the entity is a S-CSCF, and the processor is further operative to make use of a user profile of a user of the UE to determine whether media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions that involve the UE.

22. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the entity is any of a Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) and an Emergency Call Session Control Function (E-CSCF), and the message received from the UE is a request for establishment of an IMS emergency session.

23. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the entity is a PSAP and the message received from the UE is a request for establishment of an IMS emergency session.

24. A method of operating a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:

sending a message to an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network;

receiving a response from an entity within the IMS network, the response including an indication of whether if media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions involving the UE; and

taking the indication into account during any IMS emergency sessions involving the UE.

25. A User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a transmitter operative to send a message to an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network;

a receiver operative to receive a response sent by an entity within the IMS network, the response including an indication of whether if media other than voice can be supported for IMS emergency sessions that involve the UE; and

a processor operative to take account of the indication during any IMS emergency sessions that involve the UE.