Method and telecommunication system for supporting multimedia services via an interface and a correspondingly configured subscriber terminal

• US 6,314,302 B1
• Filed: 05/20/1999
• Issued: 11/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Siemens Networks GmbH & Company KG (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Ernst, Detlef, Haferbeck, Ralf
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Congvan
• Application Number:
  US09/308,583
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: 455/179.1, 455/403, 455/414, 455/464, 455/38.4, 455/509, 455/515, 455/517, 455/566, 455/66, 455/67.7, 455/74, 348/14.01, 348/14.02, 370/329, 370/341, 370/343
• US Class Current: 455/550.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72439 for image or video messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/148 Interfacing a video terminal to a particular transmission medium, e.g. ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

In the method, in the telecommunication system (UNW) N logical speech channels (e.g., S11, S12, S13) are used for the transmission of the speech signals of N subscribers, and only M (with M≦N) logical image channels (e.g., B11), which are selected previously, are used for the transmission of the image signals of M subscribers. The subscriber terminal device (MMS) outputs to the subscriber the speech signals, received via an interface (AI, CI), of the N subscribers, and displays to the subscriber the image signals, received from the transceive means, of the M subscribers. By the deliberate selection of an image channel (e.g., B11), or of several image channels, from a multiplicity of image channels, the transmission bandwidth required on the interface (in particular, a radio interface to mobile radio subscribers) for multimedia services can be constructed flexibly, and can be adapted to the existing transmission capacity of the interface. The telecommunication system is provided with apparatus for transmitting the provided speech signals of the N subscribers in N logical speech channels, as well as with apparatus (SFU) for the selection of the M (with M≦N) logical image channels, and with apparatus for transmitting the image signals of M subscribers in the M image channels.

Claims

1. A method for supporting multimedia services via a radio interface between a mobile telecommunication system with a radio-oriented transceiver and a mobile subscriber terminal device with a radio-oriented transceiver, comprising the steps of:

providing speech signals and image signals of subscribers of a multimedia service at a transmit side and at a receive side, and sending the speech signals and image signals by the respective transceivers via the interface;

using in the mobile telecommunication system, N logical speech channels, where N>

2, for transmission of the speech signals, provided by the mobile telecommunication system, of N subscribers, and using M logical image channels, where M<

N, which are selected in the mobile telecommunication system, for transmission of the image signals of M subscribers;

determining a currently speaking subscriber with speech detectors that are allocated to the N logical speech channels that check a speech channel state to determine whether this speech channel is already active when there is speech activity or whether this speech channel is inactive when there are pauses in the speech activity;

automatically selecting, in the telecommunication system, an image channel that contains image signals of the currently speaking subscriber; and

outputting via the subscriber terminal device the speech signals, received by the respective transceiver, of the N subscribers, and displaying the image signals, received by the respective transceiver, of the M subscribers.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein given simultaneous speaking of other subscribers, the automatically selected image signal is maintained.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein items of information relating to the state of the speech channels are made available by the speech detectors and are sent to a decision unit that produces a message for image channel changeover, dependent on the information received by the detectors.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein if the decision unit has reported a recently active speech channel as inactive and another speech channel as active, the message for the image channel changeover is produced by the decision unit, with an item of information relating to a new speech channel.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein by at least one user action executed by the subscriber at the mobile subscriber terminal device, the mobile telecommunication system is signaled to select an image channel for transmission of image signals of a particular subscriber or of a particular image segment, and wherein the image signals, received via the interface, of the particular subscriber or of the particular image segment are displayed at the mobile subscriber terminal device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein for initiation of the user action, at least one key of an input device of the mobile subscriber terminal device, or a menu-type user interface of the mobile subscriber terminal device, are actuated by the subscriber.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein for initiation of the user action, an interactive input device of the mobile subscriber terminal device is used by the subscriber for selection of the image segment.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the mobile telecommunication system a selection function is carried out for handling of the logical speech channels and for identification of at least two operating modes that relate to the selection of the image channels, with image signals of one of a currently speaking subscriber, a particular subscriber or a particular image segment.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the selection function is executed using an allocation table in which the logical speech channels are allocated to the logical image channels.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein if, during call handling of the multimedia service in the mobile telecommunication system, a signaling indicates that a new subscriber is added or a previous subscriber is omitted, the allocation table is respectively adapted by addition of a new entry or by erasing of a previous entry.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the mobile telecommunication system an image channel changeover function is used for respective switching through of one of a plurality incoming image channels in the telecommunication system onto an outgoing image channel.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the image channel changeover function is executed using an allocation table in which the logical speech channels are allocated to the logical image channels.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein if, during call handling of the multimedia service in the mobile telecommunication system, a signaling indicates that a new subscriber is added or a previous subscriber is omitted, the allocation table is respectively adapted by addition of a new entry or by erasing of a previous entry.

14. A mobile telecommunication system with radio-oriented transceivers for support of multimedia services via a radio interface from/to a mobile subscriber terminal apparatus with radio-oriented transceivers, comprising:

apparatuses for providing speech signals and image signals of subscribers of the multimedia service that are sent out by the transceivers via the radio interface;

apparatuses for sending the provided speech signals of N subscribers in N logical speech channels, where N>

2, and apparatuses for selecting M, M<

N, logical image channels, and apparatuses for sending the image signals of M subscribers in the M image channels; and

;

a function device for selection of the image channels having a selection function device for handling the logical speech channels and having an image channel changeover function device for the image channel changeover, wherein the selection function device sends a message to the image channel changeover function device with which the image signals of a currently speaking subscriber are switchable through onto an outgoing logical image channel.

15. The mobile telecommunication system according to claim 14:

wherein, based on at least one user action executed by a subscriber at the mobile subscriber terminal device, the selection function device or the image channel changeover function device receive a signaling signal by which the image signals of a particular subscriber or of a particular image segment are switchable through an outgoing image channel.

16. The mobile telecommunication system according to claim 14, wherein the device for selecting the image channels are arranged in a radio-oriented subsystem of a mobile telecommunication system that is connected, via the radio interface, with a mobile subscriber terminal device of a radio subscriber.

17. The mobile telecommunication system according to claim 14, wherein the apparatuses for selecting the image channels are arranged in a switching-oriented subsystem of a mobile telecommunication system that is connected via the radio interface with the mobile subscriber terminal device of a radio subscriber.

18. The mobile telecommunication system according to claim 17, wherein the switching-oriented subsystem is a service control unit of a mobile telecommunication system that supports a structure of an intelligent network.